How many hours would it take for the brain to generate enough electricity...

[Saturos]

...to power a light bulb? I've heard somewhere that the brain can produce enough electricty to power a light bulb. 60-75 watts per second is highly unlikely I'd imagine, but what about the total amount of electricity produced within an hour, or a day even?

If a light bulb is rated at 60-75 watts, (does the wattage rating(s) go by per second?) and the amount of electricity that the human brain can produce (in one second if the above statement is true), then can someone here formulate an equation to represent how many hours it would take for the human brain to generate enough electricity to power a light bulb?

 

[kineaesth]

No, yes, the correct measurement is a parsec, and false.


Thanks for playing, Dragonshirt.

 

[Viperidae]

0.999... hours.

 

[Saturos]

No, yes, the correct measurement is a parsec, and false.


Thanks for playing, Dragonshirt.

I'm afraid I have to disagree with your professional opinion there KA as a parsec has nothing to do with the current problem at hand. Wrong field. You get an F for Fantastically bogus theory. :dozey:

No to the first, no to the second, yes to the third but only if it's astronomy I was asking about, (which it's not) and wtf at claiming false. :arms:

0.999... hours.

Probably a noobish question to you, but can you express this answer with an equation? Where did you get your source(s) on how much electricity a human brain can produce?

 

[kineaesth]

'But that's outrageous Samson my dear boy you can't possibly think the flux capacitor' '-NO SIR I HAVE TO IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE THE PAST!!!!' 'Well okay son but if you see Dragonshirt make sure you- oh no. Oh, god, it's them. They've... They've found us.' 'It's...'

'It's too late. The wormhole has closed. Geoffreeeey! Nooooo!'​

 

[Dan]

You have your units all messed up. A watt is a measure of power. Energy is measured in joules. One watt is one joule per second. Light bulbs constantly consume energy, so we measure the rate of energy consumption (power) using watts.

You do not measure power output in watts per second. That would be like trying to measure speed in mph per hour. As far as I know, there is no regular application or use for a measurement of watts per second.

I know that the human body outputs about 120 watts of power when you aren't doing anything. And I know that the human brain is a major user of our energy output. So 60-70 watts doesn't sound unreasonable

 

[highlander]

Power? From human brains? Har Har Har!

 

[kineaesth]

You do not measure power output in watts per second. That would be like trying to measure speed in mph per hour. As far as I know, there is no regular application or use for a measurement of watts per second.

I'm pretty sure you can measure speed in mph per hour. That's acceleration, right?

 

[Saturos]

You have your units all messed up. A watt is a measure of power. Energy is measured in joules. One watt is one joule per second. Light bulbs constantly consume energy, so we measure the rate of energy consumption (power) using watts.

Thanks for clearing the, "unit of measurement" thing up for me. I've always had difficulty trying to understand where joules fits into stuff like this. I know that watts=volt+amp rating(s), but never had I messed around with joules before. Could you give other example(s) of where might joules be used for measurements?

You do not measure power output in watts per second. That would be like trying to measure speed in mph per hour. As far as I know, there is no regular application or use for a measurement of watts per second.

So joules is the measurement used for power output? Then watts measures, "voltage current(volts)+voltage pressure(amps)" but is also 1 joule per second, right? And "Ohms" is used to measure resistance. Makes since now.

I know that the human body outputs about 120 watts of power when you aren't doing anything. And I know that the human brain is a major user of our energy output. So 60-70 watts doesn't sound unreasonable

Holy s**t! I had no idea the human body could put out that much power! :O

Links to verify your claims though, or it didn't happen. :|

Also, if it is true what you said about the human body putting out 120 watts of power, then isn't there a way to harness this natural power source for small things? Say, to power an i-pod or cell phone for instance?

 

[Dan]

So joules is the measurement used for power output? Then watts measures, "voltage current(volts)+voltage pressure(amps)" but is also 1 joule per second, right? And "Ohms" is used to measure resistance. Makes since now.

Nope. A joule is a measurement of energy. A watt measures power. Power is the rate of energy flow. Power is also voltage times (not plus) current.

power (W) = energy (J)/time(s)
power (W) = voltage (V)*current (I)

 

[Saturos]

Nope. A joule is a measurement of energy. A watt measures power. Power is the rate of energy flow. Power is also voltage times (not plus) current.

power (W) = energy (J)/time(s)
power (W) = voltage (V)*current (I)

Oh ok. The bolded/underlined statement is what I was trying to say about watts. You just said it much better than me.

Also, current = voltage. Did you mean to say, "Power is also voltage times pressure (amps)"? This indeed would be wattage then.

 

[Dan]

current != voltage

Pressure is not a normal electrical unit. In scientific usage, pressure is force per area, measured in SI units by the pascals which equals one newton per square metre.

In energy terms, pressure is equal to one joule per cubic metre. You usually use it that way to describe the enthalpy change of a compressible gas.

I think you might be getting confused if your teacher is using the analogy of water flow in pipes to electron flow in circuits. In that case, pressure in a water pipe would be analogous to voltage in an electrical circuit.

 

[Saturos]

I think you might be getting confused if your teacher is using the analogy of water flow in pipes to electron flow in circuits. In that case, pressure in a water pipe would be analogous to voltage in an electrical circuit.

That's exactly what I was getting at. You seem to know this stuff all too well. Dammit those professors trying to dumb everything down with the water pipe analogy so everyone else can attempt to understand. Now I'm confused.

If only they would have gotten into the nitty-gritty mechanics from the start.

Now, about those links regarding human body wattage output. How can I truly appreciate this discovery though if I don't yet fully comprehend electrical units? :|

 

[TechnoHippyChic]

According to the Center for Space Power and Advanced Electronics, a NASA commercial center in Alabama, the human body is on average 15% fat, capable of producing 11,000 watt hours.

Broken into usable terms, waiting to be harvested are 81 watts from a sleeping person, 128 from a soldier standing at ease, 163 from a walking person, 407 from a briskly walking person, 1,048 from a long-distance runner, and 1,630 from a sprinter, according to the center.

People Power: Capturing The Body's Energy For Work On and Off Earth

 

[Tarkus]

My brain is powerfull, but it's not human... Does it count?

 

[MaSter0fDarKneZz]

uh..electricity?

dude if there was electricty in ur barin u would die in a matter of seconds. like there are elecrtic chairs in terrorist countries or something and the terrorists use them to torture people. and sometimes people die, cuz the electricity burns ur brain.

 

[Slug Advisor]

As soon as I saw the name 'MaSterOfDorKneZz' I knew he would post something fail.

 

[theotherguy]

uh..electricity?

dude if there was electricty in ur barin u would die in a matter of seconds. like there are elecrtic chairs in terrorist countries or something and the terrorists use them to torture people. and sometimes people die, cuz the electricity burns ur brain.

Lol, joke?

Electric chairs cause brain death precisely because your brain is like a gigantic, ion-driven electric circuit.

 

[Raziaar]

If I soaked a couple of you in some lemon juice in a battery array, I bet I could power my television for a few hours.

It'd be worth it.

 

[Saturos]

uh..electricity?

dude if there was electricty in ur barin u would die in a matter of seconds. like there are elecrtic chairs in terrorist countries or something and the terrorists use them to torture people. and sometimes people die, cuz the electricity burns ur brain.

Your kidding right? How old are you again? The school board in your area really needs to fire your science teacher if your still in grade school.

If I soaked a couple of you in some lemon juice in a battery array, I bet I could power my television for a few hours.

It'd be worth it.

Poor Razzy. Can't afford this month's electric bill either huh?

As soon as I saw the name 'MaSterOfDorKneZz' I knew he would post something fail.

LOL at typo. Or was that intentional?

 

[Raziaar]

I've had to resort to illegally siphoning off power from the city.

That is some scary shit when you mess with it.

 

[bam23]

uh..electricity?

dude if there was electricty in ur barin u would die in a matter of seconds. like there are elecrtic chairs in terrorist countries or something and the terrorists use them to torture people. and sometimes people die, cuz the electricity burns ur brain.

don't be silly....














....Electric chairs are for killing.

 

[Wanted Bob]

uh..electricity?

dude if there was electricty in ur barin u would die in a matter of seconds. like there are elecrtic chairs in terrorist countries or something and the terrorists use them to torture people. and sometimes people die, cuz the electricity burns ur brain.

Heh, I like the way this guy thinks.

 

[Beerdude26]

uh..electricity?

dude if there was electricty in ur barin u would die in a matter of seconds. like there are elecrtic chairs in terrorist countries or something and the terrorists use them to torture people. and sometimes people die, cuz the electricity burns ur brain.

I'll gladly remove any eletric signals that come from your brain, free of charge.

 

[ríomhaire]

Oh ok. The bolded/underlined statement is what I was trying to say about watts. You just said it much better than me.

Also, current = voltage. Did you mean to say, "Power is also voltage times pressure (amps)"? This indeed would be wattage then.

CURRENT IS NOT THE SAME THING AS VOLTAGE. I thought my physics teacher was bad but a chimp must have taught you to have confused you this much.

Electric charge is measured in coulombs.

Current is a flow/movement of electric charge. It is measured in amps. An amp is the same as a coulomb per second.

Potential difference (also known as voltage) is the energy that is required to move the current. That's not the proper scientific definition, BTW, but it's what it boils down to. It is measured in volts.

Resistance is voltage divided by current. It is measured in ohms.

Energy is measured in joules.

Power is energy per second. It is measured in watts. A watt is a joule per second. It is (when applied to electricity) also current multiplied by voltage.



And every singe one of those units is named after someone.

 

[Saturos]

CURRENT IS NOT THE SAME THING AS VOLTAGE. I thought my physics teacher was bad but a chimp must have taught you to have confused you this much.

Electric charge is measured in coulombs.

Current is a flow/movement of electric charge. It is measured in amps. An amp is the same as a coulomb per second.

Potential difference (also known as voltage) is the energy that is required to move the current. That's not the proper scientific definition, BTW, but it's what it boils down to. It is measured in volts.

Resistance is voltage divided by current. It is measured in ohms.

Energy is measured in joules.

Power is energy per second. It is measured in watts. A watt is a joule per second. It is (when applied to electricity) also current multiplied by voltage.



And every singe one of those units is named after someone.

Hmmmm, uhh, ok.

Yeah, I don't remember having a good science teacher in elementary or highschool and other than the basics, I am fairly new to physical science tbh, having only studied, biology, astronomy and geology.

I was only first exposed to the many different electrical units when I started college two years ago.

 

[Narvi]

God, why, why does MaSter0fDarKneZz still exist and post?

And you're in college, but you're only now learning this? Huh. Weird. It was high school for me. You must have specialized quite a bit. What are you studying?

Anyway, rimfire summed it up.

Btw, 120 watts really isn't that much. Consider that every second your heart is doing work on your blood, electrical signals are being sent through your body, your muscles are moving your limbs and eyes... there's a lot of work being done right there.

 

[Saturos]

God, why, why does MaSter0fDarKneZz still exist and post?

And you're in college, but you're only now learning this? Huh. Weird. It was high school for me. You must have specialized quite a bit. What are you studying?

Check my profile. I'm a microcomputer specialist, which is basically a jack-of-all trades in the IT business that knows alittle (alot supposedly though when I graduate) of everything IT. Yeah, we don't get good public education in the States. You've got to pay for good education here anymore it seems. I basically had to try and teach myself scientific stuff because most of my teachers in those departments were idiots.

Anyway, rimfire summed it up.

Btw, 120 watts really isn't that much. Consider that every second your heart is doing work on your blood, electrical signals are being sent through your body, your muscles are moving your limbs and eyes... there's a lot of work being done right there.

I know, but I just can't help but to think that just with just 300 or more watts, I could power my PC with my own body. :O I guess there's more to it than that though eh? The body needs that much to work alone.