Re: [Phys-L] Sources of all of Earth's energy

[Richard Tarara <rtarara@saintmarys.edu>]

Well even nuclear and geothermal energy might be considered solar in 
origin....just not out sun.  Just checked out a NASA site pointing out 
that natural radioactivity has kept the earth's core hotter for longer 
than it might otherwise be--Lord Kelvin had calculated a much smaller 
age for the earth based on the internal temperatures.  But...in general 
terms, I exclude geothermal and nuclear as solar energy for the purpose 
of my course on energy.

rwt

On 12/29/2014 10:05 AM, Bill Norwood wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> It seems reasonable to me to believe that nearly all energy for all
> processes on earth comes from the sun.
>
> But what about that energy in our molten core, where did that come from?
>
> And the total of all of the e-m energy and particle energy arriving from
> the Universe, but not from the sun, would be trivial, right?
>
> And, may what we know in 2015 become ever more relevant and executable!
>
> Bills Norwood, U of MD at College Park
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--
Richard Tarara
Professor Emeritus
Saint Mary's College

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