Mechanical energy output of the 5 September 1973 flare

The mechanical energy flux of observed macroscopic mass plasma motions in the solar flare of Sept. 5, 1973, is estimated. Consideration is given to the cool eruptive material in the eruptive filament and large surge as revealed by H alpha observations, the moving emission front seen in Ca II as well as H alpha, the piston-driven shock and mass ejection coronal transient observed in radio spectra and flare core motions, and mechanical energy estimates of 5.6 x 10 to the 29th to 8.9 x 10 to the 30th, 9.0 x 10 to the 29th, 2 x 10 to the 30th (thermal) and 10 to the 31st (magnetic), and 9 x 10 to the 24th erg are obtained, respectively, in agreement with previous estimates. It is concluded that the mechanical energy of large-scale mass motions dominates the radiative output of the flare by more than two orders of magnitude, and that a significant portion of the mechanical energy is in the form of magnetic flux delivered to interplanetary space.