30 Fairmont Park Lane S
Lethbridge, AB T1K 7H7
Phone: (403) 328-1704
Sunday, March 29, 2015
The Editor
The Lethbridge Herald
P.O. Box 670
Lethbridge, AB, T1J 3Z7
Life and Energy
Isaac Asimov, in his 1962 book, Life and Energy, identifies the sun as the major
source of energy for life to that date. He concludes his book including the
following passage.
With the advent of nuclear power, man has taken a step that is comparable to
the discovery of fire (with the discussion of which I began this book). Fire
made man no longer directly dependent on the sun for energy and the atom may
make man no longer even indirectly dependent on the sun.
Learning to harness nuclear fusion in a controlled way recreating the sun on
earth, as a clean source of energy has become the holy grail of international
energy programs.
According to Dr. Allan Offenberger, Professor Emeritus of Electrical & Computer
Engineering at the University of Alberta, A sustained fusion burn is no longer
an academic dream but will be realized in the near future. Dr. Offenberger will
discuss fusion progress at the University of Lethbridge on April 8 and at SACPA
on April 9.
Blue Sky Spectroscopy, here in Lethbridge, is already involved with one of the
key diagnostic components for the ITER fusion project. They are designing and
building a system capable of measuring the temperature of the plasma (1-200
million degrees) 1000x faster than any commercial instrument that exists today.
Dr. Offenberger is particularly interested in getting more Alberta researchers
and industry involved in fusion development.
Schedule details for his presentations are available on the SACPA website.
Yours truly,
Duane Pendergast