Amazing Energy Facts To Blow Your Mind

TL;DR

Energy is incredibly powerful, with the world using 15 terawatts of energy at any given moment. The US consumes 25% of the world's energy, while Google alone accounts for 0.13%. Food also contains energy, measured in calories or jewels. Plugging yourself into a wall to get a day's worth of food energy would take around 55 hours.

Transcript

energy is pretty amazing so amazing that as a species we use around 15 ter at any given moment that's equivalent to 15 trillion Watts consider this average light bulb which consumes roughly 100 Watts one single terawatt could power 10 billion of them at the same time of the world's energy the US consumes about 25% while Google alone accounts for ro... Read More

Key Insights

• 😒 The world uses 15 terawatts of energy at any given moment, with the US consuming 25% of it while Google accounts for 0.13%.
• 😋 Food contains energy measured in calories or jewels, and a standard daily diet for a male requires around 10 million jewels of energy.
• 😋 It would take approximately 1.9 hours to charge yourself with a day's worth of food energy at the energy input of a microwave.
• ⚡ Lighting strikes can reach over 1 billion volts, and survival depends on the path the lightning takes through the body, avoiding the heart.
• 🌍 Every minute, enough sunlight reaches the Earth's surface to satisfy the world's energy demands for a year.
• 💨 Wind turbines can help prevent hurricanes by removing energy from the wind to generate power.
• 😋 Plugging yourself into a wall to get a day's worth of food energy would take around 55 hours.

Questions & Answers

Q: How long does it take to charge yourself with the energy equivalent of a day's worth of food?

If you charge yourself at the energy input of a microwave, it would only take 1.9 hours. Alternatively, charging yourself with a laptop charger would take around 55 hours.

Q: How much electricity does it take to kill a human?

Surprisingly little. As little as 7 milliamps of electricity for 3 seconds, equivalent to a AAA battery straight to the heart, can be lethal. Electricity kills by interrupting the heart rhythm.

Q: How much sunlight reaches the Earth's surface in a minute?

Every minute, enough sunlight reaches the Earth's surface to satisfy the world's energy demands for an entire year. Roughly 174 pettawatts of energy hits the Earth from the Sun.

Q: Can wind turbines help prevent hurricanes?

Wind turbines can help prevent hurricanes by removing some energy from the wind to generate power. Simulations have shown that if enough wind turbines are placed in an atrisk region, major wind disasters could be minimized substantially.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The world uses around 15 terawatts of energy at any given moment, with the US consuming 25% and Google accounting for 0.13%.

• Food contains energy measured in calories or jewels. Plugging yourself into a wall to get a day's worth of food energy would take around 55 hours.

• The energy equivalent of a standard daily diet for a male of 2500 calories is about 44 World War II hand grenades.