Question

A large solar panel on a spacecraft in Earth orbit produce 1.0kW of power when the panel is turned toward the sun. What power would the solar cell produce if the spacecraft were in orbit around Saturn, 9.5 times as far from the sun?

Answer 1

The power produced by the solar panel on a spacecraft in Earth orbit would decrease if the spacecraft were in orbit around Saturn due to the inverse-square law. Hence, the solar panel would produce approximately 0.0111 kW of power.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the power that the solar panel would produce if the spacecraft were in orbit around Saturn, we can use the inverse-square law. The power per square meter decreases as the distance from the Sun increases.

In this case, the spacecraft is 9.5 times further from the Sun than Earth. Since the power is directly proportional to the square of the distance, the power produced by the solar panel would be:

Power on Saturn = (Power on Earth) * (Distance on Earth / Distance on Saturn)^2

Plugging in the given values:

Power on Saturn = (1.0 kW) * (1 / 9.5^2) = 0.0111 kW

Therefore, the solar panel would produce approximately 0.0111 kW of power if the spacecraft were in orbit around Saturn.