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calories and btu's math doesn't add up


jakers

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Terms:

1 gallon of water weights 8.6 pounds

1 BTU is energy needed to raise 1 pound of water 1 degree F

252 calories is equal to 1 BTU

1 calorie = energy to raise 1 gram water 1 degree C.

453.6 grams equals 1 pound

 

Question:

So here is the question, if i was to take 1 gallon of water at

say 35F and drink it over the course of a 16hr day the amount

of energy needed by my body to raise this water up to 98.6F before it is urinated is to high to be possible in my opinion.

It is something over a hundred thousand calories burned. Yet I know it is possible to do. 16 cups = 1 gallon over a day is just one cup of nearly frozen water an hour. So how does the math jive with the reality, considering we only burn about 2,500 calories a day normally?

 

temp difference 98.6 - 35 = 63.6

1 gallon x 8.6pds x 63.6 degrees = 547 BTU

252 calories x 547 BTU = approximately 137,834 calories

 

Am I doing the math wrong or is it really possible to burn this amount of calories in a day to maintain your body's core temp?

 

By this reasoning a single glass of water should take over 8,600 calories of energy for my body to heat it up to normal body temp!!!!

 

P.S. if I am right I'm going to start bottling ice water as a diet drink it should be all the latest diet craze :)

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you are mixing calories and Calories

 

a calorie is used in chemistry and is the energy to heat 1gram of water by 1*C

 

a Calorie is used in food and is denoted kcal for a reason. its 1000 of the chemistry calories.

 

confusing i know, thats why i stick to the bit that says kJ

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