2 comments about Electrifying America: Social Meanings of a New Technology, 1880-1940.

1. Did you know, in the early days of electricity, the power went off at 11:00 pm each night? Or that electricity was billed at a flat rate of $1 per day? Or that most homes had only one or two outlets and a light bulb hanging from a string?

   This book is a compendium of both fascinating facts and substantial histories of the development of residential electrical usage in our country.

   I love old houses and historical information, and perhaps because of that, I found this book to be a fascinating read. Some parts of it were a wee bit dry, where he delved into some of the more technical aspects of this modern utility, but the majority of the book was a treasure.

   After reading this book, and gaining an better understanding of the history of electricity, I'd say, without hesitation, that introducing the modern convenience of electrical current into our homes may be the most significant discovery of the last 500 years.




2. This book is about how electricity transformed America. Nye explores how electricity changed the home (it was now cleaner and safer than gas), the factory, and transportation (it made the subway and inter-urban trolley-car systems possible). Americans embraced this new source of energy quickly and convincingly. The mantra, however, that electric appliances would free the housewife was not true: men did not take to the appliances as readily and (surprise!) women suddenly were doing chores (vacuuming) that men used to do (beat the rugs). There is a lot of detail in the book, but not much that is new or not obvious. For that reason it was somewhat dull.

No comments about Handbook of Energy Audits, Seventh Edition.

No comments about Renewable Energy in Power Systems.

4 comments about The Energy Machine of T. Henry Moray: Zero-Point Energy and Pulsed Plasma Physics.

1. I have never seen anything like this before. A slide presentation (with minimal notes) is all this is, folks. Very disappointing. I wouldn't have minded if there had been some useful information, but I imagine that King supplies the "missing meat" when he gives his slide presentation. As it stands, this book leaves me as in the dark as I began. I was hoping for some illumination (puns intended) on the workings of the energy machine. Perhaps the sparse notes included here are sufficient to an electrical engineer. To a mere lay person, the book is opaque. Too bad! I hate to write a negative review like this, since I really do support the man's work and this type of research. It's just unfortunate that this book does little to advance the cause of free energy research, in my opinion. I'm returning it.



2. This book not only brings the little-known and amazing discoveries and inventions of T. Henry Moray to the reader's attention, but introduces New Energy developments up to the present day. Dr. King also shows how the technologies behind Moray's inventions are resurfacing in the hands of contemporary scientists and validating Moray's findings. Dr. King also keeps our interest up by exploring the science behind the inventions, weaving the strands into a plausable theory of how all this untapped, "sea of energy" can be accessed for an almost cost and pollution free source of electricity and power so badly needed by the world. My only disappointment was that the book wasn't at least three times the length as there is so much of interest to anyone with a desire to know from where our future supply of energy and possibly the salvation of our planet may appear!



3. Zero Point Energy is real. The mathematics of quantum mechanics not only suggests it, it demands it. Furthermore, experimental evidence such as the Casimir Effect, the Lamb Shift, and the observed fact that liquid helium at practical absolute zero still will not freeze, confirm its existence. Additionally, in the last 100 years several experimenters have apparently succeeded in building successful "free energy" devices that extract their energy from the zero point field.
   
   Moray B. King has written three books, including this one, that essentially explain in relatively easy to understand terms what ZPE is and how it might be harnessed. In this book, he brilliantly makes the connection that the half-dozen or so well-known "free energy" devices all worked on the same principle using a pulsed glow plasma to cohere to the zero point field.
   
   King also mentions the brutal and ruthless suppression of these devices by the "powers that be", although he doesn't understand the exact nature of this power; in this regard he is in the same boat as the experimenters who built the devices. They naively believed that they could patent their device and release the technology to the world. However, this power, which exists far above our governments, and who I sometimes refer to as the "forbidden technology police", has been highly effective at seizing patents on "national security" grounds, destroying the devices, ransacking laboratories, ruining finances, and threatening or even killing these experimenters.
   
   However, suppression of the truth can only occur temporarily, and when it finally comes out, it explodes in the faces of those who attempted to suppress it. The Internet will be the death knell for this control group. I encourage all qualified researchers to build these devices and share their exact plans to replicate them on the Internet, since they won't be given patents anyway. This will saturate our planet with the knowledge of these devices to the point that any further attempts at suppression will fail.



4. When I got this book I thought that it was a textbook with lots of information about the subject. In fact it is really a slide show presentation by the author. The information is excellent and includes the dialog of the presentation. I have been interested in this form of energy since I was a child. I had been told that Tesla and others were receiving their energy from radio waves and from magnetically coupled power lines. As soon as I began my investigations of the subject I learned that these energies originate from space in the form of charged particles. I believe that Thomas Henry Moray had the same impression that these waves were magnetic in nature. Moray was a radio enthusiast and began his exploration of the subject with a conventional wire antenna. This meant that the device could not be portable. I saw a picture of a box by Moray in this book sat was portable. It was said that he eventually got rid of the external antenna. I read this book in a quiet place with my notepad at hand. I keep looking at the 1905 Tesla patent and the work of Moray and have come to a single conclusion. None of the patent or publicly provided drawings are accurate. I believe that both of these men made a accidental discovery. They realized that this was an entirely new energy. Conventional means of detection were of little or no use. A wire antenna is a means of capturing magnetic wave energy. Particle energy is a completely different thing.
   
   I have been studying Moray for some time. Most of his method involves the use of a detector of unknown composition. I believe that Moray was still thinking radio in his detection of these energies. This book has convinced me that not only did moray believe that these signals were radio-like in nature he believed that the destruction of his detector (The Swedish Stone) meant that he could no longer receive these energies. Going back to the Tesla detector I have come to the conclusion that both of these men were on the right t rack. Each claims that they obtained usable energies from their devices. Tesla does not show a diode or detector.
   
   A usable detector really only consist of three elements. The first element is an antenna for collection of these energies. The second is a means of storing the charge collected by the antenna. The third is a means of passing the full charge to a load. Tesla's output was AC in nature and Moray's is DC in nature. This is simply a choice in processing the collected energy.
   
   Until this book I assumed that Moray used a wire antenna. I know that collecting particles on a wire is much more difficult than on a solid surface. I believe that it is possible that Moray was onto something when he was able to build a portable unit. My present theory is that the actual particles he and Tesla were tapping are positrons. The particles are, "Super Charges," with at or about 10MEVs of energy. As these charges pass through object, they shed a little of this charge. Moray's specialty tubes are far too small to handle the currents needed to do what he was doing. I believe that the power was in the form of extremely high voltage the current levels were extremely weak. The conduction in the tubes was in the form of plasma energy. I do not yet understand how plasma flows through circuits. It may only require guidance to move through the circuit somewhat like water through a pipe.
   
   The gathered charge is identical to the collection of static electricity. One terminal is used to collect the charge. When the charge is sufficient it is then discharged through the load. Tesla controlled the discharge through a spark gap. The flaw in doing this is that the contacts of the spark gap become pitted and contaminated. This changes the charge and discharge cycles. Moray used some sort of specialty tube to do the same thing. It was much cleaner than a spark discharge and a whole lot quieter.
   
   What I would have liked to have seen was how Moray collected this energy and how he stored it. None of the photos or writings have shown or no description is given about how this process works.
   
   I believe that this is an excellent text on the subject of zero point energy. It is definitely not the same as other books on T. H. Moray that I have read. I know that there must be more information out there. It would be nice to see more books on Moray.
   
   The Energy Machine of T. Henry Moray: Zero-Point Energy and Pulsed Plasma Physics

3 comments about The Giza Death Star Destroyed: The Ancient War For Future Science (Giza Death Star Trilogy).

1. This is another very interesting book in Farrell's Giza Death Star trilogy.
   
   Like the other ones I found his research more interesting than his final conclusions. I don't buy into the theory that the Great Pyramid was created for destructive purposes.
   
   For me the key points were:
   
   1) Questions about the validity of Einstein's theory of relativity and
   other main stream science topics. He suggests that physics took a
   wrong turn around the time of Einstein when people disregarded the
   properties of what the ancients called the 'aether'.
   
   2) He talks about alchemy and the mystical properties of gold and various
   crystals. He suggests that Moses and Aaron were familiar with the
   mysterious alchemy of the Egyptians and relates this to the story of
   Aaron creating the golden calf during the Exodus. It is true that the
   story doesn't make much sense when read literally. Perhaps he is
   correct that we are missing some of the metaphysical pieces of this
   account.
   
   3) He pulls in a lot of philosophy which includes neoPlatonism. I don't
   understand what he's talking about but yet it is interesting that
   perhaps somewhere in Plato's philosophy lies the answers to great
   mysteries. This analysis includes various mathematical examples using
   what I think is set theory.
   
   I took off one star for what I think is perhaps too literal of an interpretation of various myths and legends. Farrell believes that Mars was once a satellite of a Saturn sized planet named Krypton that was destroyed by the Great Pyramid's death ray. This explosion then rearranged the planets and the water from Krypton eventually hit the earth, causing the biblical flood.
   
   These books are a tremendous starting point for conducting further research into these alternative science topics. At the end of the book there's a big section of additional books that are related to these same sorts of occult science ideas.
   
   These books have opened up an entire new area of research for me. I believe that Farrell is correct and somewhere hidden in all of this are the keys to many mysteries.
   
   Jeff Marzano
   
   The Giza Power Plant : Technologies of Ancient Egypt
   
   Edgar Cayce's Egypt: Psychic Revelations on the Most Fascinating Civilization Ever Known
   
   The Mystery of the Crystal Skulls: Unlocking the Secrets of the Past, Present, and Future
   
   Ufo...Contact from Planet Iarga
   
   The Atlantis Dialogue: Plato's Original Story of the Lost City, Continent, Empire, Civilization
   
   Initiation
   
   Initiation in the Great Pyramid (Astara's Library of Mystical Classics)



2. 
   This is the final book in the Giza Death Star series, updating the research again and finishing the series.
   
   Farrell continues his meticulous methods of presenting ancient "paleophysics," hidden history, and exotic science in this book. He investigates the work of such people as G. Patrick Flanagan, Paul La Viollette, Joe Parr, Michael Bounias, Volodymyr Krasnoholovets, Gardner, De Lubicz, and others in the context of ancient science and the pyramid Weapon Hypothesis. This book also includes a highly technical Appendix to one chapter (9), which is a formal topological presentation of some of the aspects of advanced science in ancient texts (went beyond my math skills at this point).
   
   As usual, Farrell unearths and connects fascinating ideas and information, linking them to threads of science and history through the mechanism of the pyramid Weapon Hypothesis. Farrell's books are intense and exciting.
   
   If you liked the other books in the series, you will like this one.
   
   I recommend all of Farrell's books.



3. What an interesting book with a novel premise - Egyptian Star Wars weaponry. Gives an interesting overview of the theoretical underpinnings behind the concept. Not exactly mainstream science, but interesting food for thought.

3 comments about How to Live a Low-Carbon Life: The Individuals Guide to Stopping Climate Change.

1. This book has a lot of interesting fact and data, but they are all center on England and little is said about the USA and our energy use. I found the mathematical formulas and their process of think and conclusions about data to be the most interesting part of the book. I found to be a good read but was disappointed that all of the suggestions they made where to reform government to make it more environmental friendly. The book did show how our person choices have an impact but the book said that all real change had come from the government of course I disagree with this.



2. Chris Goodall (Telecommunications chair of software company Dynmark International) presents How to Live a Low-Carbon Life: The Individual's Guide to Stopping Climate Change, a guide for the socially responsible to reducing one's carbon emissions and therefore aid in preventing global catastrophe. Chapters cover how to calculate one's carbon dioxide emissions and reduce them to 3 tonnes a year or less, the amount that the Earth can sustainably absorb per person. From home heating to lighting, appliances, car travel, air travel, means of cancelling out emissions, and much more, How to Live a Low-Carbon Life is thoroughly easy to use. "Anyone looking for energy efficiency should concentrate the search on the smaller fridge freezers. Going from a 300 litre capacity machine to a 400 litre will typically add about 60kWh/year to electricity consumption, so it makes sense to try to buy a moderately sized appliance." Highly recommended.



3. Despite the strong evidence for global warming, neither industries nor governments are changing their assumption that the world has an inexhaustible supply of inexpensive fossil fuel. Instead, individuals will make the difference, because consumer desires fuel the business cycle. In chapters that cover daily activities such as home heating, cooking, travel and use of appliances, Chris Goodall explains how you can reduce your carbon emissions from an average of 12.5 tons per year to three. Though the book sometimes bogs down in an overabundance of information, charts and formulas, we recommend it to individuals and organizations who want to learn how they can make an immediate difference.

5 comments about Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future.

1. Integrated Combined cycle Gasification (IGCC) is an clean energy alternative. IGCC may some day be linked too FutureGen where goal gasification produces syngas which can be reformed into hydrogen and used to produced fuel cell electricity for central power and transportation. Goodwell calls FutureGen, the $1 billion zero-emission plant, "NeverGen", "will turn out to be just another expensive government boondoggle." The FutureGen plant will take 10 years to build and will come online in 2013. "But it would be foolish to bet on FutureGen as a solution to America's energy problems", says Goodwell. "As of 2005, on a straight cost basis, an IGCC plant is 10 to 20 percent more expensive to build than a conventional plant" Why pay more for electricity if you don't have to? "Rather embrace change, many companies have decided to push for one more generation of old combustion plants, rebranding them as clean."
   
   The new technology must be capable of generation a profit, for adoption; companies that fear future profits will shy away; IGCC must be independantly capable as an innovation to succeed. "Clean coal subsidies have been widely criticized by taxpayer groups, a well as Congress's own watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, as being wasteful and poorly administrated." The environmentalist, David Hawkings says "we will fight to get these plants built, including calling for more federal assistance and streamlining the permitting process." Extremist. Hawkins real agenda seems to be to shutdown the coal industry. There is no grand bargin.
   
   Pros and Cons, pro: natural gas volatility, concerns about global warming, and the potential environmental damage appeal to IGCC advocates. con: raising capital cost and CO2 policy make uncertain IGCC development; CO2 sequestration is in question and can it keep safe millions of tons of CO2 in the ground. "But sequestration is a little more complicated than just drilling a hole in the ground and pumping in the CO2. For one thing,the CO2 frist has to be captured from power plants, then compressed into a supercritical fluid to be injected underground." "Capturing and sequestering carbon is expected to raise the price of electricity by 20 to 25 percent. Using CO2 to enhance oil recovery will reduce costs." Dispite uncertainty progress continues, the IGCC pipeline has thousands of potential megawatts4 in the pipeline. The push forward in power technology assumes that if coal is to remain the primary source for electricity it must implement technologies that reduce CO2. Sequestration seems to be a safe way to store CO2 and is low cost. Abandonment of Sequestration for IGCC CO2 management has the potential of increase electricity costs. The managment of CO2 must be low cost and IGCC technology for managing CO2 seems to meet the criteria. China and India will help build confidence in IGCC development,however, the major of IGCC projects are in the US. Entrepreneurial developers are starting to invest into IGCC and are in a better position to take on the CO2 policy and sequestration risks.
   
   "IGCC plants use heat and pressure to cook of the impurities in coal and convert it into a synthetic gas; the gas is captured and burned in a turbine." IGCC are 10% more efficient than conventional coal plants, consume 40 percent less water, produce half as much ash and solid waste, and nearly as clean burning as natural gas." "In theory, the CO2 that is remoed from coal can be sequestered in underground aquifers, or perhaps under the sea." "But the combination of IGCC and CO2 sequestration at least offes a plausible way to continue using coal without willfully trashing the climate."
   
   Big Coal will continue to expand. "According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the equivalent of fourteen hundred, 1,000 megawatt coal fire power plants will be built in the world by 2030. About half of those plants will be in China, 15 percent in India, and the remaining third primarily inthe coal burning West, including Austrialia and the United States." "The scrubbers on new coal plants might be better, but new plants still release massive quantities of pollution in the air, require prodigious amounts of water for cooling, and generate millions of tons of heavy metal-laden coal ash...Most important,this new geenrtaion of coal plants is very much like the previous generation in one signficant way: they pump hundreds of millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere."
   
   Goodwell is down on coal-to-liquid plants. Schweitzer has proposed buildinga 150,000 barrel of diesel a day, at a cost of $7.2 billion. Coal-to-liquid makes only diesel, gasoline is much more difficult and expensive. Next, America consumes 20 million barrels a day of oil. At the same time, China has invested $24 billion in a number of coal-to-liquid plants to produce synthetic diesel.
   
   Electric Power business, says Michael Skelly, "The only question you have to answer now is, can you build something that will generate electricity cheaper than your competitor." "To put it simply, coal plants are popping up everywhere in America right now because they are the cheapest way to generate electricity." "Despite the industry's denials about the reality of climate change, almost everyone acknowledges that in the next decade or so, laws that put a cap or quota on CO2 emissions will be implemented in America". CO2 emission regulation will be passed onto the consumer, cheap electricity will be threatened or Blue Light power with its new unified quantum theory will start electricity production.



2. I think the main thing I took away from this book is not that the coal industry can't be trusted (it can't), and not that they destroy the environment (they do); it's that we should not fall for the public relations hype that wants to position coal as "the answer" to future oil shortages. In the near future, the coal industry will start a massive publicity campaign to let Americans know that "clean coal" is the energy solution for the next 200 years in our country. Don't believe it, coal is even dirtier and more harmful to your lungs than oil. Read this book to be informed on a subject of vital importance to our country.



3. I read this book along with two others "Color of Oil" and "The clean-tech revolution" to update my energy knowledge. This was clearly the best book of the lot - meticulously researched and well-written. Enough that it tightened my own behaviors: turning off lights were possible, using natural light if an option exists etc. etc.
   
   [See my brief reviews for the other two books as well]



4. The book gives an all around view of the coal mining industry, it sheds light on the political, social and economical forces that drive the industry. The industry can be seen from the miners, mine executives, land owners, and railroads points of view. Overall an interesting read.



5. There are currently many books out there on peak oil, or energy concerns in general. However, probably not many people have read up on coal which is an old technology that's having a resurgence of sorts. This book does a nice job of filling in the gaps and talking not only about the pollution issues with coal, but also about supply and demand and what the coal industry is like in the US. I was surprised to find out how much power the railroads have, and how poorly-paid and unprotected the coal miners are. The impression I came away with is that the coal industry is a massively powerful voice in our society and is able to use that power to benefit itself, often against the good of the country. We will probably continue to hear more and more talk about clean coal technology in the near future. Anyone who wants to have some decent beginning knowledge of what's behind coal might enjoy reading this book.

No comments about Environment, Power and Society for the Twenty-First Century: The Hierarchy of Energy.

No comments about Renewable Energy: Technology, Economics and Environment.

5 comments about Fuel Cell Fundamentals.

1. This book is an excellent introduction to fuel cells for the novice as well as a valuable reference for someone with more experience. It does not assume prior knowledge on the one hand, yet provides enough depth to be of interest for people already in the fuel cell field. When I first became interested in fuel cells, I did a survey of all the books available and this one best suited my needs by far. It is very readable and the explanations provide both quantitative scientific rigor as well as supporting, intuitive reasoning. I highly recommend this book - when you finish reading it you will have a solid foundation in fuel cell science and technology.



2. This is a very complete and thorough book, and covers all of the theory as well as the technology of fuel cells. It is very well organized and structured and is highly suitable for first time students as well as an excellent reference book for the experienced reader. I highly recommend this book to virtually anyone who is interested in fuel cell technology.



3. The book is an interesting one as introduces the fundamentals of fuel cell theory. I do recommend the book for those who are initiating their studies in this subject. The book is well written and organized.



4. I an in engineer working in a different industry and was interested in learning more about fuel cells. Since the authors do not provide answers to the chapter questions or problems, I would not recommend this book to someone trying to get an in-depth understanding. Better to find a lighter, broader read.



5. This book is the best one that I could find to introduce the reader to the technology and underlying science of fuel cells. The quality of the presentation is high but yet it is easy to read. The emphasis on the fundamentals is appreciated. The book has discussions of the relevant thermodynamics, transport science, and chemical kinetics in the early chapters with a supporting appendix on quantum-mechanical issues. Then, it addresses modeling and characterization of fuel cells and fuel-cell systems. Environmental impact is also addressed in the last chapter. The book relies on both mathematics and physical arguments to present the concepts and information. A student at the senior level or graduate level in a program of engineering, physics, or chemistry should have no difficulty with this book. Problem exercises are suggested in the book. Consequently, it can be used as either a textbook or reference book.