I call the country Eurasian Georgia.
December 10, 2025 at 11:04 PM
I call the country Eurasian Georgia.
The idea of it is in peak vs. off-peak pricing, but that is usually stated in advance.
December 10, 2025 at 7:06 PM
The idea of it is in peak vs. off-peak pricing, but that is usually stated in advance.
I am the Antichrist?
December 7, 2025 at 1:04 AM
I am the Antichrist?
Seems like how Michael Jackson would often get an award at a music-awards show - “Lifetime Achievement” or some such. As if he won’t participate unless he got some award.
December 7, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Seems like how Michael Jackson would often get an award at a music-awards show - “Lifetime Achievement” or some such. As if he won’t participate unless he got some award.
Novorossiya = New Russia
December 6, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Novorossiya = New Russia
ChatGPT strikes me as rather glib, emitting a lot of verbiage without much content.
December 1, 2025 at 10:41 AM
ChatGPT strikes me as rather glib, emitting a lot of verbiage without much content.
LLM AI might be good as a tutor, assessing students’ responses and recommending things to do.
December 1, 2025 at 10:39 AM
LLM AI might be good as a tutor, assessing students’ responses and recommending things to do.
As fuels, CH’s, CHO’s, NH3, and H2 have greater energy density than batteries, and the first two are very suited to long-distance transport like ships and airplanes.
So we can finally say good riddance to fossil fuels.
#RenewableEnergy
So we can finally say good riddance to fossil fuels.
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 10:27 AM
As fuels, CH’s, CHO’s, NH3, and H2 have greater energy density than batteries, and the first two are very suited to long-distance transport like ships and airplanes.
So we can finally say good riddance to fossil fuels.
#RenewableEnergy
So we can finally say good riddance to fossil fuels.
#RenewableEnergy
Hydrocarbons and oxyhydrocarbons can be used as fuel and as chemical feedstocks for making plastics and the like.
Considering storage, CH’s, CHO’s, and NH3 are liquid or easily liquefied at room temperature, making them much easier to store than H2.
#RenewableEnergy
Considering storage, CH’s, CHO’s, and NH3 are liquid or easily liquefied at room temperature, making them much easier to store than H2.
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Hydrocarbons and oxyhydrocarbons can be used as fuel and as chemical feedstocks for making plastics and the like.
Considering storage, CH’s, CHO’s, and NH3 are liquid or easily liquefied at room temperature, making them much easier to store than H2.
#RenewableEnergy
Considering storage, CH’s, CHO’s, and NH3 are liquid or easily liquefied at room temperature, making them much easier to store than H2.
#RenewableEnergy
Finally, we can make hydrocarbons, with the Fischer-Tropsch process, and also oxyhydrocarbons, like methanol.
CO2 + 3H2 -> [CH2] + 2H2O
CO2 + 3H2 -> CH3OH + H2O
Yes, these processes consume carbon dioxide.
#RenewableEnergy
CO2 + 3H2 -> [CH2] + 2H2O
CO2 + 3H2 -> CH3OH + H2O
Yes, these processes consume carbon dioxide.
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Finally, we can make hydrocarbons, with the Fischer-Tropsch process, and also oxyhydrocarbons, like methanol.
CO2 + 3H2 -> [CH2] + 2H2O
CO2 + 3H2 -> CH3OH + H2O
Yes, these processes consume carbon dioxide.
#RenewableEnergy
CO2 + 3H2 -> [CH2] + 2H2O
CO2 + 3H2 -> CH3OH + H2O
Yes, these processes consume carbon dioxide.
#RenewableEnergy
We can make nitrogen fertilizer, using this hydrogen instead of fossil-fuel hydrogen.
We make ammonia with the Haber-Bosch process:
N2 + 3H2 -> 2NH3
and nitrates with
NH3 + 2O2 -> HNO3 + H2O
Ammonia can also be used as a fuel.
#RenewableEnergy
We make ammonia with the Haber-Bosch process:
N2 + 3H2 -> 2NH3
and nitrates with
NH3 + 2O2 -> HNO3 + H2O
Ammonia can also be used as a fuel.
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 10:00 AM
We can make nitrogen fertilizer, using this hydrogen instead of fossil-fuel hydrogen.
We make ammonia with the Haber-Bosch process:
N2 + 3H2 -> 2NH3
and nitrates with
NH3 + 2O2 -> HNO3 + H2O
Ammonia can also be used as a fuel.
#RenewableEnergy
We make ammonia with the Haber-Bosch process:
N2 + 3H2 -> 2NH3
and nitrates with
NH3 + 2O2 -> HNO3 + H2O
Ammonia can also be used as a fuel.
#RenewableEnergy
For chemical feedstocks, we must start with hydrogen, produced by electrolysis of water:
2H2O -> 2H2 + O2
We can use it directly, as a fuel, or as a feedstock. It is very awkward to store, however, since its boiling point is very low.
#RenewableEnergy
2H2O -> 2H2 + O2
We can use it directly, as a fuel, or as a feedstock. It is very awkward to store, however, since its boiling point is very low.
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 9:53 AM
For chemical feedstocks, we must start with hydrogen, produced by electrolysis of water:
2H2O -> 2H2 + O2
We can use it directly, as a fuel, or as a feedstock. It is very awkward to store, however, since its boiling point is very low.
#RenewableEnergy
2H2O -> 2H2 + O2
We can use it directly, as a fuel, or as a feedstock. It is very awkward to store, however, since its boiling point is very low.
#RenewableEnergy
All this renewable-energy development has centered around generating electricity and storing its energy for releasing as electricity.
To complete the transition to the second age of renewable energy, we need chemical feedstocks.
#RenewableEnergy
To complete the transition to the second age of renewable energy, we need chemical feedstocks.
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 9:45 AM
All this renewable-energy development has centered around generating electricity and storing its energy for releasing as electricity.
To complete the transition to the second age of renewable energy, we need chemical feedstocks.
#RenewableEnergy
To complete the transition to the second age of renewable energy, we need chemical feedstocks.
#RenewableEnergy
What next?
New kinds of batteries have gotten a lot of development, notably lithium-ion ones, used in electric cars. But lithium is a rare element, and sodium-ion batteries have gotten some attention as an alternative.
#RenewableEnergy
New kinds of batteries have gotten a lot of development, notably lithium-ion ones, used in electric cars. But lithium is a rare element, and sodium-ion batteries have gotten some attention as an alternative.
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 9:38 AM
What next?
New kinds of batteries have gotten a lot of development, notably lithium-ion ones, used in electric cars. But lithium is a rare element, and sodium-ion batteries have gotten some attention as an alternative.
#RenewableEnergy
New kinds of batteries have gotten a lot of development, notably lithium-ion ones, used in electric cars. But lithium is a rare element, and sodium-ion batteries have gotten some attention as an alternative.
#RenewableEnergy
But PV-cell makers learned how to use shortcuts that made PV cells much cheaper, even if those shortcuts would not work well in computer chips.
As a result, PV cells have overtaken concentrated solar power.
#RenewableEnergy
As a result, PV cells have overtaken concentrated solar power.
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 9:27 AM
But PV-cell makers learned how to use shortcuts that made PV cells much cheaper, even if those shortcuts would not work well in computer chips.
As a result, PV cells have overtaken concentrated solar power.
#RenewableEnergy
As a result, PV cells have overtaken concentrated solar power.
#RenewableEnergy
I did not expect photovoltaic cells to get very far, because they are manufactured much like computer chips, and that seemed like it was always going to be relatively expensive.
#RenewableEnergy
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 9:21 AM
I did not expect photovoltaic cells to get very far, because they are manufactured much like computer chips, and that seemed like it was always going to be relatively expensive.
#RenewableEnergy
#RenewableEnergy
Many years ago, when I first became interested in renewable energy, I expected concentrated solar power to be the main form of utilization of solar energy for electricity generation.
#RenewableEnergy
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Many years ago, when I first became interested in renewable energy, I expected concentrated solar power to be the main form of utilization of solar energy for electricity generation.
#RenewableEnergy
#RenewableEnergy
The transition to the second age of renewable energy was started in the mid 1970’s, and its first success was development of latter-day windmills: wind turbines.
Solar energy took some time to catch up, and when it did, it did so in a form that I found very surprising.
#RenewableEnergy
Solar energy took some time to catch up, and when it did, it did so in a form that I found very surprising.
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 9:09 AM
The transition to the second age of renewable energy was started in the mid 1970’s, and its first success was development of latter-day windmills: wind turbines.
Solar energy took some time to catch up, and when it did, it did so in a form that I found very surprising.
#RenewableEnergy
Solar energy took some time to catch up, and when it did, it did so in a form that I found very surprising.
#RenewableEnergy
But one form of renewable energy got a lot of development in that time: hydroelectric dams, with latter-day watermills for generating electricity.
Another form was photovoltaic cells, though because of their expense, they were only used in buoys and spacecraft and the like.
#RenewableEnergy
Another form was photovoltaic cells, though because of their expense, they were only used in buoys and spacecraft and the like.
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 8:38 AM
But one form of renewable energy got a lot of development in that time: hydroelectric dams, with latter-day watermills for generating electricity.
Another form was photovoltaic cells, though because of their expense, they were only used in buoys and spacecraft and the like.
#RenewableEnergy
Another form was photovoltaic cells, though because of their expense, they were only used in buoys and spacecraft and the like.
#RenewableEnergy
That changed in the Industrial Revolution. Wood was inadequate, so industrialists turned to coal, and later crude oil and natural gas. Thus ending the first age of renewable energy.
#RenewableEnergy
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 8:27 AM
That changed in the Industrial Revolution. Wood was inadequate, so industrialists turned to coal, and later crude oil and natural gas. Thus ending the first age of renewable energy.
#RenewableEnergy
#RenewableEnergy
Wind and water were also sources of mechanical energy in past millennia: windmills and watermills and sailboats and sailing ships.
But there was some premodern fossil-fuel use: Marco Polo noticed Chinese burning coal.
#RenewableEnergy
But there was some premodern fossil-fuel use: Marco Polo noticed Chinese burning coal.
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Wind and water were also sources of mechanical energy in past millennia: windmills and watermills and sailboats and sailing ships.
But there was some premodern fossil-fuel use: Marco Polo noticed Chinese burning coal.
#RenewableEnergy
But there was some premodern fossil-fuel use: Marco Polo noticed Chinese burning coal.
#RenewableEnergy
We and our animals are powered by the flesh of organisms that we and they eat, and the ultimate source of energy for that is sunlight.
The main source of heat was burning wood and the like, with the same ultimate source of energy.
#RenewableEnergy
The main source of heat was burning wood and the like, with the same ultimate source of energy.
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 8:17 AM
We and our animals are powered by the flesh of organisms that we and they eat, and the ultimate source of energy for that is sunlight.
The main source of heat was burning wood and the like, with the same ultimate source of energy.
#RenewableEnergy
The main source of heat was burning wood and the like, with the same ultimate source of energy.
#RenewableEnergy
Over most of the first age of renewable energy, the only source of mechanical energy for us was ourselves. When some large animals were domesticated, they could also supply mechanical energy. Animals like bovines and horses.
#RenewableEnergy
#RenewableEnergy
December 1, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Over most of the first age of renewable energy, the only source of mechanical energy for us was ourselves. When some large animals were domesticated, they could also supply mechanical energy. Animals like bovines and horses.
#RenewableEnergy
#RenewableEnergy
That’s why I have given away most of my books, because e-books are MUCH less bulky.
November 29, 2025 at 2:46 AM
That’s why I have given away most of my books, because e-books are MUCH less bulky.