The sun emits as much energy as about a million high-end power plants. Call it about 100 million MW.
We have a MW laser. In a 5 second pulse it can destroy missiles mid-flight. If the sun were a deadly laser, it would be as if a million of those were turned on the “sunshine” face of the earth at once. This would be beyond catastrophic.
To heat up 1kg of water 1 degree C, you need 4200 joules of energy. 1 MW is approximately 1,000,000 joules. If it hit the Pacific, it would vaporize 1,000,000 kg of water instantly. That’s roughly 1,000 cubic meters of ocean water per second.
Obviously, if this hit land, everything on the land is catching on fire, if not outright destroyed. Metal will warp. Forests are burned. People are cooked. The sun is very large, so assume the entire “sunshine” face of the earth is hit, and you have anywhere from tens of millions to billions of people dying near-instantly, depending on time of day, and 1,000 cubic meters of ocean boiled away every second.
Warning: rough napkin math
The sun emits as much energy as about a million high-end power plants. Call it about 100 million MW.
We have a MW laser. In a 5 second pulse it can destroy missiles mid-flight. If the sun were a deadly laser, it would be as if a million of those were turned on the “sunshine” face of the earth at once. This would be beyond catastrophic.
To heat up 1kg of water 1 degree C, you need 4200 joules of energy. 1 MW is approximately 1,000,000 joules. If it hit the Pacific, it would vaporize 1,000,000 kg of water instantly. That’s roughly 1,000 cubic meters of ocean water per second.
Obviously, if this hit land, everything on the land is catching on fire, if not outright destroyed. Metal will warp. Forests are burned. People are cooked. The sun is very large, so assume the entire “sunshine” face of the earth is hit, and you have anywhere from tens of millions to billions of people dying near-instantly, depending on time of day, and 1,000 cubic meters of ocean boiled away every second.