Energy fuels every facet of our daily lives, but not every bright spark actually powers the future. In this roundup we shine a light on 10 bizarre failed energy ideas that never managed to spark a lasting impact.

From soot‑filled gas bags on vintage automobiles to nut‑oil‑driven cement kilns, these experiments show how inventive minds sometimes miss the mark. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the wild ride through history’s most curious power‑plant flops.

10 Bizarre Failed Energy Ventures

10 Coal Gas Vehicles

During World War I, the majority of gasoline and oil supplies were redirected to the war effort, leaving civilian transport in a pinch. Engineers turned to an old‑fashioned technology—coal‑gas—to keep cars moving. The process involved heating coal in sealed, oxygen‑starved ovens, then filtering the resulting gas for use as fuel.

Unfortunately, storing that volatile gas proved to be a nightmare. Improvised “gas bags” were bolted atop vehicle roofs, looking more like ticking time‑bombs than practical fuel tanks. The bags were fire hazards—especially in an era when most drivers were casual smokers—curbed top speeds, and even made crossing bridges a delicate operation. So the next time you’re stuck behind a bus, you can be grateful it isn’t lugging a coal‑gas balloon on its roof.

9 Square Sails

Wind power dates back thousands of years, with tiny vessels harnessing breezes as early as 3500 BC. Civilizations such as the Romans, the Chinese, and the Vikings relied on square sails to propel their ships across oceans. The catch? Square sails only generate optimal thrust when the wind blows directly from behind, forcing crews to trim massive rigs and employ large teams to keep the vessel on course.

To overcome this inefficiency, shipbuilders looked eastward for inspiration. The Arab dhow’s triangular, fore‑and‑aft rig proved far more agile, allowing vessels to tack into the wind and sail closer to their intended headings with smaller crews. This shift dramatically improved maneuverability and reduced manpower requirements.

Without the adoption of these sleeker sail shapes, the pace of inland settlement expansion and coastal trade would have been considerably slower, delaying the rise of global commerce.

8 Tesla Tower

In 1901, Nikola Tesla erected a 56‑metre‑tall tower on Long Island, christened the Wardenclyffe or “Tesla Tower.” Topped with a massive copper transmitter, the structure was designed to beam electricity wirelessly across the globe, using the Earth itself as a conductor.

Early tests appeared promising; nearby appliances lit up without any direct connections. However, the project ran out of money when Guglielmo Marconi successfully demonstrated wireless telegraphy, diverting investors’ attention and funding away from Tesla’s grand vision.

Conspiracy theorists still debate why the tower was abandoned, suggesting that a free‑energy breakthrough would have threatened entrenched oil interests. Whatever the truth, the tower remains a symbol of audacious ambition curtailed by practical and financial realities.

7 Sugar

The Great Depression drove American farmers to seek cheaper fuel alternatives, prompting experiments with sugar‑derived ethanol. By fermenting corn‑based sugar, they produced a blend known as Agrol, a mixture of ethanol and diesel that could power farm machinery.

While the concept foreshadowed today’s biofuel movement, home‑brewed ethanol never became mainstream. The process demands specialized equipment, time‑intensive fermentation, and a slew of permits. Moreover, raw sugar carries a hefty price tag, and U.S. regulations still prohibit pure ethanol‑only vehicles on public roads.

Nevertheless, the Agrol experiment laid groundwork for modern biofuel research, showing that agricultural by‑products could, in theory, supplement petroleum‑based energy.

6 Tornadoes

The Atmospheric Vortex Engine (AVE) reads like a sci‑fi plot device: engineers heat air in a circular chamber, coaxing it into a tornado‑like vortex that spins at high speed. The rotating column of hot air then drives generators, theoretically converting the vortex’s kinetic energy into electricity.

Louis Michaud has pursued this concept since the 1970s, building several prototypes that demonstrate the vortex’s formation. Yet to date, the devices have only produced modest, laboratory‑scale power, far short of the levels needed for practical electricity generation.

Even if the engineering hurdles are overcome, the AVE must still obey the first law of thermodynamics—creating a tornado consumes more energy than the vortex can return. Mother Nature herself reminds us that whipping up a storm is no cheap trick.

5 Diapers

In 2007, Quebec‑based engineering firm AMEC announced plans to turn disposable diapers into power. Their “poo‑to‑power” concept relied on pyro‑lysis, a process that heats waste without oxygen, breaking down plastic fibers and human waste into combustible gases.

Despite the seemingly endless supply of used diapers, the project never moved beyond the planning stage. Public perception, the inevitable jokes about “diaper fuel,” and concerns over handling hazardous waste likely contributed to the venture’s demise.

Today, the idea remains a footnote in waste‑to‑energy research, a reminder that even the most abundant waste streams can be tricky to commercialize.

4 Air

At the turn of the millennium, a French start‑up teamed up with India’s Tata Motors to develop a vehicle powered solely by compressed air. The design mimicked a conventional piston engine, but the energy source was a high‑pressure air tank rated at 4,350 psi.

Unfortunately, the required pressure exceeds what standard compressors can produce, meaning drivers would need specialized, expensive pumps. Moreover, the air must first be compressed using electricity—ironically sourced from coal‑heavy Indian grids—diminishing the environmental benefits.

While the concept sparked curiosity, the practical hurdles of refueling infrastructure and energy efficiency kept it from ever reaching mass production.

3 Nuclear Planes

During the Cold War, Soviet engineers pursued the daring idea of a nuclear‑propelled aircraft. The principle was simple yet daring: air drawn into the engine would be heated by a compact nuclear reactor, creating thrust without burning conventional fuel.

Radiation shielding posed a massive challenge; the crew would have been exposed to dangerous levels of ionising radiation just meters from the reactor core. Adding the heavy reactor to an airframe also threatened performance, and the prospect of a nuclear crash raining fallout over civilian areas was a nightmare scenario.

These safety, weight, and political concerns ultimately forced the program to stall, leaving the skies free of nuclear‑powered bombers.

2 Propeller Car

In 2000, a French farmer uncovered the Helicon, a peculiar automobile built around a front‑mounted propeller. Though the car’s chassis dates back to 1932, its creator apparently believed that attaching a large propeller and steering with rear wheels would revolutionize road travel.

The reality was far less glamorous. The propeller made handling treacherous, especially at low speeds, and the vehicle struggled on inclines, requiring a long run‑up to generate enough thrust. The quirky design never caught on, and today it serves as a museum oddity rather than a viable transport solution.

1 Peanuts

At the dawn of the 20th century, Henry Ford championed biofuels, even running early Model Ts on ethanol while the 1900 Paris World’s Fair showcased diesel engines powered by peanut oil. The idea seemed promising: turn a common snack into a liquid fuel.

Despite early enthusiasm, the oil boom eclipsed nut‑based fuels, and large‑scale adoption never materialized. A modern twist emerged in 2012 when Jordan’s Rashadiya cement plant burned 24 million tons of pistachio shells, offsetting scarce oil and gas supplies and proving that agricultural waste can, under the right conditions, fuel heavy industry.

While peanuts didn’t replace gasoline, their occasional resurgence reminds us that even the most unlikely resources can spark inventive energy experiments.

When you hear the phrase top 10 reasons, you might expect a list of mundane facts. Instead, prepare for a whirlwind tour of Wilhelm Reich’s wild world—where sexuality meets ancient mysticism, blue auras flicker in labs, and UFOs supposedly hover over experimental cloud‑busting rigs. Though many dismiss his ideas as outlandish, the sheer audacity of his theories keeps scholars and curious minds alike reaching for more.

Why These Top 10 Reasons Matter

10 The Connection To Sexual Energy And Ancient Wisdom

Born in 1897 in a region that now belongs to Ukraine, the Austrian‑born doctor Wilhelm Reich dove headfirst into the Freudian wave of the early twentieth century. Unsurprisingly, his early investigations tethered the concept of orgone energy to the raw currents of human sexuality. In the roaring 1930s, Reich was unashamedly vocal about this link, a stance that would have raised eyebrows in any respectable laboratory of the era.

His fascination with sexual forces nudged him toward the ancient world, where he began to pore over esoteric teachings that whispered of a universal life‑force. He grew convinced that these primordial energies—later christened “orgone”—had been recognized by mystics for millennia, even if modern science had yet to catch on.

By 1939, the looming threat of Nazism forced Reich to flee Europe for the United States, carrying his controversial theories across the Atlantic. Though his departure was a bid for safety, the work that preceded it placed him squarely under the watchful eye of authorities—a tension we’ll revisit shortly.

A decade after his death, the countercultural surge of the 1960s breathed fresh life into Reich’s legacy. College campuses, buzzing with radical thought, rediscovered his writings, and while the mainstream eventually muted the frenzy, a devoted subculture has kept his ideas alive ever since.

9 He Was Labeled ‘Dangerous’ By Other Scientists

During the latter half of the 1930s, before setting foot on American soil, Reich embarked on what he termed “bion experiments.” He scrutinized the microscopic cells of everything from leafy greens to animal tissue, even extending his curiosity to metals and inert solids. Heating these specimens revealed a startling blue halo, which he dubbed “bions,” describing them as the liminal energy bridging life and non‑life.

Reich also reported encountering a red‑tinged energy, which he controversially linked to the emergence of certain cancers. Such bold claims sent ripples through the scientific community, prompting many of his peers to distance themselves and label his work as “dangerous,” a stigma that clung to him for the remainder of his career.

8 The Link Between Bions, Megalithic C, And The Color Blue

One of the most speculative corners of Reich’s legacy intertwines his blue‑glowing bions with the concept of “megalithic C,” a term coined by Christopher Knight and Alan Butler in their tome Civilization One. They argue that the frequency associated with the musical note C‑sharp (just a hair above middle C) resonates with the color blue, mirroring the hue of Reich’s bions.

Delving deeper, the authors note that many life‑sustaining elements—think of the sky’s azure canopy and the ocean’s sapphire depths—share this blue signature. By aligning Reich’s observations with their own frequency theory, they suggest a universal harmony that might lend a hint of credibility to his otherwise fringe experiments.

7 The Initial Development Of Orgone Energy

The culmination of Reich’s bion research gave birth to what he called “orgone energy,” a universal life force he claimed ancient cultures had already recognized. To help modern readers grasp the concept, imagine the mystical “Force” from the Star Wars saga—but with a distinctly sexual undertone, as Reich insisted the energy’s primary driver was rooted in human sexuality.

This sexual framing invited a torrent of criticism, with detractors accusing Reich of masquerading a sex cult behind a veneer of science. Simultaneously, the political climate of the time amplified suspicions, and rumors swirled that his research harbored communist subtexts aimed at undermining American ideals.

6 The Damaging Shunning By Albert Einstein

Perhaps the most formidable blow to Reich’s reputation came from none other than Albert Einstein himself. Reich had hoped that Einstein’s endorsement would catapult his work into mainstream acceptance, so he sent the famed physicist an orgone accumulator for further testing.

Einstein’s assessment was blunt: he found Reich’s theories and devices scientifically untenable. After a brief exchange, Einstein ceased all correspondence, leaving Reich to persistently petition him for a chance to publish their letters. Eventually, Einstein issued a stern reminder that his name should never be leveraged to legitimize Reich’s speculative research.

5 The Orgone Accumulator

Determined to harness the elusive orgone, Reich engineered a contraption he christened the “orgone accumulator.” This box‑like enclosure featured alternating layers of organic and inorganic materials. A person would sit inside, allowing the alleged energy to concentrate within the chamber and, by extension, into the sitter’s body.

Reich claimed that this exposure amplified “blue bions” within the individual, halting disease progression and even curing ailments like cancer. While skeptics dismissed these assertions, a devoted community continued to explore and, in some cases, swear by the device’s purported benefits.

4 Cloudbusters

Another of Reich’s inventions, the “cloudbuster,” was designed to manipulate atmospheric orgone in order to summon clouds and coax rain. Constructed from conductive materials, the device was typically positioned over a body of water, theoretically drawing moisture from the sky into the basin below.

Reich’s own records suggest that his cloudbusters succeeded in altering weather patterns, though modern scientists remain divided over the veracity of those claims. It’s worth noting that governments worldwide have long dabbled in weather‑control research, making Reich’s ambitions appear less fantastical when placed in a broader context.

3 The Destruction Of Reich’s Research

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took a hard line against Reich, targeting his claims that the orgone accumulator could cure disease. The agency secured an injunction preventing Reich from transporting his equipment across state lines, effectively grounding his operations.

When an associate defied this order, Reich was arrested, and authorities proceeded to publicly destroy all his orgone devices, paperwork, and related materials. The spectacle of burning his research in full view of onlookers added a theatrical flair to the legal showdown.

Reich died in prison in 1957 at the age of 60. To this day, scholars debate whether the government’s response was a justified crackdown on pseudoscience or an overreach that silenced a provocative thinker.

2 The Mistaken Communist Connection

In late 1941, the FBI mistakenly linked a man named William Reich—who was distributing communist literature in New Jersey—with Wilhelm Reich. Acting on this erroneous lead, agents raided Reich’s home and detained him for three weeks, interrogating him about his notes and books.

Realizing their blunder, the FBI released him without charge, but the episode left a lingering file on his record. Reich later blamed Einstein’s withdrawal of support on external pressures, speculating that the FBI’s interference played a role in the physicist’s cold shoulder.

1 The UFO Connection

During his cloudbuster experiments, Reich reported multiple sightings of unidentified flying objects hovering overhead. He meticulously logged each encounter and even contacted the nearby air force base, which responded by requesting a survey of his observations—a request Reich dutifully fulfilled.

Reich theorized that these extraterrestrials were monitoring humanity’s use of orgone technology, and he warned that pointing his devices at them might cause the crafts to vanish. Modern UFO researchers find his accounts intriguing, especially given later claims by whistleblower Bob Lazar about alien craft propulsion that echo Reich’s speculation about energy‑based “waves.”

Since the 1800s, fossil fuels have powered our homes, schools, workplaces, government buildings, jails, and manufacturing enterprises. While they have provided a dependable and cost‑effective way to energize our world, they also spew harmful emissions into the atmosphere. In the quest for a cleaner future, the 10 energy resources listed below are emerging as serious contenders that could eventually replace fossil fuels, helping us slow—and perhaps even reverse—environmental degradation.

Exploring the 10 Energy Resources Landscape

10 Solar Energy

Solar power stands out as the most environmentally friendly and abundant renewable source available today, and the United States boasts some of the world’s richest solar‑irradiance zones. By harnessing sunlight, we can generate illumination, warm indoor spaces, and heat water for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes.

A wide variety of technologies now turn sunshine into usable power. Passive‑solar architecture captures heat for space heating and cooling, photovoltaic panels convert light directly into electricity, and solar thermal collectors provide hot water for homes and businesses. These solutions enable companies to diversify their energy mix, boost efficiency, and cut operating costs.

Solar energy offers clear advantages over fossil fuels, such as dramatically lower carbon emissions and virtually unlimited supply. Yet it isn’t without drawbacks. It cannot produce power at night, and regions with scant sunlight see limited benefit from panels. Installation costs remain relatively high, and the sheer area required for large‑scale arrays can be a logistical hurdle.

9 Wind Energy

Wind power, commonly called wind energy, is captured with turbines that transform the kinetic motion of moving air into electrical current. Every moving object possesses kinetic energy, and engineers have learned to tap that motion to produce clean electricity.

Even modest turbines can generate around 100 kilowatts—enough to run a typical house—while larger machines with 40‑meter (130‑foot) rotor blades can produce 1.8 megawatts. The biggest turbines on the market generate between 4.8 and 9.5 megawatts, illustrating the scalability of wind technology.

Research from carbontracker.org shows that the combined potential of wind and solar far exceeds the energy output of fossil fuels, and together they could comfortably meet global demand. Current estimates suggest we can capture at least 6,700 petawatt‑hours from sun and wind with existing technology—a figure more than 100 times today’s worldwide consumption.

8 Geothermal Energy

Geothermal power, also known as geothermal energy, offers a self‑contained, reliable way to generate electricity by exploiting the heat stored deep within the Earth’s mantle. Steam drawn from underground reservoirs spins a turbine, which in turn drives a generator to produce power.

Three main plant designs dominate the sector: dry‑steam plants that directly use underground steam, flash‑steam plants that depressurize hot water to create steam, and binary‑cycle plants that employ a secondary fluid with a lower boiling point to capture heat from moderately hot water (107‑182 °C). Each type matches different resource temperatures and geological conditions.

The United States leads the world in geothermal electricity production, generating over 3.5 gigawatts—enough to supply roughly 3.5 million homes—primarily from installations in the western states.

7 Hydropower

Hydropower derives electricity from the kinetic energy of moving water. The concept dates back more than two millennia, when ancient Greeks used water wheels to grind grain. Modern systems typically employ dams or diversion structures to channel water flow through turbines, converting mechanical motion into electrical power.

By directing water through turbines and generators, hydropower plants transform kinetic energy into electricity that feeds the grid. Historically, it was the dominant source of renewable electricity in the United States, holding the majority share until 2019.

Today, hydropower accounts for 37 % of total renewable electricity generation in the U.S. and contributes roughly 7 % of overall national electricity output, underscoring its continued importance.

6 Biomass

Biomass is a renewable organic resource sourced from plants and animals. Humans have relied on biomass for millennia—think of early cave dwellers cooking over wood fires. Today, biomass fuels modern power generators, industrial machinery, and even transportation.

While wood remains the most common biomass feedstock, other promising sources include food crops, fast‑growing grasses and woody plants, oil‑rich algae, agricultural residues, forestry waste, and the organic fraction of municipal solid waste. Even landfill methane—essentially natural‑gas‑like—can be captured and burned for energy.

Historically, biomass supplied the bulk of the United States’ energy consumption until the mid‑19th century. It still serves as a primary cooking and heating fuel in many developing nations, and several industrialized countries are expanding biomass use to offset carbon emissions from fossil fuels in both power generation and transport.

5 Hydrogen Energy

Hydrogen atoms are present in water, plants, animals, and humans, but free‑standing hydrogen gas is scarce. By extracting hydrogen from molecules—via processes like natural‑gas reforming, electrolysis, or even solar‑driven methods—we can create a versatile fuel for power generation.

When burned in a fuel cell, hydrogen produces only water, making it an exceptionally clean energy carrier. This property fuels its popularity for transportation, residential power, portable devices, and larger‑scale electricity generation. Hydrogen also serves as an effective storage medium for surplus renewable electricity.

Today’s hydrogen production relies heavily on natural‑gas reforming and electrolysis, though emerging technologies such as solar‑powered electrolysis and biological pathways are gaining traction as greener alternatives.

4 Tidal Energy

Tidal energy taps the rhythmic rise and fall of ocean tides and currents, a phenomenon driven by the gravitational interplay of the Earth, Moon, and Sun. When water is forced through narrow channels, its velocity increases, creating enough kinetic energy to drive turbines.

Ideal sites feature large tidal ranges and constricted waterways that amplify current speeds. Although many demonstration projects are under construction worldwide, the United States currently lacks any commercially operating tidal power plants.

3 Wave Energy

Wave energy harnesses the power of ocean surface waves, which arise from wind blowing across the sea. Unlike tidal power, which stems from gravitational forces, wave energy is generated by wind‑induced surface motion.

Three principal technologies exist: buoy‑or float‑based systems that convert swells into hydraulic pressure, oscillating‑water‑column devices that drive air turbines via rising and falling water columns, and tapered‑channel converters that focus wave energy into a confined path. These systems can be deployed offshore or onshore.

Wave and tidal energy are praised for their longer operational lifespans and higher predictability compared with solar and wind, whose output can fluctuate more dramatically. While still emerging, these marine technologies promise a steadier renewable supply.

2 Nuclear Energy

Nuclear power originates from fission—the splitting of uranium atoms inside a reactor. The nucleus, composed of protons and neutrons, stores immense energy; when those bonds break, a tremendous amount of heat is released, which can be turned into electricity.

In a typical nuclear plant, uranium fuel rods heat water to create high‑pressure steam, which spins turbines connected to generators. Remarkably, a single uranium pellet—about the size of a fingertip—contains as much energy as three barrels of oil, a ton of coal, or over 5,000 cubic feet of natural gas, enough to power a home for five years.

Uranium is plentiful, ensuring a long‑term fuel supply for reactors. Although nuclear power is classified as non‑renewable because the fuel itself is finite, the technology delivers massive, low‑carbon electricity, making it a pivotal bridge in the transition away from fossil fuels.

1 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) generates electricity by exploiting the temperature difference between warm surface seawater and cold deep‑sea water to run a heat engine.

The process mirrors the natural water cycle: warm surface water is evaporated, driving a turbine that produces electricity; the resulting vapor is then condensed using cold, deep‑water, completing the cycle. This continual temperature gradient provides a steady power source.

Rising electricity costs, heightened climate concerns, and a push for energy security have spurred interest in OTEC, especially for tropical islands that currently rely on costly oil‑generated power. As technology matures, OTEC could become a cost‑effective solution for regions like the southeastern United States and many island nations worldwide.

It could be argued that the scale of the universe is such that our minds will never be able to comprehend it. In fact, it seems very likely that even things here on earth are far beyond what our minds could imagine at the best of times. That’s one of the reasons people will refer to flooding by saying it was like 100 Olympic sized pools, or a distance something travelled was six football fields. They’re all just ways to make something hard to comprehend a little more understandable. And when it comes to the incredible power and energy nature can wield, it’s pretty mind blowing.

10. Mount St. Helens Released 24 Megatons of Thermal Energy

North America is subject to frequent hurricanes and tornadoes as well as more than its fair share of earthquakes. And though they are rare, there are a number of volcanoes present as well that also erupt from time to time, such as Washington state’s Mount St. Helens. When it erupted back in 1980, it proved its remarkable power in terrifying ways. 

Starting in March of that year, a series of earthquakes were recorded in the area and the actual volcano itself began to bulge outward by 450 feet. When it finally erupted on May 18, it released 24 megatons of thermal energy, which means 24 million tons of TNT. It released 520 million tons of ash and destroyed enough trees to have built 300,000 houses just with the initial lateral blast.

9. Turning 1 kg of Hydrogen to Helium Releases as Much Energy as Burning 20,000 Tons of Coal 

The sun is forever engaged in a fusion reaction that turns hydrogen into helium, producing light and heat and keeping us all alive. Fusion is a hell of a way to produce power and we’re all hoping one day someone masters it down here on Earth because it would make life a lot easier. But until that time we have to make do with things like nuclear fission, solar power and good ol’ fossil fuel burning. 

The difference between how fusion and burning coal works is so preposterous that it seems made up when you try to match it up on the same scale. By that we mean the difference in power generated when the sun turns one kilogram of hydrogen into helium versus how much coal we need to burn down here on earth to get the same amount of energy produced.

The reaction of one kilogram of hydrogen becoming helium releases 630 trillion joules, or what you’d get from burning 20,000 tons of coal. 

Over the course of its life, the sun will use 1.95 x 1029 kg of hydrogen. In a single second, the sun generates 3.9 x 1026 watts of power. To put that in perspective, in one second, the sun produces more power than the entire world would use in a few hundred thousand years. 

8. A Hurricane’s Energy is 200 times the Electricity Generating Capacity of the Whole World

Hurricanes are arguably the most terrifying force of nature any of us will ever see. The destructive potential of a hurricane is hard to believe and we’ve all seen the evidence of the destruction they can produce. But how much power is behind that terrifying force? The scale is massive and really puts things in perspective for you.

From the moment a hurricane is born through its cycle of destruction until its ultimate demise, it will release as much energy as 10,000 nuclear weapons. Put another way, all of that energy, and we’re including cloud and rain formation, is about 200 times the amount of electricity generated across the entire planet. That’s just one hurricane. We average about six per year, with several other storms not quite reaching hurricane status. 

7. Krakatoa Exploded with the Force of 10,000 Atomic Bombs 

In 1883, the volcano on the island of Krakatoa exploded and produced the loudest sound in the history of the world. It’s estimated to have hit 310 decibels, so loud that it managed to circle the planet 4 times. It was 172 decibels, 100 miles away. A jet engine will hit you with 150 decibels if you’re standing next to it. 

When it erupted, it went off with the force of 200 megatons of TNT. That’s 10,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It’s believed upwards of 36,000 people were killed.

6. 1 kg of Uranium 235 Produces 3 Million Times the Heat of 1 kg of Coal

For a long time now, people have debated the merits of nuclear power versus something like traditional coal burning. Nuclear comes with dangers such as the potential for meltdowns and the problem of nuclear waste. Coal burning causes pollution and, as we’re about to see, is terribly inefficient by comparison.

If you had one kilogram of uranium-235, you could generate 24,000,000 kWh of heat. By comparison, you’ll make 8 kWh from the same weight of coal. So uranium has around three million times the energy-producing capability of an equal amount of coal. One single uranium fuel pellet is equal to one ton of coal. 

5. Tsunamis Can Produce Enough Power to Run Major Cities or Even Countries for Days

In the past few decades, there have been a couple of massively destructive tsunamis. In 2011, a tsunami hit Japan wielding three petajoules of energy. That was enough to power New York City for an entire week. But even that pales in comparison to one just seven years earlier.

 In 2004, an undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean the day after Christmas. The power of the tsunami has been estimated to be equal to 0.8 gigatons of TNT. In more practical terms, that’s as much energy as the entire United States of America will use in 11 days and works out to 3.35 exajoules. What the heck is an exajoule? That’s one quintillion joules.

One calorie of food produces 4,184 joules of energy. A Big Mac has 550 calories. That means a Big Mac is equivalent to 2,301,200 joules. Divided by the exajoules in the tsunami and it produced the energy equivalent of just under 1.46 trillion of them. That’s a lot of Big Macs. 

4. Climate Change is Adding Energy Equivalent to Exploding Thousands of Nuclear Weapons Per Day 

These days everyone is aware of climate change and most people who still want to argue about it choose the man vs nature approach. Which is to say even the critics have agreed that earth is getting warmer, they just don’t agree on why. But if we all accept the earth is warming up, just how much energy is the earth absorbing to do such a thing?

Heat is energy, so the energy required to warm the entire planet is no small scale achievement. Scientists studying global temperature trends tried to put it in perspective in a fairly dramatic way. 

Between 2005 and 2019, scientists compared the earth’s energy imbalance. This compares the amount of energy we absorb versus how much we can radiate. The imbalance doubled in that time period and the amount of extra energy the earth is absorbing works out to four Hiroshima explosions occurring every single second. This is actually slightly better than the 2012 estimate by NASA climate scientists that said it was equivalent to 400,000 Hiroshima’s per day, but not by much. 

3. A 9.0 Earthquake Releases 90 Times the Power Produced by the US

Like any natural disaster, an earthquake packs a serious punch. The seismic power of an earthquake is typically related to use by use of the Richter scale, but saying an earthquake measures a four on that scale doesn’t really put much into perspective. Luckily, there are some equivalences we can make.

If an earthquake did register a 4.0 on the Richter scale, you’d consider it fairly mild, more or less. That said, it releases energy equivalent to 1 kiloton of TNT. Sounds like a lot, right? It works out to about 1162 mWh or the energy. If the average US household uses 10.715 kWh in a year, then a 4.0 earthquake could power 108 American homes for a year. But that’s just a moderate quake. Let’s go up the scale to a serious quake.

It’s rare that an earthquake measures 9.0 on the scale. That’s a serious quake and they only happen every few years, if not decades. Based on data from the US Geological Survey, they’ll release energy on par with exploding 32,000 megatons of TNT. That works out to 1,338,880,000,000 gigajoules. Convert that to MwH and you get 371,911,111,111.11. The US generates 4,095,487,406 MwH of electricity. So that 9.0 earthquake generated 90 times the power of the entire US annual power production capacity. 

2. The Meteor That Killed the Dinosaurs Was More Powerful Than The World’s Nuclear Arsenal 

Everyday we go about our business with the knowledge, somewhere in the back of our heads, that a meteor could hit the Earth and wipe us all out in a matter of moments. It’s not likely or anything, but it happened before, so it could certainly happen again one day. And that means a meteor must be a pretty powerful thing when it touches down. We can look at a recent one to figure out just how powerful they can be.

In 2013, a meteor lit up the Russian skies over the city of Chelyabinsk. The 11,000 ton rock flew through the air at 42,000 miles per hour, creating a shockwave that laid waste to 4,000 buildings. It released energy equivalent to 30 times the bomb that exploded at Hiroshima. Powerful stuff. But, as you may have noticed, the world didn’t end.

If we go back in time, the most famous meteor in history would be the one commonly attributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs. That one was clearly more powerful than Chelyabinsk, and the scale of that power was remarkable.

Research has estimated the power of that particular blast was equal to 10 billion of the bombs dropped during the Second World War. Enough to scorch life thousands of miles away and cover the earth in a cloud that wiped out 75% of all life. 

1. A Supernova Produces More Energy Than Anything You Could Imagine

Let’s leave the earth for a minute because, as powerful as nature is here, the universe at large shames our tiny blue dot. Let’s go into the vastness of the great beyond towards a star as it lashes out in its death throes. A supernova. 

As far as we know, this is the biggest explosion that can exist. And they can get big. So big that our efforts to try to make it sound understandable are still, frankly, ridiculous. But at least it will offer some kind of perspective.

The energy released during a supernova can be around 1044 joules. That one event will therefore release as much energy as the exploding star released during the previous 10 billion years of its existence. Imagine our sun burning as hot and bright as it does for 10 billion years. We already covered that every second it produces all the energy the earth could use in hundreds of thousands of years. All of that, for 10 billion years of time, released all over again during the supernova. 

That’s still very insane and very hard to grasp, so we can break it down further. One specific supernova was observed by scientists in 2015. Called ASSASN-15lh, the dying star was 580 billion times brighter than our own sun. It produced a blast that was a billion trillion times more powerful than the explosion of the tsar bomba, the largest nuclear weapon ever tested. It was 30 times brighter than the entire Milky Way galaxy, itself home to 100 thousand million stars.