The Physics (and Chemistry and Materials Science) of Sustainability

Highlight Seminar by Professor Peter Littlewood (Associate Laboratory Director for Physical Sciences and Engineering, Argonne National Laboratory and Professor of Physics, University of Chicago)

In a recent international poll* 71% thought their country "could almost entirely replace coal and nuclear energy within 20 years by becoming highly energy-efficient and focusing on generating energy from the Sun and wind". Unfortunately, this optimism is not justified by the state of current technologies, either in terms of their efficiency or their cost.

This talk will take a physicist's perspective on some of the energy and sustainability challenges faced by the planet. I will stress the need for thinking using robust principles to guide the investigation. These include: to realise that global sum rules are much more reliable than addition of small scale phenomena; to understand thermodynamic and other equilibria in the large; to be aware as a scientist that economic, geographical, and social forces set boundaries; to understand that a "kiloWatt hour" is actually a unit of reserve currency and that entropy is a bankable commodity.

To the extent that technology rather than conservation can play a role, efficient and low-cost materials technologies for energy capture, storage, transmission, and use will be key. Can we rely on iterative improvements in what we have now, or do we need breakthroughs? If we are to have such breakthroughs, what is possible within the constraints of fundamental physical laws? How much headroom is there for new technologies? Are there then strategies for stimulating the "right kind of invention"? Is it possible to have scientific agendas that vary according to geography but are globally coordinated? And, a particular issue for developed countries: how do we create new science and technology in the face of cheap hydrocarbons and embedded profligacy?

* www.globescan.com/news_archives/bbc2011_energy