How we built a less-explodey lithium battery and kickstarted the EV revolution

Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium — these foundational materials are literally what the modern world is built on. Without sand for glass, say goodbye to our fiber optic internet. No copper means no conductive wiring. And a world without lithium is a world without rechargeable batteries.  For the final installment of Hitting the Books for 2023, we're bringing you an excerpt from the fantastic Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization by Ed Conway. A finalist for the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year award, Material World walks readers through the seismic impacts these six substances have had on human civilization throughout history, using a masterful mix of narrative storytelling and clear-eyed technical explanation. In the excerpt below, Conway discusses how the lithium ion battery technology that is currently powering the EV revolution came into existence.   Thanks very much for reading Hitting the Books this year, we'll be back with more of the best excerpts from new and upcoming technology titles in post-CES January, 2024!   Penguin Random House Excerpted from Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization by Ed Conway. Published by Knopf. Copyright © 2023 by Ed Conway. All rights reserved. A Better Battery The first engineer to use lithium in a battery was none other than Thomas Edison. Having mastered the manufacture of concrete by focusing religiously on improving the recipe and... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2023-12-24 15:30:10 UTC ]
News tagged with: #nobel prize #short answer #burgeoning market #electric cars #experience producing #book of the year

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Pride is a Rebellion, and Rebellions are Built on Hope

Stack your Pride TBR with these hopeful, queer science fiction and fantasy novels where queer characters are celebrated and highlighted. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-06-29 10:35:00 UTC ]
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How Digital Media Can Stay One Step Ahead of the Diversity Revolution

June 2020's upheaval around racial justice has been at times painful, at times empowering and hopeful, and at times humbling. In the professional sphere, there's not an industry that hasn't felt the impact of the latest iteration of the Black Lives Matter movement. That's why this year's... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-06-24 21:33:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #racial justice #latest iteration #digital media


Stories of those who built the bomb, those who used it and those who survived it

Chris Wallace and Mitch Weiss recount the preparations for the nuclear bombing of Japan. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-06-12 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The academic digital revolution is here... again

What’s an industry painstakingly crafted on authority, history and traditional processes to do, when suddenly the world rips up the rule book and says: Forget the last 300 years. Do something else! Now, your authority is challenged, your history less important, and your traditional processes... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-27 06:34:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rule book


The education revolution

With schools closed for the foreseeable future, and the nation having to adapt quickly to home education, parents are getting to grips with juggling their new home tutor roles - as well as managing their own workloads and coping with the day to day pressures of looking after families during this... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-15 18:45:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #schools closed #foreseeable future


An elite Chinese family, ensnared in the Cultural Revolution

In her memoir, Lan Yan recalls her relatives with affection and recounts the brutality they faced. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-03-06 19:15:36 UTC ]
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The revolution will now be televised: How leftist streaming service Means TV timed its launch perfectly

The emerging left media—currently spread across the digital media landscape—are uniting to deliver an alternative to corporate, centrist news and entertainment. Sitting in a small Bronx apartment back in early 2018, it would be difficult to picture the world today. As Naomi Burton and Nick Hayes... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2020-02-26 07:00:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #world today #political campaign #digital media


Andrew Ziminski | 'I really wanted to communicate the fact that our country was built by migrants'

Andrew Ziminski’s book on stonemasonry is an enthralling story of the people who helped to shape some of the nation’s most treasured buildings.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-19 16:16:39 UTC ]
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A.D. Miller’s ‘Independence Day’ imagines how one diplomat tried to secretly manage Ukraine’s revolution

Miller draws on his experience as a foreign correspondent to re-create the turmoil in Kiev in 2004. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-02-18 18:21:24 UTC ]
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A.D. Miller’s ‘Independence Square’ imagines how one diplomat tried to secretly manage Ukraine’s revolution

Miller draws on his experience as a foreign correspondent to re-create the turmoil in Kiev in 2004. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-02-18 06:21:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #miller draws #foreign correspondent


How the conservative revolution led to the Trump-Kushner oligarchy

Andrea Bernstein traces the rise of two families amid a changing political landscape. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-02-14 13:00:00 UTC ]
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How people — and animals — are biologically built for friendship

Science shows that social bonds are crucial to well-being, Lydia Denworth writes. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-02-07 13:47:11 UTC ]
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How MyLondon Built a Hyperlocal News Brand From the Ground Up

When news publisher Reach plc launched a new title in December 2018, it was in many ways starting from scratch. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2020-01-07 17:45:53 UTC ]
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Voicing a revolution

In the last of three pieces on the audiobook sector in the run-up to FutureBook Live, W F Howes’ Dominic White looks at the future of the format Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-12 00:45:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #audiobook sector #futurebook live #audiobook


Digital Publishers Need a Revenue Revolution

Digital publishers today face an unprecedented challenge. While U.S. digital advertising revenue is forecast to generate more than $116 billion by 2021, publishers aren’t seeing their fair share of that revenue. Ad revenue is being cannibalized by everything from ad blockers to walled gardens... Continue reading at Publishing Executive

[ Publishing Executive | 2019-12-09 13:30:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ad revenue #unprecedented challenge #publishers aren #fair share #ad blockers #walled gardens #media landscape #digital publishers


Frances Lincoln signs Kickstarter-funded body positivity guide

Frances Lincoln Children’s Books has picked up an empowering body positivity guide for girls by Australian student Jessica Sanders, initially funded through Kickstarter. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-05 03:37:10 UTC ]
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What marketers need to know about the publishing revolution: Hear from Vox, WSJ, NYT, Hearst, Essence, Condé Nast and more

For publishers, this is a time of radical reinvention marked by a breakneck pace of innovation—and for the marketers that partner with them to connect with consumers, keeping up with the changing landscape is an endless challenge. To help make sense of everything that’s happening... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-10-25 16:35:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bloomberg media #jarrod dicker #commercial strategy #rich antoniello #complex media #e-commerce play #revenue stream #media company #great thing #mini-conference format #sessions start #networking lunch #register heretoday #digital media #traditional publishing


Diary of a small town sensation: how the Wimpy Kid author built his dream bookshop

Growing up, Jeff Kinney discovered Tolkien, comics and computers at his local bookshop. When it closed he was bereft – would opening his own as an adult help to right that wrong?Author Jacqueline Woodson recently spoke about books being either mirrors or windows. Mirrors for seeing ourselves,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-10-05 09:00:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #local bookshop #judy blume #epic fantasy #jrr tolkien #deep appreciation #formative years #bookstore


Acer Aspire 5 (A515-43-R19L) review: A budget AMD Ryzen 3 workhorse with middling battery life

If this particular model of the Acer Aspire 5 looks familiar, it's probably because it's been sitting atop Amazon’s laptop bestseller list for months. It’s easy to understand why. With a list price of $350 but usually selling for closer to $310, this AMD Ryzen 3-powered Aspire 5 packs some... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2019-09-25 10:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #list price #6-inch display #solid performance #power adapter #bestseller list


How the Kochs built their business — and their power

Christopher Leonard explores the sprawling company and its influence on the U.S. economy. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-08-16 12:00:00 UTC ]
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