Orders of magnitude (energy)

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

Less than 10-24

 * 3.0×10−31 J, the average kinetic energy of a molecule at the lowest temperature reached as of 2003

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)
 * 4.37×10-21 J, the average kinetic energy of a molecule at room temperature
 * 1.602×10-19 J ≈ 1 electronvolt (eV)
 * 2.7×10-19 J – 5.2×10-19 J, the energy range of photons in visible light

10-18
SI prefix: atto- (aJ)
 * 5.0×10-18 J, the upper bound of the mass-energy of a neutrino in particle physics

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)
 * 3.2×10-11 J, the average total energy released in the fission of one uranium-235 atom
 * 3.5×10-11 J, the average total energy released in the nuclear fission of one plutonium-239 atom
 * 1.503×10-10 J, the rest mass-energy of a proton
 * 1.505×10-10 J, the rest mass-energy of a neutron
 * 3.005×10-10 J, the rest mass-energy of a deuteron
 * 5.972×10-10 J, the rest mass-energy of an alpha particle

10-9
SI prefix: nano- (nJ)
 * 8×10-9 J, the initial operating energy per beam of the CERN Large Electron Positron Collider in 1983
 * 1.3×10-8 J, the mass-energy of a W boson
 * 1.5×10-8 J, the mass-energy of a Z boson
 * 4.3×10-8 J, the operating energy per beam of the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron accelerator in 1981
 * 1×10-7 J ≡ 1 erg
 * 1.6×10-7 J, one TeV (teraelectronvolt), about the kinetic energy of a flying mosquito

10-6
SI prefix: micro- (µJ)
 * 2×10-5 J, the energy to pronounce an average syllable of a word
 * 3×10-5 J, the energy of one second of moonlight on the human face
 * 1.8×10-4 J, the expected collision energy of lead nuclei in the CERN Large Hadron Collider
 * 9×10-4 J, the energy of a cricket's chirp or a bee's wingbeat

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

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


 * 1 J ≡ 1 N·m (newton-metre)
 * 1 J ≡ 1 W·s (watt-second)
 * 1.356 J ≈ 1 ft·lbf (foot-pound force)
 * 4.184 J ≡ 1 thermochemical calorie (small calorie)
 * 4.1868 J ≡ 1 International Table calorie (small calorie)
 * 8 J, the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin theoretical upper limit for the energy of a cosmic ray
 * 9.472 J = Most disposable camera flashes use approximately this amount of energy per flash.

101
SI prefix: deca- (daJ)
 * 5×101 J, the most energetic cosmic ray ever detected, in 1991
 * 8×101 J, the kinetic energy of an average person swinging a baseball bat

102
SI prefix: hecto- (hJ)
 * 6×102 J, the use of a 10-watt flashlight for one minute
 * 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

103
SI prefix: kilo- (kJ)
 * 1×103 J, the energy stored in a typical photography studio strobe light
 * 1.05×103 J ≈ 1 British thermal unit (BTU), depending on the temperature
 * 1.2×3 J, the energy in shooting an elephant gun, or in striking a match
 * 1.366×103 J, the total solar radiation received from the Sun by one square meter of the Earth's surface per second (this is the solar constant)
 * 1.42×103 J, the kinetic energy of a 3.5 g (grams) AK-74 bullet fired at 900 m/s (metres per second)
 * 3.28×103 J, the kinetic energy of a 9.33 g NATO rifle cartridge fired at 838 m/s
 * 3.600×103 J ≡ 1 W·h (watt-hour)
 * 4.184×103 J, the energy released by explosion of one gram of TNT
 * 4.186×103 J ≡ 1 food Calorie (large calorie)
 * 1.7×104 J, the energy released by the metabolism of one gram of sugar or protein
 * 3.8×104 J, the energy released by the metabolism of one gram of fat
 * 5.0×104 J, the energy released by the combustion of one gram of gasoline
 * 2×105 J—9×105 J, the average kinetic energy of an automobile at highway speeds
 * 9×105 J, the energy of accelerating a 4-ton truck to highway speeds

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
 * 1.05×108 J ≈ 1 therm, depending on the temperature

109
SI prefix: giga- (GJ)
 * 1.5×109 J, the energy in an average lightning bolt
 * 1.95627185×109 J, Planck energy, the unit of energy in Planck units
 * 3.2×109 J, the approximate annual power usage of a standard clothes dryer
 * 6.12×109 J ≈ 1 bboe (barrel of oil equivalent)
 * 4.19×1010 J ≈ 1 toe (ton of oil equivalent)
 * 5×1010 J, the yield energy of a MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast) bomb, the second most powerful non-nuclear weapon ever designed (after the Russian Father of All Bombs)
 * 7.2×1010 J, the energy consumed by the average U.S. automobile in the year 2000
 * 8.64×1010 J ≈ 1 MW·d (megawatt-day), used in the context of power plants
 * 9×1011 J, the energy of an Atlas rocket blasting off

1012
SI prefix: tera- (TJ)
 * 3.6×1013 J, released by an average thunderstorm
 * 6.3×1013 J, the approximate yield of the Little Boy atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima, Japan at the end of World War II (see the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki)
 * 8.78×1013 J, the yield of the Fat Man atomic bomb detonated over Nagasaki, Japan at the end of World War II
 * 9.0×1013 J, the theoretical total mass-energy of one gram of matter
 * 6×1014 J, the energy released by an average hurricane in one second

1015
SI prefix: peta- (PJ)
 * 2.07×1015 J, the yearly electricity production in Togo, Africa as of 2005
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * 4.184×1017 J, 100 megatons, a potential nuclear weapon yield
 * 8.4×1017 J, the estimated energy released by the eruption of the Indonesian volcano, Krakatoa, in 1883

1018
SI prefix: exa- (EJ)
 * 2×1018 J, 475 megatons, the energy released by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
 * 1.37×1019 J, the yearly electricity consumption in the U.S. as of 2005
 * 1.46×1019J, the yearly electricity production in the U.S. as of 2005
 * 5.2×1019 J, the daily energy released by an average hurricane producing rain (400 times greater than the wind energy).
 * 5.67×1019 J, the yearly electricity consumption of the world as of 2005
 * 6.25*1019 J, the yearly electricity generation of the world as of 2005
 * 8.01*1020 J, Estimated global uranium resources for generating electricity 2005.

1021
SI prefix: zetta- (ZJ)
 * 6.5×1021 J, the estimated energy contained in the world's natural gas reserves as of 2006
 * 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
 * 2.1×1022 J, the estimated energy contained in the world's coal reserves as of 2005
 * 2.9×1022 J, identified global Uranium-238 resources using fast reactor technology.
 * 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.
 * 5.0×1023 J, the approximate energy released in the formation of the Chicxulub Crater in the Yucatán Peninsula

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
 * 3.86×1026 J, the total energy output of the Sun each second
 * 3.34×1031 J, the total energy output of the Sun each day
 * 2.4×1032 J, the gravitational binding energy of the Earth
 * 2.7×1033 J, the Earth's kinetic energy in its orbit
 * 1.22×1034 J, the total energy output of the Sun each year
 * 5.37×1041 J, the theoretical total mass-energy of the Earth
 * 6.9×1041 J, the gravitational binding energy of the Sun
 * 1.2×1044 J, the estimated energy released in a supernova
 * 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