- Unfortunately, even engineering publications often write about a “power station generating 1,000 MW of electricity,” but that is impossible. A generating station may have installed (rated) power of 1,000 megawatts—that is, it can produce electricity at that rate—but when doing so it would generate 1,000 megawatt-hours or (in basic scientific units) 3.6 trillion joules in an hour (1,000,000,000 watts × 3,600 seconds). Analogically, an adult man’s basal metabolic rate (the energy required at complete rest to run the body’s essential functions) is about 80 watts, or 80 joules per second; lying prone all day a 70-kilogram man would still need about 7 megajoules (80 × 24 × 3,600) of food energy, or about 1,650 kilocalories, to maintain his body temperature, energize his beating heart, and run myriad enzymatic reactions.35 ([Location 648](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08SGC3TD3&location=648)) --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]] **Source** --