SpinOffs

As I’ve always said, there’s as much thermodynamics in a glass of beer, as there is in a power plant. Don't believe me? Read on. Phase change is common phenomena that we see all the time.  We’re most familiar with H₂O, of course, in its various forms: ice, water, and steam. This is partly because it’s a very common substance (on Earth anyway) but also because it’s one of the rare fluid types that readily changes phase at temperatures and pressures humans can typically dwell in. 

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Have you ever been to the beach on a very hot day? Then I am sure you noticed that the sand is very, very hot, uncomfortably so. Congratulations, you have had first-hand experience with ground source energy storage! Now, as you were hopping across the burning sands, seeking out tufts of grass to cool your burning feet, did you ever wonder how to harness the energy stored in the sand? I have, because it’s too hot for me to read on the beach and sand is a great place to draw diagrams and write equations.

Who has not dreamed of living on an island? You’re getting away from it all, walking alone along a secluded beach, as the ocean gently laps at shore…ahhhh. Excuse me – I have to go search for vacation packages!

OK, I’m back. Ironically, the very thing that attracts people to islands is the same thing that makes them a nightmare to live on when disasters strike - being “cut off” from the mainland. A recent example is Puerto Rico, where Hurricane Maria roared through with 190 mph winds that completely wiped out the power across the island. Well over a month later, most of the island is still without power and clean drinking water is in short supply. It will take years for the island to recover.

Sisyphus in Greek Mythology was condemned to eternally roll a large rock up a hill only to watch it crash to the bottom.  The myth lives on today with the term Sisyphean that refers to tasks that are never ending, thankless and frustrating.