Nexus - 0504 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

NEWSCIENCENEWSCIENCENEWSCIENCE one millimetre, and a typical unit might contain many thousands of cells. Initially their cost might compete with other power sources in only limited applications; and there would be an interval of perhaps a decade during which the converter could become competitive with power sources generally. This is the period during which oresighted government policies could smooth out dislocations that might arise. When fully developed, the converter could be especially beneficial to economies and peoples whose energy costs are a large raction of their cost of living. Its impact on economic and industrial activity would e in areas where energy is needed in large quantities. Fresh water is needed in large quantities, and the transport of water from laces where it is available to where it is needed, or the conversion of sea water which is generally abundant around the planet, requires vast amounts of energy. The required energy is present in the water as heat, and can be taken directly from the water for the purpose of pumping and/or desalination. The urgent need for mankind to learn to tread more softly as we manage and work with our ecosystem would create projects with a large energy component. Such things as de-polluting soils and waters, or the establishment of places of human habitation in the deserts, the oceans and under- ground where their environ- mental impact is less, would become feasible if a steady, reliable and sustainable source of energy were available. The above comments apply equally to human habitats in space, on the Moon, Mars, Venus and Mercury, just as well as on Earth. Venus, in particular, is thought to be very hot. To survive in such an environment we need to keep heat out, and the convert- er is ideally suited for this. It is particularly sobering to realise that there is enough room, sunlight and material in our solar system to sustain habitats in space equivalent to several billions of Earths, and that every species of life we so wantonly destroy is actually billions of times more valuable as a vital component of these potential habitats than our Figu Earth-oriented perspective can appreciate. The perpetual recycling of heat energy, which this converter makes possible, is, on the physical side, what an unlimited bank account is on the economic side. In recent decades there has been much ‘limited’ thinking. To be sure, the planet and its resources are finite, but the creative resources which we can bring to it need not be limited. When a finite number is multi- plied by an infinite number, the product is also infinite. It is altogether unnecessary to sink into some kind of despondency about the future prospects of mankind on or off this planet. What we should do, and with the greatest urgency, is to stop and/or transform al those activities which have the effect of diminishing our planetary resources. The second law has influenced philo- sophical thought more than most other nat- ural laws in that it points to a kind of ‘heat death' of the universe. The repealing of this law is therefore likely to remove or at least change these notions of ‘universa mortality’. In particular, since living cells operate roughly on the scale of the converter, one can envision bacteria and organisms whic! derive their energy requirements by ther- mal conversion. Such organisms would require neither food nor sunlight, and, pro- vided they can obtain the necessary chemi- cal substances to build and maintain their bodies, they can continue to exist in their environment indefinitely if it maintains a tolerable temperature range. From this per- spective, almost every planet and many of the moons in our solar system have a ther- mal environment at some level of their structure that could be a habitat for life. 2 Note: A larger version of this paper, which sets out a mathematical assess- ment of its viability, may be obtained from the author by return airmail for a fee of AUD$10.00. Send to Martin Gottschall, c/- PO Box 819, Mount Ommaney, Qld 4074, Australia. Enquiries, fax +61 (0)7 3376 1780. About the Author: Martin Gottschall, BE, ME, PhD, FDBA, is a consulting engineer. He has Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering and is a Doctor of Philosophy. His higher awards were by research in metal deformation and high-frequency friction respectively. He has always had a keen interest in many forms of energy generation including solar thermal and solar electric. PLATE - B PLATE -A JUNE - JULY 1998 NEXUS - 53