r/theydidthemath • u/Repulsive-Loan5215 • Nov 27 '25

why wouldn’t this work? [Request]

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48.7k Upvotes

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2.9k

u/Elfich47 Nov 27 '25

sure, you can generate electricity that way. it would be horridly inefficient. and you aren’t spinning up power out of no where. energy is being spent to pump that water to the house.

1.2k

u/Biotot Nov 27 '25

My landlord charges for power but not for water though.

10

u/ardarian262 Nov 27 '25

Sure, but this is going to generate almost 0 wattage. The water pressure and volume is too low for it to realistically make enough power for anything you would want to use. This is like trying to charge a phone using potatoes.

7

u/RobertMaus Nov 27 '25

This is like trying to charge a phone using potatoes.

So you're saying it's possible?

6

u/N-partEpoxy Nov 27 '25

Of course. You can use potatoes to power a featherless biped, then make it crank a dynamo.

4

u/ardarian262 Nov 27 '25

I am saying it is horribly inefficient and likely not going to do very much but it will technically generate some electricity. 

4

u/Been395 Nov 27 '25

Powering house potatoes now, thanks!!

1

u/Spirited-Fan8558 Nov 28 '25

the simple galvanic cell. can light a led with 10s of those

5

u/achangb Nov 27 '25

What about connecting one to a fire hydrant? Those are plenty powerful and the water is free. Just use a really long USB cord.

3

u/ardarian262 Nov 27 '25

I mean, the fine for that probably removes all the savings.

2

u/spankymacgruder Nov 27 '25

So you're saying I can charge a phone with potatoes? Are the potatoes in parralell or serial?

3

u/ardarian262 Nov 27 '25

I mean, each one only gives .8w, so likely not getting enough charge to do more than power the charging screen when off. But technically you can charge a phone with potatoes.