ATOMIC POWER IN INDUSTRY

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26058, 10 March 1950, Page 7

ATOMIC POWER IN INDUSTRY

PROFESSOR OLIPHANT’S VIEWS . LONDON, March 8. Professor M. L. Oliphant, one of Britain’s leading atomic scientists, in a lecture to-day to the Royal Society of Arts, challenged scientists and engineers who predicted that atomic energy could not be economically applied to industry. He said he- Was confident that atomic energy had a very important part to ptay in the production of industrial power arid that the cost would ultimately be foUfid to be Competitive with and probably much less than the cost of power from Other sources. - • “The time required to reach this stage of development is _ uhUkeiy to be fewer than 10 to 15 years, and clearly it depends on the relative efforts devoted to military and industrial objectives/’ Professor Oliphant said.

there was a remote possibility that industrial power might ofte day be produced front- hydrogen. If it could be done, one pound of, Hydrogen transformed into helium could produce about 130,000,000 horse-power fof an hour. There was enough hydrogen available in the sea to produce all the power mankind could conceivably use iri the whole lifetime 6f the solar system. there were possible wayfe of getting an explosive reaction from hydrogen, but so far there was. fie elue to the method for bringing abeftit the reaction in a controllable way.

SYDNEY ABATTOIR STRIKE ENDS (Rec. 11 p.m.) SYDNEY, March 9. The strike at the Homebush abattoirs, Sydney, ended to-day, and slaughtering will resume to-morrow. A meeting of strikers attended by fewer than 200 men decided to resume on a pre-strike basis.