Continue reading "Slow Electricity: The Return of DC Power?" »
Posted on April 27, 2016 at 02:41 PM in Batteries, Cover story, DIY, Energy production, History, Infrastructures, Lighting, Low-tech solutions, Power transmission, Solar energy, Wired technology | Permalink | Comments (50)
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Posted on April 26, 2015 at 02:21 PM in Cover story, Energy, Energy production, Solar energy | Permalink | Comments (30)
All hydropower plants today produce electricity. Transforming energy to electricity seems to be the only way to harness water power, but it is not. For almost two thousand years, water wheels powered machines directly via mechanical transmission.
Some small direct hydro powered systems in South America present a strong case for combining the use of modern materials with old fashioned methods of water power mechanization.
The higher efficiency of this approach means that less water is needed to produce a given amount of energy. This lowers the cost of hydropower and enables power to be produced by the use of very small streams.
Continue reading "Back to Basics: Direct Hydropower" »
Posted on August 11, 2013 at 02:24 AM in Cover story, Energy, Energy production, Kinetic energy, Water power, Water powered machines, Water wheels | Permalink | Comments (16)
You don't need electricity to send or receive power quickly. In the second half of the nineteenth century, we commonly used fast-moving ropes. These wire rope transmissions were more efficient than electricity for distances up to 5 kilometres. Even today, a nineteenth-century rope drive would be more efficient than electricity over relatively short distances. If we used modern materials for making ropes and pulleys, we could further improve this forgotten method.
Continue reading "The Mechanical Transmission of Power (3): Endless Rope Drives" »
Posted on March 02, 2013 at 06:12 PM in Cover story, Energy, Energy production, Factories, Flywheels, History, Industry, Kinetic energy, Kites, Low-tech solutions, Obsolete technology, Power transmission, Ropes, Towers, Wire ropes, Wired technology | Permalink | Comments (30)
While this historical summary is basically correct, there were some - rather important - exceptions. Almost all of the leading economies in Western Europe during the last millenium relied on a large-scale use of fossil fuels such as peat and coal.
Continue reading "Medieval smokestacks: fossil fuels in pre-industrial times" »
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 01:27 AM in Canals, Coal, Cover story, Energy, Energy production, Factories, Fossil fuels, Heating, History, Industry, Obsolete technology, Peat & turf, Thermal energy | Permalink | Comments (17)