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Orders of magnitude (energy)

To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various energy levels between 10−31 joules and 1070 joules.

See also: fuel value.

Contents

Energies below 1 J

  • 1.5 × 10−23 J (0.093 meV) — Average kinetic energy of a molecule at the coldest place known (temperature 1 K)
  • 1.602 × 10−22 J — 1 meV
  • 4.37 × 10−21 J (0.0273 eV) — Average kinetic energy of a molecule at room temperature


  • 10−13 — 1,000,000 eV — 1 MeV — 1.602 × 10−13 J
  • 1.5 × 10−10 J (940 MeV) — mass-energy of a proton
  • 1.602 × 10−10 J — 1000 MeV
  • 10−7 J — 1 erg
  • 1.602 × 10−7 J — 1 TeV

Energies between 1 J and 1 E15 J

  • 4.184 J — 1 thermochemical calorie (small calorie, exact)
  • 4.1868 J — 1 International Table calorie (small calorie, exact)
  • 8 J = 5x1019 eV — GZK limit for energy of a cosmic ray
  • 48 J = 3x1020 eV — most energetic cosmic ray ever detected
  • 1,000 J — Energy stored in a typical photography studio strobe unit
  • 1,055 J — 1 British thermal unit
  • 1,360 J — energy received from the Sun at the Earth's orbit by one square metre in one second
  • 3,600 J — 0.001 kWh
  • 4,184 J — energy released by explosion of one gram of TNT
  • 4,186 J — 1 kcal or food calorie
  • 1.7 × 104 J, or 4 dietary calories — energy released by metabolism of one gram of sugar or protein
  • 3.8 × 104 J, or 9 dietary calories — energy released by metabolism of one gram of fat
  • 44,742 J — a power of one horsepower applied for one minute
  • 5.0 × 104 J — energy released by combustion of one gram of gasoline
  • 60,000 J — a power of one kilowatt applied for one minute
  • 200,000–500,000 J — the kinetic energy of a car at highway speeds
  • 745,700 J — a power of 100 horsepower applied for ten seconds
  • 2,684,520 J — a power of one horsepower applied for one hour
  • 3,600,000 J (or 3.6 MJ) — 1 kW·h (kilowatt-hour)
  • 4.184 × 106 J — energy released by explosion of one kilogram of TNT
  • 106 J = 239 kcal — the nutritional value of a snack (e.g. a Mars bar) is around that value, typical servings of staple food such as 150 g rice or 200 g wheat bread as well.
  • 1500 kcal = 6.3 × 106 is an often recommended value for the nurtional energy a woman not doing heavy labour needs per day (2000 kcal = 8.4 × 106 for men).
  • 2.68 × 107 J — a power of ten horsepower applied for one hour
  • 4.8 × 107 J — energy released by combustion of one kilogram of gasoline
  • 1.5 × 109 J — energy in an average lightning bolt
  • 1.6 × 109 J — energy in an average tankful (45 litres) of gasoline
  • 3.2 × 109 J — 900 kW·h: approximate annual power use of a standard clothes dryer
  • 3.6 × 109 J — 1000 kW·h
  • 4.184 × 109 J — energy released by explosion of 1 ton of TNT
  • 7.2 × 1010 J — energy consumed by the average automobile in the United States in 2000
  • 8.64 × 1010 J — 1 MW·d (megawatt-day), a unit used in the context of power plants
  • 3.6 × 1012 J — 1,000,000 kW·h, or 0.001 TW·h
  • 4.184 × 1012 J — energy released by explosion of 1 kiloton of TNT
  • 9.0 × 1014 — 90 GW·h — Yearly production of electricity in Togo

Energies 1 E15 J and above

  • 3.6 × 1015 J — 1 TW·h
  • 4.184 × 1015 J — energy released by explosion of 1 megaton of TNT
  • 1.74 × 1016 J — total energy from the Sun that hits the Earth in one second
  • 8.403 TW·h (3.03 × 1016 J) — electricity consumption in Zimbabwe in 1998
  • 9.0 × 1016 J — Theoretical total mass-energy of a kilogram of matter
  • 1.5 × 1017 J (150 PJ) — estimated energy released by Krakatoa eruption
  • 2.5 × 1017 J — energy release of the largest nuclear weapon ever tested
  • 4 × 1017J — 111 TW·h — electricity consumption of Norway in 1998.
  • 3.6 × 1018 J — 1000 TW·h
  • 1.04 × 1019J — total energy from the Sun that hits the Earth in one minute
  • 1.339 × 1019J — 3719.5 TWh — total production of electrical energy in the US in 2001
  • 9.0 × 1019 J — theoretical total mass-energy of 1000 kg of matter
  • 1.05 × 1020 J — energy consumed by the United States in one year (2001)
  • 1.33 × 1020 J — energy released by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
  • 4.26 × 1020 J — energy consumed by the world in one year (2001)
  • 6.2 × 1020 J — total energy from the Sun that hits the Earth in one hour
  • 3.6 × 1021 J — 1,000,000 TW·h
  • 6.0 × 1021 J — energy in world's estimated natural gas reserves (2003)
  • 7.4 × 1021 J — energy in world's estimated petroleum reserves (2003)
  • 2.6 × 1022 J — energy in world's estimated coal reserves (2003)
  • 3.9 × 1022 J — energy in world's estimated total fossil fuel reserves (2003)
  • 1.5 × 1023J — total energy from the Sun that hits the Earth in 24 hours
  • 3.6 × 1024 J — 1,000,000,000 TW·h
  • 3.827 × 1026 J — energy output of the Sun in one second
  • 3.6 × 1027 J — 1012 TW·h
  • 2.30 × 1028 J — energy output of the Sun in one minute
  • 3.6 × 1030 J — 1015 TW·h
  • 2.4 × 1032 J — gravitational binding energy of the earth
  • 3.6 × 1033 J — 1018 TW·h
  • 1.2 × 1034 J — energy output of the Sun in one year
  • 3.6 × 1036 J — 1021 TW·h
  • 1.2 × 1037 J — energy output of the Sun in one millennium
  • 3.6 × 1042 J — 1027 TW·h
  • 3.6 × 1045 J — 1030 TW·h
  • 1047 J — The energy released in a gamma ray burst
  • 1.8 × 1047 J — Theoretical total mass-energy of the mass of the Sun
  • 1070 J — Estimated theoretical total mass-energy of the universe (the largest known energy level)

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Last updated: 05-06-2005 15:06:37