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Is the basic premise of humans as a power source in The Matrix reasonable?




In The Matrix the machines "grow" humans to provide a source of power. Is this really feasible from the perspective of power generation (never mind all the business of growing/feeding people)? Wouldn't the machines just use nuclear power?


Edit: For what it's worth, in the movie Morpheus explains that the human power is "combined with a form of fusion."



Answer



Yeah, this isn't feasible. Humans produce heat and radiate heat, but not so much that you could really harness it for power. It wouldn't be at all efficient given the necessary inputs of food and water. The nuclear power would be far more practical.


So, no, the machines wouldn't use humans for power. It makes no sense.


For those who require more explanation: humans produce their energy from food, primarily glucose. However, the majority of that energy produced does not go to releasing heat. The heat is an afterthought, part of maintaining homeostasis to allow for the most efficient biological reactions. Most of the energy goes into powering our cells so that they reproduce, make proteins, power our brain, etc.


Attempting power generation by harvesting human heat is ridiculously inefficient. You'd be infinitely better off just burning the glucose.


And this isn't taking into account all the other foods and nutrients we need to stay healthy that have nothing to do with us generating heat.


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