How much energy did the Thanos snap release, approximately?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around estimating the energy released by Thanos' snap in Avengers: Infinity War, specifically focusing on the assumptions regarding the universe's size and the presence of life. Participants explore various approaches to quantify this energy in joules, considering both theoretical and fantastical elements.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks a rough estimate of the energy released by the snap, assuming a finite universe with a moderate amount of life.
  • Another participant questions how much energy is required to "de-rez" an individual and the total number of individuals affected.
  • Some participants express skepticism about the feasibility of estimating this energy due to the unknowns regarding the size and amount of life in the universe.
  • There is a suggestion that the snap's effect may have traveled faster than light, complicating any calculations.
  • One participant proposes defining the energy of a Thanosnap as the energy needed to vaporize half of all life in the universe.
  • Another participant raises the possibility that no energy is needed if the snap is considered magical, suggesting that the transformation could involve merely altering states rather than releasing energy.
  • Some participants humorously engage in a discussion about the identity of "phinds" and variations of that name.
  • One participant argues that the snap could be viewed as a transition in a closed system, implying that the energy released could be zero after accounting for magic.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the energy released by the snap, with multiple competing views and significant uncertainty regarding the assumptions and definitions involved.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights limitations related to the assumptions about the universe's size, the nature of life, and the undefined mechanics of the snap, which are influenced by fictional elements.

Maximum7
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In Avengers: Infinity Wars Thanos had the Infinity Gauntlet and when he snapped his fingers it wiped out 50% of life in the universe. Roughly, how much energy do you think the snap generated assuming the universe IS finite in size (since an infinite universe cannot have any percentage) AND the universe has planets with life on it in a medium-amount? Meaning life isn’t ultra rare but it isn’t like every habitable planet in every galaxy has life.

I’m looking for a rough estimate. In joules (preferably)
 
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And how much energy does it take to de-rez one individual? And how many individuals are there?
 
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I don't think this as answerable since there is no way to know the size/amount of life or what happened to it. So it depends entirely on anyone's choice of approach and assumptions.
 
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Grelbr42 said:
And how much energy does it take to de-rez one individual? And how many individuals are there?

I’m not entirely sure
 
Didn't the effect of the snap travel faster than light? So how would you even begin to start?
 
I'm taking the easy way out and just defining the answer to be equal to one Thanosnap, where a Thanosnap is the energy required to vaporize half of all life in the universe.
 
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Why does it need to take any energy at all? It it IS magic, after all.
 
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phinds (sort of) has a point. There's no reason to think any energy was released. They didn't blow up; they simply turned to dust. Maybe all the snap did was spirit the H2O molecules away, leaving the atoms to just blow away in the breeze. That's a plausible fit to observation.
 
DaveC426913 said:
phinds (sort of) has a point.
Hm ... Gramatically, what you have said is that I am only sort of phinds. I'm pretty sure I'm the real thing.

diction-police-badge.jpg
 
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Sort-of-phinds has a point.
 
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dhinps is a sort of phinds.
 
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  • #12
Drakkith said:
one Thanosnap,
Or 100 centithanossnaps for those who prefer cgs.
 
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  • #13
Maximum7 said:
Roughly, how much energy do you think the snap generated assuming the universe IS finite in size
Waste of brain cells to make sense to nonsense, but anyway, here is my take: since it was not some death wave but a transition between different states of a fairly closed system, after deducting the sufficient amount of magic involved zero should be just as sufficient answer as anything else.
 

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