Firewood

[AllenF]

Another true story.

My wife showed me one of her math problems from her environmental studies class.   This just goes to show how you might need to use that math later in everyday life.   I'm glad I suck at math.

#6   Solar energy is converted naturally into wood biomass with an efficiency of about 0.1 percent.  Suppose a wood lot of 100 hectares is located in Missouri, where the average annual solar flux is 200 watts/m square.  Given that the heat value for wood is 12 MBtu/ton, how many tons of wood can be produced by this property each year?

40 minutes later, she showed me the answer.  I like my job.

[Mardak]

Mathematics and firewood goes something like this in Australia. Fill the shed (20 cubic metres)with wood and use $15 of fuel and the winter equation is solved. Keeps the house at about 23 degrees celcius.

[AllenF]

At my house its look at that dead tree, cut it up, house gets cold, put more in the heater, house gets hot, open the front door.

[charmd2]

well being a missouri gal, I'm fairly sure that, annual rainfall rates, the location of said acreage, etc have more to do with it than solar power..  lol.   

Are these trees being grown in our drought years?  In rocky soil?  Or are they being grown during a wet season in flood plains?  lol.   

[iddee]

All of it.

[AllenF]

Oh ya, I forgot to post the answer.   It's 498 tons.   I would "show my work", but there is not enough room here to post.