Brian Potter

1 week ago | construction-physics.com | Brian Potter

Welcome to the reading list, a weekly roundup of news and links related to buildings, infrastructure, and industrial technology. This week we look at wind wars, radiation limits, US power plant water use, grassroots opposition to data centers, and more. Roughly 2/3rds of the reading list is paywalled, so for full access become a paid subscriber. A few housekeeping items this week:Last week I tried out a new reading list format of more items with shorter descriptions of each.

1 week ago | construction-physics.com | Brian Potter

In the US solar energy has steadily risen in how much of our electricity it supplies. In 2024, it supplied just over 7% of total electricity generation, up from less than 1% in 2015. Because most planned US electricity generation projects are solar photovoltaics (PV), this fraction will almost certainly continue to rise. But how much can it continue to rise? Is it feasible for solar power to meet most of our electricity demand?

2 weeks ago | construction-physics.com | Brian Potter

Welcome to the reading list, a weekly roundup of news and links related to buildings, infrastructure, and industrial technology. This week we look at Tulsa’s remote worker incentives, the “stolen iPhone building”, the Trump administration’s shipbuilding struggles, falling traffic law enforcement, and more. Roughly 2/3rds of the reading list is paywalled, so for full access become a paid subscriber.

2 weeks ago | construction-physics.com | Brian Potter

During WWII, the US constructed an unprecedented shipbuilding machine. By assembling ships from welded, prefabricated blocks, the US built a huge number of cargo ships incredibly quickly, overwhelming Germany’s u-boats and helping to win the war. But when the war was over, this shipbuilding machine was dismantled. Industrialists like Henry Kaiser and Stephen Bechtel, who operated some of the US’s most efficient wartime shipyards, left the shipbuilding business.

3 weeks ago | construction-physics.com | Brian Potter

Welcome to the reading list, a weekly roundup of news and links related to buildings, infrastructure, and industrial technology. This week we look at the “Safe System” of road design, a manufactured “superwood”, concrete sphere batteries, Tesla’s insurance arm, the University of Nebraska’s drought monitor, and more. Roughly 2/3rds of the reading list is paywalled, so for full access become a paid subscriber.