Meme is referring to nuclear reactors, not complete antimatter annihilation.
Nuclear reactors don’t “burn” everything — most of the matter stays (this is what nuclear waste is). So you can only apply E=mc^2 to the difference in mass, not the mass of the fuel.
Calories are just a measure of the energy released by a material.
Normally they’re measured by burning the material, so it’s not really accurate to say that you can get that many calories from uranium. On the other hand the whole concept is fucking stupid anyway, because it’s measured by burning the material. Technically, a kilo of dry sawdust has 4800 calories (more than double the daily calorie requirement of the average person).
I just googled around and I think the meme inflated the numbers. Fast neutron reactor gets 28GJ/g, which is “only” about 7 million food (kilo) calories.
I never got this analysis, doesn’t any material have absurd energy if you break down its very molecules and atoms?
http://www.jaygarmon.net/2010/09/according-to-einsteins-famous-equation.html?m=1
Apparently 21.5 billion calories per gram of matter
Not sure what this meme is getting at, then, since it seems to be significantly undercounting it
Meme is referring to nuclear reactors, not complete antimatter annihilation.
Nuclear reactors don’t “burn” everything — most of the matter stays (this is what nuclear waste is). So you can only apply E=mc^2 to the difference in mass, not the mass of the fuel.
Can they really get out THAT many calories from a gram of Uranium?! That’s insane!
I wish I cared more and would verify it
Calories are just a measure of the energy released by a material.
Normally they’re measured by burning the material, so it’s not really accurate to say that you can get that many calories from uranium. On the other hand the whole concept is fucking stupid anyway, because it’s measured by burning the material. Technically, a kilo of dry sawdust has 4800 calories (more than double the daily calorie requirement of the average person).
I just googled around and I think the meme inflated the numbers. Fast neutron reactor gets 28GJ/g, which is “only” about 7 million food (kilo) calories.