FUTURE _ SOURCES OF MOTIVE POWER.
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THE AMOUNT of crude oil which forms the basis of the world's motor fuel supply is strictly limited, and kis being increasingly recognized that, as the demand for motor fuel is developing much, more rapidly than the supply, the position will become more and more serious as time goes on.
Already, in the -United States, it has . becoine an urgent problem, as, although the crude oil resources of the States are vast, they are relatively becoming smaller, owing to the tremendous development of motor transport of every kind.
The IT,S..Giovernment.,are giving every encouragement. to scientinc research in finding means of con
serving the national oil resources, and, furthermore, of finding new, sources of energy. Germany, • likewise, despite the great national upheaval, is actively engaged on very advanced research ; as she re-eogaizes that oil will 'become increasingly hard to get, owing to the competitive demands. of -other nations on the world's oilfields, andr she has no ready money to pay for it
Many of the best-trained scientific minds 'foresee that the oil-power age will pass. It. will'be relatively short, as, once the secrets of Nature's forces are unlocked, it will be possible to tap great. inexhaustible stores .of energy hitherto inaccessible. One has; in this connectionto appreciate the _greatest marvel of the universe. namely, the sun. Its constitution is only-partly _solved, but 4.is.known that only a minute fraction of its , store of active energy is utilized in supplying the . world's power . One way of obtaining a little unoreiof this incalculable reserve of power is to.utilize,the 84111'S rays through vegetation to produce power alcohol—quite a. practical and commercial scheme. But, this, would be but touching the fringe of possibilitieS.
The scientists are now right o. the track-of getting dynamic energy directly from the sun, as it not only generates lightand heat. wave; but-it is known that it causes,tremendous " ether_ " disturbances, assumed to he-oof anNlectrical nature.. That such vibrations of' thetinvisible "ether," even when only of a. 'relatively feeble nature, can produce mechanical power, is a fact ; it ba,s been demonstrated experimentally el8 many times. Given the discovery of a receiving and inverting medium, for solar power waves, development would be rapid, as many hundreds of Millions of h.p. of solar energy now going to waste could be harnessed.
One interesting ooneeption of the future is a series of great centralized power generating stations for transforming solar energy. All autornobilism will
the-if:be electric, tapping' off power a la. wireless, all roads having power distributing posts at certain
distances apart. The least sceptical.of such a future .is the highly-trained scientist, as he knows of the astonishing discoveries of the past few years in the
.research laboratory in bringing hitherto hidden forces and agencies to light. He knows that both, coal and oil are intended to play but a, minor part as stepping-, -stones-in Nature's grand scheme of world progress.
-Quite possibly, the next stepping-stone will be the ler& of pofer alcohol coupled with–the perfection of the internal combustion turbine. Then the world may pass on to-the era of direct solar power, completely revolutionizing social and commercial life. Hitherto, there has been too great a concentration -on trying to develop, by very small degrees, principles which are not very efficient. As an example, one need only seriously consider the fact that from. every twogallon tin of petrol 70 per cent. of the fuel is abso
lutely wasted. This -is unavoidable with the elisting means of converting the chemical energy iri the petrol into mechanical power. An entirely new type of engine might, at the outside, save 12,per.cent. of this waste, but, clearly, :it is necessary to go back to the. beginning anddeal with OUT 'fundamental source of power.
Mach may be hoped for in the way,of discoveries in the production of synthetic fuel—that is, the artificial building up of fuel from its constituent elements, namely, carbon and hydrogen. It only needs the discovery of -a method of combining these very plen
tiful elements in the proper proportions, at a cost which wouldmake it a commercial proposition, to make a great step forward. Here, again, this intricate problem will perhaps be solved in the research laboratory. H. T. B.