Final answer:
The energy released by the sun in one second is vastly greater than the U.S. annual energy consumption. Since the sun emits 4 × 10²¶ watts and the U.S. requires approximately 3 × 10¹² watts averaged over a year, just one second of the sun's energy would be more than sufficient to meet U.S. energy needs for a very long time.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to whether the energy released by the sun in one second could meet the U.S. energy requirements for a year. The sun emits a tremendous amount of energy, approximately 4 × 10²¶ watts. Based on the U.S. annual consumption of about 100 quadrillion BTUs (quads), or 3 × 10¹² watts, we can see that the sun's energy for just one second far exceeds the annual energy needs of the United States. To understand this better, we need to convert the annual U.S. energy consumption into the same time frame as the sun's energy emission. The U.S. consumes energy at a rate of roughly 3 terawatts when averaged over the course of a year, which translates to 3 × 10¹² joules per second.
By comparing this to the sun's output of 4 × 10²¶ watts, we can calculate that capturing all of the sun's energy for one second would provide enough energy to cover the U.S. energy needs for many thousands of years.