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How to Build a $20 Billion Semiconductor Fab
For the last several decades, one avenue of technological progress has towered over nearly everything else: semiconductors.
May 3, 2024 • Brian Potter
Why It's So Hard to Build a Jet Engine
Civilization's toughest technical challenges are those that require extraordinary (and constantly improving) performance to be delivered at a low cost.
Feb 28, 2025 • Brian Potter
How to Build 300,000 Airplanes in Five Years
It’s no secret that the Allies won World War II on the back of the U.S.’s enormous industrial output.
May 23, 2024 • Brian Potter
Energy Cheat Sheet
Building an intuition about energy
Dec 20, 2024 • Brian Potter
Understanding Solar Energy
The biggest energy story of the last fifteen years is the rise of solar photovoltaics, also known as solar PV or simply solar panels.
Mar 20, 2025 • Brian Potter
How to Build an AI Data Center
This piece is the first in a new series from the Institute for Progress (IFP), called Compute in America: Building the Next Generation of AI…
Jun 10, 2024 • Brian Potter
50 Things I’ve Learned Writing Construction Physics
I’ve been writing Construction Physics since September of 2020.
Apr 17, 2025 • Brian Potter
Why Skyscrapers Became Glass Boxes
Everything put into the building that is unnecessary, every cubic foot that is used for purely ornamental purposes beyond that needed to express its use…
Jan 13, 2025 • Brian Potter
Will We Ever Get Fusion Power?
“Every one of the stars in the sky uses fusion to generate enormous amounts of energy. Why shouldn’t we?”
Jun 26, 2024 • Brian Potter
Why Can't the U.S. Build Ships?
This post is cross-posted at Noahpinion.
Sep 5, 2024 • Brian Potter
Where are Vacation Homes Located in the US?
As of 2023, the US has around 142.3 million housing units: roughly one home for every 2.4 people in the country.
Jul 24, 2025 • Brian Potter
Why Is It So Hard to Build an Airport?
Airports are a critical piece of modern infrastructure.
Mar 4, 2024 • Brian Potter
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