We Finally Answered The MOST Important Question

Summary

In this humorous and scientifically-driven video, the Kurzgesagt team tackles bizarre and seemingly 'stupid' questions from viewers. The first question explores the possibility of powering Tokyo with jellyfish, calculating that it would require an astronomically large number of jellyfish and an impractical infrastructure. The second question imagines a world where bananas rain instead of water, leading to an apocalyptic scenario where the bananas cause massive destruction and climate catastrophe. The video blends absurdity with science, answering these 'dumb' questions in an entertaining yet informative way.

Takeaways

• 😀 Tokyo requires around 280 terawatt hours of electricity each year, which is more than 20 countries combined or all of Australia.
• 😀 Jellyfish, particularly species like Aequorea victoria, can generate a tiny amount of electricity through fluorescent proteins, but it’s not enough to power Tokyo.
• 😀 Using larger jellyfish like Nemopilema nomurai (Nomura jellyfish) could generate more energy, but they are not electrically conductive enough.
• 😀 The concept of extracting energy from jellyfish involves using piezoelectricity, where pressure on certain materials, like nylon, generates electricity.
• 😀 Even with 1,000 tentacles covered in piezoelectric nylon, jellyfish only produce about 1 watt of power, far from enough to power Tokyo’s massive energy demand.
• 😀 To generate enough power to meet Tokyo's energy needs, approximately 29 billion Nomura jellyfish would be required, similar in scale to the number of chickens on Earth.
• 😀 Breeding enough jellyfish would require consuming vast amounts of plankton and creating huge spaces to store them, amounting to seven times the volume of Mt. Fuji.
• 😀 Despite the large numbers, short circuits and tangled cables would pose a major issue in maintaining a reliable power supply from these jellyfish.
• 😀 While using jellyfish as an energy source sounds creative, the project would be highly impractical, expensive, and environmentally damaging.
• 😀 The second question explores the disastrous consequences of a banana rain, where a full day of banana-fall would cause catastrophic damage worldwide, including infrastructure destruction and a significant environmental disaster due to methane release.

Q & A

How much electricity does Tokyo consume annually?

Tokyo consumes about 280 terawatt hours of electricity every year, which is more energy than 20 countries combined, and greater than the total energy consumption of Australia.

Can jellyfish be used to power Tokyo?

While jellyfish, such as Aequorea victoria or Crystal Jelly, produce a tiny amount of energy through their fluorescence, they cannot realistically power Tokyo. A quintillion glowing jellies would be required, which is far too many to be practical.

How do jellyfish generate electricity?

Jellyfish can potentially generate electricity through piezoelectricity, which occurs when pressure is applied to certain materials like crystals or bone. When jellyfish move, their tentacles could be harnessed to generate electricity via piezoelectric materials like nylon-11.

What is piezoelectricity and how does it work in jellyfish?

Piezoelectricity is the generation of an electric charge in certain materials when they are physically compressed or stressed. In jellyfish, when their tentacles are moved or bent, it could cause piezoelectric materials embedded in a wetsuit to generate electricity.

What would happen if we used Nomura jellyfish to generate energy?

Even though Nomura jellyfish are large and could theoretically be used to generate electricity, they only produce about 1 watt of energy per jellyfish, which is insufficient to power a city like Tokyo. You would need billions of jellyfish to meet the energy demand.

How many Nomura jellyfish would be needed to power Tokyo?

To power Tokyo with Nomura jellyfish, you would need about 29 billion jellyfish, which is a massive and impractical amount, especially considering their size and the challenges of maintaining such a large population.

What is the primary issue with using jellyfish to generate electricity?

The primary issue is the low amount of energy generated, with 29 billion jellyfish only producing enough electricity to power a laptop for about 20 days. Additionally, maintaining such a large population and the cost of infrastructure would be highly impractical.

What are the environmental consequences of using jellyfish for energy?

Harvesting and breeding a large number of jellyfish could cause significant environmental harm, including overfeeding them with plankton and damaging marine ecosystems. The cost of such an endeavor would be enormous, and it could harm the ocean's balance.

What would happen if it rained bananas instead of water for a whole day?

If it rained bananas instead of water, it would result in an apocalyptic scenario. The bananas would fall at a high velocity, causing widespread damage to infrastructure, killing people, and creating a catastrophic amount of methane from rotting bananas, leading to a mass extinction event.

How many bananas would fall during a day of banana rain worldwide?

In one day of banana rain, the world would receive 11.1 quadrillion bananas, weighing 1.33 trillion tons. This is equivalent to the volume of water that typically falls during one day of global rainfall.