Our Future Source of Power
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Speculation on Atomic Energy, with Particular Reference to Road Vehicle Power Units
By "Northern Engineer"
WE are surely on the threshold of revolutionary changes in the sources of power for industry and all forms of transport, but this " peep into the future " is mostly concerned with the outcome as it will affect the motor industry.
The sudden revelation of the partial conquest, by Allied scientists, of the atom—i.e., the possibility of obtaining energy from small amounts of certain minerals, and of harnessing this energy in such a manner as to form an extremely powerful and destructive bomb—quite naturally leads us to the question, "Will this energy eventually be made available for industrial power requirements, including, of course, all forms of transport "?
The answer must be definitely—Yes, but with certain reservations owing to the enormous capital outlay required, the danger entailed in experimental investigations, the difficulty in deciding what should be done from the international point of view, and the time required to complete all the experimental work involved. No one can doubt that, with the rapid progress being made by the world's scientists to-day, it will be done with success, but it may be 20 years or more before atomic energy becomes a general source of power. .
Several times during the past few years we have—with good reason— been alarmed by reports that our oil supplies would peter out.
Oil Supplies Secure
Fortunately, however, this has not happened, and now the writer ventures to predict that it never will, for at least two sound reasons:—
(1) We can now count on huge reserves of high-grade petroleum from vast areas of the Middle East, quite apart from many promising new fields in Russia. Venezuela and other countries.
(2) That the speed of scientific progress is such that, in all probability, entirely new forms of power production will greatly reduce the volume of oil required, or will almost entirely eliminate the need for oil fuel. .
When we study the progress that scientists, more particularly British, have made in the past six years in all forms of radio application, it is not difficult to foresee, or even prophesy, that it cannot be long before radio power will be made available for most forms of transport and, indeed, industrial power generally.
Certainly, we may safely assume that this' will happen long before the use of atomic energy is made available, for the reasons that there is no question of international difficulties, there is practically no danger in the experimental investigations, and scientists all over the world are free to investigate and experiment to their heart's content. The capital required would be small compared with that needed in the development of atomic energy.
Thus, it does not seem unreasonable, to assume that the advent of radiosupplied power for road transport is not far away, and may even be realized within the next 10 or 15 years.
Jet propulsion is another recent and highly interesting discovery which must be rnentioned, but, at the moment, it does not appear to be suitable for road transport, more especiallyas it is uneconomical in fuel consumption. It is unlikely that it will ever be employed for road-vehicle propulsion.
Two Possible Sources
The gas turbine also comes into the category of recent innovations, but, from present knowledge, it is'iiot likely to be considered as a power unit for vehicles. It does appear, however, to have a considerable field of application for heavy railway locomotives and industrial power requirements.
So that, failing some other new and startling discovery being suddenly sprung upon us, we may reasonably visualize our future sources as being reduced to two: (1) Radio-supplied power: (2) atomic energy. The former will surely be the first, and will later be ousted by the latter, Critics will undoubtedly say that the writer is looking much too far ahead, and that all this sounds fantastic at the present time. Perhaps it does, but when we bear in mind the progress which has been made in recent years in scientific fields of research and experiment, and the number of scientists engaged on this work, it is not so fantastic as it may appear., It is more important still to remember that, to be forewarned is to be forearmed, which, of course, means that if and when these revolutionary changes occur, there will also be many upheavals which must, perforce, affect seriously many industries.
In the first place, let us assume that the' conquest of the atom is so far advanced that atomic energy is properly harnessed and available for general power purposes. At once it is evident that the oil industry would suffer a tremendous setback, Hundreds of millions of pounds are invested in it, and it gives employment to millions of people. One has only to mention the thousands of wells, hundreds of large refineries, thousands of miles of pipeline, fleets of oil tankers, huge blocks of offices, and so on, to get even a faint idea of its magnitude. Atomic energ‘; would entirely eliminate the need st_uoil as a fuel.
Certainly some oil would be required for lubrication, plastics, medicinal.pur-, poses and other uses, but failing some new huge demand to absorb the surplus, the outlook would not be good for the oil industry.
What actually will happen is that we Shall be " short circuiting " one of Nature's great processes—i.e., the agelong formation of huge subterranean deposits of mineral petroleum.
For well over 80 years we have had the inestimable benefit of a great source of power in the form of petroleum.
The heat of the sun is the origin of the formation of the oil, which was the result of decayed marine and terrestrial vegetation, fed and nourished by the sun's heat. This matter has been ".distilled in Nature's retort " underground, eventually to produce the hydrocarbon combination which we know as petroleum.
Now, with the valuable aid of our scientists we are about to cut out the oil phase, and obtain direct power from the sun's heat in the form of atomic. energy.
Although the picture, from the viewpoint of the oil industry, appears to be somewhat disturbing, there is a bright side to it. There will be ample supplies of oil available for the many uses, otherthan for power purposes, for which it will be required. There will never again be any anxiety as to whether our oil supplies will peter out.
The Type of Mechanism
Although. it is an interesting line of thought, it is much too early yet to consider what form or type of mechanism we shall have to employ to utilize atomic energy in its application to transport and 'industry generally. It may well be that our orthodox form of reciprocating motion, with pistons and crankshafts, but somewhat modified, may be possible.
With the possible advent of radio power we are not quite so much in the dark as to the type of mechanism we May have to employ. We know that if and when it be made easily available, the mechanism which will receive the power and transmit it will be electrical —i.e., the drive will almost definitely be by electric motor.
This will naturally involve vital changes in many industries, including especially the design ancl'construction of motor vehicles. It would also materially affect the oil industry.
Instead of each vehicle being its own self-contained and independent power house as it now is, the source of energy would be derived from a series of power houses, each covering certain areas.
Fuel for these may, of course, be either coal or oil, but whichever it is the demand for oil fuel and petrol would obviously be greatly reduced, principally due to the inevitable economy resulting from the system of centralized power distribution.
Once again, to be forewarned is to be forearmed, and a glimpse into the future in these days of rapid scientific progress is not only highly interesting but, one hopes, helpful.