Alex, you may be interested to hear that the two main industrial regions of Japan, centered around Tokyo and Osaka, operate at different frequencies (50 Hz and 60 Hz) and are (as a result) minimally connected, with little energy sharing possible. This is the result of the two industrial regions separately importing equipment in the late 19th century from Europe (Germany) and the United States, slowing building capacity and distribution, and never reconciling the two systems. This anomaly bit Japan (Tokyo and eastern Japan, really) in the ass after the earthquake and tsunami of 2011, after which the government shut down the country's nuclear energy plants, creating an electricity shortage. The western region had plenty of power, but the "pipe" connecting the two regions has a tiny capacity, and energy sharing is not possible at scale.
I wish we had a source like yours when I was growing up in the 1950's. Even though I went to selective schools, the curriculum was based on traditional subjects or whatever was au Courant. No mention of how modern life worked and why. Imagine a secondary curriculum where students could actually study the past decisions that shape the world around them. Might actually help them as citizens.
On a personal note: when we moved to New York from San Francisco, our first apartment was on DC. That disabled my phonograph, and my poor Papa had to trudge to the lower West Side where the Electronics stores were. A few weeks later my beloved record player came back, with a large metal bulge affixed to it's rear, that granted me access to my large collection of children's records.
The electronics district ultimately became the Twin Towers and then became The Freedom Tower. The electronics stores migrated to the Far Westside, then to the Internet.
Great read. In addition to these points, I read that the UK adopted electrification slowly in large part because local municipalities already owned gas works, and opposed power plants that would take away their source of revenue.
By the 1920s, 75% of US factories were industrialized, about 2/3 of German, and just under half in the UK. A pathetic figure given that the UK was highly urbanized and industrialized first. (I have forgotten the source of this fact, unfortunately)
Alex, you may be interested to hear that the two main industrial regions of Japan, centered around Tokyo and Osaka, operate at different frequencies (50 Hz and 60 Hz) and are (as a result) minimally connected, with little energy sharing possible. This is the result of the two industrial regions separately importing equipment in the late 19th century from Europe (Germany) and the United States, slowing building capacity and distribution, and never reconciling the two systems. This anomaly bit Japan (Tokyo and eastern Japan, really) in the ass after the earthquake and tsunami of 2011, after which the government shut down the country's nuclear energy plants, creating an electricity shortage. The western region had plenty of power, but the "pipe" connecting the two regions has a tiny capacity, and energy sharing is not possible at scale.
Alex, great read and thank you for putting this together.
Have a great day and keep up the good work.
I wish we had a source like yours when I was growing up in the 1950's. Even though I went to selective schools, the curriculum was based on traditional subjects or whatever was au Courant. No mention of how modern life worked and why. Imagine a secondary curriculum where students could actually study the past decisions that shape the world around them. Might actually help them as citizens.
On a personal note: when we moved to New York from San Francisco, our first apartment was on DC. That disabled my phonograph, and my poor Papa had to trudge to the lower West Side where the Electronics stores were. A few weeks later my beloved record player came back, with a large metal bulge affixed to it's rear, that granted me access to my large collection of children's records.
The electronics district ultimately became the Twin Towers and then became The Freedom Tower. The electronics stores migrated to the Far Westside, then to the Internet.
Great read. In addition to these points, I read that the UK adopted electrification slowly in large part because local municipalities already owned gas works, and opposed power plants that would take away their source of revenue.
By the 1920s, 75% of US factories were industrialized, about 2/3 of German, and just under half in the UK. A pathetic figure given that the UK was highly urbanized and industrialized first. (I have forgotten the source of this fact, unfortunately)