EPISODE · Jun 24, 2026 · 44 MIN
307: From Super Soakers to Heat Engines with Dr. Lonnie Johnson
The inventor of the Super Soaker, Dr. Lonnie Johnson, joins Matt to talk about his most ambitious project yet: the JTEC, a heat engine with no moving parts that converts low-grade waste heat straight into electricity. They get into how it actually works, why Johnson thinks it could run far more efficiently than what we use today, and the long road from a 2003 idea to the first commercial unit. Plus how a billion-dollar water gun quietly funded a quarter-century of clean-energy research.Chapters:00:00: Intro05:06: Dr. Lonnie Johnson Interview32:36: Previous Episode FeedbackWatch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhbPajWdgUkSupport the show directly: https://stilltbd.fm/join/Audio version of the podcast: https://stilltbd.fmYouTube version of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@stilltbdYouTube membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4-aWB84Bupf5hxGqrwYqLA/joinGet in touch: https://stilltbd.fm/contact/Follow us on:Mastodon - https://mastodon.social/@mattferrellBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/mattferrell.bsky.socialUndecided with Matt Ferrell: https://www.youtube.com/@undecidedtechnology Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What this episode covers
The inventor of the Super Soaker, Dr. Lonnie Johnson, joins Matt to talk about his most ambitious project yet: the JTEC, a heat engine with no moving parts that converts low-grade waste heat straight into electricity. They get into how it actually works, why Johnson thinks it could run far more efficiently than what we use today, and the long road from a 2003 idea to the first commercial unit. Plus how a billion-dollar water gun quietly funded a quarter-century of clean-energy research.Chapters:00:00: Intro05:06: Dr. Lonnie Johnson Interview32:36: Previous Episode FeedbackWatch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhbPajWdgUkSupport the show directly: https://stilltbd.fm/join/Audio version of the podcast: https://stilltbd.fmYouTube version of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@stilltbdYouTube membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4-aWB84Bupf5hxGqrwYqLA/joinGet in touch: https://stilltbd.fm/contact/Follow us on:Mastodon - https://mastodon.social/@mattferrellBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/mattferrell.bsky.socialUndecided with Matt Ferrell: https://www.youtube.com/@undecidedtechnology Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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307: From Super Soakers to Heat Engines with Dr. Lonnie Johnson
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