Running Fermi calculations as a superpower to gauge reality

2024/06/14 by Edmar R. Oliveira-Filho, Rodrigo Campos-Silva, Andrew D. Hanson · 2 voices
Computer Science · Decision Sciences · #Computational Physics and Python Applications #Distributed and Parallel Computing Systems #Scientific Computing and Data Management

paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/plphys/kiae347

openalex publication_date 2024/06/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/16

Abstract

Making Fermi calculations is a way to estimate rough but reliable numbers that enable right reasoning in science and engineering—and a skill that all scientists should practice.

Citations

• How a century of ammonia synthesis changed the world
• Global inputs of biological nitrogen fixation in agricultural systems

Discussions

• it sounds good, but the scale of aviation fuel use doesn't seem to be compatible with what could be produced by agriculture. @adhansonlab.bsky.social has a very nice 'Fermi calculation' paper illustra [bsky, 2 points, 2 comments]
• 🙏 ! An independent way to estimate this would be from dietary survey data. This might even capture the variation. I’ll keep this in mind for future classes on #FermiCalculations (which you clearly va [bsky, 1 points, 1 comments]

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