Low-tech Magazine

Faster internet is impossible

Internet users continually need faster connections to surf the web at the same speed.

Because of their low speed, dial-up internet connections are considered hopelessly out of date. Yet switching to a faster broadband connection or even a fibre connection will only yield a speed increase for a short period. Faster connections also threaten the democratisation of the internet.

Solar powered cars

If racing cars can drive on solar energy, then why do normal cars still need fossil fuels?

Around 30 cars race 3,000 kilometres across the Australian continent in the “World Solar Challenge”. Solar cars are electric vehicles that generate their own electricity, by means of around 6 m² of solar panels installed on their bodywork, and a series of linked up batteries that serve as a fuel tank. If we want the car to survive in the longer term, it should become slower and lighter again, trimmed to the efficiency of solar panels and batteries. (Picture: Venturi Astrolab)

Supercomputers reach their limits

The energy consumption of supercomputers is getting out of hand.

Supercomputers are becoming ever more important in scientific research, the financial world and big business. Their processing speed keeps growing. But even if we take into account future energy-saving technologies, the electricity use of these machines will become an insurmountable obstacle in 10 to 15 years time - says Alan Gara, developer of the world’s most powerful supercomputer.

The revival of the sailing ship

Considering the wind as an extra source of power, the fuel use of cargo ships can be reduced substantially.

Steam power and diesel engines relegated cargo sailing ships to the history books, since motorized ships are a lot faster, cheaper and more reliable. But now that the fuel use of ships and the ecological damage involved passes all bounds, there is a renewed interest in wind power as an extra source of energy; thanks to an extreme water sport.

Airships: green, slow air cargo

Air freight is the most ecologically damaging mode of transport. It becomes the most eco-friendly option if speed is reduced.

An American company, Ohio Airships, combines the advantages of air cargo while significantly reducing ecological problems. They achieve this by designing slow cargo airships, called "Dynalifters". These air vessels mix the travel concepts of planes and Zeppelins. They can carry 3 times more freight than a Boeing 747, but travel at a speed of only 200 kilometres an hour, consuming considerably less fuel.

High speed trains: planes on wheels

From an ecological point of view, the strategy to move travellers from airplanes to high speed trains just doesn't make sense.

Trains are considered to be much more environmentally friendly than aircrafts. Unfortunately, they lose their ecological advantage when speed goes up. And train companies seem to be obsessed by speed. Last week, the French high speed train (TGV) officially broke the 515 km/h speed record of 1990. An adapted high speed train of Alstom reached a speed of more than 574 kilometres an hour on the line Paris - Strasbourg (the video is on the internet). It used 19,600 kilowatts of electricity, this is equivalent to the energy consumption of a large office building. In a statement to the press, president Chirac praised the train as "friendly for the environment".

Picture: Hochgeschwindigkeitszuege