answersLogoWhite

0

The sun radiates in all directions, towards the earth, away from the earth, at right angles to the earth and so on. It radiates roughly equally in all these directions.

Suppose you could draw a sphere with the sun as its centre and radius = average distance between the earth and the sun (1 astronomical unit). Then the amount of incident energy is proportional to the area of cross section of the earth relative to the surface area of the sphere.

Now, mean earth-sun distance = 1 AU = 149,597,871 km

So surface area of sphere = 4*pi*r2 = 2.813*1017 km2

Radius of earth = 6371 km

Cross-sectional area of earth = 1.275*108 km2

So the earth occupies 1.275*108 /2.813*1017 of the surface area of the sphere and therefore receives 1.275*108 /2.813*1017 of the sun's energy output.

= 4.5*10-10 or approximately one half of one billionths.

User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago

What else can I help you with?

Related Questions

What small fraction of energy reaches Earth?

Roughly one billionth of the Sun's total energy output reaches Earth. This energy is essential for supporting life on our planet, driving weather systems, and powering various natural processes.


What percentage of the energy radiated by the sun reaches earthes surface?

Of the Sun's energy reaching Earth's atmosphere, just under 60% reaches the Earth's surface. Only a small fraction of the Sun's energy reaches Earth, of course. In fact it's only about 0.000000045 percent. So, the answer to the question is: about 0.000000025 percent.


How radiant energy reaches the earth?

It reaches earth as an electromagnetic wave.


What is one energy the reaches earth from the sun?

The energy that reaches the Earth from the sun is known as sunlight.


When energy from the sun reaches earth it is not?

absorbed by earth's core


What happens to the majority of the sun's energy before it ever reaches Earth?

The majority of the sun's energy is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere before it reaches the surface.


What is the main source of energy that reaches earth?

The Sun


Why do tornadoes comes in the Earth?

Tornadoes come from the energy released in a thunderstorm. As powerful as they are, tornadoes account for only a tiny fraction of the energy in a thunderstorm.


What form does suns energy have when it reaches earth?

The Sun's energy is given out mainly as "electromagnetic radiation". Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Heat is the main form the Sun's energy has when it reaches Earth, particularly the Earth's surface.


The suns energy reaches the earth as what type of energy?

The sun's energy reaches the Earth as solar radiation in the form of electromagnetic waves, primarily in the form of visible light and infrared radiation.


How much of the Sun's energy reaches the earth and why?

half a billionth


Which of the is the main source of energy that reaches earth?

Solar radiation.