Author Archive
Nov. 11, 1930: Einstein Gets Ice Cold
Some say the world will end in fire; some say in ice … chests. Two pioneering physicists delve from the highly theoretical down to the mundane world of refrigerators.
Oct. 19, 1941: Electric Turbines Get First Wind
The giant turbine in Vermont was the first wind machine to feed the electrical grid. And then, disaster struck.
Sept. 2, 1859: Telegraphs Run on Electric Air in Crazy Magnetic Storm
1859: A magnetic explosion on the sun causes bright auroras on Earth and upends the the fledgling telegraph network.
On Sept. 2, 1859, at the telegraph office at No. 31 State Street in Boston at 9:30 a.m., the operators’ lines were overflowing with current, so they unplugged the batteries connected to their machines, and kept …
Why Can’t Nuclear Plants Work More Like Software Startups?
Energy problems are, in some important ways, software problems. That means the companies that solve them will look more like software startups than big energy utilities, Alexis Madrigal argues in this guest editorial.
Book Excerpt: Three Inventors Who Tried to Bottle the Ocean’s Power
Early 20th century inventors had some Rube Goldberg-like schemes for turning ocean waves into power. Three of these unlikely contraptions are featured in this excerpt from Alexis Madrigal’s just-released book, Powering the Dream: The History and Promise of Green Technology.