The total consumption of electrical energy in the United States is about 1.0 X IOt9 J per year.
(a) What is the average rate of electrical energy consumption in watts?
(b) The population of the United States is about 300 million people. What is the average rate of electrical energy consumption per person?
(c) The sun transfers energy to the earth by radiation at a rate of approximately 1.0 kW per square meter of surface. If this energy could be collected and converted to electrical energy with 40% efficiency, how great an area (in square kilometers) would be required to collect the electrical energy used in the United States?