Electrical Grid
77 episodes · Page 3 of 4
#2786: The Hidden Engineering of AI Data Centers
How data centers retrofit for GPUs, from liquid cooling to immersion tanks. The physics behind 100kW racks.
#2782: Are AI Data Centers Really New or Just Patched Together?
The real bottleneck isn't GPUs — it's power transformers. A look at the physics and economics of AI infrastructure.
#2759: Why Your Smart Home Can't Mimic a Hotel
Can Zigbee and Matter handle a two-story house with outdoor devices? We break down mesh hops, latency, and real-world limits.
#2608: Can You Wire Your House Like a Hotel?
Can you wire your house like a hotel? Here's what KNX costs, how it works, and how to connect it to Home Assistant.
#2596: The Hidden World of Industrial Computing
Two parallel tech worlds: industrial systems integrators and IT managed service providers. How they differ, and why one pays $300/hour.
#2576: The Centimeter-Level Challenge of Burying City Power
How cities bury high-voltage cables with centimeter precision and why some still keep wires overhead.
#2573: What's Actually Inside a Hotel Smart Room System
Hotels don't use Alexa or smart bulbs. Here's the industrial-grade tech running behind those sleek wall panels.
#2572: Solar Panels on Israeli Roofs: Who Gets to Decide?
Rooftop solar economics in Israel, the collective-action problem of apartment buildings, and how feed-in tariffs actually work.
#2570: Can Solar Alone Power a Country?
What total solar sufficiency actually requires — from generation to storage to the grid itself.
#2569: The Invisible Miracle of Grid Balancing
The grid has no storage. Every electron was generated a fraction of a second ago. Here's how it stays balanced.
#2568: When Does Your House Need Three-Phase Power?
Why industrial machines need different electricity — and when your home AI rig might too.
#2270: How Your Laptop Charger Conquered the World
The heavy travel transformer is extinct, thanks to a clever engineering revolution inside every power brick. We explain the tech and which devices ...
#1760: Why Sloths Keep Dying on Roads and Power Lines
Sloths are getting trapped in cities, but a simple rope bridge is saving hundreds from highways and power lines.
#771: Beyond Backups: The High Stakes of Critical Redundancy
How do hospitals and data centers stay online during a disaster? Explore the engineering of "five nines" and the limits of redundancy.
#736: When Streetlights Hijack Your Sleep Clock
Are harsh streetlights ruining your sleep? Explore the science of why cities are switching to red and amber lighting for better health.
#683: Can Smartphones Save the Grid?
Herman and Corn explore the technical and legal hurdles of replacing massive data centers with a global peer-to-peer network of consumer devices.
#577: The Shadow City: Why Sewers Are Civilization's Last Frontier
Explore the hidden world of urban infrastructure, from Victorian brickwork to AI-powered robots and the battle against the "fatberg."
#575: The End of the Car: Can We Really Quit Private Transport?
Is the private car a failed experiment? Herman and Corn discuss why EVs aren't enough and how we can design cities for people, not machines.
#508: Israel's Solar Mid-Life Crisis
Israel led the world in solar water heaters, but why is it lagging in electricity? Herman and Corn explore the future of the Israeli grid.
#507: The Hidden Cost of Binary Cooling
Discover how Variable Refrigerant Flow technology and ancient architectural secrets are redefining how we stay cool in a warming world.
#458: Why Your City Won't Freeze When a Server Dies
Ever wonder how the power grid stays balanced? Herman and Corn dive into SCADA, PLCs, and the tech keeping our modern world running.
#456: How a Stone Building Grounds Itself
Why does your wall outlet have three prongs? Discover the hidden physics of electrical grounding and how buildings stay safe from power surges.
#429: Can 10 Air Conditioners a Second Save or Sink the Planet?
Explore how breakthroughs like liquid desiccants and radiative sky cooling are transforming AC from a climate threat into a sustainable solution.
#407: Why Your Elevator Feels Unsafe but Isn't
Ever wonder why rickety old elevators stay upright? Explore the engineering behind safety inspections and the hidden power of modern lift tech.