Vaclav Smil

Energy and Civilization - A History

Index skimmed. I might check this out again if I need some of the data, but more likely I'll use original sources.

p12 Energy density MJ/kg
- Vegetables very low, grains high, oils and fats very high
- Just the thing if I'm hiding food before a famine - not if I'm planning a healthy diet
p13 Preindustrial northern cities required 100x wooded area for charcoal
p253 Diesel compression ratio 14-24, efficiency 50%, Otto Cycle gasoline ratio 7-10, efficiency 25%
p339 "junction field effect transistor invented by Shockley" ... heh