Question

Earth's atmosphere is constantly bombarded by cosmic ray protons that originate somewhere in space. If the protons all passed through the atmosphere, each square meter of Earth's surface would intercept protons at the average rate of 1800 protons per second. What would be the electric current in amperes intercepted by a 41 × 107 km2 area on the planet

Answer 1

Electric current in amperes = 1.1808 A

Step-by-step explanation:

Given:

Intercept protons rate = 1800 protons per second

Area = 41 × 10⁷ km²

Find:

Electric current in amperes

Computation:

Current density = Intercept protons rate × 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹

Current density = 1800 × 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹

Current density = 2.88 × 10⁻¹⁶

1 km² = 10⁶m²

So,

Electric current in amperes = 2.88 × 10⁻¹⁶ × 41 × 10⁷ × 10⁶

Electric current in amperes = 1.1808 A