Canada consumes about 2.0 × 10¹⁸ J of energy each year. A typical solar flare releases 5.0 × 10²⁴ J of energy. How many years could Canada run on the energy released by this solar flare, if all of the released energy could be used?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To find out how many years Canada could run on the energy released by a solar flare, divide the energy of the solar flare by the annual energy consumption of Canada: $5.0 \times 10^{24} \, \text{J} \, / \, 2.0 \times 10^{18} \, \text{J/year} = 2.5 \times 10^6 \, \text{years}$, which is 2,500,000 years.

Canada Consumes About 2