Energy storage capacity, batteries vs. ants

Factual Questions
1

This is highly theoretical, but I imagine there could be a factual answer.

First, let me set this up. I found small black ants in my kitchen today. In spite of the sub-freezing temps outside, or perhaps because of them, they invaded. It looks like they came down from the chimney, but that’s not important right now.

I sprayed some parts of the kitchen with home bug spray. On one large part of the counter, I surrounded a few ants with spray so the only way they could leave the area was to cross the fatal trenches, or build a catapult. I thought eventually they’ll die from exhaustion, having no food and no escape. They expressed no interest in crossing the boundary.

A few hours later, the same ants (I think) were still madly dashing around inside the perimeter. Whatever energy storage they had was still going strong.

Now for the question. How much energy storage can a single ant have? And how would it compare with, say, Lithium Ion batteries, pound for pound or cubic inch for cubic inch? Are ants more efficient at energy storage than the latest chemical technology, or vice-versa?

I just can’t imagine an ant-sized LiOn battery powering an ant-sized motor for hours. Is that possible, or should we be studying ants for techno-breakthroughs?

2

And here I was, all ready with the ant-v-amp jokes.

3

Don’t let me stop you. :slight_smile:

4

It’s not just a matter of energy storage, it’s also a question of how efficient an ant’s “motor” is.
In other words, ho much energy does it actually take to move an ant. Probably not very much at all, so their tiny reserves of sugar and fat can keep them going for quite a while.

5

So…have they built that catapult yet?

6

Teslas use Li Ion batteries. It looks like they have an 85 kW-h battery which is 1200 lbs, if I’m reading the specs right. 85 kW-h is roughly 73,000 (food) Calories. For 1200 lbs, I can get 2791 cups of cooked rice, which have 213 calories each. That’s almost 600,000 Calories. So for now, regular old food is still much calorie-dense than Li Ion batteries.

7

I think they’re working on it. (Wouldn’t that be an antipult?) So far, the reinforcements haven’t arrived, either. I’ll let you know if the AAF starts buzzing my kitchen.

8

The ants are using combustion. The closest real life system that works like their metabolism works is a fuel cell. Look at those for a comparison. Available fuel cells are several times better than batteries.