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Plants are living materials and are completely dependent upon solar
radiation for their existence. The amount of solar radiation the earth receives is
finite. There is an upper limit to the amount of plant material that can be raised
and hence an upper limit to our human population. The purpose of this activity
Summary:
How can so many people live on the Earth at one time? Is there a limit to
the carrying capacity of the Earth – a limit to growth? Since the size of the Earth
is finite, the answer is affirmative, but then how does one measure or
there is a limit to the number of people that could physically fit on Earth; however
before one considers a situation where the Earth is “covered with people” – a
condition where life would be impossible – realize that the availability of food is a
limiting factor. Hence if the limit to the Earth’s food production could be
energy. The value for the sun’s power radiated per unit area is well established
and known as the solar input or the solar constant. The precise numerical value
varies with the seasons, time of day, weather, and latitude, and is expressed in
Table 1
Elapsed Time Temperature
(min) (0C)
0 10
1 10.1
2 10.3
3 11
4 11.2
5 11.7
6 12
7 12.2
8 12.6
9 12.8
10 13
11 13.5
12 13.8
13 14.8
14 14.1
15 14.4
16 14.8
17 15
18 15.2
19 15.3
20 15.6
The solar input is the amount of solar power a given cross sectional area
receives from the sun when the sun is directly over that cross section. To
determine this value it is necessary to establish the rate of heat absorption of the
water in the tray. We assume that the water in the styrofoam tray absorbs all the
solar radiation which strikes it and that the tray is a perfect insulator. Convection
losses are minimized owing to the glass cover plate and the black paint reduces
radiation losses. The rate of heat absorption by the tray should equal the rate of
heat generated by the sun on that specific area. We have established the rate of
rays, the effective area of tray is the product of the area of the tray and the sine
100 cm
= 5.1x10 −1 cm
196 cm
= 270
Sin = 0.454
Length
of
Stick
x
A
Relationship between Length of Shadow
normal and horizontal
dimension.
Figure 3
insulator, i.e., it gains no heat from its surroundings nor loses any heat to them.
away from the water by its surroundings will give errors. These errors were
minimized by determining the rate of temperature rising when the water and the
Computation for the solar input consists of solving the equation which
states that the heat gained by the system is equal to that received from the sun.
Data Record
tan = 0.51
= 27 o
Sin = 0.454
The quantity of heat absorbed by the water per second is easily calculated
∆Q ∆T
using = mc ; that is the quantity of heat per second is given by the product
∆t ∆t
of the mass of water times its specific heat times its temperature change per
∆Q
= 6.00 x10 2 g ×(1cal gC deg ) × 4.6 x10 −3 deg sec
∆t
= 2.76 x10 2 cal sec
∆Q
= 2.76 x10 0 cal sec × ( 4.18 J cal ) = 1.153 x10 1 J s = 1.153 x10 1 watts
∆t
The heat gained by the water per second is equal to the heat received from
The solar input S is the solar energy received per second per unit area. This
The accepted value of the solar input is about 1000 watt/ m2 on a clear day
at sea level. Above the earth’s atmosphere the solar input is higher since there
are no reflecting particles; at this point in space the solar input is approximately
1350 watt/ m2 (To put this number in perspective, an area one square mile would
receive 2.6 billion watts of power-enough energy to power a small city providing
For the following determinations I have used the sea level value of S =
1000 watt/ m2 as the solar input. Most of the world’s food growing regions are
Our next problem was to estimate the total carrying capacity of the earth.
How large a population can the earth sustain based on the total amount of
calories per day available as food? To do this we have computed the total
calories per day available to people or the total world food production in terms of
available calories per day. We have divided this by the number of calories per
day that a person needs, it has given us the number of people the earth can
First let’s compute the total amount of power received from the sun each
day in watts. Given radius of the Earth = 6.38x106 meters, and the solar input
S = 1000 watts m2. Then since the cross sectional area of the earth is A =
πr 2 ;
approximately 0.0757% of the solar energy that reaches the Earth is captured by
Only 10% of the total photosynthesis power is ultimately converted to food for
humans.
To obtain the caloric equivalent of the food we used the fact that 1 watt = 0.24
cal/sec.
9.680261951x1014 watts × (0.24 cal/sec watt)
= 2.323262868x1014 cal/day.
Recall that there are 86,400 seconds in one day (i.e. 1 day = 60 s/min x60 min/hr
x 24 hr = 86,400 s)
(1/86400) day
(Note: the dietitian’s Calorie has a capital C and is equal to 1000 normal
calories)
approximately 3,240 dieting Calories (plant and animal food stuff). However, this
of plant to animal food is considered since five or more plant calories are
calories since the right kind of calories and their distribution in terms of
carbohydrates, protein, and fat are important. With this restriction in mind, and
carrying capacity.
fed person/day)
T2 = 70/R,
Allows one to compute either the doubling time, T2, (the time it takes for
doubling time for the Earth’s population growth using the equation above.
Answer:
Using the equation above of T2 = 70/R and the R of 2% per year I have found
70
that the earths doubling time will be every 35 years. Or 35 years .
2
Answer
The earth’s current population according to Live Science’s web site
Answer:
6,500,000,000. It will take 98.5 years approximately to reach and exceed the
earth’s carrying capacity. I have figured this by first dividing the current
year over the 35 year span. I then realized that the current population
to add the individual years on to this number until I had received a number
6.500 x10 9
Step 1) 1.857142857 x10 8
35
Step 3.) I gradually multiplied the individual years to get 28.5 years which
gave me 1.857142857x108 x 28.5 = 5.292857142x109
Step 5.) I then figured out the years 35+35+28.5 = 9.85x101 or 98.5 years.
Answer:
The errors that have to be taken into consideration are weight of structures
and other substances like cars that are on the earth which add to the weight, they
also take up space. We also need to factor in the amount of population growth
percentage per year. The 2% point is not an exact figure one feels and every
year the population may either exceed what is calculated or not meet the 2 %
point. These are just some of the errors that have to be determined.
3. How can the carrying capacity of the Earth be altered and to what degree?
Answer:
The carrying capacity of the Earth can be altered by the amount of food
intake that we each have. If we were to portion the amount of calories per day
each person received then we would be lighter people and in better shape. Most
of the earth’s population is overweight; we could lessen this amount and provide
extra room for more people, but not necessarily change the earth’s carrying
capacity.