SCIENCE CONGRESS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19269, 5 September 1924, Page 5

SCIENCE CONGRESS.

OPENED IN - - DISTINGUISHED GATHERING^ 1 ■ _____ ' s ' ■ .11*1 (From Our Own Correspondent.; ; SYDNEY, August.'fiTi The congress of the Australasian tiou for the Advancement of Science," ♦which! has- opened in Adelaide, has drawn, together a distinguished gathering of men of science* including one of the greatest brains'-that Australia- has produced—Professor Grafton Elliot Smith, now of the chair of-anatomy, at the London University, and accepted! aa the greatest living authority on Egyptology. Professor Smith is a native of New-South Wales, and comes of a distinguished family, his brother, Mr S. H. Smith,- being.- the Director of Education in New South Wales. The opening addresses at the congress give promise of some' important- discussions and papers upon problems of the day. In assuming the presidency Sir John Monaeh, who rose to the command of the Australian, oversea forces during the war, and wha haw since engineered the great Morwell; electricity scheme in Victoria —the greatest undertaking of its kind in Australia, and relying for its source of supply upon the rich deposits of brown coal found in that State, dealt in a masterly manner with . the problem of the’ future supply of power throughout the world. Naturally, he dealt in particular with Australia; and .emphasised the unwisdom of looking entirely to water sources for the generation of the immense quantities of power that would- be required for the population of the wealth. He showed how a-reliable estimate of the potential water-power of the world had revealed that it did not exceed' 500 million horse-power, or' about one-third of one horse-power per head of the world’s present population, and how' Australia’s share of this, excluding Tasmania, had- been competently assessed at not jn&re than, rate million horse-power, which, with the present population of roundly six million, gave a result whicli was about half of the average water horse-power per capita of the world’s available supply. Australia, he said. 'must look principally to fuel resources in order to meet the all-important demands for Energy that were developing. There were very definite limitations, to which the potential energy of the rain and snowfall-dpoit the highlands could be harnessed eitbeftat all or at such a reasonable cost that- the resulting energy could compete commercially against fuel supply. These, Kmitatfeba were especially severe in continental- Australia. Our continental stream flow conditions bore no analogy to .the .Great- Lakes scheme in Tasmania, or to the - extensive hydraulic resources of New or to the huge hydro schemes associated with the Falls of Niagara. That was why the energetic advocacy by a section of country interests of the development of hydro-etoctria schemes in Victoria in preference .to heat power stations based upon the Sfcate*i, ; ‘ygyy extensive brown cqal deposits were dQgtijpd to Sir I John Monash referred to the di/a&vpointing results that had attended efforia to produce electricity economically by the utilisation of the power of the tides. The problem, he pointed out, involved* 'nb* merely the nrovision of apparatus which would utilise'the potential energy of tidal waters so as to produce mechanical motion, but also the provision of extensive works to impound the high waters. That, 06;,investigation. proved so costly thati iwnder modern conditions of power generatidri byother available means there seemed* :6ttl« hope of any great commercial advaateg* from the use of the tides. ' - sv) !: