Q:  What would be the power emitted by the body of a live human being,
              if we suspended it in some measuring chamber?



           A live human body has a temperature of 37 C, or 310 Kelvin.
           To a very rough approximation, the surface area of a human
           body is around 1 square meter.  If we pretend that humans
           emit as blackbodies (not quite true, but within an order of
           magnitude), then


                Power  =  (area) * sigma * T^4


                       =  (1 m^2) * (5.67 x 10^(-8) W/m^2-K^4) * (310 K)^4

    
                       =   523 Watts


            Note that this is just the energy emitted because the 
            body is warm.   This is NOT the same thing as the energy
            produced by the muscular actions of a body in motion
            (running, swimming, etc.).  

            It _is_, by a coincidence, roughly the same size as the
            muscular power.