On 2008/02/07, at 12:44 PM, Ziser, Jesse wrote:
That data left out something I think is a cool metric factoid: a
healthy adult human energy intake
is around 100 watts average. That just blows my mind. To use no
more average power than a light
bulb, we must be phenomenally efficient. Ain't nature cool?
Dear Jesse,
I have just done a quick calculation that supports your approximation.
I took the recommended food intake from Wikipedia and assumed that
this was also the energy output. Here are my calculations.
Recommended daily energy intake values for young adults are:
10 000 kJ/day for men = 115.74 joules per second = 115.74 watts (say)
120 watts
8 000 kJ/day for women = 92.59 joules per second = 92.59 watts (say)
90 watts
My calculations align pretty well with your observation that:
a healthy adult human energy intake
is around 100 watts average
I didn't know that before.
Cheers and thank you for your 'metric factoid',
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
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