TechStuff Classic: How Solar Towers Work

Will Adobe survive the decompiling revolution? Reed Albergotti (Semafor and Future Proof), Kyle Chayka (Infinite Scroll, New Yorker), and Taylor Lorenz (User Mag) pull up to the roundtable, uncertain of how soon we’ll really see nuclear reactors on the moon—but sure that there’s ... Show More

Why are the people most afraid of artificial superintelligence racing to build it? After interviewing more than 150 AI insiders, former New York Times tech columnist and podcast host Kevin Roose found a race fueled by fear, bitter rivalries, and one recurring belief: if we don’t ... Show More

Will frontier AI labs really police themselves, or will the FTC pull rank? Reed Albergotti (Semafor), Margaux MacColl (Vanity Fair) and Nitasha Tiku (The Washington Post) dive into tech’s big week in Washington to tell us what to expect from evaluators, who the evaluators are, an ... Show More

First up in our energy series: solar! How do we harness the energy from the sun to produce electricity? Why should we? What are the environmental impacts? Resources for this episode: National Renewable Energy Laboratory How Does Solar Work (energy.gov) End of Life Solar Panels: R ... Show More

Daniel and Kelly talk about how to keep solar panels bright and powerful when they far away on a dusty planet.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Daniel and Jorge talk about the daring and dangerous mission of the Parker Solar Probe and what it might reveal about the Sun.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Daniel and Jorge answer listener questions about the solar system and the early Universe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

A mountain, a tower, a thermos full of molten salt: These are the batteries that could power our renewable future. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vo ... Show More

A new kind of solar cell - made by drying a special liquid on a surface - is being heralded as a revolution in solar power. The minerals known as perovskites were discovered more than 150 years ago. More recently, their crystal structure has been copied using other materials and ... Show More

How long can we enjoy the sunshine before we need a new star?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

<p>Though we use more renewable energy than ever before, electricity grids need ways to cope with intermittent wind or solar power. Innovations that make batteries to store that energy <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2024/09/01/clean-energys-next-trillion-dollar-busin ... Show More

Solar power has been harnessed by civilisations since the days of the ancient Greeks, but it's now on the verge of being more important than ever. Tim Harford examines how much of a challenge it poses to the energy establishment, and what that could mean for the planet's future.