{"ok":true,"trend":{"id":750504,"platform":"mastodon","region":"global","key":"if you hear about this idea of lifting weight to store energy, be sceptical. e = m*g*h 1kwh = 3.6*10ˆ6 joule so to store","title":"If you hear about this idea of lifting weight to store energy, be sceptical. E = m*g*h 1kWh = 3.6*10ˆ6 Joule So to store","url":"https://mas.to/@iwein/117371493442980259","first_seen":"2026-10-02T15:46:28.189506Z","last_seen":"2026-10-02T18:31:09.152734Z","last_rank":6,"peak_rank":5,"last_volume":4,"peak_volume":4,"seen_count":3,"score":0.51921875,"category_hint":"physics","section":"science","category":"physics","summary":"A sceptical take on gravity-based energy storage is making the rounds: using E = mgh, lifting 1 kg would need to rise 360 km to store 1 kWh, or 10,000 kg must be hoisted 36 metres. The point: moving extremely heavy things very high is expensive, making such storage ideas impractical at scale.","why":"Gravity energy storage startups keep pitching the concept, prompting a physics-based reality check.","tone":"negative","entities":["gravity energy storage"],"summarized_at":"2026-10-02T15:47:58.249642Z","meta":{"tag":"physics","via":"scan","kind":"status","lang":"en","instance":"mastodon.social","tag_uses":59},"nw":null,"promo":null,"kind":null,"importance":null,"hidden":false,"hide_reason":null,"judged_at":null,"title_en":"Physicist urges scepticism on gravity energy storage schemes","section_name":"Science","category_name":"Physics","timeline":[{"captured_at":"2026-10-02T15:46:28.189506Z","rank":5,"volume":4},{"captured_at":"2026-10-02T17:08:28.439606Z","rank":6,"volume":4},{"captured_at":"2026-10-02T18:31:09.152734Z","rank":6,"volume":4}],"posts":[{"platform":"mastodon","url":"https://mas.to/@iwein/117371493442980259","author":"iwein@mas.to","title":null,"snippet":"If you hear about this idea of lifting weight to store energy, be sceptical. E = m*g*h 1kWh = 3.6*10ˆ6 Joule So to store 1kWh we need to lift one kg about 360km, or 10.000kg about 36m. Lifting really heavy things, or lifiting things really high, is not cheap. A more detailed…","posted_at":"2026-10-02T13:14:20Z","likes":4}],"elsewhere":[],"window":"7d"}}