Final answer:
The energy from ocean currents could potentially meet about 27.78% of the world's current annual energy consumption, assuming 100% conversion efficiency. Additionally, deuterium from the oceans has the potential to provide energy for a significant period, factoring in the world's energy consumption to be ten times the United States' consumption.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question refers to the comparison of the energy yield of ocean currents relative to the current annual world consumption of energy by humans. The data suggests that steady ocean currents offer a total power potential of about 5 terawatts (TW). In contrast, human energy consumption is approximately 18 TW, as derived from our current appetite for energy. Using these figures, the ratio of ocean current energy to human's current annual world consumption of energy is approximately 5 TW to 18 TW. Therefore, ocean current energy, assuming 100% conversion efficiency, could potentially meet about 27.78% of the world's current annual energy consumption.
Let's consider another scenario where the deuterium in ocean water is used as a fuel source. Given the world energy consumption is ten times that of the United States, which is 8 x 1019 Joules per year, and knowing that the deuterium content is 0.015% of natural hydrogen and the energy yield of deuterium is approximately 3.37 x 1014 Joules per kilogram with a conversion efficiency of 32%, we could estimate the number of years the deuterium fuel in the oceans could meet this demand. This calculation requires estimating the amount of water in the oceans to find the mass of deuterium available, which is beyond the scope of this answer. However, the result could potentially indicate that ocean deuterium could meet the world's energy needs for a significant period.