# Orders of magnitude (energy)

This list compares various energies in joules (J), organized by order of magnitude.

### 10-24

SI prefix: yocto- (yJ)

• 1.5×10-23 J, the average kinetic energy of a molecule in the Boomerang Nebula, the coldest place known outside of a laboratory, at a temperature of 1 kelvin

### 10-21

SI prefix: zepto- (zJ)

### 10-18

SI prefix: atto- (aJ)

### 10-15

SI prefix: femto- (fJ)

• 5.0×10-14 J, the upper bound of the mass-energy of a muon neutrino
• 8.187×10-14 J, the rest mass-energy of an electron

### 10-12

SI prefix: pico- (pJ)

### 10-9

SI prefix: nano- (nJ)

### 10-6

SI prefix: micro- (µJ)

### 10-3

SI prefix: milli- (mJ)

### 10-2

SI prefix: centi- (cJ)

### 10-1

SI prefix: deci- (dJ)

• 1×10-1 J, the energy of a half-dollar falling 1 metre or of a typewriter key press[2]

### 100

1 J in everyday life is approximately:

the energy required to lift a small apple (102 grams) one meter against Earth's gravity
the amount of energy that a quiet person produces as heat, every hundredth of a second
the energy required to heat one gram of dry, cool air by 1 degree Celsius

### 101

SI prefix: deca- (daJ)

### 102

SI prefix: hecto- (hJ)

• 6×102 J, the use of a 10-watt flashlight for one minute[2]
• 7.457×102 J, a power of one horsepower applied for one second
• 9×102 J, the energy of a lethal dose of X-rays[2]

### 103

SI prefix: kilo- (kJ)

### 106

SI prefix: mega- (MJ)

• 1×106 J, approximately the nutritional value of a snack such as a Mars bar
• 6.3×106 J, the recommended nutritional intake per day for a woman not doing heavy labour
• 8.4×106 J, the recommended nutritional intake for a man
• 1×107 J, the energy of a day's worth of heavy labour[2]
• 1.05×108 J ≈ 1 therm, depending on the temperature

### 109

SI prefix: giga- (GJ)

### 1012

SI prefix: tera- (TJ)

### 1015

SI prefix: peta- (PJ)

• 2.07×1015 J, the yearly electricity production in Togo, Africa as of 2005[6]
• 4.184×1015 J, the amount of energy in 1 megaton of TNT
• 1.0×1016 J, the estimated impact energy released in forming Meteor Crater
• 4.42×1016 J, the yearly electricity consumption in Zimbabwe as of 2005[6]
• 8.988×1016 J, the amount of energy in 1 kilogram of antimatter
• 1.74×1017 J, the total energy from the Sun that strikes the face of the Earth each second[7]
• 2.1×1017 J, the yield of the Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear weapon ever tested
• 4.10×1017 J, the yearly electricity consumption of Norway as of 2005[6]
• 4.184×1017 J, 100 megatons, a potential nuclear weapon yield[2]
• 8.4×1017 J, the estimated energy released by the eruption of the Indonesian volcano, Krakatoa, in 1883[8]

### 1018

SI prefix: exa- (EJ)

• 2×1018 J, 475 megatons, the energy released by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake [9]
• 1.37×1019 J, the yearly electricity consumption in the U.S. as of 2005[6]
• 1.46×1019J, the yearly electricity production in the U.S. as of 2005[10]
• 5.2×1019 J, the daily energy released by an average hurricane producing rain (400 times greater than the wind energy).[11]
• 5.67×1019 J, the yearly electricity consumption of the world as of 2005[6]
• 6.25*1019 J, the yearly electricity generation of the world as of 2005[12]
• 8.01*1020 J, Estimated global uranium resources for generating electricity 2005.[13][14][15][16]

### 1021

SI prefix: zetta- (ZJ)

• 6.5×1021 J, the estimated energy contained in the world's natural gas reserves as of 2006[17]
• 7.4×1021 J, the estimated energy contained in the world's petroleum reserves as of 2003
• 1.5×1022J, the total energy from the Sun that strikes the face of the Earth each day[7]
• 2.1×1022 J, the estimated energy contained in the world's coal reserves as of 2005[18]
• 2.9×1022 J, identified global Uranium-238 resources using fast reactor technology.[13]
• 3.9×1022 J, the estimated energy contained in the world's fossil fuel reserves as of 2003
• 2.2×1023 J, total global Uranium-238 resources using fast reactor technology.[13]
• 5.0×1023 J, the approximate energy released in the formation of the Chicxulub Crater in the Yucatán Peninsula[10]

### 1024 and above

SI prefix: yotta- (YJ)

• 5.5×1024 J, the total energy from the Sun that strikes the face of the Earth each year[7]
• 3.86×1026 J, the total energy output of the Sun each second[19]
• 3.34×1031 J, the total energy output of the Sun each day[19]
• 2.4×1032 J, the gravitational binding energy of the Earth[20]
• 2.7×1033 J, the Earth's kinetic energy in its orbit[11][3]
• 1.22×1034 J, the total energy output of the Sun each year[19]
• 5.37×1041 J, the theoretical total mass-energy of the Earth
• 6.9×1041 J, the gravitational binding energy of the Sun[20]
• 1.2×1044 J, the estimated energy released in a supernova[21]
• 1×1046 J, the estimated energy released in a hypernova
• 1×1047 J, the energy released in an intense gamma ray burst
• 1.8×1047 J, the theoretical total mass-energy of the Sun
• 4×1058 J, the visible mass-energy in our galaxy, the Milky Way
• 1×1059 J, the total mass-energy of the galaxy, including dark matter and dark energy
• 4×1069 J, the estimated total mass-energy of the observable universe[12]

## Notes

1. http://public.web.cern.ch/Public/en/Science/Glossary-en.php
2. Wallechinsky, David; Wallace, Irving; Wallace, Amy (1977 (1st Bantam ed., February 1978)). The Book of Lists. Bantam Books. pp. 268–271. ISBN 0553111507. Check date values in: |year= (help)
3. $KE = \tfrac{1}{2}mv^2$
4. $E_p = \sqrt{\frac{\hbar c^5}{G}}$
5. Energy Units, by Arthur Smith, 21 January, 2005
6. The Earth has a cross section of 1.274×1014 square meters and the solar constant is 1366 watts per square meter.
7. Krakatoa#Legacy of the 1883 eruption
8. "FAQ". usgs.gov. 2006-09-19.
9. [3]U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Generation
10. Global Uranium Resource
11. U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Generation
12. Final number is computed. Energy Outlook 2007 shows 15.9% of world energy is nuclear. IAEA estimates conventional uranium stock, at today's prices is sufficient for 85 years. Convert billion KW hours to joules then: 6.25*10^19 x .159 x 85 = 8.01*10^20
13. $U = \frac{(3/5)GM^2}{r}$
Chandrasekhar, S. 1939, An Introduction to the Study of Stellar Structure (Chicago: U. of Chicago; reprinted in New York: Dover), section 9, eqs. 90-92, p. 51 (Dover edition)
Lang, K. R. 1980, Astrophysical Formulae (Berlin: Springer Verlag), p. 272
14. Khokhlov, A.; Mueller, E.; Hoeflich, P. (1993). "Light curves of Type IA supernova models with different explosion mechanisms". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 270 (1–2): 223–248. Retrieved 2007-07-10.