Quiz

BuzzFeed Staff

Science

The Hardest "Back To The Future" Flux Capacitor Quiz Ever

Assuming [60 milliwatts of power for each LED](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T2WQI80/?tag=buzz0f-20), all those tiny bright dots would require around 1.5 gigawatts of power.

25 billion LEDs!

Assuming everyone would be watching the film on Amazon's current [most popular TV](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K7NCS9G/?tag=buzz0f-20), which requires [35 watts](http://www.energystar.gov/productfinder/product/certified-televisions/details/2215493), it would take around 35 million TVs to reach 1.21 gigawatts of power.

One flux capacitor!

Which needs more power:

The four screens that make up the massive TV scoreboard at Cowboys Stadium require a whopping [1430 kilowatts](http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/16/full-specs-on-the-dallas-cowboys-worlds-largest-1080p-led-scor/) of power. That means that 900 of them would use around 1.3 gigawatts of power — just a nose more than a single flux capacitor.

900 jumbotrons!

According to the calculations of this [Stanford student](http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2012/ph240/landreman2/), the power requirements for the amps and lighting of a live Radiohead show are 94,977 watts. 20,000 of those shows would require about 1.9 gigawatts of power, more than a flux capacitor.

20,000 live Radiohead shows!

In 2011, Google released their [data center's power usage](http://www.technologyreview.com/news/425384/what-it-takes-to-power-google/) for the previous year — 260 million watts. While that is enough to power 200,000 homes consistently, it is still not enough to power a flux capacitor. You could power over with 4 times the server space with 1.21 gigawatts.

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft, the furthest man-made object from Earth, is currently operating on [255 watts](http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/spacecraftlife.html). 3 million of these would total ~only~ 0.8 gigawatts, not nearly enough to power a flux capacitor.

The [maximum output](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2.074+GW) of the Hoover Dam is about 2.1 gigawatts. A flux capacitor is no problem!

Yes!

Bonus: Could the Hoover Dam power a flux capacitor?

Not unlike a younger Dr. Emmet Brown, you are incredulous that anyone would be so foolish to build something with such ridiculous power requirements. As such, you refuse to take this quiz seriously.

You are a flux capacitor skeptic!

You know a little something about the flux capacitor. You also know a little something about power. More power to you!

You are a flux capacitor enthusiast!

The only person who could know as much as you about the power requirements of the flux capacitor is its inventor, the Doc himself. Logic would dictate, then, that you are Dr. Brown. It's an honor to meet you, sir!

You are clearly Dr. Emmett Brown.

About BuzzFeed Community

Community Brand Guidelines

BuzzFeed Community

Sorry, this content is <i>no longer</i> supported.

BuzzFeed Community Guidelines

BuzzFeed Community Leaderboard

BuzzFeed News has breaking stories and original reporting on politics, world news, social media, viral trends, health, science, technology, entertainment, and LGBTQ issues.

All the best animals on the internet. The snuggle is real.

BuzzFeed has breaking news, vital journalism, quizzes, videos, celeb news, Tasty food videos, recipes, DIY hacks, and all the trending buzz you’ll want to share with your friends. Copyright BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.

BuzzFeed News | Breaking News | Original Reporting | News Analysis

Animal Pictures and Videos - Adorably from BuzzFeed

Name

Thanks for subscribing!

Stay up to date with our latest BuzzFeed video. Enter your email to subscribe!

Oops! Upload an image or add text to submit.

BuzzFeed has the hottest, most social content on the web. We feature breaking buzz and the kinds of things you'd want to pass along to your friends.

The Hardest "Back To The Future" Flux Capacitor Quiz Ever

Quick recap: the flux capacitor in Back to the Future is what makes time travel possible. It takes a shit ton of power to make it work. 1.21 gigawatts, to be precise.

How much power is that in real life?

Topics in this article