Incandescent light bulbs radiate 40 to 100 watts. The Sun delivers 1,360 watts per square meter. An astronaut facing the Sun has a surface area of about 0.85 square meters, so he or she receives energy equivalent to 19 60-watt light bulbs.

Dr Osama Bahnas thank you for your contribution to the discussion

Respected Sir,

Rk Naresh

The highest intensity of solar radiation occurs when sunlight is perpendicular to the Earth's surface. This condition occurs when the Sun is directly overhead at the equator, and it is known as the solar noon. At this point, the solar radiation is most concentrated, and the intensity is at its maximum.

The solar constant is a measure of the solar radiation received per unit area outside Earth's atmosphere when the Sun is at its mean distance. On average, it is about 1361 watts per square meter (W/m²). However, this value can vary slightly due to factors such as the Earth's elliptical orbit and changes in solar activity.

It's important to note that the Earth's atmosphere absorbs and scatters some of the incoming solar radiation, so the actual amount of solar energy reaching the Earth's surface is less than the solar constant. The amount of solar power intercepted by the Earth depends on various factors, including the angle of sunlight, atmospheric conditions, and the Earth's surface characteristics.

On average, about 70% of the incoming solar radiation is absorbed by the Earth's surface, oceans, and atmosphere. The remaining 30% is reflected back into space. This absorbed solar energy is a driving force for various natural processes on Earth, including weather patterns, ocean currents, and the water cycle. Additionally, it serves as a source of energy for renewable technologies such as solar power systems.

Dear Dr Himanshu Tiwari thank you for your contribution to the discussion

The highest intensity of solar radiation, also known as the solar constant, is approximately 1361 watts per square meter (W/m2). This value represents the average amount of solar energy that reaches the top of Earth's atmosphere. However, the intensity of solar radiation that reaches the Earth's surface varies depending on several factors, such as the time of day, the angle of the sun, the presence of clouds, and the amount of atmospheric ozone.

On a clear day at solar noon, the intensity of solar radiation at the Earth's surface can reach approximately 1000 W/m2. This value is known as the global solar irradiance (GSI). However, the average GSI over the entire day is typically much lower, around 200-300 W/m2.

The total amount of solar power intercepted by the Earth is estimated to be around 174 petawatts (PW). This is a vast amount of energy, equivalent to about 17,000 times the global energy consumption in 2022.

Dr Murtadha Shukur thank you for your contribution to the discussion

In theory, you cannot get an intensity larger than the solar constant anywhere on Earth. However, the previous answers missed 2 things:

- The actual extraterrestrial irradiance fluctuates by ±3.4% around the mean value of that constant, now best estimated at 1361.1 W/m2 [per ASTM E490]. The maximum is reached around Jan. 4 each year, i.e. 1407.8 W/m2.

- There are relatively frequent transient cloudiness situations known as "cloud enhancement" that can result in getting global horizontal or tilted irradiance far exceeding the normal max values just mentioned during a few seconds or minutes. See Article Cloud and albedo enhancement impacts on solar irradiance usi...

Article Cloud and albedo enhancement impacts on solar irradiance usi...

Dr Chris Gueymard thank you for your contribution to the discussion

In fact, above the earth's atmosphere, solar radiation has an intensity of approximately 1380 watts per square meter (W/m2). This value is known as the Solar Constant. At our latitude, the value at the surface is approximately 1000 W/m2 on a clear day at solar noon in the summer months. The maximum radiation intensity of the solar spectrum occurs at 500 nm, towards the blue end of the visible range. The complete spectrum comprises the ultraviolet (UV), visible (Vis) and infrared (IR) wavelengths. The radiation intensity is a far field parameter which can be obtained by simply multiplying the radiation power density by the square distance, i.e., (2.99) U = r 2 1 2 Re (E θ H ϕ ) = r 2 1 2 E θ Z 0 . F = 1 - 0.0335 sin 360(nd - 94)/365, where nd is the day of the year (on 1 January nd = 1; on 31 December nd = 365); the argument of the sine function is in degrees. At our latitude, the value at the surface is approximately 1000 W/m2 (1 kW/m2) on a clear day at solar noon in the summer months. The difference between this value and the Solar Constant is due to transmission loss to the atmosphere. The average radiation intensity: total power radiated by the antenna di- vided by 4π. Stated more simply, the directivity of a nonisotropic source is equal to the ratio of its radiation intensity in a given direction over that of an isotropic source. D = D(θ,φ) = U(θ,φ) U0 = 4πU(θ,φ) Prad .The Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) Climate Data Record (CDR) measures the spectrally integrated energy input to the top of the Earth's atmosphere at a base mean distance from the Sun (i.e., one Astronomical Unit), and its units are Wm-2. The average number of clear bright days is 250-300, with a total of 2300-3200 sunshine hours per year. India receives 4-7 kWh/m 2 solar irradiation per day and 1200-2300 kWh/m 2 per year. Radiation intensity is defined as the power per unit solid angle that is the power incident on that portion of the surface of a sphere which subtends an angle of one radian at the centre of the sphere in both the horizontal and the vertical planes. Mean radiation intensity is. I = ε 0 c E r m s 2. = ε0 c(cBrms. Energy transferred by electromagnetic waves directly as a result of a temperature difference. Stefan-Boltzmann law of radiation: Qt=σeAT4 Q t = σ e A T 4 , where σ is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, A is the surface area of the object, T is the absolute temperature, and e is the emissivity. Solar insolation is the amount of solar radiation that falls on the earth's surface in a given span of time. Thus, it makes sense that the hours between midday and early afternoon are the peak hours for solar radiation since the sun is highest in the sky and solar panels receive the sun's ray’s at the most direct angle. The Sun is about 150 million kilometres from the Earth, and the Earth is about 6300 km in radius. Therefore, only 0.000000045% of the solar power is intercepted by our planet. This still amounts to a massive 1.75 x 1017 watts or approximately 1.8 x 1017 MW.Globally, over the course of the year, the Earth system—land surfaces, oceans, and atmosphere—absorbs an average of about 240 watts of solar power per square meter.

This solar constant value of 1380 W/m2 you quote is completely outdated. As I mentioned earlier, the current value is 1361.1 per ASTM E490 and Article A reevaluation of the solar constant based on a 42-year tota...

Anyway, Rk, please stop asking short questions to turn them into your own verbose answers, particularly if they are based on outdated or inaccurate info!