Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Montana's economic strategy increases homelessness and profits the rich

https://youtu.be/dU2x0BmFhJI?si=ShQ95zgnhJwcuu-T

How physicists broke the solar efficiency record.

Very interesting description of how to squeeze every last photon of energy out of solar energy. 

You may have to read the next sentence twice to really take in the magnitude of it. 
20:00 "470 exajoules* of energy reach the Earth's surface every 8 minutes, which is the same amount of energy that the entire world's population uses in a year."

*An exajoule is 10^18 joules, equivalent to 277.8 terawatt hours



Monday, November 4, 2024

Catenary curve in Christopher Wren's tallest building in London



3:15 Hooke -"As hangs the flexible line, so but inverted will stand the rigid arch." - the same shape taken by a hanging chain (in tension) will yield the strongest shape for a dome the other way up. 

4:20 "This allowed them to build taller, over a narrower opening, with less material." 



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