ABSTRACT
Energy, it is becoming increasingly clear, is a precious commodity. Efforts are underway worldwide to seek new energy sources, to extend and conserve existing sources, and to educate consumers toward more intelligent use of the sources authors have. From an ad-hoc meeting organized by the American Physical Society, held in August 1973 at Los Alamos, NM, grew proposals for the studies on ‘Light-water reactor safety’ ‘Radiation effects in materials’ and ‘Technical aspects of efficient energy utilization. Industrial processes may be classified into three general types: change in chemical state, change in physical state, and fabrication. The most significant environmental parameter for energy consumption in a house is, of course, the average daily outside temperature. Scientists attacking problems of energy efficiency require facility in subjects of classical physics – such as fluid dynamics and thermodynamics – that are all too often neglected in our educational institutions.
