What is the total intensity of the sun?

1 Answer
1s2s2p
May 9, 2018

3.95*10^26W

Explanation:

The Stefan-Boltzmann law is L=AsigmaT^4, where:

  • A = surface area (m^2)
  • sigma = Stefan-Boltzmann (~5.67*10^-8Wm^-2K^-4)
  • T = surface temperature (K)

Given the sun is a sphere (though not a perfect one), we can use:
L=4pir^2sigmaT^4

T is known to be 5800K and r is known to be 7.00*10^8m

L=4pi(7.00*10^8)^2(5.67*10^-8)(5800)^4=3.95*10^26W

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