Great Scott! Charge up because it’s time to travel
Published on July 16, 2024
If Dr. Emmett Brown were to charge his DeLorean time machine using the level 3 DC fast charger in front of the Los Alamos County Municipal Building, other electric vehicle drivers in the area might have to wait a while for their turns to charge up.
A ribbon cutting in the style of the Back to the Future movies brought out fans of the films and folks who are excited about the county’s first DC fast chargers on Monday. In addition to the charger at the municipal building, there is also one at the White Rock Visitors Center.
After installing the chargers and in tandem with ribbon cutting planning, the Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities (DPU) hosted a DC Fast Charger Challenge that posed the question: if Doc Brown and Marty McFly were to charge their DeLorean time machine using the electric vehicle DC fast charger in the Los Alamos County Municipal Building parking lot, how long would it take to charge up to the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity required for time travel, assuming the time machine hits 88 miles per hour?
Sounds pretty heavy, right? But as Doc reminded Marty, weight has nothing to do with it.
In true Los Alamos fashion, the answers did not disappoint. Some entrants said it simply could not be done, because time travel? Really? To those folks, Marty said it best: “I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet. But your kids are gonna love it.”
The answers among other entrants covered a broad range of time possibilities. To evaluate the various theories, assumptions and calculations that were submitted, DPU assembled its best pencil pushing, paradigm pondering, panel of calculator toting math-minded staff.
The winning answer came from Feliz Esparza, who determined it would take 4.275 years to charge the time machine to full time-travel functionality. It was a tough decision for the panel, though. After much deliberation and a healthy back-and-forth, nearly-even split, they realized an honorable mention was necessary, going to Collin Meierbachtol who calculated the time machine would be primed to hit that 88 mph in just 5 hours and 23 minutes. He calculated it would cost about $118 for Marty to make it back to 1985 and pointed out that’s “pretty cheap” for time travel.
Esparza and Meierbachtol will both receive DPU T-shirts and socks emblazoned with DPU’s emoji mascots because, as Doc said, “If you’re gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?”
A DeLorean, complete with flux capacitor, traveled (through time?) to the Municipal Building for the ribbon cutting ceremony, courtesy of Jon and Kristie McClellan. Marty McFly and Doc Brown both made appearances at the event, played by DPU Associate Engineer Steve Horner and Engineering Intern Craig Barber.
The ribbon was held by Board of Public Utilities members Robert Gibson (chair) and Matt Heavner, as well as County Council Chair Denise Derkacs and Vice Chair Theresa Cull. It was cut by Utility Manager Philo Shelton. The charger installation project, which was made possible through grant funding from Volkswagen, was managed by Deputy Utility Manager Ben Olbrich. Like Marty said, “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.”
