Orders of magnitude (energy)

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

Below 1 J

{| class="wikitable"

|+ List of orders of magnitude for energy

! Factor (joules)

! SI prefix

! Value

! Item

|-

|10⁻³⁵

|

|

|Optical dipole potential measured in a tune-out experiment with ultracold metastable helium.

|-

| rowspan="2" |10⁻³⁴|| || || Energy of a photon with a frequency of 1 hertz., equivalent to 4.14×10⁻¹⁵ eV or, alternatively stated, One two-hundred-fifty-trillionth of one eV.)

|-

| |||| Average kinetic energy of translational motion of a molecule at the lowest temperature reached (38 picokelvin )

|-

|10⁻³⁰|| quecto- (qJ) || ||

|-

|10⁻²⁸

|

| 6.6×10⁻²⁸J

| Energy of a typical AM radio photon (1 MHz) (4×10⁻⁹ eV)

|-

|10⁻²⁷|| ronto- (rJ) || ||

|-

|10⁻²⁴|| yocto- (yJ)

| 1.6×10⁻²⁴J

| Energy of a typical microwave oven photon (2.45 GHz) (1×10⁻⁵ eV)

|-

|10⁻²³|| ||2×10⁻²³J || Average kinetic energy of translational motion of a molecule in the Boomerang Nebula, the coldest place known outside of a laboratory, at a temperature of 1 kelvin

|-

| 10⁻²²

|

| 2×10⁻²² – 3×10⁻¹⁹J

| Energy of infrared light photons

|-

|2.1×10⁻²¹J

| Thermal energy in each degree of freedom of a molecule at 25 °C (k'T/2) (0.01 eV)

|-

|2.856×10⁻²¹J

| By Landauer's principle, the minimum amount of energy required at 25 °C to change one bit of information

|-

|3–7×10⁻²¹J

| Energy of a van der Waals interaction between atoms (0.02–0.04 eV)

|-

|4.1×10⁻²¹J

| The "k'T" constant at 25 °C, a common rough approximation for the total thermal energy of each molecule in a system (0.03 eV)

|-

|7–22×10⁻²¹J

| Energy of a hydrogen bond (0.04 to 0.13 eV)

|-

| 10⁻²⁰

|

| 4.5×10⁻²⁰J

| Upper bound of the mass–energy of a neutrino in particle physics (0.28 eV)

|-

|rowspan=4|10⁻¹⁹

|rowspan=4|

| || 1 electronvolt (eV) by definition. This value is exact as a result of the 2019 revision of SI units.

|-

|3–5×10⁻¹⁹J || Energy range of photons in visible light (≈1.6–3.1 eV)

|-

|3–14×10⁻¹⁹J

| Energy of a covalent bond (2–9 eV)

|-

| 5×10⁻¹⁹ – 2×10⁻¹⁷J

| Energy of ultraviolet light photons

This is the strongest chemical bond known.

|-

| 2.18×10⁻¹⁸J || Ground state ionization energy of hydrogen (13.6 eV)

|-

| 10⁻¹⁷

|

| 2×10⁻¹⁷ – 2×10⁻¹⁴J

| Energy range of X-ray photons

|-

| 10⁻¹⁶ || || ||

|-

| 10⁻¹⁵ || femto- (fJ) || 3 × 10⁻¹⁵J || Average kinetic energy of one human red blood cell.

|-

|rowspan=4|10⁻¹⁴

|rowspan=4|

| 1×10⁻¹⁴J

| Sound energy (vibration) transmitted to the eardrums by listening to a whisper for one second.

|-

| > 2×10⁻¹⁴J

| Energy of gamma ray photons

|-

|8.2×10⁻¹⁴J || Rest mass–energy of an electron (0.511 MeV)

|-

|rowspan=2|10⁻¹³

|rowspan=2|

| 1.6×10⁻¹³J || 1 megaelectronvolt (MeV)

|-

| 2.3×10⁻¹³J || Energy released by a single event of two protons fusing into deuterium (1.44 megaelectronvolt MeV)

|-

|10⁻¹² || pico- (pJ) || 2.3×10⁻¹²J || Kinetic energy of neutrons produced by DT fusion, used to trigger fission (14.1 MeV)

|-

|rowspan=2|10⁻¹¹

|rowspan=2|

|1.3646×10⁻¹¹J || Energy consumed for one floating-point operation by KAIROS, the most energy-efficient supercomputer as of November 2025

|-

|3.4×10⁻¹¹J || Average total energy released in the nuclear fission of one uranium-235 atom (215 MeV)

|-

| rowspan="7" |10⁻¹⁰

| rowspan="7" |

|1.492×10⁻¹⁰J

|Mass-energy equivalent of 1 Da (931.5 MeV)

|-

|1.503×10⁻¹⁰J || Rest mass–energy of a proton (938.3 MeV)

|-

|1.505×10⁻¹⁰J || Rest mass–energy of a neutron (939.6 MeV)

|-

|1.6×10⁻¹⁰J || 1 gigaelectronvolt (GeV)

|-

|3×10⁻¹⁰J || Rest mass–energy of a deuteron

|-

|6×10⁻¹⁰J || Rest mass–energy of an alpha particle

|-

|7×10⁻¹⁰J || Energy required to raise a grain of sand by 0.1 mm (the thickness of a piece of paper).

|-

|rowspan=2|10⁻⁹

|rowspan=2| nano- (nJ)

| 1.6×10⁻⁹J || 10 GeV

|-

| 8×10⁻⁹J || Initial operating energy per beam of the CERN Large Electron Positron Collider in 1989 (50 GeV)

|-

|rowspan=5|10⁻⁸

|rowspan=5|

| 1.3×10⁻⁸J || Mass–energy of a W boson (80.4 GeV)

|-

| 1.5×10⁻⁸J || Mass–energy of a Z boson (91.2 GeV)

|-

| 1.6×10⁻⁸J || 100 GeV

|-

| 2×10⁻⁸J || Mass–energy of the Higgs Boson (125.1 GeV)

|-

| 6.4×10⁻⁸J || Operating energy per proton of the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron accelerator in 1976

|-

|rowspan=2|10⁻⁷

|rowspan=2|

| 1×10⁻⁷J || ≡ 1 erg about the kinetic energy of a flying mosquito

|-

|10⁻⁶ || micro- (μJ) || 1.04×10⁻⁶J || Energy per proton in the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2015 (6.5 TeV)

|-

| 10⁻⁵ || || ||

|-

| 10⁻⁴ || || 1.0×10⁻⁴J || Energy released by a typical radioluminescent wristwatch in 1 hour (1 μCi × 4.871 MeV × 1 hr)

|-

| 10⁻³ || milli- (mJ) || 3.0×10⁻³J || Energy released by a P100 atomic battery in 1 hour (2.4 V × 350 nA × 1 hr)

|-

| 10⁻² || centi- (cJ) || 4.0×10⁻²J || Use of a typical LED for 1 second (2.0 V × 20 mA × 1 s)

|-

|rowspan=1|10⁻¹

|rowspan=1| deci- (dJ)

| 1.1×10⁻¹J || Energy of an American half-dollar falling 1 metre

|}

1 to 10⁵ J

{| class="wikitable"

|+ List of orders of magnitude for energy

! Factor (joules)

! SI prefix

! Value

! Item

|-

|rowspan=8|10⁰

|rowspan=8| J

| 1J || ≡ 1 N·m (newton–metre)

|-

| 1J || ≡ 1 W·s (watt-second)

|-

| 1J || Kinetic energy produced as an extra small apple (~100 grams) falls 1 meter against Earth's gravity

|-

| 1J || Energy required to heat 1 gram of dry, cool air by 1 degree Celsius

|-

| 1.4J || ≈ 1 ft·lbf (foot-pound force)

|-

| 4.184J || ≡ 1 thermochemical calorie (small calorie)

|-

| 8J || Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin theoretical upper limit for the energy of a cosmic ray coming from a distant source

|-

| rowspan="2" |10¹

| rowspan="2" | deca- (daJ)

| 10J || Flash energy of a typical pocket camera electronic flash capacitor at

|-

| 50J || The most energetic cosmic ray ever detected.

|-

| rowspan="11" |10²

| rowspan="11" |hecto- (hJ)

|1.25×10²J

|Kinetic energy of a regulation (standard) baseball (5.1 oz / 145 g) thrown at 93 mph / 150 km/h (MLB average pitch speed).

|-

|1.5×10² - 3.6×10²J || Energy delivered by a biphasic external electric shock (defibrillation), usually during adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation for cardiac arrest.

|-

|3×10²J || Energy of a lethal dose of X-rays

|-

|3×10²J || Kinetic energy of an average person jumping as high as they can

|-

|3.3×10²J || Energy to melt 1 g of ice

|-

|> 3.6×10²J || Kinetic energy of 800-gram standard men's javelin thrown at > 30 m/s by elite javelin throwers

|-

|5×10² – 2×10³J || Energy output of a typical photography studio strobe light in a single flash

|-

|6×10²J || Use of a 10-watt flashlight for 1 minute

|-

|7.5×10²J || A power of 1 horsepower applied for 1 second standard men's shot thrown at 14.7 m/s by the world record holder Randy Barnes

|-

|8.01×10²J

|Amount of work needed to lift a man with an average weight (81.7 kg) one meter above Earth (or any planet with Earth gravity)

|-

| rowspan="11" |10³

| rowspan="11" | kilo- (kJ)

|1.1×10³J || ≈ 1 British thermal unit (BTU), depending on the temperature

|-

|2.3×10³J || Energy to vaporize 1 g of water into steam

|-

|3×10³J || Lorentz force can crusher pinch

|-

|3.4×10³J || Kinetic energy of world-record men's hammer throw (7.26 kg thrown at 30.7 m/s in 1986)

|-

|3.6×10³J || ≡ 1 W·h (watt-hour)

|-

|4.2×10³J || ≈ 1 food Calorie (large calorie)

|-

|~7×10³J || Muzzle energy of an elephant gun, e.g. firing a .458 Winchester Magnum

|-

|8.5×10³J

|Kinetic energy of a regulation baseball thrown at the speed of sound (343m/s = 767mph = 1,235km/h. Air, 20 °C).

|-

|9×10³J || Energy in an alkaline AA battery

|-

|rowspan=4|10⁴

|rowspan=4|

| 1.7×10⁴J || Energy released by the metabolism of 1 gram of carbohydrates or protein

|-

| 3.8×10⁴J || Energy released by the metabolism of 1 gram of fat

|-

| 4–5×10⁴J || Energy released by the combustion of 1 gram of gasoline

|-

| 5×10⁴J || Kinetic energy of 1 gram of matter moving at 10 km/s

|-

|10⁵

|

| || Kinetic energy of an automobile at highway speeds (1 to 5 tons at or )

|}

10⁶ to 10¹¹ J

{| class="wikitable"

|+ List of orders of magnitude for energy

! Factor (joules)

! SI prefix

! Value

! Item

|-

| rowspan="7" |10⁶

| rowspan="7" | mega- (MJ)

|1×10⁶J || Kinetic energy of a 2-tonne

|-

|1.2×10⁶J || Approximate food energy of a snack such as a Snickers bar (280 food calories)

|-

|3.6×10⁶J || = 1 kWh (kilowatt-hour) (used for electricity)

|-

|8.4×10⁶J || Recommended food energy intake per day for a moderately active woman (2000 food calories)

|-

|9.1×10⁶J

|Kinetic energy of a regulation baseball thrown at Earth's escape velocity (First cosmic velocity ≈ 11.186 km/s = 25,020 mph = 40,270 km/h).

|-

| rowspan="8" |10⁷

| rowspan="8" |

| 1×10⁷J

| Kinetic energy of the armor-piercing round fired by the ISU-152 assault gun

|-

| 1.1×10⁷J || Recommended food energy intake per day for a moderately active man (2600 food calories)

|-

| 3.3×10⁷J || Kinetic energy of a projectile fired by the Navy's Mach 8 railgun.

|-

| 3.7×10⁷J

| $1 of electricity at a cost of $0.10/kWh (the US average retail cost in 2009)

|-

| 4×10⁷J

| Energy from the combustion of 1 cubic meter of natural gas

|-

| 4.2×10⁷J

| Caloric energy consumed by Olympian Michael Phelps on a daily basis during Olympic training

|-

| 6.3×10⁷J

| Theoretical minimum energy required to accelerate 1 kg of matter to escape velocity from Earth's surface (ignoring atmosphere)

|-

|9×10⁷J

|Total mass-energy of 1 microgram of matter (25 kWh)

|-

|rowspan=4|10⁸

|rowspan=4|

| 1×10⁸J || Kinetic energy of a 55-tonne aircraft at typical landing speed (59 m/s or 115 knots)

|-

|1.1×10⁸J || ≈ 1 therm, depending on the temperature ridden at 5 W/kg by a 65 kg rider

|-

|7.3×10⁸J || ≈ Energy from burning 16 kilograms of oil (using 135 kg per barrel of light crude)

|-

| rowspan="14" |10⁹

| rowspan="14" | giga- (GJ)

|1×10⁹J || Energy in an average lightning bolt (thunder)

|-

|1.1×10⁹J || Magnetic stored energy in the world's largest toroidal superconducting magnet for the ATLAS experiment at CERN, Geneva

|-

|1.2×10⁹J || Inflight 100-ton Boeing 757-200 at 300 knots (154 m/s)

|-

|1.4×10⁹J || Theoretical minimum amount of energy required to melt a tonne of steel (380 kWh)

|-

|1.77×10⁹J

|Theoretical minimum energy required for a 1 kg object on Jupiter to accelerate to Jupiter's escape velocity and thus leave its gravity well.

|-

|2×10⁹J || Combustion energy of of gasoline in a standard fuel tank of a car.

|-

|2×10⁹J || Derived unit of energy in Planck units, roughly the diesel tank energy of a mid-sized truck. Its mass-equivalent is the Planck mass.

|-

|2.49×10⁹J

|Approximate kinetic energy carried by American Airlines Flight 11 at the moment of impact with WTC 1 on September 11, 2001.

|-

|3×10⁹J || Inflight 125-ton Boeing 767-200 flying at 373 knots (192 m/s)

|-

|3.3×10⁹J || Approximate average amount of energy expended by a human heart muscle over an 80-year lifetime

|-

|3.6×10⁹J

|= 1 MW·h (megawatt-hour)

|-

|4.2×10⁹J || Energy released by explosion of 1 ton of TNT.

|-

|4.5×10⁹J || Average annual energy usage of a standard refrigerator

|-

|6.1×10⁹J || ≈ 1 bboe (barrel of oil equivalent)

|-

| rowspan="7" |10¹⁰

| rowspan="7" |

|1.9×10¹⁰J || Kinetic energy of an Airbus A380 at cruising speed (560 tonnes at 511 knots or 263 m/s)

|-

|4.2×10¹⁰J || ≈ 1 toe (ton of oil equivalent)

|-

|7.3×10¹⁰J || Energy consumed by the average US automobile in the year 2000

|-

|8.6×10¹⁰J || ≈ 1 MW·d (megawatt-day), used in the context of power plants (24 MW·h)

|-

|8.8×10¹⁰J || Total energy released in the nuclear fission of one gram of uranium-235

|-

|9×10¹⁰J

|Total mass-energy of 1 milligram of matter (25 MW·h)

|-

| rowspan="2" |10¹¹

| rowspan="2" |

|1.1×10¹¹J

|Kinetic energy of a regulation baseball thrown at lightning speed (120 km/s = 270,000 mph = 435,000 km/h).

|-

| 2.4×10¹¹J || Approximate food energy consumed by an average human in an 80-year lifetime.

|}

10¹² to 10¹⁷ J

{| class="wikitable"

|+ List of orders of magnitude for energy

! Factor (joules)

! SI prefix

! Value

! Item

|-

| rowspan="6" |10¹²

| rowspan="6" |tera- (TJ)

|1.85×10¹²J

|Gravitational potential energy of the Twin Towers, combined, accumulated throughout their construction and released during the collapse of the complex.

|-

|3.4×10¹²J

| Maximum fuel energy of an Airbus A330-300 (97,530 liters of Jet A-1)

|-

|3.6×10¹²J

| 1 GW·h (gigawatt-hour)

|-

|4×10¹²J

| Electricity generated by one 20-kg CANDU fuel bundle assuming ~29% thermal efficiency of reactor

|-

|4.2×10¹²J

| Chemical energy released by the detonation of 1 kiloton of TNT

|-

|6.4×10¹²J || Energy contained in jet fuel in a Boeing 747-100B aircraft at max fuel capacity (183,380 liters of Jet A-1

|-

| rowspan="6" |10¹³

| rowspan="6" |

|1.1×10¹³J || Energy of the maximum fuel an Airbus A380 can carry (320,000 liters of Jet A-1

|-

|1.2×10¹³J || Orbital kinetic energy of the International Space Station (417 tonnes at 7.7 km/s)

|-

|1.20×10¹³J

|Orbital kinetic energy of the Parker Solar Probe as it dives deep into the Sun's gravity well in December 2024, reaching a peak velocity of 430,000 mph.

|-

|~4-4.7×10¹³ J

|Estimated energy, respectively, of the main fragment and of the entire Kaali impact event (9.6-11.2 kilotons of TNT), with the possibility of an even larger fragment fallen into the sea, creating seismic waves, tsunamis in the Baltic Sea with heights up to 20-30 m and possibly feeding norse mithology.

|-

|6.3×10¹³J || Yield of the Little Boy atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in World War II (15 kilotons)

|-

|9×10¹³J || Theoretical total mass–energy of 1 gram of matter (25 GW·h)

|-

| rowspan="2" |10¹⁴

| rowspan="2" |

|1.8×10¹⁴J

|Energy released by annihilation of 1 gram of antimatter and matter (50 GW·h)

|-

| 6×10¹⁴J || Energy released by an average hurricane per day

|-

| rowspan="6" | 10¹⁵

| rowspan="6" | peta- (PJ)

|> 10¹⁵J || Energy released by a severe thunderstorm

|-

|1×10¹⁵J || Yearly electricity consumption in Greenland as of 2008

|-

|~1.7-2.1×10¹⁵J

|The best range of the energy (~400-500 kilotons of TNT, ~30 times more energetic of Little Boy) released by the airburst of the Chelyabinsk meteor in 2013

|-

|3.5×10¹⁵ J

|Estimated energy of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004

|-

|9.6×10¹⁵ J

|Estimated energy of the tsunami triggered by Krakatoa in 1883 its seismic waves at M_w 5.2-5.4 (M_w 3.3-3.5 at 160 km) would have triggered a landslide at Nankoweap which would have blocked the Colorado river creating the Nankoweap Paleolake.

|-

| 1.1×10¹⁶J || Yearly electricity consumption in Mongolia as of 2010

|-

|6.3×10¹⁶J

|Yield of Castle Bravo, the most powerful nuclear weapon tested by the United States (15 megatons of TNT)

|-

|7.9×10¹⁶J

|Kinetic energy of a regulation baseball thrown at 99% the speed of light (KE = mc^2 × [γ-1], where the Lorentz factor γ ≈ 7.09).

|-

| 9×10¹⁶J || Mass–energy of 1 kilogram of matter

|-

|

|

|~4.1-8.3×10¹⁶-(1.26×10¹⁷ J)

|The most likely range of the energy in the Tunguska event in 1908, the most remarkable astronomical airburst-impact event in the modern times (~10-30 megatons of TNT, ≈700-2,000 times more energetic of Little Boy dropped on Hiroshima

|-

| rowspan="8" |10¹⁷

| rowspan="8" |

|1×10¹⁷ J

|Estimated energy of the Yilan impact in China (24 megatons of TNT)

|-

|1.4×10¹⁷J || Seismic energy released by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

|-

|1.7×10¹⁷J || Total energy from the Sun that strikes the face of the Earth each second

|-

|2.1×10¹⁷J || Yield of the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever tested (50 megatons of TNT)

|-

|2.552×10¹⁷J

|Total energy of the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai eruption

|-

|4.2×10¹⁷J || Yearly electricity consumption of Norway as of 2008

|-

|4.516×10¹⁷J || Energy needed to accelerate one ton of mass to 0.1 c (~30,000 km/s)

|-

|8.4×10¹⁷J || Estimated energy released by the eruption of the Indonesian volcano, Krakatoa, in 1883

|}

10¹⁸ to 10²³ J

{| class="wikitable"

|+ List of orders of magnitude for energy

! Factor (joules)

! SI prefix

! Value

! Item

|-

| rowspan="3" |10¹⁸

| rowspan="3" |exa- (EJ)

|2×10¹⁸ J

|Another estimated energy of the earthquake that shocked the Indian Ocean in 2004

|-

| rowspan="9" |10¹⁹

| rowspan="9" |

|1×10¹⁹J

|Thermal energy released by the 1991 Pinatubo eruption

|-

|1.2×10¹⁹J

|Explosive yield of global nuclear arsenal (2.86 gigatons of TNT)

|-

|1.4×10¹⁹J || Yearly electricity consumption in the US as of 2009

|-

|1.4×10¹⁹J || Yearly electricity production in the US as of 2009

|-

|~2×10¹⁹ J

|Estimate energy of Nadir impact (5 gigatons of TNT), proposed as part of a binary asteroid or impact cluster together with the same Chicxulub

|-

|5×10¹⁹J || Energy released in 1 day by an average hurricane in producing rain (400 times greater than the wind energy)

|-

|6.8×10¹⁹J || Yearly electricity generation of the world

|-

| rowspan="7" |10²⁰

| rowspan="7" |

|1.4×10²⁰J

|Total energy released in the 1815 Mount Tambora eruption (30 gigatons of TNT)

|-

|2.33×10²⁰J

|Kinetic energy of a carbonaceous chondrite meteor 1 km in diameter striking Earth's surface at 20 km/s. Such an impact occurs every ~500,000 years.

|-

|2.4×10²⁰J

|Total latent heat energy released by Hurricane Katrina

|-

|3.35×10²⁰ J

|Energy released by the Eltanin impact in water (80 gigatons of TNT) assuming 1 km diameter projectile at 20 km/s) which is the only known deep-ocean impact into water, resulting in a megatsunami with height up to 200-300 m

|-

|5×10²⁰J || Total world annual energy consumption in 2010

|-

|6.2×10²⁰J

|World primary energy generation in 2023 (620 EJ).

|-

|8×10²⁰J || Estimated global uranium resources for generating electricity 2005

|-

| rowspan="10" |10²¹

| rowspan="10" |zetta- (ZJ)

|~1.26-1.67×10²¹ J

|Range of energy of Bosumtwi impact (300,000-400,000 megatons of TNT) assuming an apparent outermost ring of ~27 km.

|-

|~1-2.1×10²¹ J

|Range of energy of the Zhamansinh impact (240,000-500,000 megatons of TNT) considering an apparent outermost ring of ~30 km, likely the best preserved complex impact crater known within the past one million years and maybe responsible of global-environmental adjustaments at the Mid-Pleistocene Transition

|-

|~2.76-3.04×10²¹ J

|Range of energy of the Pantasma impact (660,000-727,000 megatons of TNT) assuming an apparent outermost ring of ~35 km which could have contributed to the permian-triassic extinction releasing ~1,600 gigatons of methane due to direct effects of the impact

|-

|6.9×10²¹J || Estimated energy contained in the world's natural gas reserves as of 2010

|-

|7.0×10²¹J

|Thermal energy released by the Toba eruption with some possibility that it was part of a multiple impact event together with Popigai impact event and Toms Canyion and some biospheric consequences

|-

|9.3×10²¹J || Annual net uptake of thermal energy by the global ocean during 2003-2018

|-

| rowspan="12" |10²²

| rowspan="12" |

|1.2×10²²J

|Seismic energy of a magnitude 11 earthquake on Earth (M 11)

|-

|1.3×10²² J

|Another estimated energy (3.1×10⁶ megatons of TNT) of the Mjølnir impact event

|-

|1.94×10²²J

|Impact event that formed the Siljan Ring (~4.6 millions of megatons of TNT), the largest impact structure in Europe

|-

|2-3×10²² J

|Estimated energy of Manicougan impact event (4.8–7.2 × 10⁶ megatons of TNT), possibly linked to biospheric consequences a hypotesis less likely according to recent works

|-

|~2.18×10²² J

|Estimated energy of Acraman impact event (~5.2 × 10⁶ megatons of TNT) with possible biospheric consequences;

|-

|2.4×10²²J || Estimated energy contained in the world's coal reserves as of 2010

|-

|2.9×10²²J || Identified global uranium-238 resources using fast reactor technology

|-

|4.0×10²²J

|Mass-energy equivalent of the International Space Station (ISS), weighing around 450 tons.

|-

|>4.184×10²² J

|Estimated energy (>10⁶ megatons of TNT) of large-scale impact events to trigger regional-global damages (blast and earthquake on regional scale, tsunami cresting to 100 m and flooding 20 km inland, and wildfires that would be set globally)

|-

| rowspan="6" |10²³

| rowspan="6" |

|>10²³ J

|The magnitude of energy of Popigai impact event (~23 × 10⁶ megatons of TNT), with some possibility that it was part of a multiple impact event together with Chesapeake Bay impact event and Toms Canyion

|-

|1.5×10²³J

|Total energy of the 1960 Valdivia earthquake

|-

|2.2×10²³J || Total global uranium-238 resources using fast reactor technology Chicxulub is extremely important to be the only impact event linked to a mass extinction, the K-Pg extinction, with a near absolute certainty; Chicxulub is also proposed as part of a binary asteroid or impact cluster after the discovery of Nadir crater; but the nature of impact crater of the latter is currently controversial and elusive by literature. Spherules layer thick is 3 mm and their dimension is 0.25 mm

|}

Over 10²⁴ J

{| class="wikitable"

|+ List of orders of magnitude for energy

! Factor (joules)

! SI prefix

! Value

! Item

|-

| rowspan="11" |10²⁴

| rowspan="11" |yotta- (YJ)

|~1.6×10²⁴ J

|Estimate energy of Morokweng impact (~4 × 10⁷ megatons of TNT) assuming ~130 km in diameter, possibly linked to the Thitonian or minor extinctions

|-

|2.69×10²⁴J

|Rotational energy of Venus, which has a sidereal period of (-)243 Earth days. The anomalously low value derives its origin from the deceleration of its rotation by atmospheric tides induced by the Sun.

|-

|0.7-3.4×10²⁴ J

|Another range of energy of the Chicxulub impact event if 10²⁴ Joules are assumed

|-

|3.8×10²⁴J

|Radiative heat energy released from the Earth's surface each year

|-

|~4.184×10²⁴ J

|Estimated energy (~10⁹ megatons of TNT) of a large-scale impact events to trigger a global acidification of the ocean surface waters by sulfur from the interiors of comets and asteroids

|-

|≤5 × 10²⁴ J

|Estimate energy of the Chicxulub impact if an asteroid of 12 km in diameter, taking into account the crater size, the meteoritic content of the K-Pg boundary clay, and different impact models, is assumed

|-

|5.5×10²⁴J

|Total energy from the Sun that strikes the face of the Earth each year

|-

| 1-9×10²⁴J || The order of magnitude of the estimated energy of Sudbury, Vredefort and late Archean impacts, and of the formation of Iridum basin

|-

| rowspan="4" |10²⁵

| rowspan="4" |

|3×10²⁵ J

|Estimated energy of Barberton S3 impact with a layer thick of ~25 cm; ~50 times more energetic of Chicxulub impact if an energy for it of 6×10²³ J is assumed

|-

|5.8×10²⁵ J

|Upper limit of the energy of the Chicxulub impact, assuming dozens of kilometers in diameter for the impactor according to different models, and magnitude of the other giant astronomic impacts on Earth

|-

|2-9×10²⁵ J

|Range of estimate energy of the impact that formed Mare Orientale on the Moon

|-

| rowspan="7" | 10²⁶

| rowspan="7" |

| >10²⁶ J || Estimated energy of early Archean asteroid impacts and Imbrium basin formation; in general, the minimum energetic order of magnitude for the largest impact basins of the Moon (traditionally associated to the Late Heavy Bombardment), Mars and of the Solar System too

|-

|~3×10²⁶ J

|Estimated energy of Barberton S5 impact with 10-100 cm of layer thick, comparable to the great lunar basin impacts; ~500 times more energetic of Chicxulub impact if an energy for it of 6×10²³ J is assumed

|-

|3.828×10²⁶J

|Total radiative energy output of the Sun per second, as defined by the IAU.

|-

| ≥4×10²⁶ J || Estimated energy for the formation of South-Pole Aitken basin

|-

| rowspan="5" | 10²⁷ || rowspan="5" | ronna- (RJ) || 1×10²⁷J || Estimated energy released by the impact that created the Caloris basin on Mercury. (238 petatons of TNT)

|-

|1×10²⁷J

|Upper limit of the most energetic solar flares possible (x 1000)

|-

|4×10²⁷ J

|Estimated energy of the astronomic impact that formed the Utopia Basin, the largest impact crater in the Solar System

|-

|4.2×10²⁷J

|Kinetic energy of a regulation baseball thrown at the speed of the Oh-My-God particle, itself a cosmic ray proton with the kinetic energy of a baseball thrown at 60mph (~50J). (1 exaton of TNT)

|-

|5.19×10²⁷J

|Thermal input necessary to evaporate all surface water on Earth. Note that the evaporated water still remains on Earth in vapor form.

|-

| rowspan="3" | 10²⁸ || rowspan="3" | || >10²⁸ J || The probable order of magnitude of the energy impact that formed the Utopia Basin

|-

|7×10²⁸J

|Total energy of the stellar superflare from V1355 Orionis

|-

| rowspan="2" | 10²⁹ || rowspan="2" | || 2.1×10²⁹J || Rotational energy of the Earth

|-

|3-6×10²⁹ J

|Range of estimated energy in the formation of Borealis Basin on Mars if an impact origin, that could have formed Phobos and Deimos due to the ejected material in the orbit, is assumed

|-

| rowspan="3" |10³⁰

| rowspan="3" |quetta-(QJ)

|~10³⁰ J

|Lower limit of the energy range of fast radio bursts (FRBs)

|-

| 1.79×10³⁰J || Rough estimate of the gravitational binding energy of Mercury.

|-

|1.79-5.37×10³⁰ J

|Range of gravitational accretion energy released by the Late Veneer by the accretion of 0.5-1.5% of the mass of Earth

|-

| rowspan="2" |10³¹

| rowspan="2" |

|2×10³¹J

|The Theia Impact, the most energetic event ever in Earth's history

|-

| 3.3×10³¹J || Total energy output of the Sun each day

|-

| rowspan="3" |10³²

| rowspan="3" |

|~1×10³² J

|Estimated energy of a micronova, a new type of stellar explosion discovered in 2022

|-

| 1.71×10³²J || Gravitational binding energy of the Earth

|-

|3.10×10³²J

|Yearly energy output of Sirius B, the ultra-dense and Earth-sized white dwarf companion of Sirius, the Dog Star. It has a surface temperature of about 25,200 K.

|-

| 10³³ || || 2.7×10³³J || Earth's kinetic energy at perihelion in its orbit around the Sun

|-

| rowspan="3" |10³⁴

| rowspan="3" |

|~10³⁴ J

|Average energy in gamma-rays of novae detected by Fermi-LAT

|-

| 1.2×10³⁴J || Total energy output of the Sun each year

|-

|4.13×10³⁴J

|Rotational energy of Jupiter, calculated using an updated value for the moment of inertia factor of 0.26393 ± 0.00001.

|-

| rowspan="4" |10³⁵

| rowspan="4" |

|>10³⁵ J

|Upper limit of the energy range of fast radio bursts (FRBs)

|-

|>10³⁵ J

|Lower limit of the energy of outbursts (that are more energetic of short bursts) released by magnetars, calculated according to peak luminosity

|-

| rowspan="5" |10³⁶

| rowspan="5" |

|>10³⁶ J

|Estimated energy of ASASSN-15qi, proposed as a tidal disruption event of a sub-jupiter young planet by a main-sequence (MS) star as part of ILOTs

|-

|4.4×10³⁶ J

|Total energy of proton acceleration of RS Oph nova other probable sources of R-process together with supernovae, kilonovae and in general nuclear fusion of the stars for nucleosynthesis

|-

|2×10³⁷ J

|Total energy (Ek) of RS Oph nova

|-

| 6.60×10³⁹ J || Theoretical total mass–energy of the Moon

|-

| rowspan="5" |10^40 

| rowspan="5" |

|≥10⁴⁰ J

|Estimate lower limit of energy of Low‑Energy Supernovae (VLE SNe)

|-

|>10⁴⁰ J

|Very-low energy of supernovae and "failed-supernovae"; the required minimum energy for a supernova to occur.

|-

|1.61×10⁴⁰J

|Baryonic mass-energy contained in a volume of one cubic parsec, on average.

|-

|0.3-3×10⁴⁰ J

|Range of estimated energy of five intermediate-luminosity red transients (ILRTs), namely AT 2010dn, AT 2012jc, AT 2013la, AT 2013lb, and AT 2018aes

|-

|~7×10⁴⁰ J

|Energy in gamma-rays of GRB 980425, the first associated to a hypernova (SN1998bw) according to collapsar model

|-

|>10⁴¹ J

|Lower limit of magnitude energy of low-luminous gamma-ray bursts (LLGRBs)

|-

|~2×10⁴¹ J

|Estimated energy of SN 2008ha, an extremely faint supernova

|-

| 2.28×10⁴¹J || Gravitational binding energy of the Sun

|-

|4×10⁴¹ J

|Estimated energy of AT2017jfs, a very energetic luminous red nova (LRNe)

|-

| rowspan="5" |10⁴²

| rowspan="5" |

|>10⁴² J

|Energy of giant flares of Luminous Blue Variables (LBV) and Very Massive Stars (VMS), and Intermediate Luminosity Red Transients too as very energetic events of ILOTs

|-

|<3×10⁴² J

|Estimated energy in gamma-rays of GRB 091127, a sub-energetic gamma-ray burst

|-

|~7.4-9.7×10⁴² J

|Low estimated energy of sub-luminous LL-Type IIP supernovae (0.07 foe or bethe, with 1 foe=10⁴⁴ J)

|-

| rowspan="8" |10⁴³

| rowspan="8" |

|≥10⁴³ J

|Estimate upper limit of energy of Low‑Energy Supernovae (VLE SNe) and of electron‑capture supernovae (2018zd)

|-

|~5×10⁴³ J

|Estimated energy of SN 2005ek, a proposed ultra‑stripped supernova

|-

|5.8×10⁴³ J

|Upper limit of estimated energy for SN 2020cxd (LL‑IIP supernova)

|-

| rowspan="9" |10⁴⁴

| rowspan="9" |

|~10⁴⁴ J

|Average value of a Tidal Disruption Event (TDE) in optical/UV bands

|-

|~10⁴⁴ J

|Estimated kinetic energy released by FBOT CSS161010

|-

| ~1×10⁴⁴J || Average kinetic/thermal energy released in a typical Ia-type supernova, core-collapse supernova and kilonova<nowiki/> (macronova) too, sometimes referred to as a foe or bethe.

|-

|>10⁴⁴ J

|Upper limit of magnitude energy of short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) as isotropic energy (Eiso)

|-

|1.71×10⁴⁴J

|Mass-energy equivalent of Jupiter, the most massive planet in our Solar System

|-

|

|Average total energy (E_total-Eo),

|-

|5.8 × 10⁴⁴J

|Kinetic energy of the star S2 as it made its closest approach to Sagittarius A*, the galactic center SMBH, at 7,650&nbsp;km/s on May 2018.

|-

| rowspan="8" |10⁴⁵

| rowspan="8" |

|~10⁴⁵ J

|Estimated energy released in typical hypernovae and pair-instability supernovae

|-

|10⁴⁵ J

|Energy released by the energetic supernova, SN 2016aps

|-

| 1.7-1.9×10⁴⁵J || Energy released by hypernova ASASSN-15lh

|-

|2.3×10⁴⁵ J

|Energy released by the energetic supernova PS1-10adi

|-

|>10⁴⁵ J

|Estimated energy of a magnetorotational hypernova

|-

| >10⁴⁵J || Total energy (E_total-Eo) in gamma rays (Eγ)+relativistic kinetic energy (E_rel ≈ Eγ + E_ke)

|-

| rowspan="8" | 10⁴⁶ || rowspan="8" | || >10⁴⁶J

| Estimated energy in theoretical quark-novae

|-

|~10⁴⁶J

|Upper limit of the total energy of a pair-instability supernova

|-

|~10⁴⁶ J

|Isotropic energy of short GRB 090510

|-

|1.5×10⁴⁶J

|Total energy of the most energetic optical non-quasar transient, AT2021lwx

|-

|~1.5×10⁴⁶ J

|Gravitational binding energy of a neutron star, a discriminant to see if not-standard particles aren't detected if lower, or if a massive neutron star forms if higher in a CCSN

|-

|2.5×10⁴⁶J

|Estimated upper limit of Extreme Nuclear Transients (ENTs), an extreme version of TDEs discovered in 2025

|-

|2-4×10⁴⁶ J

|Range of energy of core-collapse supernovae in neutrinos (~99% of the total energy of the astrophysic transient and ~10% of the mass of its neutron star)

|-

|~4-5×10⁴⁶ J

|Estimated upper limit of kinetic energy of the most energetic GRB of all time, GRB 221009A, according to the traditional top-hat model for jets assuming collimation;

|-

|~10⁴⁷ J

|Estimated energy of a very efficient rotating Kerr-Newman black hole with vacuum polarization, proposed to explain the Eiso of poorly collimated GRBs in which the jet break is absent remarkable especially for having been a naked-eye burst for approximately 30 seconds from 7.5 billion (7.5×10⁹) light-years and for which a double-structured jet was proposed, featuring a brighter, narrower inner section and a larger outer one with implications about the frequency and visibility from Earth of GRBs too.

|-

|1.8×10⁴⁷J || Theoretical total mass–energy of the Sun

|-

|(2.1±0.1)×10⁴⁷ J

|The isotropic-energy (Eiso) of the ultraluminous GRB 110918A

|-

|8.6×10⁴⁷J || Mass–energy emitted as gravitational waves during the most energetic black hole merger observed until 2020 (GW170729)

|-

|8.8×10⁴⁷J || GRB 080916C – formerly the most powerful gamma-ray burst (GRB) ever recorded – total/true isotropic energy (Eiso)

|-

| rowspan="4" |10⁴⁸

| rowspan="4" |

|10⁴⁸ J

|Estimated energy of a supermassive Population III star supernova, denominated "General Relativistic Instability Supernova."

|-

|~1.2×10⁴⁸ J

|Approximate energy released by GW190521, the first intermediate-mass black hole ever detected

|-

|1.2–3×10⁴⁸ J

|Range of the total/true

|-

|3×10⁴⁸ J

|The most energetic black hole merger, denominated GW231123, detected in 2023

|-

|10⁵⁰

|

|≳10⁵⁰ J

|Upper limit of isotropic energy (Eiso) of Population III stars Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs).

|-

| rowspan="3" |10⁵³

| rowspan="3" |

|>10⁵³ J

|Mechanical energy of very energetic so-called "quasar tsunamis"

|-

| 6×10⁵³J || Total mechanical energy or enthalpy in the powerful AGN outburst in the RBS 797

|-

|7.65×10⁵³J

|Mass-energy of Sagittarius A*, Milky Way's central supermassive black hole

|-

|10⁵⁴

| || 3×10⁵⁴J || Total mechanical energy or enthalpy in the powerful AGN outburst in the Hercules A (3C 348)

|-

| 10⁵⁵ || || >10⁵⁵J || Total mechanical energy or enthalpy in the powerful AGN outburst in the MS 0735.6+7421, Ophiuchus Supercluster eruption and supermassive black holes mergings

|-

| rowspan="3" |10⁵⁷

| rowspan="3" |

|~10⁵⁷ J

|Estimated rotational energy of M87 SMBH and total energy of the most luminous quasars over Gyr time-scales

|-

|~2×10⁵⁷ J

|Estimated thermal energy of the Bullet Cluster of galaxies

|-

|7.3×10⁵⁷ J

|Mass-energy equivalent of the ultramassive black hole TON 618, an extremely luminous quasar / active galactic nucleus (AGN).

|-

| rowspan="2" |10⁵⁸

| rowspan="2" |

|~10⁵⁸ J

|Estimated total energy (in shockwaves, turbulence, gases heating up, gravitational force) of galaxy clusters mergings

|-

| 4×10⁵⁸J || Visible mass–energy in our galaxy, the Milky Way

|-

| rowspan="2" | 10⁵⁹ || rowspan="2" | || 1×10⁵⁹J || Total mass–energy of our galaxy, the Milky Way, including dark matter and dark energy

|-

|1.4×10⁵⁹J

|Mass-energy of the Andromeda galaxy (M31), ~0.8 trillion solar masses.

|-

| 10⁶² || || 1–2×10⁶²J || Total mass–energy of the Virgo Supercluster including dark matter, the Supercluster which contains the Milky Way

|-

|10⁶⁶

|

|1.207×10⁶⁶J

|Average mass-energy of ordinary matter contained within one cubic gigaparsec in the observable universe.

|-

| 10⁷⁰|| || 1.462×10⁷⁰J || Rough estimate of total mass–energy of ordinary matter (atoms; baryons) present in the observable universe.

|-

|10⁷¹

|

|3.177×10⁷¹J

|Rough estimate of total mass-energy within our observable universe, accounting for all forms of matter and energy.