Posts Tagged ‘Macintosh’
“Other things stop working or they break, But batteries… they die”*…
There’s been a great deal of talk about semiconductors and the implications of a supply chain that depends too heavily on China– and some action (c.f., e.g., here and here). Fair enough: chips are clearly central to the economy into which we’re growing; assuring access matters. But let us not forget their humble technological cousin, the battery. Batteries power an increasing number of the appliances on which our lives increasingly depend; with the world gearing up for the electric vehicle era, we’re going to need them even more. So it could be an issue that the world is much more reliant on China for batteries than for chips…
Battery manufacturing has become a priority for many nations, including the United States. However, having entered the race for batteries early, China is far and away in the lead… In 2022, China had more battery production capacity than the rest of the world combined…
Global lithium-ion manufacturing capacity is projected to increase eightfold in the next five years… China’s well-established advantage is set to continue through 2027, with 69% of the world’s battery manufacturing capacity…
Battery manufacturing is just one piece of the puzzle, albeit a major one. Most of the parts and metals that make up a battery—like battery-grade lithium, electrolytes, separators, cathodes, and anodes—are primarily made in China.
Therefore, combating China’s dominance will be expensive. According to Bloomberg, the U.S. and Europe will have to invest $87 billion and $102 billion, respectively, to meet domestic battery demand with fully local supply chains by 2030…
More (and a larger version of the graphic above) at “Visualizing China’s Dominance in Battery Manufacturing (2022-2027P),” from @VisualCap.
* Demetri Martin
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As we recharge, we might recall that it was on this date in 1984 that Apple aired an epoch-making commercial, “1984” (directed by Blade Runner director Ridley Scott), during Superbowl XVIII– for the first and only time. Two days later, the first Apple Macintosh went on sale…. battery-dependent portables followed a few years later.
“Just a drink, a Martini, shaken not stirred”*…
ABSTRACT
Background
Moderate consumption of alcoholic drinks seems to reduce the risks of developing cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cataracts, perhaps through antioxidant actions of their alcohol, flavonoid, or polyphenol contents. “Shaken, not stirred” routinely identifies the way the famous secret agent James Bond requires his martinis.Objectives
As Mr Bond is not afflicted by cataracts or cardiovascular disease, an investigation was conducted to determine whether the mode of preparing martinis has an influence on their antioxidant capacity.Design
Stirred and shaken martinis were assayed for their ability to quench luminescence by a luminescent procedure in which hydrogen peroxide reacts with luminol bound to albumin. Student’s t test was used for statistical analysis.Results
Shaken martinis were more effective in deactivating hydrogen peroxide than the stirred variety, and both were more effective than gin or vermouth alone (0.072% of peroxide control for shaken martini, 0.157% for stirred v 58.3% for gin and 1.90% for vermouth). The reason for this is not clear, but it may well not involve the facile oxidation of reactive martini components: control martinis through which either oxygen or nitrogen was bubbled did not differ in their ability to deactivate hydrogen peroxide (0.061% v 0.057%) and did not differ from the shaken martini. Moreover, preliminary experiments indicate that martinis are less well endowed with polyphenols than Sauvignon white wine or Scotch whisky (0.056 mmol/l (catechin equivalents) shaken, 0.060 mmol/l stirred v 0.592 mmol/l wine, 0.575 mmol/l whisky).Conclusions
007’s profound state of health may be due, at least in part, to compliant bartenders.
Read the full version of “Shaken, not stirred: bioanalytical study of the antioxidant activities of martinis,” from the British Medical Journal, on NIH’s Pubmed.
* Goldfinger
As we decide nonetheless to emulate Luis Bunuel, we might recall that it was on this date in 1823 that Scottish chemist and waterproof fabric pioneer Charles Macintosh sold the first “raincoat.”
Infinitely Flat(land)…
Readers may recall your correspondent’s respect and affection for the extraordinary novella Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions— so won’t be surprised that he’s excited to discover the work of Vi Hart.
Hart is an artist and composer with a gift for using mundane materials (like balloons) to illustrate abstruse concepts. Her most recent creation is a wonderful animation of Flatland… on a moebius strip.
[TotH to BrainPickings]
As we we give up our search for a beginning or an end, we might recall that it was on this date in 1984– two days after it was introduced in an epoch-making commercial during Superbowl XVIII– that the first Apple Macintosh went on sale.
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