Curated playlist
Energy conversion
- Electric motorIn 1821, Michael Faraday made a wire spin around a magnet in a pool of mercury.
- Solar powerCharles Fritts installed the first rooftop solar array on a New York City roof in 1884.
- RecyclingChina's "National Sword" policy blindsided recycling programs in 2017.
- Solar cellIn 1971, a solar cell cost approximately $100,000 per watt. Space users paid it, so no one cheapened production.
- Steam engineOn February 21, 1804, a steam locomotive hauled 70 passengers along a tramway in south Wales.
- Solar energySolar energy has a famous flaw: it stops at sundown. Molten salt tanks can store heat for nighttime power.
- HydropowerHydropower once ran 16 Roman water wheels at a single mill in France.
- Nuclear powerThe first nuclear reactor was built under a stadium to win a war. Chicago Pile-1 achieved criticality in 1942.
- Nuclear fusionCastle Bravo, a 1954 nuclear test, produced 15 megatons instead of the predicted 6.
- Energy developmentIn 2024, fossil fuels still met 86% of the world's energy needs. That was up from 81% in 2005.
- Photoelectric effectA dim beam of high-frequency light freed electrons, but a bright low-frequency beam freed none.