jtam
@siliconretina.bsky.social
same @siliconretina from Twitter
Electrical Engineer specializing in solar, wind, and BESS.
Electrical Engineer specializing in solar, wind, and BESS.
Mine turned 17 last week. [redacted]
November 16, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Mine turned 17 last week. [redacted]
W/K describes the temperature coefficient of solar modules.
November 15, 2025 at 10:07 AM
W/K describes the temperature coefficient of solar modules.
Alessandro Volta and André-Marie Ampère would like a word.
November 15, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Alessandro Volta and André-Marie Ampère would like a word.
This is neither niche nor unimportant. This is the way.
November 15, 2025 at 12:58 AM
This is neither niche nor unimportant. This is the way.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ mainly I just liked the turn of phrase “comically precise.”
November 8, 2025 at 2:54 PM
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ mainly I just liked the turn of phrase “comically precise.”
We were estimating cable lengths in a very large solar farm at a 2% design stage. We had sketched out one out of 50 blocks and were using it to project what a rough order of magnitude quantity might look like.
November 8, 2025 at 2:33 PM
We were estimating cable lengths in a very large solar farm at a 2% design stage. We had sketched out one out of 50 blocks and were using it to project what a rough order of magnitude quantity might look like.
I was responding to the phrase “comically precise” in the OP. People tend to use calculator precise numbers even when the uncertainty levels do not warrant that level of precision. Just because the computer spits out a number doesn’t mean that it is accurate.
November 8, 2025 at 2:31 PM
I was responding to the phrase “comically precise” in the OP. People tend to use calculator precise numbers even when the uncertainty levels do not warrant that level of precision. Just because the computer spits out a number doesn’t mean that it is accurate.
Strauss’s 1954 promise for fusion comes true in 2025. The reactor is a little further from home than he expected but true none the less.
November 8, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Strauss’s 1954 promise for fusion comes true in 2025. The reactor is a little further from home than he expected but true none the less.
We had very sparse, municipal only elections in North Carolina. I showed a recent college grad that just relocated here how to look himself up on the NC voter website and find his sample ballot. (There were no elections in Raleigh. He did not have to vote.)
vt.ncsbe.gov/reglkup/
vt.ncsbe.gov/reglkup/
Voter Search
vt.ncsbe.gov
November 5, 2025 at 9:26 AM
We had very sparse, municipal only elections in North Carolina. I showed a recent college grad that just relocated here how to look himself up on the NC voter website and find his sample ballot. (There were no elections in Raleigh. He did not have to vote.)
vt.ncsbe.gov/reglkup/
vt.ncsbe.gov/reglkup/
Standards
xkcd.com
November 2, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Hmmm.. seems odd to me. EV charging is 400/800V. Residential solar is 600V. C&I is 1000V. Utility scale solar is 1500V with whispers of ratcheting up to 2kV. Substation batteries are 125V. 240VAC RMS is a 340V peak…
Glad it is working!
Glad it is working!
November 2, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Hmmm.. seems odd to me. EV charging is 400/800V. Residential solar is 600V. C&I is 1000V. Utility scale solar is 1500V with whispers of ratcheting up to 2kV. Substation batteries are 125V. 240VAC RMS is a 340V peak…
Glad it is working!
Glad it is working!
Low voltage DC distribution* has been percolating since at least 2008 when I first looked into it.
*modern - not Tesla vs Edison 1880s stuff
*modern - not Tesla vs Edison 1880s stuff
November 2, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Low voltage DC distribution* has been percolating since at least 2008 when I first looked into it.
*modern - not Tesla vs Edison 1880s stuff
*modern - not Tesla vs Edison 1880s stuff
My question was more about why has he been successful there when he has been woeful on climate? Is it something fundamental about the two worlds, dumb luck, or other?
November 2, 2025 at 3:28 PM
My question was more about why has he been successful there when he has been woeful on climate? Is it something fundamental about the two worlds, dumb luck, or other?
What do you think the difference is between his health issues and his climate issues? At the end of the day, he is no more qualified to dabble in world health than he is in energy.
November 2, 2025 at 3:11 PM
What do you think the difference is between his health issues and his climate issues? At the end of the day, he is no more qualified to dabble in world health than he is in energy.
My two degrees of separation is that my wife held Wole Soyinka’s hand once. She helped him to his seat in a dark theater. 🎭
October 29, 2025 at 8:53 AM
My two degrees of separation is that my wife held Wole Soyinka’s hand once. She helped him to his seat in a dark theater. 🎭
My 16 y/o just turned to me and asked “Why would anyone care how much melanin someone has, who they love, what their chromosomes are, or where they were born when they don’t have food or a house?”
October 26, 2025 at 8:15 PM
My 16 y/o just turned to me and asked “Why would anyone care how much melanin someone has, who they love, what their chromosomes are, or where they were born when they don’t have food or a house?”
I once broke a software program by inputting a negative longitude and a positive time zone (NAVSTA Rota)
October 22, 2025 at 3:42 AM
I once broke a software program by inputting a negative longitude and a positive time zone (NAVSTA Rota)
Ok, I will admit that the five seconds I spent trying to determine the distinctions amongst the five different car scenarios was probably 2-3 seconds longer than it should have been.
October 21, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Ok, I will admit that the five seconds I spent trying to determine the distinctions amongst the five different car scenarios was probably 2-3 seconds longer than it should have been.
I feel them, though.
October 20, 2025 at 12:26 PM
I feel them, though.