korrents

Eli Dourado

@eli-dourado · 5 positions · 1 change of mind

Economist writing about why physical technologies — geothermal drilling, supersonic aircraft, cargo airships — stall between being possible and being built, and about the regulation, certification and capital structure that decide which ones get made.

Eli Dourado did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

  1. Our reading

    Investors avoid hard tech for its capital intensity while the largest returns available are in exactly those physical markets.

    Their wordsMany software investors eschew hard tech startups because of their capital intensity, but it’s hard to deny that huge returns are possible in hard tech: just consider SpaceX.

    ↗Cargo airships are happeningelidourado.com 2nd of 2 in this piece

    startups

    Interesting
  2. 20 months earlier

  3. Our reading

    Building a manufactured object at a high enough rate pushes its cost down toward the cost of its inputs.

    Their wordsA high rate of production tends to drive costs down toward the cost of inputs.

    ↗Cargo airships could be bigelidourado.com 1st of 4 in this piece

    Interesting

  5. Our reading

    Some physical technologies cannot be developed by iterating on a small prototype, because at small scale the thing you want does not make physical sense.

    Their wordsA small rigid-body airship for good physical reasons should not exist.

    ↗Cargo airships could be bigelidourado.com 2nd of 4 in this piece

    Interesting

  7. Our reading

    Certification, not engineering, is what gates revenue for a new aircraft company.

    Their wordsFAA certification is required before you transport anything for money.

    ↗Cargo airships could be bigelidourado.com 3rd of 4 in this piece

    Interesting

  9. Our reading

    Designing a physical product for a small beachhead market is a distraction when every new model has to be certified separately.

    Their wordsDesigning your aircraft for the beachhead market is a huge distraction, particularly when there are certification costs that have to be paid for each new model.

    ↗Cargo airships could be bigelidourado.com 4th of 4 in this piece

    Interesting