Here’s a stupid question:
How long would it take the human body to use up all of it’s ATP reserves without replacing the ATP?
I heard six seconds, with a loss of 17 lbs for the average person over this time. Sound right anyone?
And ATP is…?
Not that knowing will make me likely to be able to offer anything to the discussion, I’m just curious. Always am about silly questions.
RB
Redboss:
adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the carrier of chemical energy for all life on Earth (as far as we know). When hydrolyzed (broken down), the molecule releases energy that is used to drive all biological reactions. According to my organic chemistry textbook, “The importance of ATP to biological reactions is shown by its turnover rate in humans: each day, a person uses an amount of ATP equivalent to his or her body weight. Clearly, an enormous amount of ATP is continually being broken down and synthesized in biological organisms.”
If somehow you could prevent the formation of new ATP in the cells, your estimate of several seconds sounds reasonable. However, where does the loss of mass occur? The atoms lost when the ATP molecule becomes ADP are still there, after all, just not attached.
handandahalf:
I should have phrased my answer more clearly. I meant the human body would lose 17 lbs of ATP (which becomes ADP), but not necessarily 17 lbs of body weight. There would also be some weight lost from energy loss. Sound right?
P.S. I don’t know how accurate any of my guesses are. I wish there were references for stuff like this (Does the SDMB count?).
Very little (VERY little) weight loss is due to matter being converted to energy. What happens is that chemicals are broken down (with some energy being released in the process) and the leftovers are removed from your body.
So when you go on a diet and lose 5 lbs., it’s not that 5 lbs. of fat were converted to energy, rather that 5 lbs. of fat were converted to chemical fuel for your cells, which broke that down into waste products, that are removed in your urine, feces, and breath.