IT USTA BE SANTA CLARA VALLEY PART 2
YESTERDAY, COMPUTER VACUUM TUBES FAILED every couple days and the valley had yet to be named Silicon. Today in Part 2, we continued gleaning insights from John Lanchester’s “Putting the … Continue reading
IT USTA BE SANTA CLARA VALLEY PART 1
John Lanchester’s “Putting the Silicon in Silicon Valley,” London Review of Books, March 16, 2023, offers information galore about our silicon chip age. At almost 6000 words, the article is … Continue reading
PRODUCTIVITY—THE DYNAMO, THE COMPUTER, AND A.I.
PAUL KRUGMAN’S “A.I. MAY CHANGE EVERYTHING, But Probably Not Too Quickly,” The New York Times, March 31, 2023, is a fascinating parable on technology and its effects on productivity. It … Continue reading
WEANING OFF COAL
COAL REPLACED WOOD AS THE WORLD’S primary energy source in 1885. It wasn’t until 1950 that petroleum and natural gas took its place. And, these days, much to the benefit … Continue reading
BEETHOVEN’S MOP
I’VE LONG BEEN ENVIOUS of Ludwig van Beethoven’s unruly head of hair. When I visit the nice lady who trims my hair occasionally (no, make that aperiodically), I say, “concert … Continue reading
SIMULATING FUEL CELL STEEL
FOLKS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE’S Advanced Power and Energy Program kindly keep me posted of their work with fuel cells of one type and another. See UCI’s work … Continue reading
ARE THERE ENOUGH OF US OUT THERE ALREADY?
IT’S NO SURPRISE THAT, beginning around 1950, we’re no longer living in the Holocene Epoch but the Anthropocene. It turns out that by many measures, including biomass, human beings have … Continue reading
HYDROGEN IN THEM THAR FAIRY CIRCLES PART 2
YESTERDAY, SCIENCE’S ERIC HAND described an innovative means of capturing hydrogen as a carbon-free renewable source of energy. Today in Part 2, details are gleaned from his article “Hidden Hydrogen,” … Continue reading
HYDROGEN IN THEM THAR FAIRY CIRCLES PART 1
“DOES EARTH HOLD VAST STORES of a renewable, carbon-free fuel?” queries the subhead in Eric Hand’s article “Hidden Hydrogen,” Science, February 16, 2023. Here in Parts 1 and 2 today … Continue reading
TIME FOR HYDROGEN (AND NOW WE MEAN IT)
“NO LONGER ’20 YEARS IN THE FUTURE,’ ” writes Lindsay Brooke, Editor-in-Chief, in SAE International Automotive Engineering, February 2023. “Hydrogen and fuel cells are a vital, high-growth solution for carbon … Continue reading
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