In order to correctly rank the most powerful Sci-Fi weapons of the universe, FatWallet crunched the numbers to compare real life weapons with the destructive power of their science fiction counterparts. They worked with physicists and engineers on this infographic, which breaks down iconic weapons and their energy of devastation in joules, an energy measurement of “work done.”
In some cases, they drew data from source material or compared the weapons to real-life versions. In others, they attempted to calculate energy requirements for destruction shown in movies and TV shows. And in the case of reality-warping, fantastic weapons from the limits of our imagination, they drew help from theoretical physics.