Marchetti's constant

Cesare Marchetti (* 1927 in Lucca ) is an Italian physicist and systems analyst. He is known particularly for his work in the field of power engineering and related systems theory analysis and is named after the Marchetti constant and the Marchetti curve.

Career

Marchetti gained the diploma in physics in 1949 at the University of Pisa. Between 1950 and 1955 he studied at the Milan Institute CISE the heavy water production, and then move to the Battelle Institute in Genoa, where he dealt with lubricants. In 1958 he became head of the Division of Physical Chemistry at the company Agip Nucleare, from 1959, he held senior positions at the branches Ispra (Italy) and Petten (The Netherlands ) of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. From 1974, he worked as a system analyst staff of the Institute IIASA Laxenburg in Austria.

Work

Cesare Marchetti published many professional articles on topics of system analysis, nuclear physics and the energy industry in general. In addition to these topics, he also dealt with a future hydrogen economy.

1012

A wider audience Marchetti was in 1979 with his article in 1012 - known A check on Earth Carrying Capacity for Man, in which he tried with a far- reaching theoretical concept, the study to refute The Limits to Growth by the Club of Rome. The number ( a trillion ) refers to the resolution adopted by Marchetti carrying capacity of the earth; they exceed those specified by nearly all other authors values ​​by far. It is to be achieved through the investment of self-sustaining garden cities, where food production by indoor farming should be (comparable with Vertical farming ) and the use of microorganisms that can convert any organic substrate in food secure. In order to secure the energy production set Marchetti mainly on nuclear energy and solar energy. By recycling is to be achieved, that the cities should have as closed systems except heat generation, no further impact on nature; furthermore, it should be possible according to his vision, to receive 90 % of the earth's surface in its natural state.

Marchetti constant

A concept developed in 1994, which was later called the Marchetti constant that describes the fact that at least since Neolithic times, has remained the same, the time spent each day with mobility being a man, is about one and a half hours. The constant is used, among others, by Peter Newman in his work on sustainable urban planning.

Waves of innovation and Marchetti curve

Between 1978 and 1986 worked Marchetti after an analysis of the market share of energy wood, coal, oil, natural gas and uranium in the 19th and 20th centuries, the thesis that cycles the use of energy sources were calculated, and specify in curves from the Biology -derived Lotka -Volterra rules followed. These Terms cycles lasted about 52 years ( see Fifty Year Pulsation in Human Affairs, 1986) and are coupled to a set of basic innovations that called Marchetti innovation waves. These cycles and curves are called Marchetti curves.