![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1280/720/90/media-assets/image/20230408_TQR_SQ.jpg)
Electric grids
The ultimate supply chains
Technology Quarterly -
One of the foundations of modernity is about to be transformed, reports Hal Hodson
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/media-assets/image/20230408_TQD001.jpg)
The ultimate supply chains
The electric grid is about to be transformed
The technological and regulatory requirements will be immense, writes Hal Hodson
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/media-assets/image/20230408_TQD002.jpg)
Hurry up and wait
Adding capacity to the electricity grid is not a simple task
It is even more difficult if the power comes from renewable sources
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/media-assets/image/20230408_TQD003.jpg)
Direct delivery
Electric grids fed by renewables need a different kind of plumbing
And a whole different kind of switch
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/media-assets/image/20230408_TQD004.jpg)
Defying Dunkelflaute
It is harder for new electric grids to balance supply and demand
The sun does not always shine
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/media-assets/image/20230408_TQD005.jpg)
Back in black
The physics of rotating masses can no longer define the electric grid
That will make it better in the long run
Previous report
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1280/720/90/media-assets/image/20220924_TQR_SQ.jpg)
Neuroscience
Fixing the brain
Technology Quarterly -
The toolkit for tackling brain dysfunction is expanding rapidly, says Natasha Loder
- Fixing the brain: After fallow decades, neuroscience is undergoing a renaissance
- More judgment, less luck: Science needs to move beyond luck if it is to design better drugs for the brain
- Precision neuromedicine: Better brain biology will deliver better medicines
- The new psychedelia: Ketamine, psilocybin and ecstasy are coming to the medicine cabinet
- Getting wired up: Crossing the brain’s electrical frontier
- Mind over matter: What does a brain-computer interface feel like?
- Neuroscience: Sources and acknowledgments