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Instrumentation and measurement

Instrumentation and measurement

Size matters: the economies of scale, from the very big to the very small

08 Nov 2023

Tom Tierney reviews Size: How It Explains the World by Vaclav Smil

Depiction of an oil tanker stuck in a canal
The economies of scale It’s not just the laws of physics that dictate size: sometimes more mundane practicalities, such as oil tankers becoming too large to fit through canals, can bring growth to a halt. Courtesy: Adobe Stock/Corona Borealis
One hundred and fifty years ago in the US, the combined power of four strong horses harnessed to a p

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Tom Tierney is a physics teacher and writer, based near Dublin, Ireland, e-mail tttierney@yahoo.com
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