The Velomobile: High-tech Bike or Low-tech Car?
Low-tech SolutionsThe human power required to achieve a speed of 30 km/h in a velomobile is only 79 watts, compared to 271 watts on a normal bicycle.
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Boat Mills: Water Powered, Floating Factories
Obsolete TechnologyBoat mills, bridge mills and hanging mills were almost as widespread as windmills.
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Recycling Animal and Human Dung is the Key to Sustainable Farming
Low-tech SolutionsFlushing the water closet wreaks ecological havoc, deprives agricultural soils of essential nutrients and makes food production dependent on fossil fuels.
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Piston-powered aircraft from the 1950s were as fuel-efficient as the current average jet
High-tech ProblemsEstimates about the fuel efficiency of aircraft ignore the record of the pre-jet era.
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Lost Knowledge: Ropes and Knots
Obsolete TechnologyRopewalk factories are some of the most remarkable industrial workshops and buildings in history.
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The Status Quo of Electric Cars: Better Batteries, Same Range
High-tech ProblemsWe don’t need better batteries, we need better cars.
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The Sky is the Limit: Human-Powered Cranes and Lifting Devices
Obsolete TechnologyThe only advantage that fossil-fuelled powered cranes have brought us, is a higher lifting speed
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Wood Gas Vehicles: Firewood in the Fuel Tank
Obsolete TechnologyDuring the Second World War, almost every motorised vehicle in continental Europe was converted to use firewood.
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Trolley Canal Boats
Obsolete TechnologyOnly four years after the first experimental trolleybus, an ordinary steam canal boat was adapted to a trolleyboat.
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How (Not) To Resolve the Energy Crisis
High-tech ProblemsIncreasing the share of renewable energy will not make us any less dependent on fossil fuels as long as total energy consumption keeps rising.
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Rings of Fire: Hoffmann Kilns
Obsolete technologyDepending on the size of the kiln, it took between one and six weeks for the fire to complete a full circle.
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How to make everything yourself - online low-tech resources
Low-tech SolutionsManuals and tutorials for low-tech solutions.
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Wind Powered Factories: History (and Future) of Industrial Windmills
Obsolete TechnologyWould it make sense to revive the industrial windmill and again convert kinetic energy directly into mechanical energy?