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Assuming the sun to be a spherical body of radius R at a temperature of T K, evaluate the total radiant power incident on the earth, at a distance r from the sun, where r₀ is the radius of the earth and σ is Stefan's constant.

Asked in AIEEE 2006 · Stefan-Boltzmann law

Answer: (3) (π r₀²R²σ T⁴)/(r²)

Step-by-step solution

Idea: find the intensity reaching the earth's orbit, then multiply by the area the earth actually blocks.

Power leaving the sun, by Stefan's law over its whole surface: P=σ(4π R²)T⁴.

At distance r this is spread over a sphere of area 4π r², so the intensity is I=(σ 4π R²T⁴)/(4π r²)=(σ R²T⁴)/(r²).

The earth intercepts this parallel beam over its shadow disc, of area π r₀².

P_incident=I×π r₀²=(π r₀²R²σ T⁴)/(r²).

Why the other options are wrong

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