OT: cost of reneables part II

From elsewhere.

"The UK Net Zero plan (only somewhat modified in the direction of greater realism after the invasion of Ukraine) was basically this: to convert the electricity grid to run on intermittent wind and solar generation, while at the same time doubling demand for electricity by converting cars to EVs and gas heating to heat pumps.

To do this without having any plans for storage on the required scale to make electricity supply reliable during calms and evenings.

And at the same time as the gas heating is converted to heat pumps, also convert the gas grid to hydrogen, for which there is no current or future source. And for which there will be no demand, once the electricity conversion is done.

This is what happens when a country permits its political class, its activists and its media to be run by people educated only in the modern liberal arts after which they immediately move into positions where they make or advocate policy. they have never worked in business. They have none of them the slightest idea what project management is, they have no experience of planning the implementation of anything more complicated than changing a light bulb, they have never had to reason quantitavely about anything at all complicated in their lives. But the thing they know for sure is that they are the nation?s intellectual elite and they are well qualified to come up with policy by sheer power of intellect.

It is Dunning Kruger on a national scale."

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher
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I agree, Clive Sinclair is your hero, in being both an engineer and businessman.

Reply to
Fredxx

Where does Dyson fit into this story? Wasn't he actually an art student?

Reply to
newshound

<snipped quote without attribution>

Not terribly scientific, withholding the source of a quotation. Sort of makes it worthless, wouldn't you say?

Reply to
Clive Arthur

Pity some of his products were crap, and occasionally verging on fraudulent.

Reply to
Andrew

I think that is overly harsh even though I didn't much like the man. Most of his products pushed the envelope of what was possible.

Herman Hauser of Acorn and BBC Micro and ARM fame was a really nice guy. ARM went on to become a big global player (then sold down the river). There is hardly a smartphone around today that doesn't have one of their chip designs inside it.

Reply to
Martin Brown

Hydrogen has a bad habit of leaking and is inconveniently explosive in a very wide range of fuel air mixtures. It could be interesting!

On the plus side there are many fewer telephone kiosks remaining to explode when the sparks from the pulse dialer provide ignition (as happened shortly after the move from wet towns gas to natural gas).

It might surprise you to know that despite our differences on the reality of global warming. I entirely agree with all of the above.

There are a handful of scientists and engineers in the government and on the Science select committee but way too many bean counters and lawyers.

Some of the accountants are numerate but clueless about physics.

Reply to
Martin Brown

That implies it was natural gas that was responsible for the explosions, does it not? But, bearing in mind that Town gas was roughly 50% hydrogen, I would have expected it to be the reverse, i.e. telephone kiosks stopped exploding after the switchover to natural gas. Is that what you meant and have I misunderstood it?

Reply to
Chris Hogg

+1 on both points. Sinclair did get a reasonable and affordable computer to the masses with the Spectrum.
Reply to
newshound

Clive sinclair was neither, and is not my hero.

If Clive were still alive he would be building solar powered dodgem cars for GreenIdiots

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

To be fair, other than his BallBarrow, everything he has produced has been a rip-off of industrial cyclones and industrial low-pressure, high-flow compressed air jets - and he has a lot of people working for him to design them. Perhaps he just concentrates on the "look".

Reply to
Steve Walker

<lots of snippage>

You might find this interesting, especially some of the tables:

formatting link
used in fuel cells. Energy densities not as good as petrol etc. but cost is far better. Much easier than hydrogen to store and transport and a lot of the infrastructure already exsists. ISTR something about a compound of ammonia being good - possibly a hydrate or hydride.

Reply to
PeterC

Dyson isn't an engineer any more than Sinclair was. They are both nothing more than conmen and marketing professionals. Their products were crap and they spent all their up front money on glossy adverts and promoting themselves

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

I think Clive Sinclair was lucky not to have ended up in jail. He had nothing to do with the design of the ZX81 or the Spectrium - he had no real understanding of electronics or computing.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

No, I wouldn't. Its stands or falls on its own merits, wouldn't you say? The message is all, the messenger is irrelevant. To people who can think, that is,.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

...Utilising the same motors, batteries and speed controllers that were developed for model planes....

Consumer producers are designed to sell - mostly to idiots with more money than sense - not to actually work. You can thank socialism for that. Before socialism if you had no sense no one gave you any money, either.

All the money goes on marketing. Remember alcopops? 1p of fizzy water with 1p of industrial alcohol and 1p of flavouring in a colourful 20p can sold for £1.50.

80% of the income going on marketing 17% on the managing director and 3% on the workers and ingredients.
Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Did telephones work on gas in them days?

Bill

Reply to
williamwright

That is called capitalism, minimal investment for maximum gain.

Reply to
Fredxx

Are you the sort of arty farty type that couldn't write an article for Practical Wireless while you were still at school?

In contrast Clive Sinclair was a real engineer. Your engineering skills were so piss poor in comparison. If you worked for him, he would feel obliged to sacked you from your lack lustre performance, not seeing beyond the end of your nose, whilst you blaming everyone else for your short career.

Reply to
Fredxx
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And the BallBarrow seems to have been a triumph of marketing over utility.

Reply to
Clive Arthur

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