The Power of the Sun
The Sun's power (about 386 billion billion megaWatts) is produced by
nuclear fusion reactions. Each second about 700,000,000 tons of hydrogen
are converted to about 695,000,000 tons of helium and 5,000,000 tons of
energy in the form of gamma rays.
As it travels out toward the surface, the energy is continuously
absorbed and re-emitted at lower and lower temperatures so that by the
time it reaches the surface, it is primarily visible light.
Every hour the Earth receives more energy from the sun than all the
inhabitants of the Earth use in a year. In fact, the amount of solar
energy reaching the surface of the planet in one year is so vast that it
is about twice as much as will ever be obtained from all of the Earth's
non-renewable resources of coal, oil, natural gas, and mined uranium
combined.
The Sun is the source of energy of all life on Earth. All of our food is
derived from the Sun’s power. In the process of photosynthesis, green
plants convert solar energy into chemical energy, providing up with
food, wood and biomass.
For millions of years, back to the time when dinosaurs roamed the planet
and the Earth’s landscape looked very different, the sun feed the growth
of millions of plants and animals. Over the centuries these plants and
animals have decayed and the energy was trapped inside them. They formed
deposits of coal, oil and gas and these were later exploited for their
latent chemical energy.
The Sun also drives the weather patterns, including the wind and the
water cycle. We also can harness these forms of energy for our needs
using turbines and hydroelectric power.
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