Weekend Editor on Nostr: nprofile1q…ufa4k Your plot always reminds me of something most people find ...
nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpqknzsux7p6lzwzdedp3m8c3c92z0swzc0xyy5glvse58txj5e9ztqaufa4k (nprofile…fa4k)
Your plot always reminds me of something most people find counterintuitive: a practical fusion reactor must be much *hotter* than the sun.
That's because the sun's fusion reaction rate is very, very slow -- less thermal output than a resting human body!
We can even compute the power output (solar luminosity, human head production) and get the power output per unit mass.
The sun is such a big deal power-wise mostly because there's so *much* of it!
Source: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/sunfact.html
Lsun = 3.82e26 watt
Msun = 1.99e30 kg
Lsun/Msun = 3.82/1.99 x 10^-4 watt/kg = 1.92 x 10^-4 watt/kg
Source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Heat-Production-Rate-in-a-Human-Body_tbl2_271444362
Lhuman = 100 watt (60-250 watts, depending on activity; 100 watts is for sitting)
Mhuman = 50 - 100 kg, call it the middle at 0.75e2 kg
Lhuman/Mhuman = 100 / 50-100 = 1-2 watts/kg
So a human body, at rest, produces around 10^4 times as much power per unit mass as the sun.
Your plot always reminds me of something most people find counterintuitive: a practical fusion reactor must be much *hotter* than the sun.
That's because the sun's fusion reaction rate is very, very slow -- less thermal output than a resting human body!
We can even compute the power output (solar luminosity, human head production) and get the power output per unit mass.
The sun is such a big deal power-wise mostly because there's so *much* of it!
Source: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/sunfact.html
Lsun = 3.82e26 watt
Msun = 1.99e30 kg
Lsun/Msun = 3.82/1.99 x 10^-4 watt/kg = 1.92 x 10^-4 watt/kg
Source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Heat-Production-Rate-in-a-Human-Body_tbl2_271444362
Lhuman = 100 watt (60-250 watts, depending on activity; 100 watts is for sitting)
Mhuman = 50 - 100 kg, call it the middle at 0.75e2 kg
Lhuman/Mhuman = 100 / 50-100 = 1-2 watts/kg
So a human body, at rest, produces around 10^4 times as much power per unit mass as the sun.