David MacKay
.



·Links 
·Political? 



Search :

.

Back-of-Envelope Physics

An optional interactive class for Part III Physics

Easter term, 2005. Tu, Fr 11am, starting 3rd May

Pippard lecture theatre, Cavendish Laboratory

Course outline | Course poster (postscript) | (pdf)


2007

See this page for my 2007 lectures on Renewable Energy, for Richard Friend's part III course.


The Independent 24 January 2005
Countdown to global catastrophe
The Skeptical Environmentalist `we are not headed for a major energy crisis. There is plenty of energy.'
The Skeptical Environmentalist


Links to a few back of envelope calculations

Links to sustainability organizations

Department of Engineering Centre for Sustainable Development: Prof Peter Guthrie et al

Links to news articles

  • Wed 30/3/05: Human activity 'threatens Earth'
  • FT January 31 2005: Blair and Hot Air
    Ethical corporation magazine ... `while he highlighted the need to tackle global warming, Mr Blair cautiously hinted that this cannot be done at the cost of economic growth.'
    `If we were to put forward as a solution to climate change something which would involve drastic cuts in economic growth or standards of living, it would not matter how justified it was, it simply would not be agreed to,' he said.'

  • `Hydroelectric power's dirty secret revealed' (New Scientist). (The claim is that man-made reservoirs convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into methane, because plants that grow when the water's low are then engulfed and rot.) [If methane gets converted to CO2 in the atmosphere with a half-life of about a decade, does this methane-production effect matter?]

Links to information sites


Is this course `political'?

Some people say we should keep political discussion out of the science classroom. Is this course on sustainable energy political?

I am happy to offer either answer, so you can take your pick.

No, it's not

The course will emphasize the general skill of back-of-envelope calculation, using energy concepts as examples. The aim of the course is not to advance opinions or advocate policies, but rather to elucidate facts, study inescapable laws of physics, and understand how to make predictions with error bars.

Yes, like everything we do, it's political

Most of the science courses we teach convey tacit social political messages. For example, we have courses on semiconductor physics; an implicit message is `these devices are useful for society' - a value judgment that I am not disagreeing with, but a value judgment nonetheless.

Our courses on Astrophysics convey the tacit value judgment that society should support fundamental research into the understanding of Nature for its own sake.

Our department also teaches a course on `Shockwaves and explosives'. The main function of research in this area is to help Military organizations to make `better' bombs. By holding such courses, we are making a political decision (namely support for the policy of making `better' bombs).

So, we already have courses that convey implicit political beliefs.

I think it's inevitable that teachers will convey their worldview to their students. It's also inevitable that teachers in a department will have different worldviews. At present we do not debate the morality of teaching semiconductor physics, Astrophysics, or Shockwaves and explosives. The question we ask when discussing the merits of a course is `is it educationally beneficial?' And I would hope this proposed course on sustainable energy would pass that criterion.

In the interests of openness, however, I am happy to state my personal political position on energy policy: I believe that people should be conscious of the consequences of their consumption; that people should understand the concepts of sustainability, equity within a generation, and equity between generations; and that this understanding should be grounded in quantitative facts. I think that the facts will speak for themselves. To put it another way, my view on energy policy is `education, education, education!'


Site last modified Sat Jan 27 16:07:27 GMT 2007