Hi, this is Kate from MinuteEarth. This isÂ
2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, better known as TNT.  This itty-bitty-bit of TNT - seven grams’Â
worth - contains enough chemical energy that,  when detonated, it could lift a bowlingÂ
ball about six hundred meters into the air.  And this is seven grams of sugaryÂ
deliciousness, better known as a marshmallow.  Its chemical energy could lift that sameÂ
ball nearly two thousand meters. Wait,  what? If sugary deliciousness canÂ
release three times more energy than TNT,  why doesn’t roasting a marshmallow blowÂ
your arm off? Luckily for us s’more-lovers,  the rates at which the energy gets releasedÂ
via chemical reactions are very different. Lots of chemical reactions release energy asÂ
atoms rearrange themselves into new substances;Â Â the longer it takes for that rearrangement toÂ
happen, the more slowly the energy is let loose.  Since TNT already has all the atoms itÂ
needs to rearrange itself into a bunch  of gases and a bit of extra carbon, youÂ
just need to add some energy to initiate  the reaction - usually with a shockÂ
from a detonator - and BOOM! All that  rearrangement happens - and all the energy isÂ
unleashed - in a few millionths of a second. But the marshmallow is missing an ingredient;Â
it needs to combine with oxygen to form carbon  dioxide and water - in other words, to burn.Â
Once you add some energy to get things started,  only atoms on the marshmallow’s surface - whereÂ
its sugar meets oxygen from the air - will be  able to rearrange themselves. As the marshmallowÂ
burns, more and more of its sugar will encounter  the oxygen and be able to react, but burningÂ
the whole sugary shebang - and releasing all  its energy - will take an entire minute or so. SoÂ
sure, when you roast - well, burn - a marshmallow,  you can get way more energy than when you detonateÂ
an equal mass of TNT...but you’ll release all  that energy over a much longer time. It’s justÂ
like how a torrential downpour can be intense,  but a gentle rain that lasts for hoursÂ
can actually dump more water overall. But sugar doesn’t always take its sweet timeÂ
to unleash its energy; if sugar is ground so  finely that it has enough surface area where itÂ
can interact with oxygen and if there’s enough  energy around to initiate a reaction, it too,Â
can release its energy all at once, Ă la TNT.  In 2008, a sugar dust explosion levelled aÂ
Georgia sugar refinery and killed 14 people. But why *is* releasing energyÂ
quickly so destructive? Well,  when you burn a marshmallow, or even a giantÂ
pile of marshmallows, the energy seeps out  slowly enough that it can simply dissipate intoÂ
the environment - like that gentle spring rain,  which might fall all day but so slowly that theÂ
soil can soak it up. But there’s a limit to how  quickly energy or water can get absorbed.Â
When it’s released faster than that limit,  whatever is left over has to go somewhere;Â
extra energy ends up as destructive waves  of pressure and heat, just like extra waterÂ
becomes a destructive flash flood. Which,  incidentally, is an important thing to watch outÂ
for the next time you’re roasting a marshmallow. Energy isn’t always destructive - it can doÂ
good stuff too. And with Tab for a Cause,  you can actually do a ton of goodÂ
with the teensiest bit of energy;Â Â just install the browser extension, and TabÂ
for a Cause will donate money to a charity  each time you open a new browser tab. Tab forÂ
a Cause just reached an amazing milestone:Â Â as of this week, they have raised more than aÂ
million dollars in donations for organizations  like Conservation International and water.org.Â
And since making the world a better place is  really important to us, if you sign up now atÂ
tabforacause.org/minuteearth2, you’ll be in the  running to receive a not-for-sale, limitedÂ
edition MinuteEarth tote bag. So head over  to tabforacause.org/MinuteEarth2Â
and start doing some good.
Kind of crazy that 7 grams of TNT is only 7 kcal... You'd have to eat 2kg to achieve the recommended 2000 kcal. You could maybe drink some gas so that you don't have to eat as much. A 28ml sip of gasoline would be enough for you to cut down your daily TNT ingestion in half.
A nice parallel to energy over time in electronics is the coin shrinker. Big capacitors store a ton of energy. Usually you use a resistor to bleed off capacitive energy like this, as a direct short causes some pretty dangerous arcing and high currents, but other people have come up with fun applications of doing that intentionally.
Energy is neat, but energy over shorter and shorter times can be even more exciting.
That’s actually very cool