Yesterday, some of my classmates and I were having a post-exams dinner at Gerry’s Libis when the question of why we were all drained, tired, and famished after the exams. I mentioned that I read somewhere that the brain consumes a lot of energy. But how much exactly I didn’t know. So I did a quick look up and found the following (from Power Of A Human Brain):
The brain makes up 2% of a person’s weight. Despite this, even at rest, the brain consumes 20% of the body’s energy. The brain consumes energy at 10 times the rate of the rest of the body per gram of tissue. The average power consumption of a typical adult is 100 Watts and the brain consumes 20% of this making the power of the brain 20 W.Glucose is the main energy source for the brain. As the size and complexity of the brain increases, energy requirements increase.
The human brain is one of the most energy hungry organs in the body thereby increasing its vulnerability. If the energy supply is cut off for 10 minutes, there is permanent brain damage. There is no other organ nearly as sensitive to changes in its energy supply.
Incidentally, the question why some people get chubby at MBA also popped up. My theory is that people usually eat a lot after brainwork. Thus they tend to eat more but the energy is no longer needed so it gets stored as fat. The solution, I think, would be to eat a bit before doing anything majorly cerebral :D
Crash
Caught a replay of the Monte Carlo Rally last night. It featured the much awaited debut of the new Citroen C4 World Rally Car on the WRC. Although it has essentially the same 2L turbocharged engine (providing a drool-worthy 315 BHP @ 5500 RPM and 570 NM @ 2750 RPM) as the previous Xsara, improvements in other systems is said to have improved overall performance. Even opposing drivers were awed. And it showed in the results: C4s piloted by Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo (Junior WRC champ) took the first AND second places respectively. It is, of course, in no small part due to driver skills. It looks like Sebastien Loeb and Citroen are going on a winning streak again.
The Impact XL is an underwater flashlight that can also be used for above-water outdoor activities or, if you prefer, an above-water flashlight that can also be used for underwater activities. Per manufacturer specifications, it is waterproof up to 100m. It has a single Luxeon LED bulb which can throw 170 lumens of light as far as 50m. 4 AA batteries provide burn-time of up to 50 hours. Its tough plastic body is clad in molded rubber for grip as well as additional protection. A lanyard loop at the tail end allows for the attachment of a lanyard, wrist strap, or clip. The switch is a rotating bezel. It has enough rotations to minimize the chance of opening and flooding the batteries while underwater. However, you turn it in to activate so there’s a chance, albeit pretty small, that a push, say from water pressure, will move the head in and activate. Other than that, I’ve no real complaint about this light. Highly recommended.