tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14474631.post6212428537284980776..comments2023-10-19T05:40:59.162-04:00Comments on Sippican Cottage: How To Read The NewspaperSippicanCottagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14940797380578921776noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14474631.post-69483197550963576932007-12-29T07:51:00.000-05:002007-12-29T07:51:00.000-05:00(...)The company chose to build its plant in south...(...)<I>The company chose to build its plant in southern San Jose, news that was cheered by local development officials. Much of the microelectronics industry created here has moved to Asia and new factories are a rare commodity in Silicon Valley.</I><BR/><BR/>The NYT seems to be trying to avoid stating the obvious: that new factories are a "rare commodity" absolutely <I>everywhere</I> in the nation-state called the USA-not just in Silicon Valley.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14474631.post-84006852291546370652007-12-26T19:12:00.000-05:002007-12-26T19:12:00.000-05:00Awesome. As I said:And you really can't tell if th...Awesome. As I said:<BR/><I>And you really can't tell if the people claiming these things are full of merde until we get to see the test tubes and rulers and so forth.</I><BR/><BR/>Ric brought some test tubes and rulers. <BR/><BR/>As to the direct question, if the south facing roof of my little house was covered with solar at the rate you described, it would run the planer, and maybe the light hanging over it. That's using household electrical arithmetic and roofing squares measurement. Or all the lights and some of the appliances in my home at night, if you could store it.<BR/><BR/>If the article is accurate, and so is Ric,( I think he is) then we've traded "too expensive and not enough of it" for just plain "not enough of it." <BR/><BR/>I actually thought the battery news was more important. If electricity could be stored more readily, there's lots of ways to generate it, including solar. <BR/><BR/>I wonder what the combined square footage of all the flat-roofed tar and gravel office buildings in country is. At 20 watts a square yard, that would be a lot of watts.SippicanCottagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14940797380578921776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14474631.post-75693921491436860992007-12-24T17:01:00.000-05:002007-12-24T17:01:00.000-05:00Got a number for you. Memorize it.Eight tenths of ...Got a number for you. Memorize it.<BR/><BR/>Eight tenths of a horsepower per square yard. Six hundred watts, about.<BR/><BR/>That's how much solar power there is. Oh, and that square yard? It has to be perpendicular to the sunlight. On a clear day. At noon.<BR/><BR/>Multiply by the cosine squared, which is a half. That's because you can't afford to build or maintain a structure that will keep that square yard pointed at the sun, and because the sunlight passes through more atmosphere in the morning and evening than at noon. Call it 300 watts.<BR/><BR/>Multiply again by the cosine of your latitude. That's because, again, you can't keep that square yard pointed at the sun, so it has to lay flat. Where you are, that's 0.74 -- call it three-quarters. 225 watts. Per square yard.<BR/><BR/>Now go look back at that gee-whiz story about solar energy. Dig deep. Somewhere in there is an efficiency rating -- how much it collects of what hits it. Good crystalline solar cells can do 12 percent. The magic printable ones? -- Eight.<BR/><BR/>Be generous. Call it twenty watts. Per square yard. How many square yards to run a planer?<BR/><BR/>Regards,<BR/>RicRic Lockehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08937543097881679980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14474631.post-46953809368125868252007-12-23T19:55:00.000-05:002007-12-23T19:55:00.000-05:00I hope you read that stuff right. That would trul...I hope you read that stuff right. That would truly revolutionize the world. Inexpensive, renewable, non-polluting energy?<BR/><BR/>The Saudis would not be happy...Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600030574995481267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14474631.post-60228102594862285072007-12-23T13:09:00.000-05:002007-12-23T13:09:00.000-05:00Thanks, AJ-It is truly a season of fellowship and ...Thanks, AJ-<BR/>It is truly a season of fellowship and love when an Eagles fan wishes a Pats fan Merry Christmas.SippicanCottagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14940797380578921776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14474631.post-65251555658111349172007-12-23T12:33:00.000-05:002007-12-23T12:33:00.000-05:00Sipp:You are one of the best writers in the world....Sipp:<BR/><BR/>You are one of the best writers in the world. And I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks about what I just said. <BR/><BR/>I should stop by here more often as I always enjoy your blog.<BR/><BR/>Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!I'm Full of Souphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00241724007440718575noreply@blogger.com