Estrella! Oh, Estrella for Star!

Det har gjorts förbluffande många fantastiska avsnitt av Econtalk, men skulle jag behöva välja ett som favorit så skulle det gissningsvis vara O'Donohoe on Potato Chips and Salty Snacks, och glädjande nog gjorde Planet Money nyligen ett kort inslag om just chipstillverkning:

(Direktlänk)

Och de var även vänliga nog att göra fem gif-bilder ur videon - ett exempel:

Där alltså chips med fel färg automatiskt identifieras och sedan sorteras ut via chipsindividuella luftpuffar - Russ Roberts om processen i Econtalk:

Really, it's a puff of air? How does it know which chip to blow off the line? That technology is unbelievable. It's 60 miles an hour. Between the time the photograph is taken and the chip is recognized as unacceptable, the puff of air has to blow the right chip. How much time is there? The line itself is no more than 15 or 20 yards long at that point, so right coming out the picture gets taken of where the chips fall on the belt; then it looks at it and knows where they are, so all you have to do is if you have a great effectively it says: blow air on grid A4. So, A4 gets the little puff of air. It has to be timed correctly. Like shooting a machine gun through a spinning propeller.

(Rubrikinspiration)

Tidigare inlägg på temat:
- Econtalk om misstaget potatischips