Belgium, or more particularly a Belgian engineer named van Mele, provides me with the material for an extended meditation on global energy use, and especially the topic of energy efficiency, which many people look to for large gains. Having teased it last time, I remember to explain the practical application for Compressed Air Energy Storage which occurred to me. This in turn proves to be another chance to insist on considering the character of the demand for energy when discussing how to meet it. (A comment directed me to an interesting article peripherally related to the subject of district heating, which I often raise.) And I spend a moment talking about the upcoming Apollo 17 anniversary, of which more anon.
Supplementary Show
2022–12–06 Conclusion of the brief biography of Count Rumford, from the 2022–11–29 show. I then read Nuclear Energy and Southern Africa by BFJ Schonland from Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy volume 1, which leads me to ramble on about the origins of “apartheid”, possibly without really knowing enough about the topic.