A Type I unit of power, the Sol

In summary: The graph has a y axis in watts and an x axis in years. It talks about world population growth and how it has been eating into the power grid. Quads are quadrillions of BTUs. I think the article says it's been growing at a rate of 2% a year. 40 terawatts would be around 600 quadrillions of BTUs.
  • #1
selfAdjoint
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It's fun to think about the far-out Type II and III civilizations, but how close are we now to Type I?

M. Kaku says the output of our star is about "a billion trillion trillion ergs per second". That is, if I have done the arithmetic correctly, 10^33 ergs/sec or, dividing by 10^7, 10^26 watts. Note that this is power, rate of producing or consuming energy that we are talking about. I propose to name this amount of power the Sol. Numbering your power flux in Sols would be a practice of a Type I civilization.

Currently we measure the power consumption on Earth in quads, quadrillions of BTUs per year. That's 10^15 BTU/yr = 3.169 X 10^10 watts. In 2000 the Earth used energy at the rate of 300 quads per year, or about 10^13 watts. Notice that this power, 10^13 watts as numerically the square root of 1 Sol = 10^26 watts. This says that on a harmonic progression scale, we are half way from 10^0 watts (idly scratching) to the mark of Type I, the Sol.

Go humans, go!
 
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  • #2
An interesting fact that I tell my students is that the Sun produces more energy every second than mankind will use, at the current rate of consumption, in three million years.

- Warren
 
  • #3
With the exception of nuclear and geothermal sources, we live by eating the Sun, past and present. IIRC, we are eating the past Sun at a rate several hundred times faster than it was produced. Looking purely at power consumption - SelfAdjoint's numbers - and with a small envelope, our present power consumption is ~0.1% of the Sun's present power output, as received on Earth (my envelope is quite small; in trying to square SelfAdjoint's numbers with chroot's, I find a factor of ~10 has crept in somewhere).

Of course we eat more of the Sun than just raw power to run our cars, light our homes, and surf the internet; we also eat and keep warm. Does anyone have a handle on how much of the Sun-on-Earth, in total, we consume?
 
  • #4
I thought worldwide power consumption was around 4 terawatts. selfAdjoint believes it's closer to 40 terawatts, but, frankly, I don't know. I'm sure someone has done a detailed study and listed a specific figure somewhere. My guess is the number of sig figs in selfAdjoint's 3.169 X 10^10 watts is due to some relatively precise authoritative measurement. So, let's be generous and say mankind uses 40 TW.

- Warren
 
  • #5
World power usage is in hundreds of quads, here is a http://www.aip.org/pt/vol-55/iss-4/p38.html [Broken]
 
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1. What is a Type I unit of power?

A Type I unit of power is a measurement used in astrophysics to describe the energy output of a star. It is defined as the amount of energy radiated by the Sun in one second, which is equivalent to 3.828 x 10^26 watts.

2. What is the significance of the Sol in relation to a Type I unit of power?

The Sol, also known as the Sun, is used as the standard unit of measurement for a Type I unit of power. This is because it is the most familiar and easily observable star, making it a convenient reference point for scientists.

3. How does a Type I unit of power compare to other units of power?

A Type I unit of power is considered to be a relatively large unit of measurement. It is approximately 10 billion times greater than the power output of a typical human, and 100 trillion times greater than the power output of the entire human population.

4. Can a Type I unit of power vary?

Yes, a Type I unit of power can vary depending on the star being observed. For example, a star with a higher mass and greater energy output may have a Type I unit of power that is larger than that of the Sun.

5. Why is the concept of a Type I unit of power important in astrophysics?

The Type I unit of power is important in astrophysics because it allows scientists to compare and measure the energy output of different stars. It also provides a reference point for understanding the scale and magnitude of energy production in the universe.

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