Sustainable Civilization: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoids Appendix
I. Air. Any burning or volatization of fossil
fuels contaminates the air with emissions that
would not naturally be there, and some uses
create a worst problem than others. The change
that would have the largest positive impact is the
one most obvious, and per the peak oil
commentators coming whether we want it or not,
which is to cease use of fossil fuels.
Exhale
Oxygen
CO2
Nitrogen
Inert/Other
H2O
Avg Air
Human
21.0%
.03%
78.0%
1.0%
5-25g/m3
16.3%
4.0%
79.7%
Ammonia
4-9g/m3
Overt Pollution Example: 2 Stroke Engines - Do
you own or operate any two-stroke gasoline
engine? The issue of noise and pollution
produced by a typical two-stroke gasoline engine
(i.e. lawnmower) vs four-stroke (i.e. car engine)
is potentially significant.
The two-stroke
gasoline engine generally puts out 10 times
(more of some) as many pollutants per amount of
fuel burned. The operation of these engines, in
general, initiates and forcefully imposes upon
others the operator's fouled air and excess noise.
The two-stoke system is used because it provides
the lightest fuel burning engine for the power
produced, but paradoxically the two-stroke is
significantly LESS fuel efficient than a fourstroke engine. The fuel in-efficiency of these
engines leads to the pollution problem. But the
pollution from these engines is not limited to
transportation.
These engines are extensively used on
lawnmowers, weed whackers, portable blowers,
etc. The California Air Resources Board has
calculated that 2% of the smog generated by all
engines originates from lawn mowers.
I don't have a gas mower, so I'm guessing, say a
mower runs an hour per gallon of gas?
(Corrections anyone?) This would mean that in
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
one hour of mowing you pollute at least equal to
burning 10 gallons of gasoline in your car. A
further discussion of fuel and engine types is in
the transportation presentation.
What is there that uses a 2 cycle engine that
cannot be done with a less polluting and more
efficient engine, done manually, or is so essential
that the pollution is justified?
Embedded Pollution Example: Food - In peak
oil discussions, it is frequently presented that
food production in the industrial world consumes
10 calories of oil for every calorie of food
produced. (Transportation or cooking of the
food NOT included in this estimate.) In general,
a human needs 2000 calories of energy per day.
Although they are normally spelled the same, a
food calorie is in fact 1,000 "heat" calories.
A gallon of gasoline contains energy equal to 14
sticks of dynamite. It is also equal to around
36,000 food calories. If a person needs 2,000
calories per day, then to produce those 2,000
calories of food 20,000 calories of oil were used.
(55% of a gallon) If you eat commercially
produced food, your daily meals require the
consumption of fuel and production of pollution
equal to a 30 mpg vehicle driving 16 miles.
Food Item Calories times ten divided by 36,000
equals the fuel consumption embedded in
producing the food. (Processing & shipping fuel
not included)
For a city with a population of a million,
producing food represents the external daily use
of 550,000 gallons of fuel. The brewing,
canning, shipping, etc. all consumed additional
fuel.
As a local driving estimate for a modest city, the
Pima Association of Governments estimates that
23,000,000 miles are driven every day in
Tucson. At an average of 30 mpg for vehicles
that would be over 760,000 gallons of gasoline
per day.
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Given the above estimates of food production
and local transportation for an example city of a
million, the life-support infrastructure under
current fossil fueled design requires 1.3 gallons
of fuel per day. (1.3 gallons per person.)
One gallon of gas weighs about 6.25 pounds.
When burned the hydrocarbons combine with
oxygen from the air. The result per gallon is
exhaust with a CO2 aspect of 19.3 pounds and
around 8 pounds (1 gallon in liquid form) of
water vapor. (Both greenhouse gases, that would
not naturally have been in the atmosphere.) You
also get carbon monoxide and other nasty stuff.
Now, let's see, if we burn at a minimum 1.3
million gallons each day in each city of a
million.....
Carbon monoxide (CO): Replaces oxygen in the
red blood cells thus reducing the amount of
oxygen that can reach the brain, heart and other
tissues. CO can cause dizziness, slowed reaction
times, headaches, an increased risk of heart
disease and may promote the development of
arteriosclerosis. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a
colorless, odorless gas produced by the
incomplete combustion of fuels. The major
source of CO in our community is motor
vehicles, which release over 85 percent of the
CO emissions in Pima County. Stagnant weather
conditions coupled with reduced engine
efficiency associated with cold temperatures
cause increased levels of CO in the winter
months
Hydrocarbons (also known as volatile organic
compounds (VOC)): These are compounds made
of hydrogen and carbon. They are released from
gasoline engines and the evaporation of paint and
solvents and are also produced naturally from the
decomposition of organic matter and by certain
types of plants.
Ozone (O3): This pollutant can impair lung
function and irritate the mucous membranes in
the nose and throat causing coughing and
choking. It aggravates chronic respiratory
diseases like asthma and bronchitis, and can
irritate the eyes, reduce lung capacity over time
and increase sensitivity to allergens. Ozone is a
highly reactive form of oxygen. At normal
concentrations it is colorless and odorless. At
high concentrations (often associated with
thunderstorms or arching electric motors) it is an
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
unstable bluish gas with a pungent odor. Ground
level ozone in high concentrations is considered
an air pollutant, while stratospheric ozone in the
upper atmosphere (12 - 30 miles above the
ground) is critical for absorbing cancer-causing
ultraviolet radiation. Ozone is a secondary
pollutant formed when nitrogen oxides and
volatile organic compounds (VOC) react in the
presence of sunlight.
Volatile organic
compounds come from automobile exhaust,
gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents (and also
some vegetation). Nitrogen oxides come from
burning fuel.
The reactivity of ozone causes health problems
because it damages lung tissue, reduces lung
function, and increases the sensitivity of the
lungs to other irritants. Symptoms of decreased
lung function include chest pain, coughing,
sneezing and pulmonary congestion. Ozone can
reduce immune system capacity. In high
concentrations, ozone causes damage to plants
and deteriorates materials such as rubber and
nylon.
Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5): May
cause breathing difficulties and respiratory pain,
irritations to the nose, throat and ear canal which
are often mistaken for allergic reactions. PM can
also weaken the immune system, diminish lung
function and increase the incidence and severity
of acute bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma and
emphysema. Particulate matter (PM10 and
PM2.5) is comprised of solid particles or liquid
droplets tiny enough to remain suspended or
floating in the air for up to weeks at a time. Of
greatest concern to the public health are the
particles small enough to be inhaled into the
deepest parts of the lung. These particles are less
than 10 microns in diameter--about 1/7th the
thickness of a human hair--and are known as
PM10. This includes fine particulate matter
known as PM2.5. PM2.5 has a specific range of
particles 2.5 micrometers or less. PM10 is a
major component of air pollution that threatens
both our health and our environment. General
PM composition can include everything from
fine dust to carbon (soot), and can be
microscopic or visible to the naked eye.
Particulate matter is generated from a variety of
sources including traffic on paved and unpaved
roads, combustion, and earth-moving activity
such as mining, farming and construction. Fine
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particles present in the air even though it might
seem invisible. Their size alone makes them a
danger, as they easily reach deep into our lungs.
But what they are made of can make the situation
worse.
do not want to climb and work on a generator on
a high fragile tower. Although gearing can
"waste" 15% of your power, envision the
generator on the ground, spun by gear and shaft
from on high.
Moving air - The maximum theoretical power
that can be tapped from a moving mass of air is
57% of the energy in any given mass passing
thru a given area.
The “rule of thumb” formula for power from a
typical windmill is V = the cube root of (P/.02).
That is a given velocity of wind in miles per hour
cubed, then multiples by .02 should calculate out
to watts of electricity potential.
In general, a windmill should be located 30
above the ground, and 10 feet higher than
other object, to obtain a clear air flow. As
consider the needs of maintenance, perhaps
For electrical resistance heating 3,413 BTU/kw
is the maximum possible.
feet
any
you
you
II. Water. One inch of rain per square foot is around ½ gallon of water.
Vacuum's Affect on Water
Vacuum
PSIA
Microns
Water Boil Point
0
14.696
760,000
212 °F
10.24"Hg
9.629
500,000
192 °F
22.05"Hg
3.865
200,000
151 °F
25.98"Hg
1.935
100,000
124 °F
27.95"Hg
.968
50,000
101 °F
28.94"Hg
.481
25,000
78 °F
29.53"Hg
.192
10,000
52 °F
29.72"Hg
.099
5,000
35 °F
29.84"Hg
.039
2,000
15 °F
29.82"Hg
.019
1,000
+1 °F
29.901"Hg
.010
500
-11 °F
29.917"Hg
.002
100
-38 °F
29.919"Hg
.001
50
-50 °F
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
Page 3 of 35
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Vacuum = Inches Mercury (Hg)
PSIA = lbs. per sq. in. Absolute Pressure
Microns = A Special Unit of Vacuum
Water Boil Pt. = Temperature That Water Boils at.
Frozen water - We have (2005) around 6 million cubic miles of ice located on 10% of the Earth's land
mass. 86% is in Antarctica, 10% in Greenland, 4% "other". Readily circulated claims are that if the bulk
of this ice melted, water volume would raise the sea level around 200 foot. Further warming of sea water
would result in expansion due to expanding water molecules. A 1920 Serbian physicist indicated the ice
cover seems to follow a 40,000 year cycle, within which he put us at early to mid "summer" of the cycle.
As part of the theory, it seems that open water in the Arctic is to be a signal of the start of cooling, not
further melting.
Plastic soda bottles, designed to hold pressure, when filled with water and frozen may be at a phase change
temperature colder than 32 degrees, as the pressure caused by the expanding water should lower the
freezing point. Even these durable bottles though will split after "too many" cycles.
Global annual evaporation. Ocean – 74,000 cubic miles. Land – 18,000 cubic miles. Total 92,000 cubic
miles. The averaged global rainfall is 28”, with overall around 25,000 cubic miles of rain falling on land.
III. Food: Basil metabolic rate - An estimate of the daily number of calories to keep a sedatory person of a
given weight alive without a loss in weight. Calories = 70 x (kg) 3/4 That is, take the persons weight in
kilograms to the 3rd power (weight x weight x weight) then find the 4th root of that number. Take this 4th
root times 70. An example:
A person who weighs 60 kg (around 120 lbs). 60 to the 3rd power is 216,000. The 4th root of this is
around 21.55. 70 times 21.55 is 1508.5, so this person needs around 1509 calories per day.
Seed Savers
3074 North Winn Road
Decorah, IA 52101
(563) 382-5990
seedsavers.org
Planning for a storage program requires knowing the properties of foods the family likes, or at least will
eat. Below is information on a variety of grains, nuts, fruits, canned foods, etc., for use in calculating a
food storage program with sufficient calories. In the storage program, I do not address vitamin content
directly, trusting that for storage purposes a multivitamin, or better, sprouted or some minimum garden area
can address the minimum vitamin needs.
Purchase dried bay leaves from the spice section of your grocery store. Place them into stored grains. Bugs
do not like the smell of bay leaves and are deterred from their invasion. This is a trick your grandparents
knew and used. Two bay leaves per gallon or ten leaves placed throughout a 5‐gallon bucket will do. You
can also lay them on cupboard shelves with the same effect.
Grains - Misc.
Item
Cal.Lb.
Pkg.
Servings
Carb.
Protein
Calorie
Barley, pearl
Millet, Whole
1632
1285
30 oz.
28 oz.
17
15
39
33
5
4
180
150
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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Flax, seed
Sesame, seed
Rice, Jasmine
Rice, black sweet
Rice, sweet white
Oats, processed
2380
1866
1955
1600
1530
1714
16 oz.
12 oz.
20 lb.
16 oz.
16 oz
42 oz.
17
10
230
8
9
30
9
8
39
46
39
27
6
6
3
4
3
5
140
140
230
200
170
150
Beans
Item
Cal.Lb.
Pkg.
Servings
Carb.
Protein
Calorie
Pinto
Mung
Great Northern
Kidney, red
Black
Peas, blackeye
Lentils
Tian Jin Red
Soybean
750
1554
1170
840
948
1080
1040
1554
2240
64oz.
14 oz.
32 oz.
16 oz.
16 oz
16 oz.
16 oz.
14 oz.
16 oz.
50
4
26
12
12
12
13
4
16
22
58
22
22
23
23
20
63
10
7
23
8
9
9
9
10
21
12
60
340
90
70
79
90
80
340
140
Fruit, dried
Item
Cal.Lb.
Pkg.
Servings
Carb.
Protein
Calorie
Apricot
Pineapple
Mango
Nectarine
Peach
Plum
Dates
Figs
Cranberry
Cherry
Raisin
1142
1493
2080
1173
1066
1320
1440
1280
1466
1280
1456
7 oz.
6 oz.
4 oz.
6 oz.
6 oz.
12 oz.
8 oz.
9 oz.
6 oz.
6 oz.
15 oz.
5
4
3
4
4
9
6
6
5.5
4
10.5
24
34
32
25
25
25
30
28
25
32
31
1
0
0
2
2
1
1
1
0
0
1
100
140
130
110
100
110
120
120
100
120
130
Carb.
Protein
Calorie
31
4.7
9
0
260
180
Processed Pasta
Item
Cal.Lb.
Pkg.
Servings
Kanton-wheat noodle
Bean thread-special
4160
1371
16 oz. 16
10.5 oz. 5
Nuts
Item
Cal.Lb.
Pkg.
Servings
Carb.
Protein
Calorie
Peanut-roasted
2720
16 oz.
16
5
8
170
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
Page 5 of 35
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Peanut-raw
Cashew-roasted
Almond
Pistachio
Sunflower-roasted
Peanut-spanish
Walnut
2940
2560
1520
2720
2800
3024
16 oz.
14 oz.
16 oz.
14 oz.
12 oz.
10 oz.
14
14
8
14
10
9
10
5
9
7
4
3
6
7
8
6
5
5
210
160
190
170
210
210
Misc. Canned Food
Item
Cal.Lb.
Pkg.
Servings
Carb.
Protein
Calorie
Hormel chili no bean
Peanut butter
Tuna
Spam
448
7448
384
480
15 oz.
16 oz.
6 oz.
12 oz.
2
28 (tbsp)
2.5
6
17
84
0
1
16
112
13
7
210
266
60
180
Carb.
Protein
Calorie
9
14
23
23
23
1
2
3
3
3
45
60
110
110
110
Root Calorie Crops
Item
Cal.Lb.
Pkg.
Servings
Carrot
Onion, yellow
Potato, russet
Potato, red
Potato, gold
239
184
337
337
337
16 oz. 3 oz.
Ea. (148 gram)
5 lb.
(ea)
5 lb.
(ea)
5 lb.
(ea 48 gram)
If you stored one pound of each of the above items, the calories would add up to 742343. If you therefore
planned on eating from your storage program an equal weight of each of the above food items, your would
need roughly 10 pounds of each item. The author has available a spreadsheet that includes the above items
that can be used to estimate the calorie value of an input storage selection.
Greens
Item
Cal.Lb.
Pkg.
Servings
Carb.
Protein
Calorie
Spinach
Lettuce
106
80
10 oz.
10 oz.
3.3
3.3
3
3
2
1
20
15
Carb.
Protein
Calorie
17
1
0
14
16
24
120
80
110
Special Concentrated Items
Item
Cal.Lb.
Pkg.
Soy Protein
Whey Protein
Vegetable Protein
3027
1813
1760
22.2 oz. 35
12 oz. 17
15 oz. 15
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
Servings
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IV. Shelter. The material and design of your clothing, vehicle, home, etc., can, merely thru the natural
characteristics of the materials and their orientation have a significant effect on your comfort.
Weight and Thermal Conductivity of Sample Materials. Conduction is heat transfer by agitation of the
molecules in a material without any observed motion of the material. If one side of metal or concrete
surface is at a higher temperature, energy will be transferred thru the material toward the cooler side. The
formual to use is:
Q = kA(T hot minus Tcold)
t
d
Q = heat transferred in time = t
k = thermal conductivity of barrier
A = Area
T = Temperature
d = Thickness of barrier
Density Conductivity
Specific Heat
at 68 F BTU in/hr ft2 F BTU/lb. Degree F
Lb/ft3
Air, Still
Aluminum
Asbestos board w/cement
Asbestos, wool
Brass, red
Brick
Common
Face
Fire
Bronze
Cabots
Cellulose, dry
Celotex (sugar cane fiber)
Charcoal
Coarse
6 mesh
20 mesh
Cinders
Clay
Dry
Wet
Concrete
Cinder
Stone
Corkboard
Cornstack insul board
Cotton
Foamglas
Glass wool
Glass
Common thermometer
Flint
168.0
123
25.0
536
.0169-.215
1404-1439
1.7
.62
715.0
112.0
125.0
115.0
509
3.4
94
13
5.0
9.2
6.96
522
.25
1.66
.34
13.2
15.2
19.2
40
.36
.37
.39
1.1
63
110
3.5-4.0
4.5-9.5
97
140
8.3
15
5.06
10.5
1.5
4.9
12.0
.28
.24-.33
.39
.40
.27
164
247
5.5
5.1
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
.2
.2
.2
.2
.2
Page 7 of 35
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Pyrex
Gold
Granite
Gypsum, solid
Hair felt
Ice
Iron, cast
Kapok
Lead
Leather, sole
Lime
Mortar
Slaked
140
1205
159
78
13.0
57.5
442.0
1.0
710
54
7.56
2028
15.4
3.0
.26
15.6
326
.24
240
1.1
106
81
2.42
-
Density Conductivity
at 68 F BTU in/hr ft2 F
Lb/ft3
Limestone
Marble
Mineral wool
Board
Fill type
Nickel
Paper
Parafin
Plaster
Cement
Gypsum
Redwood bark
Rock wool
Rubber, hard
Sand, dry
Sandstone
Sawdust
Sil-O-Cel (power diatomaceous)
Silver
Soil
Crushed quartz (4% water)
Dakota sandy loam
(4% water)
(10% water)
Fairbanks sand
(4% water)
(10% water)
Healy clay
(10% water)
(20% water)
Steel
1% C
Stainless
Tar, bituminous
Water, fresh
Wood
132
162
10.8
20.6
15.0
9.4
537.0
58
55.6
.33
.27
40
.9
1.68
73.8
46.2
5.0
10.0
74.3
94.6
143.0
8
10.6
656
8.0
3.3
.26
.27
11.0
2.23
12.6
.41
.31
2905
100
11.5
110
110
6.5
13.0
100
100
8.5
15.0
90
100
5.5
10.0
487
515
75
62.4
310.0
200
4.1
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
1.0
Page 8 of 35
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Balsa
Fir
Maple
Red Oak
White Pine
Wood fiberboard
Wool
7.3
34.0
44
48
32
16.9
4.99
.33
.8
1.2
1.1
.78
.31
.264
Solar Absorption and Re-radiance Rates of Selected Materials
Metal
Aluminum, pure
Aluminum, anodized
Chromium
Copper, polished
Gold
Iron
Metal
Absorb
.1
.12
.4
.15
.2
.44
Absorb
Emits
.1
.65
.2
.03
.025
.07
Emits
Nickel
Silver, polished
Zinc
.36
.035
.5
.1
.02
.05
The emissivities of many materials change with wavelength of the radiation being emitted. For example,
silicon is an excellent emitter of visible light, but is essentially transparent to infrared radiation. We find
below that good emitters are also good absorbers.
Good absorbers are good emitters: An ideal absorber is often called a black body. It absorbs all the
radiation that hits it. The absorptivity () is the complement of reflectivity (r = 1 - A good reflector is
a poor absorber. Shiny aluminum is a such a good reflector. It is easy to see that an ideal absorber of a
particular wavelength of radiation is also the best possible emitter at that wavelength. That is, no object at
temperature T can emit more radiation than a black body.
Proof: Start, for example, with two objects A and B that are close to each other and at the same
temperature. Suppose that A is an ideal black body and B is not. While A absorbs all radiation that hits it,
B does not. It reflects some. The question is whether B can emit more radiation than A. Since A absorbs
all of the radiation emitted by B it would get hotter than B if B really could emit more radiation than A.
But, this situation is a direct violation of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. We are not allowed to start
with two bodies at the same temperature and find that one heats while the other cools! This means that a
black body, the perfect absorber is not only the best absorber but also the best emitter. In summary,
excellent absorbers are also excellent emitters.
Example 1: Radiators. In the old days homes often used water or steam radiators to heat rooms. From a
practical point of view, you really wouldn't want to make your radiator out of shiny aluminum. The low
emissivity of aluminum means that it is both a poor emitter and a poor radiator and would give out less heat
than one made of cast iron, for example.
Example 2: Home Insulation. Aluminum foil on insulating panels has very small emissivity,  It
is therefore a very poor emitter of infrared radiation, a desirable feature.
Example 2: Hot black roads. On a clear summer day a black asphalt road in the sun gets hot as it absorbs
radiation from the sun. Most of this radiation has short wavelength as it comes from the sun's surface with
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
Page 9 of 35
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a temperature of some 5800 K. To the extent that the hot black road is a "black body", it absorbs all the
sun's incident radiation. It's emissivity is nearly 1 for this incident short wavelength light. The warm road
also emits infrared radiation and continues to heat up until the power emitted, P out = AT4 , balances the
power absorbed from the sun, Pin = I0A. Here, I0 is the sun's intensity at the hot black road, typically 1000
W/m2. The hot black road's emissivity, , is also nearly 1 for these longer infrared wavelengths. With P in =
Pout we solve for T and find that a hot black road has a temperature of 364 K (91 0C), hot enough to fry an
egg, but not hot enough to boil water!
Example 3: You standing in a bathroom. With no clothes, taking your area to be ~2 m2, and your skin
temperature to be ~300 K, with an emissivity of 1.0, you would radiate a power of P out = AT4 = 919
watts, clearly an unsustainable value. In empty space you would indeed radiate heat away at this value.
However, suppose you are in a bathroom with walls at 20 0C (293 K), ones with their own emissivity of 1.
Then, the net heat radiated by you is given by Pout = A(Tyou4 - Twall4) = 83 watts, a much more reasonable
number. The general expression for power exchanged between two parallel surfaces with emissivities and
temperatures {1, T1} and {2, T2} is
P = A(T14 - T24)/ [1/1 + 1/2 - 1]. Ref: Kraushaar & Ristinen, Energy and Problems of a
Technological Society, p 156. With this equation, you can calculate the power exchange between two
surfaces with different emissivities and temperatures. Building materials with aluminum foil come to
mind.
Selective Surfaces: It would be great fun to find a way to create a surface that could get hotter than a hot
black road in the sun, maybe even one that could boil water. To do this we need either to absorb more of
the sun's radiation coming in or emit less. We assumed that our hot black road was a perfect absorber of
short wavelength light (short wavelength = 1) and a perfect emitter of infrared (long wavelength = 1). If we make
the emissivities less, then we reduce both the absorbed radiation from the sun and the radiated radiation
from the road. Are we stuck? The trick lies in creating a surface that has short wavelength > long wavelength . This
does not violate the second law. To create our selective surface, we start with a layer of stainless steel and
add a thin layer of gold and, on top of that, a thin layer of silicon. The silicon layer looks black to visible
light and has short wavelength ~ 1. Since silicon is essentially transparent to infrared light, our selective surface
behaves as a gold surface for infrared. Gold has an emissivity of only 0.10 for infrared wavelengths. This
combination, then, is an excellent absorber of short wavelength light from the sun and a poor emitter of
infrared light. Repeating our calculation, we find that this selective surface can rise to a temperature of 648
K (375 0C)!
----------------------------------silicon
----------------------------------gold
----------------------------------stainless steel
-----------------------------------
Thermal Storage Capabilities of Selected Materials. Officially 1 BTU is the amount of heat energy needed
to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree F.
Media
Melts
ICE
Water
Steel (scrap iron)
32
-
Latent Heat
BTU/lb
144
-
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
Specific Heat
C BTU/lb-F
.49
1.0
.12
Density
lt/ft3
58
62
489
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Basalt (lava rock)
Limestone
Paraffin wax
Salt Hydrates
NaSO4-10H2O
NA2S2O3-5H2O
NA2HPO4-12H2O
Fire Brick
Ceramic oxides
Fused salts
Carbon
100
65
.2
.22
.7
184
156
55
90
120
97
-
108
90
120
-
.4
.4
.4
.22
.35
.38
.2
90
104
94
198
224
140
140
Transmission Percentage of Light Thru Glass at Selected Angles to Solar Intercept
Incident
Angle
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
Solar
Intercept Percent
100
99.5
98.5
96.5
94.0
90.6
86.6
81.9
76.6
70.7
64.3
57.4
50.0
42.3
34.2
25.8
17.4
8.7
0.0
The Human Factor
Postulate an average human of around 150 pounds, who needs 2000 food calories per day. A food calorie
is 1,000 "heat" calories, so this person operates on 2,000,000 calories of heat, or in other energy terms.
Energy and Our Bodies
Around 8,000 BTU (1 BTU = 251.995761 heat calories)
Around 2.4 kilowatt hours (1 watt = 859.8452279 heat calorie)
One BTU is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound (1 pint) of water 1 degree F
(144 BTU to melt 1 lb or pint of ice, 970 BTU to evaporate a pint of water). One calorie is the amount of
heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water 1 degree C. (80 calories per gram to melt a
gram of ice, 540 to evaporate a gram of water).
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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In theory the daily heat of a person could melt around 56 pounds of ice (7 frozen gallons - 25 liters) or
cause the evaporation of just over a gallon of water (3.7 liters). Therefore if your body was in a
microenvironment isolated from thermal energy exchange with the surrounding environment by a perfectly
insulating suit, hourly inside your suit your would need to melt ice of just over a pint / just under a liter, or
evaporate (and vent) 1/3 of a pint or about 150 ml. In a cold climate, you would just need some ventilation.
In a warm climate, something more might be appropriate.
Air to Sustain Life
Atmospheric CO2 levels today average 383 parts per million (PPM). Human exhaled breath is around 378
PPM. As a human breathes, starting from less than 1% in "fresh" air, the upper "safe" CO2 level is around
3%. When the concentration exceeds 3%, even though there is still oxygen in the air, humans are adversely
affected. An average person produces around .67 cubic ft. (5 gallon volume) per hour of CO2, so the 3%
limit represents a starting volume of 22.5 cubic feet of air (about 1 cubic yard, around 168 gallon). If you
for example needed to be sealed in for a year, you need to start with 197,100 cubic feet, or a cube 58 feet
on a side. In say a 10 foot ceiling commercial building, it's an area 140 feet on a side. Water absorbs it's
own volume of CO2, so for every (.67 cubic ft. or 5 gallon) of water that your air is filtered thru, you gain
an hour on the CO2 limit.
You are of course still using up the oxygen.
Oxygen
Concentration
Symptoms
21%
15%
14%
10%
None - normal O2 air level
No immediate effects
Fatigue, impaired judgment
Dizziness, shortness of breath,
deeper and more rapid breathing
Stupor sets in
Minimum amount to support life
Death within 1 minute
7%
5%
2%-3%
Starting Volume for 1 Hour Duration
With CO2 Absorb Cubic Ft. / Gallon
N/A
11.6 - 86.8
9.6 - 71.8
6.1 - 45.6
4.8 - 35.9
4.2 - 31.4
3.7 - 27.7
Experiments show that approximately 8 gallons of well aerated algae in sunlight balances the breathing of
a typical human. (Remember, you need enough "extra" air volume to carry you past periods of dark/dim
light.) If you're not bubbling the air thru the algae, set up a "surface area" of water for the 8 gallons at
about 8 meters square. (A square about 9 feet on a side) Since the water alone weighs 64 lbs., if this is to
be a portable unit, you'll want some type of cart.
Remember what is taking place in the CO2 cycle. Within our bodies carbon is being "burned" as fuel, and
we exhale carbondioxide gas. Within a plant CO2 and water are split and recombined to release oxygen
and produce solids such as carbohydrates to build the plants body. In a closed environment either the
animal eats the plant for food, or the plant material must be kept from decomposing, otherwise there is no
effective carbon removal from the air.
Water for Our Bodies
In addition to the earlier discussed minimum gallon/day water need to provide for evaporative cooling, a
human needs water for other metabolic processes. Water is lost from the body mainly via the lungs, skin,
intestine, and kidneys. The Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security puts
the minimum daily intake at 3 liters. They recommend 20 liters for hygiene, 15 per bathing, 10 for food
preparation, or an overall average of 50 liters. (Around 13.195 gallon) If you had to store it all for a year,
it's 4,800 gallons, 644 cubic feet, or a tank 8.635 feet on a side.
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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At 2% dehydration, thirst is perceived.
At 5% dehydration, a person becomes hot and tired, and strength and endurance decrease.
At 10% dehydration, delirium and blurred vision become a problem.
At 20% dehydration, a person dies.
Pollutants. Short of toxic or radioactive waste, even simple factors such as salts, or human water treatment
with chlorine leads to problems. Around 700 parts per million (PPM) dissolved salts is the limit of salt
tolerance for your kidneys. At around 1100 PPM visible symptoms manifest such as water accumulation in
body tissues, and fainting. In many locations the chlorine levels make bathing in the local water a risk, let
alone drinking it.
Killing germs. (Adding chlorine) 1/3 cup chlorine bleach per 1,000 gallons. OR 5 drops of tincture of
iodine per quart. The more “cloudy” the water, the more disinfectant, as the chemical may bind to the
surface of “dirt” particles, or the germs may be hiding inside the dirt. (Filter first.)
If there is no water, do not eat. It takes “excess” water to metabolize food. Remember though, between
water and food is the need to maintain the electrolyte balance in our bodies. If you just drink water you
may experience growing symptoms of chemical imbalance. Short of food, an approach to reintroduce
electrolytes is the following home-brew of things such as Pedialyte.
1 - Liter/quart of water
½ - Teaspoon sale
½ - Teaspoon baking soda
3 – Tablespoon sugar
Food Storage
If you needed to store a calorie crop such as rice, you would need to store a little over 370 pounds.
Human Daily Needs and Effluentsi
Reference: NASA RP-1324, "Designing for Human Presence in Space: An Introduction to Environmental
Control and Life Support Systems", Paul O. Wieland, 1994, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville,
Alabama. Also see NASA-STD-3000, Man Systems Integration Standards, Figure 5.8.2.2.5-1, page 5-120.
Inputs
lbs kg
Oxygen
1.84 0.84
Food solids
1.36 0.62
Water in food
2.54 1.15
Food prep water
1.67 0.76
Drink
3.56 1.62
Metabolized water
0.76 0.35
Hand & face wash water
9.00 4.09
Dish wash water
5.45 2.48
Shower water
6.00 2.73
Urine flush water
1.09 0.49
Clothes wash water
27.50 12.50
Outputs
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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Carbon Dioxide
LiOH to extract CO2
Water, Respiration and
Perspiration
Food Preparation,
Latent Water
Urine
Urine flush water
Feces water
Sweat solids
Urine solids
Feces solids
Hygiene water
Clothes wash water
2.20 1.00
1.57 0.71
5.02 2.28
0.08 0.036
3.31 1.50
1.09 0.49
0.20 0.091
0.04 0.018
0.13 0.059
0.07 0.032
27.68 12.58
27.50 12.50
These values are per person per day, based on an average metabolic rate of 136.7 W/person (11,200
Btu/person/day) and a respiration quotient of 0.87. The values will be higher when activity levels are
greater and for larger than average people. The respiration quotient is the molar ratio of CO2 generated to
O2 consumed.
Human Speed:
Sprinter over 200 meters, 22.64 mph
Mile runner, 19.56 mph
Marathon, 12.59 mph
Mental state – Fear not only brings up ”fight or flight”, it also reduces your very ability for thought out and
dexterous responses. At 115 beats per minute, fine motor skills are severely compromised. At a heart rate
of 145, complex motor skills suffer. You could easily find yourself unable to dial a combination, insert and
turn a key, etc. (Think of fumbling for a gun safe, or padlock, in the dark while you’re frightened silly.)
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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One gallon of fuel oil / gasoline can release around 144,000 BTU of energy, equal to around 36,700 watt
hour of electrical power. Human oil use in 2003 was around 30 billions barrels, 1,260,000,000,000 gallons,
or approximately 181,440,000,000,000,000 BTU of energy.
A gallon of gasoline contains energy equal to around 31,000 food calories. If a person needs 2000 calories
per day, then if we could drink gasoline we would only need one 8 ounce cup per day, and a gallon of gas
would represent the full day / labor of 15.5 people. Scaling this up, 30 billion barrels burned in a year
represents the rough equivalent of the labor of over 50 billion people.
Fuel energy content per pound:
Gasoline around 18,000 BTU
Coal around 10,000 BTU
Wood around 5,000 BTU
From each typical barrel of oil we get:
GAL
00.3
00.2
00.5
01.2
01.3
01.8
01.9
01.9
02.3
04.1
09.2
19.5
Product
Other stuff
Kerosene
Lubricants
Feedstock
Asphalt
Petroleum Coke
Still gas
Liquefied gas
Residual fuel oil
Jet fuel
Distillate fuel oil
Gasoline
One practical way to compare different fuels is to convert them into British thermal units (Btu). One Btu is
approximately equal to the energy released in the burning of a wood match. The average single-family
household consumed 98 million Btu of energy in a recent year, so on the family level, 1 million Btu is a
meaningful quantity.
1 million Btu equals about 8 gallons of motor gasoline.
1 billion Btu equals all the electricity that 30 average Americans use in 1 year.
1 trillion Btu is equal to 474 100-ton railroad cars of coal intended for electric utilities.
1 quadrillion Btu is equal to 470 thousand barrels of oil every day for 1 year.
In 1993, the Nation used 84 quadrillion Btu of energy: 34 quadrillion Btu of petroleum, 21 quadrillion Btu
of natural gas, 19 quadrillion Btu of coal, and 10 quadrillion Btu of other energy sources.
1 ton of coal contains 21 million Btu, over three times as much energy
1 barrel of oil contains about 6.2 million Btu
Gasoline contains an average of 5.25 million Btu per barrel
Jet fuel (kerosene-type) contains 5.67 million Btu per barrel.
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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Approximate fuel relationships:









1 barrel (bbl) crude oil = 42* gallons = 5.8 x 10 6 Btu = 6.12 x 109 J
1 standard cubic foot (std ft3) of natural gas (SCF) = 1000 Btu
1 gallon gasoline = 1.24 x 105 Btu
106 cubic feet of natural gas = 172 barrels of crude oil
1 ton coal = 20-40 x 106 Btu
1 lbm bituminous coal = 1.3 x 104 Btu
1 ton uranium-235 (235U) = 70 x 1012 Btu
1000 bbl/day of oil = 2.117 x 1012 Btu/yr
1 million barrels of oil per day (1 MBOPD)
= 5.8 x 1012 Btu/day
= 80 million tons per year of coal
= 5.8 x 109 ft3 per day of natural gas
Approximate calorific values:




Petroleum:
= 5.8 x 106 Btu/bbl
= 1.4 x 105 Btu/U.S. gallon
= 19,000 Btu/lbm (using a density of 7.4 lbm/gallon)
= 42,000 Btu/kg
Coal:
= 6,000 to 15,000 Btu/lbm, depending on the rank of coal
= 13,200-33,000 Btu/kg
Natural gas:
= 1000 Btu/ft3
= 25,000 Btu/lbm (using a density of 0.04 lbm/ft 3)
= 55,000 Btu/kg
Uranium-235:
= 3.3 x 1010 Btu/lbm
= 7.3 x 1010 Btu/kg
Fuel requirements for a 1000 MWe power plant (2.4 x 10 11 Btu/day input):




Coal: 9000 tons/day or 1 unit train load (100 90-ton cars)/day
Oil: 40,000 bbl/day or 1 tanker per week
Natural gas: 2.4 x 108 SCF/day
Uranium (as 235U): 3 kg/day
Energy needs:

U.S. Total Energy Consumption (1994)
= 88 x 1015 Btu (88 Quads)
= 40.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day
= 92.8 exajoules (EJ)
Everyday usage and energy equivalencies:


1 barrel of oil = driving 1400 km (840 miles) in average car
Electricity of city of 100,000 takes 4000 bbl per day of oil
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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

State of California energy needs for 8 hours = 10 6 bbl = 1 million barrels
1 gal gasoline = 11 kW-hr electricity (@ 30% generation efficiency)
= 5 hours of operation of standard air conditioner
= 200 days of electric clock
= 48 hours of color TV
= average summer days solar energy incident on 2 m2 (22 ft2)
One million Btu equals approximately:





90 pounds of coal
125 pounds of oven-dried wood
10 therms of natural gas
1.1 day energy consumption per capita in the U.S.
1 million Btu (MBtu) of fossil fuels burned at a power plant that can generate about 100 kW-hr of
electricity
Power data:





1000 MWe utility, at 60% load factor, generates 5.3 x 10 9 kW-hr/year, enough for a city of about 1
million people
U.S. per capita power use = 11 kW
Human, sitting = 60 watts = 0.86 food Calories/minute
Human, running = 1000 watts = 14.34 food Calories/minute
Automobile at 55 mph = 28 kW
U.S. DOE Oil Factoids (2004) 7.446 Billion Barrel (BBL) / Year
Consumption
21.900 BBL Continental U.S. Remaining Supply
(IF we could pump to meet demand)
-
2 Year & 343 Days
1.741 BBL / Year Continental U.S. Pumping Rate
23.38%
(Amount of U.S. demand that can be met, which could probably be continued for a
little over 12 years
10.300 BBL Estimated ANWAR Supply
-
+ 1 year of U.S.
demand
.492 BBL ANWAR Estimated Pumping rate in 2010 6.6%
(Amount of U.S. demand that can be met, but as it comes online the continental U.S.
supplies would be falling, so in 2012 the additional 6% may not replace the
exhausting wells, it should however be able to provide the 6% until around 2032
.727 BBL Strategic Reserve Storage
(The reserve represents about 9% of annual demand)
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
-
9%
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1.5695 BBL / Year Maximum Pumping Rate
21%
(It can only be pumped at 21% of annual demand rate, so it could supplement at
this rate for a period of 169 days)
With water, every one foot height results in .433 PSI at the bottom, or every 2.31 foot height results in one
PSI. For example, a modest 40 PSI pressure in household water lines equals water standing in a tank
around 92.4 feet above the level of use. Acceleration of gravity on Earth is 32 ft. per second, 9.8 meters
per second. (From an UNVERIFIED source, supposedly the energy required to raise one pound/pint of
water one degree F is equal to raising one pound/pint up 778 feet.)
Energy Equivalents.
Starting
With
Convert
To
Multiply
By
BTU/hr
"
Horsepower
Watt/hr
.0003929
.2931
Kilowatt/hr
Horsepower
1.341
Distance. The general formula for how far away
a “level” horizon is for a given height of
observer works out to be d=1.4 times the square
root of h. That is the distance of the horizon in
miles is 1.4 times the square root of the height of
the observer in feet.
In the early 1800's one ton of iron required seven
to ten tons of coal to produce.
heated hot water to then heat a boiler of the
operating liquid, lowering demand for the
chemical. The same reasoning would apply to a
system using ambient pressure solar heated
water, circulated to a negative pressure water
generating system. Further, for storing heat, the
energy in heating one pound of water 1F is the
same as raising one pound to a height of 778
feet. An advantage is that after dark, the
"superheated" water can continue to power one
of the low boiling pressure engines.
GENERATING OPTIONS
PASSIVE POWER
Charles Tellier1, French, used low-temperature
solar collectors to drive devices using
pressurized vapor from low boiling point items,
such as ammonia at -28F, sulphur dioxide at 14F.
Keep in mind though, that if you can maintain
overall in your "system" a net pressure less than
atmosphere, water will boil at lower
temperatures.) Follow on experiments used solar
Almost 2,500 years ago, the ancient Greek's
began to design their homes to capture winter
sunlight. The typical dwelling had six or more
rooms on the first floor and probably as many on
the upper floor, averaging a total of 3,200 square
feet of floor space. More recently, on a south
facing brick wall, at an angle to catch the
maximum winter sun, trees pinned to the wall
made fruit production in less-favorable climates
possible. In the 1600's the French even made
fruit walls able to track the sun.
POWER REQUIREMENTS
1
A Golden Thread, 2500 years of solar
architecture and technology, Ken Butti and John
Perlin, a valuable source of "retro" ideas.
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
HOME FACTORS
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By the early 1930's many German architects
began to feel that large-scale apartment
complexes were an inherently uneconomical
form of housing. The upkeep of such buildings
offset their initial per unit costs. Single family
homes could be prefabricated and mass
produced.
Further, owner occupied homes
provide incentive to maintain the home, and even
make improvements, provided there are not too
large of dis-incentives to improvements, such as
real property taxes.
THE EARTH
(CIA FACT BOOK)
Globally, the 20th century was marked by:
(a) two devastating world wars;
(b) the Great Depression of the 1930s;
(c) the end of vast colonial empires;
(d) rapid advances in science and technology,
from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk,
North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon;
(e) the Cold War between the Western alliance
and the Warsaw Pact nations;
(f) a sharp rise in living standards in North
America, Europe, and Japan;
(g) increased concerns about the environment,
including loss of forests, shortages of energy and
water, the decline in biological diversity, and air
pollution;
(h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and
(i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only
world superpower.
The planet's population continues to explode
6,525,170,264 (July 2006 est.)
1 billion in 1820
2 billion in 1930
3 billion in 1960
4 billion in 1974
5 billion in 1988
6 billion in 2000.
For the 21st century, the continued exponential
growth in science and technology raises both
hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears
(e.g., development of even more lethal weapons
of war).
World Area:
total: 510.072 million sq km
(196,939,112 sq mile)
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
land: 148.94 million sq km
(57,505,825 sq mile)
(36,803,728,300 acre)
water: 361.132 million sq km
(139,433,286 sq mile2)
note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water,
29.2% is land
Area - comparative land area about 16 times the
size of the US. The land boundaries in the world
total 250,708 km (not counting shared
boundaries twice).
44 nations and other areas are landlocked.
Coastline:
356,000 km
Terrain: The greatest ocean depth is the Mariana
Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean, the
highest point is Mount Everest 8,850 m
Land use:
arable land: 13.31%
(4,898,576,237 acre)
permanent crops: 4.71%
(1,733,455,603 acre)
other: 81.98% (2005)
Irrigated land: 2,770,980 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards: Large areas subject to severe
weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters
(earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic
2
If this surface area of water is the ocean, then to
raise sea level .4544 inches (roughly 7/16 of an
inch) around 1,000 cubic miles of landlocked ice
would have to melt. Greenland 's ice sheet is
reported to contain around 10 percent of the
world's freshwater, which has recently been
melting at a rate of around 24 cubic miles (100
cubic kilometers) annually. This annual
Greenland high melt rate equates to an annual
ocean level rise of about 1/100 of an inch.
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eruptions)
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Environment - current issues: Large areas
subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters,
pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances),
loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation,
desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation,
soil depletion, erosion
Infant mortality rate:
Geography - note:
The world is now thought to be about 4.55
billion years old, just about one-third of the 13billion-year age estimated for the universe
Life expectancy at birth:
total: 48.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 50.98 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 46.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
total population: 64.77 years
male: 63.16 years
female: 66.47 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Age structure:
2.59 children born/woman (2006 est.)
0-14 years: 27.4%
(male 919,219,446/female 870,242,271)
15-64 years: 65.2%
(male 2,152,066,888/female 2,100,334,722)
65 years and over: 7.4%
(male 213,160,216/female 270,146,721)
Religions:
Christians 33.03%
(of which Roman Catholics 17.33%, Protestants
5.8%, Orthodox 3.42%, Anglicans 1.23%)
Muslims 20.12%
Hindus 13.34%
Buddhists 5.89%
Sikhs 0.39%
Jews 0.23%
other religions 12.61%
non-religious 12.03%, atheists 2.36% (2004 est.)
Median age:
total: 27.6 years
male: 27 years
female: 28.2 years
Population growth rate:
1.14% (2006 est.)
Birth rate:
20.05 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate:
8.67 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
Languages:
Mandarin Chinese 13.69%
Spanish 5.05%
English 4.84%
Hindi 2.82%
Portuguese 2.77%
Bengali 2.68%
Russian 2.27%
Japanese 1.99%
Standard German 1.49%
Wu Chinese 1.21% (2004 est.)
Literacy Definition: age 15 and over can read
and write. Note: over two-thirds of the world's
785 million illiterate adults are found in only
eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and
Egypt); of all the illiterate adults in the world,
two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy
rates are concentrated in three regions, South and
West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab
states, where around one-third of the men and
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half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.)
total population: 82%
male: 87%
female: 77%
Government Administrative
nations
Natural gas - production:
2.824 trillion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
divisions:
268
Economy - overview:
Global output rose by 4.4% in 2005, led by
China (9.3%), India (7.6%), and Russia (5.9%).
No gain for Italy with the United States at
(3.5%).
2.82 trillion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
810.9 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
828 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
GDP (purchasing power parity):
172.2 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)
GWP (gross world product): $65 trillion (2006
est.)
Disputes - international: Stretching over 250,000
km, the world's 329 international land
boundaries separate the 193 independent states
and 73 dependencies, areas of special
sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities;
ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language
have divided states into separate political entities
as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat,
or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and
imposed boundaries; maritime states have
claimed limits and have so far established over
130 maritime boundaries and joint development
zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide
for national security at sea; boundary,
borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary
in intensity from managed or dormant to violent
or militarized; most disputes over the alignment
of political boundaries are confined to short
segments and are today less common and less
hostile than borderland, resource, and territorial
disputes; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and
unmanaged boundaries, however, encourage
illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled
migration, and confrontation; territorial disputes
may evolve from historical and/or cultural
claims, or they may be brought on by resource
competition; ethnic and cultural clashes continue
to be responsible for much of the territorial
fragmentation around the world; disputes over
islands at sea or in rivers frequently form the
source of territorial and boundary conflict; other
sources of contention include access to water and
mineral (especially petroleum) resources,
fisheries, and arable land; nonetheless, most
nations cooperate to clarify their international
boundaries and to resolve territorial and resource
Labor force: 3.001 billion (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 41%
industry: 20.7%
services: 38.4%
Electricity - production:
17.15 trillion kWh (2004 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
16.18 trillion kWh (2004 est.)
Electricity - exports:
562.2 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports:
568.5 billion kWh (2004)
Oil - production:
83 million bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption:
82.59 million bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - proved reserves:
1.326 trillion bbl (1 January 2002 est.)
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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disputes peacefully; regional discord today
prevails not so much between the armed forces
of independent states as between stateless armed
entities that detract from the sustenance and
welfare of local populations, leaving the
community of nations to cope with resultant
refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, and
environmental degradation.
Mexico 3,141 km
US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is
leased by the US and is part of Cuba; the base
boundary is 28 km
Coastline: 19,924 km
Maritime claims:
Climate:
Two large areas of polar climates separated by
two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide
equatorial band of tropical to subtropical
climates.
Natural resources:
The rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral
resources, the depletion of forest areas and
wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant
species, and the deterioration in air and water
quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former
USSR, and China) pose serious long-term
problems that governments and peoples are only
beginning to address
United States - North America, bordering both
the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific
Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: not specified
Climate: Mostly temperate, but tropical in
Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in
the great plains west of the Mississippi River,
and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low
winter temperatures in the northwest are
ameliorated occasionally in January and
February by warm chinook winds from the
eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
Terrain: Vast central plain, mountains in west,
hills and low mountains in east; rugged
mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska;
rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
Elevation extremes:
Geographic coordinates: 38 00 N, 97 00 W
North America Area:
total: 9,826,630 sq km
(2,428,203,441.84 acre)
land: 9,161,923 sq km
water: 664,707 sq km
Area - comparative: About half the size of
Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa;
about half the size of South America (or slightly
larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China;
almost two and a half times the size of the
European Union.
lowest point: Death Valley -86 m
highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m
Natural resources:
Coal, copper, lead,
molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite,
gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver,
tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber
Land use:
arable land: 18.01%
(437,319,439.88 acre)
permanent crops: 0.21%
other: 81.78% (2005)
Land boundaries:
total: 12,034 km
border countries:
Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with
Alaska)
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
Irrigated land:
223,850 sq km (2003)
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Natural hazards: Tsunamis, volcanoes, and
earthquake activity around Pacific Basin;
hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico
coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast;
mud slides in California; forest fires in the west;
flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major
impediment to development
Environment - current issues: Air pollution
resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada;
the US is the largest single emitter of carbon
dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water
pollution from runoff of pesticides and
fertilizers; limited natural fresh water resources
in much of the western part of the country
require careful management; desertification.
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female
Infant mortality rate:
total: 6.43 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.09 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.74 deaths/1,000 live births
Population:
Life expectancy at birth:
298,444,215 (July 2006 est.)
total population: 77.85 years
male: 75.02 years
female: 80.82 years (2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 20.4%
(male 31,095,847/female 29,715,872)
15-64 years: 67.2%
(male 100,022,845/female 100,413,484)
65 years and over: 12.5%
(male 15,542,288/female 21,653,879)
Median age:
total: 36.5 years
male: 35.1 years
female: 37.8 years
Population growth rate:
Total fertility rate:
2.09 children born/woman (2006 est.)
American Ethnic groups: White 81.7%, black
12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska
native 1%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific
islander 0.2% (2003 est.) Note: a separate listing
for Hispanic is not included because the US
Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a
person of Latin American descent (including
persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican
origin) living in the US who may be of any race
or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.)
0.91% (2006 est.)
Birth rate:
Religions: Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic
24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%,
other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.)
14.14 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate:
8.26 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate:
Languages: English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%,
other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific
island 2.7%, other 0.7%
Literacy: Age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99%
3.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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Constitution-based federal
democratic tradition
republic;
strong
Economy - overview: The US has the largest
and most technologically powerful economy in
the world, with a per capita GDP of $43,500. In
this
market-oriented
economy,
private
individuals and business firms make most of the
decisions, and the federal and state governments
buy needed goods and services predominantly in
the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy
greater flexibility than their counterparts in
Western Europe and Japan in decisions to
expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers,
and to develop new products. At the same time,
they face higher barriers to enter their rivals'
home markets than foreign firms face entering
US markets.
US firms are at or near the forefront in
technological advances, especially in computers
and in medical, aerospace, and military
equipment; their advantage has narrowed since
the end of World War II. The onrush of
technology largely explains the gradual
development of a "two-tier labor market" in
which those at the bottom lack the education and
the professional/technical skills of those at the
top and, more and more, fail to get comparable
pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other
benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in
household income have gone to the top 20% of
households. The response to the terrorist attacks
of 11 September 2001 showed the remarkable
resilience of the economy. The war in MarchApril 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq,
and the subsequent occupation of Iraq, required
major shifts in national resources to the military.
The rise in GDP in 2004-06 was undergirded by
substantial gains in labor productivity. Hurricane
Katrina caused extensive damage in the Gulf
Coast region in August 2005, but had a small
impact on overall GDP growth for the year.
Soaring oil prices in 2005 and 2006 threatened
inflation and unemployment, yet the economy
continued to grow through year-end 2006.
Imported oil accounts for about two-thirds of US
consumption. Long-term problems include
inadequate
investment
in
economic
infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension
costs of an aging population, sizable trade and
budget deficits, and stagnation of family income
in the lower economic groups.
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$12.98 trillion (2006 est.)
(Author note – at the same time, the Secretary of
the Treasury reports nearly $9 trillion in “on the
books” federal debt, and around $50 trillion of
“off the books” debt.
The U.S. federal
government debt is around 5 times the entire
economic productivity of the nation.
In other worlds, were the interest rate to be 20%,
and the federal government were to tax at 100%
all economic activity, it would perhaps just pay
the interest debt.
If the interest rate were to be 5%, the federal
government would have to take 25% of the GDP
just to pay interest.)
$13.22 trillion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
3.4% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$43,500 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 20.4%
services: 78.6% (2006 est.)
Labor force:
151.4 million (includes unemployed)
Labor force - by occupation:
farming, forestry, and fishing 0.7%
manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and
crafts 22.9%
managerial, professional, and technical 34.9%
sales and office 25%
other services 16.5%
Industrial production growth rate: 4.2%
Electricity - production: 3.979 trillion kWh
Electricity - consumption: 3.717 trillion kWh
Electricity - exports: 22.9 billion kWh
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Electricity - imports: 34.21 billion kWh (2004)
Oil - production: 7.61 million bbl/day
Oil - consumption: 20.73 million bbl/day
Oil - exports: 1.048 million bbl/day
Oil - imports: 13.15 million bbl/day
Oil - proved reserves: 22.45 billion bbl (1
January 2002)
Natural gas - production: 531.1 billion cu m
Natural gas - consumption: 635.1 billion cu m
Natural gas - exports: 24.18 billion cu m (2004
est.)
Natural gas - imports: 120.6 billion cu m (2004
est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 5.451 trillion cu m
(2005 est.)
maritime boundary; US Naval Base at
Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only
mutual agreement or US abandonment of the
area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims USadministered Navassa Island; US has made no
territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved
the right to do so) and does not recognize the
claims of any other state; Marshall Islands
claims Wake Island.
WEBSITES:
http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html
WIRE GAUGE
Gauge
Current account balance: $-862.3 billion (2006
est.)
Exports: $1.024 trillion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities:
agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2%
industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8%
capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle
parts,
computers,
telecommunications
equipment) 49.0%
consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0%
(2003)
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
00
000
0000
OHM
Resistence
Per 100ft.
.253
.159
.100
.063
.040
.025
.016
.010
.008
.006
.005
Max Safe
Current
15
20
30
55
75
95
130
170
195
225
260
Disputes - international:
Prolonged drought, population growth, and
outmoded practices and infrastructure in the
border region strain water-sharing arrangements
with Mexico; the US has stepped up efforts to
stem nationals from Mexico, Central America,
and other parts of the world from crossing
illegally into the US from Mexico; illegal
immigrants from the Caribbean, notably Haiti
and the Dominican Republic, attempt to enter the
US through Florida by sea; 1990 Maritime
Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still
awaits Russian Duma ratification; managed
maritime boundary disputes with Canada at
Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de
Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal
Island and North Rock; US and Canada seek
greater cooperation in monitoring people and
commodities crossing the border; The Bahamas
and US have not been able to agree on a
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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Wire Sizing Chart 12 Volt System
Maximum one-way distance (feet) for 5% voltage loss in 12 volt systems. Wire Size (AWG)
WIRE GUAGE
Amps
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
1
0
00
000
0000
1
106
169
269
427
679
1080
1717
2166
2730
3444
4342
5475
2
53
85
134
214
340
540
859
1083
1365
1722
2171
2738
4
27
42
67
107
170
270
429
542
682
861
1086
1369
6
18
28
45
71
113
180
286
361
455
574
724
913
8
13
21
34
53
85
135
215
271
341
430
543
684
10
11
17
27
43
68
108
172
217
273
344
434
548
15
7
11
18
28
45
72
114
144
182
230
289
365
20
—
8
13
21
34
54
86
108
136
172
217
274
25
—
—
11
17
27
43
69
87
109
138
174
219
30
—
—
9
14
23
36
57
72
91
115
145
183
35
—
—
—
12
19
31
49
62
78
98
124
156
40
—
—
—
—
17
27
43
54
68
86
109
137
45
—
—
—
—
15
24
38
48
61
77
96
122
50
—
—
—
—
14
22
34
43
55
69
87
110
Wire Sizing Chart 24 Volt System
Maximum one-way distance (feet) for 5% voltage loss in 24 volt systems. Wire Size (AWG)
WIRE GUAGE
AMPS
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
1
0
00
000
0000
1
213
338
537
854
1359
2160
3434
4332
5460
6887
8684
10951
2
106
169
269
427
679
1080
1717
2166
2730
3444
4342
5475
4
53
85
134
214
340
540
859
1083
1365
1722
2171
2738
6
35
56
90
142
226
360
572
722
910
1148
1447
1825
8
27
42
67
107
170
270
429
542
682
861
1086
1369
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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10
21
34
54
85
136
216
343
433
546
689
868
1095
15
14
23
36
57
91
144
229
289
364
459
579
730
20
—
17
27
43
68
108
172
217
273
344
434
548
25
—
—
21
34
54
86
137
173
218
275
347
438
30
—
—
18
28
45
72
114
144
182
230
289
365
35
—
—
—
24
39
62
98
124
156
197
248
313
40
—
—
—
—
34
54
86
108
136
172
217
274
45
—
—
—
—
30
48
76
96
121
153
193
243
50
—
—
—
—
27
43
69
87
109
138
174
219
AWG Table
1 AWG is 289.3 thousandths of an inch
2 AWG is 257.6 thousandths of an inch
5 AWG is 181.9 thousandths of an inch
10 AWG is 101.9 thousandths of an inch
20 AWG is 32.0 thousandths of an inch
30 AWG is 10.0 thousandths of an inch
40 AWG is 3.1 thousandths of an inch
The table in ARRL handbook warns that the figures are approximate and may vary dependent on the
manufacturing tolerances. If you don't have a chart handy, you don't really need a formula. There's several
handy tricks:
Solid wire diameters increases/decreases by a factor of 2 every 6 gages,
" "
"
"
"
3 every 10 gages,
" "
"
"
"
4 every 12 gages,
" "
"
"
"
5 every 14 gages,
" "
"
"
"
10 every 20 gages,
" "
"
"
"
100 every 40 gages,
With these, you can get around alot of different AWGs and they cross check against one another. Start with
solid 50 AWG having a 1 mil diameter.
30 AWG should have a diameter of ~ 10 mils. Right on with my chart.
36 AWG should have a diameter of ~ 5 mils. Right on with my chart.
24 AWG should have a diameter of ~ 20 mils. Actually ~ 20.1
16 AWG should have a diameter of ~ 50 mils. Actually ~ 50.8
10 AWG should have a diameter of ~ 100 mils. Actually ~ 101.9
If you are more interested in current carrying ability than physical size, then also remember that a change of
3 AWG numbers equals a doubling or halving of the circular mills (the cross sectional area). Thus, if 10
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
Page 27 of 35
Last printed 2/15/2016 8:47:00 PM
AWG is safe for 30 amps, then 13 AWG (yeah, hard to find) is ok for 15 amps and 16 AWG is good for 7.5
amps.
The wire gauge is a logarithmic scale base on the cross sectional area of the wire. Each 3-gauge step in size
corresponds to a doubling or halving of the cross sectional area. For example, going from 20 gauge to 17
gauge doubles the cross sectional area (which, by the way, halves the DC resistance).
So, one simple result of this is that if you take two strands the same gauge, it's the equivalent of a single
wire that's 3 gauges lower. So two 20 gauge strands is equivaent to 1 17 gauge.
Wire Gauge Resistance per foot
4 .000292
6 .000465
8 .000739
10 .00118
12 .00187
14 .00297
16 .00473
18 .00751
20 .0119
22 .0190
24 .0302
26 .0480
28 .0764
Current ratings
Most current ratings for wires (except magnet wires) are based on permissible voltage drop, not
temperature rise. For example, 0.5 mm^2 wire is rated at 3A in some applications but will carry over 8 A in
free air without overheating. You will find tables of permitted maximum current in national electrical
codes, but these are based on voltage drop (not the heating which is no problem in the current rating those
codes give).
Here is a small current and AWG table taken from the Amateur Radio Relay Handbook, 1985.
AWG dia circ open cable ft/lb ohms/
mils mils air A Amp bare 1000'
10 101.9 10380 55 33 31.82 1.018
12 80.8 6530 41 23 50.59 1.619
14 64.1 4107 32 17 80.44 2.575
Mils are .001". "open air A" is a continuous rating for a single conductor with insulation in open air. "cable
amp" is for in multiple conductor cables. Disregard the amperage ratings for household use.
To calculate voltage drop, plug in the values: V = DIR/1000
Where I is the amperage, R is from the ohms/1000' column above, and D is the total distance the current
travels (don't forget to add the length of the neutral and hot together - ie: usually double cable length).
Design rules in the CEC call for a maximum voltage drop of 6% (7V on 120V circuit).
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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Resistivities at room temp:
Element
Electrical resistivity (microohm-cm)
Aluminum 2.655
Copper
1.678
Gold
2.24
Silver
1.586
Platinum 10.5
This clearly puts silver as the number one conductor and gold has higher resistance than silver or copper.
It's desireable in connectors because it does not combine well with other materials so remains relatively
pure at the surface. It also has the capability to adhere to itself (touch pure gold to pure gold and it sticks
together) which makes for very reliable connections.
Thermal conductivity at room temp:
W/cm C
silver
copper
gold
platinum
4.08
3.94
2.96
0.69
diamond
0.24
bismuth
0.084
iodine
43.5E-4
This explains why diamonds are being used for high power substrates now. That's man-made diamonds.
Natural diamonds contain sufficient flaws in the lattice that the phonons (heat conductors) get scattered and
substantially reduce the ability to transport the heat.
Copper wire resistance table
AWG Feet/Ohm Ohms/100ft Ampacity* mm^2 Meters/Ohm Ohms/100M
10 490.2
.204
30 2.588 149.5
.669
12 308.7
.324
20 2.053 94.1
1.06
14 193.8
.516
15 1.628 59.1
1.69
16 122.3
.818
10 1.291 37.3
2.68
18 76.8
1.30
5 1.024 23.4
4.27
20 48.1
2.08
3.3 0.812 14.7
6.82
22 30.3
3.30
2.1 0.644 9.24
10.8
24 19.1
5.24
1.3 0.511 5.82
17.2
26 12.0
8.32
0.8 0.405 3.66
27.3
28 7.55
13.2
0.5 0.321 2.30
43.4
These Ohms / Distance figures are for a round trip circuit. Specifications are for copper wire at 77 degrees
Fahrenheit or 25 degrees Celsius.
Wire current handling capacity values
A/mm2 R/mohm/m
6
3.0
55
I/A
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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10
16
25
35
50
70
1.8
1.1
0.73
0.52
0.38
0.27
76
105
140
173
205
265
Information about 35 mm2 Cu wire
According Strцberg TTT 35mm2 copper wire can take continuous current of 170A on free air and 200 A on
ground. The wire can handle 5 kA short circuit current for 1s. DC resistance of the wiure is 0.52mohm/m.
Mains wiring current ratings
In mains wiring there are two considerations, voltage drop and heat buildup. The smaller the wire is, the
higher the resistance is. When the resistance is higher, the wire heats up more, and there is more voltage
drop in the wiring. The former is why you need higher-temperature insulation and/or bigger wires for use in
conduit; the latter is why you should use larger wire for long runs.
Neither effect is very significant over very short distances. There are some very specific exceptions, where
use of smaller wire is allowed. The obvious one is the line cord on most lamps. Don't try this unless you're
certain that your use fits one of those exceptions; you can never go wrong by using larger wire.
This is a table apparently from BS6500 which is reproduced in the IEE Wiring Regs which describes the
maximum fuse sizes for different conductor sizes:
Cross- Overload
sectional current
area
rating
0.5mmІ
0.75mmІ
1mmІ
1.25mmІ
1.5mmІ
3A
6A
10A
13A
16A
Typical current ratings for mains wiring
Inside wall
mm^2 A
1.5 10
2.5 16
Equipment wires
mm^2 A
0.5 3
0.75 6
1.0 10
1.5 16
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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2.5 25
We sizes used in USA inside wall
For a 20 amp circuit, use 12 gauge wire. For a 15 amp circuit, you can use 14 gauge wire (in most locales).
For a long run, though, you should use the next larger size wire, to avoid voltage drops.
Here's a quick table for normal situations. Go up a size for more than 100 foot runs, when the cable is in
conduit, or ganged with other wires in a place where they can't dissipate heat easily:
Gauge
14
12
10
8
6
Amps
15
20
30
40
65
PCB track widths
For a 10 degree C temp rise, minimum track widths are:
Current
0.5A
0.75A
1.25A
2.5A
4.0A
7.0A
10.0A
width in inches
.008"
.012"
.020"
.050"
.100"
.200"
.325"
Equipment wires in Europe
3 core equipment mains cable
Current
3A
6A 10A 13A 16A
Condictor size(mm) 16*0.2 24*0.2 32*0.2 40*0.2 48*0.2
Copper area (mm^2) 0.5 0.75 1.0 1.25 1.5
Overall diameter(mm) 5.6 6.9
7.5
Calbe ratings for 3A, 6A and 13A are based on BS6500 1995 specifications and are for stranded thick PVC
insulated cables.
Insulted hook-up wire in circuits (DEF61-12)
Max. current
1.4A 3A 6A
Max. working voltage (V) 1000 1000 1000
PVC sheat thickness (mm) 0.3 0.3 0.45
Conductor size (mm)
7*0.2 16*0.2 24*0.2
Conductor area (mm^2)
0.22 0.5 0.75
Overall diameter (mm)
1.2 1.6 2.05
Car audio cable recommendations
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This info in from rec.audio.car FAQ (orognally from IASCA handbook). To determine the correct wire size
for your application, you should first determine the maximum current flow through the cable (looking at the
amplifier's fuse is a relatively simple and conservative way to do this). Then determine the length of the
cable that your will use, and consult the following chart:
Current
Length of run (in feet)
0-4 4-7 7-10 10-13 13-16 16-19 19-22 22-28
0-20A
20-35A
35-50A
50-65A
65-85A
85-105A
105-125A
125-150A
14 12
12 10
10 8
8 8
6 6
6 6
4 4
2 2
12 10 10
8
8
6
8
6
6
6
4
4
4
4
2
4
2
2
4
2
2
2
2
0
8
6
4
4
2
2
0
0
8
6
4
4
2
2
0
0
8
4
4
2
0
0
0
00
Skin effect
Skin effect is an effect that the electricity in high frequencies does not use the whole condictor area. High
frequencies tend to use only the outer parts of the conductor. The higher the frequency, the less of the wire
diameter is used and higher the losses. Sin effect must be taken care in high frequency coil designs.
The frequency dependency of the resistance of a cylindrical conductor can be calculated by the following
formula, which is surely valid for high frequencies and radii of approx. 50 um:
R(f) = R(DC)* (1 + 1/3 * x^4) with x = Radius/2*sqrt(pi*frequency*permeability*conductivity)
The "formula" for skin effect is the same whether the conductor is rectangular or cyclindrical. That is why
the same value of "radius" used in wire size in a switchmode transformer is used to determine half the
thickness of a flat foil conductor in the case of foil-wound secondaries.
An approximate equation for the resistance ratio for rectangular conductors (from Terman) is:
rho = 1/(((8PI * f)/(Rdc * 10^9))^0.5)
Skin depth is not an absolute, but only the depth where current through the wire or foil has fallen to a
specific proportion of the current at the surface. In fact, current falls off exponenially as you move inward
fromm the surface. The depth of the "skin" is also influenced by proximity to nearby conductors (such as in
a transformer) so is itself not absolute. Also the formula has to be modified if you use wire that is
ferromagnetic (iron for example).
In addition to skin effect a lot of engineers doing their own magnetics design don't consider the 'proximity
effect' which 'crowds' the current to one side of the conductor and increases losses. This condition is worst
in thick multi-layer windings. Fortunately, many of the new transformer shapes have a long and skinny
window - good for low leakage L and low proximity effect losses.
Wire sizes used in fuses
The Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers lists the following formula:
33 * (I/A)^2 * S = log( (Tm - Ta) / (234 + Ta) + 1 )
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I = current in Amperes
A = area of wire in circ. mils
S = time the current flows in seconds
Tm = melting point, C
Ta = ambient temp, C
The melting point of copper is 1083 C.
See pp. 4-74 .. 4-79 of the 13th edition of the Handbook for more info.
Skin effect
At high frequencies there is one thing to consider on wire resistance besides the DC resistence: skin effect.
The current intensity falls off exponentially with depth. The depth of penetration (s=sigma) is the depth at
which the current intensity has fallen to 1/e of its value at the surface, where e equals 2.718.
Where the diameter of the conductor is large compared to the depth of penetration, the total current is the
same as if the surface current intensity were maintained to a depth of penetration.
For example, for copper the depth of penetration is as follows:
MHz
Depth of Penetration sigma (mm)
.1
.209
1
.066
10
.021
100
.0066
1000
.0021
For other materials the skin dpeth can be calculated using the formula:
s = 503.3sqrt(rho/(urf)) millimeters
rho = resistivity in ohm-meters
= 1.72x10e-8 for copper or 2.83x10e-8 for aluminum
ur = mu r = relative magnetic permeability
= 1 for both copper and aluminum
f = frequency in magahertz
Examples of know remaining resources:
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Factoid Appendix
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BIOFUELS
SUSTAINABLE CIVILIZATION: From the Grass Roots Up
Factoid Appendix
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i
Reference: NASA RP-1324, "Designing for Human Presence in Space: An Introduction to Environmental
Control and Life Support Systems", Paul O. Wieland, 1994, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville,
Alabama. Also see NASA-STD-3000, Man Systems Integration Standards, Figure 5.8.2.2.5-1, page 5-120.
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