The fact remains that, if the supply of energy failed, modern civilization would come to an end as abruptly as does the music of an organ deprived of wind.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the essential role of energy in sustaining modern civilization.
Frederick Soddy highlights the critical dependence of contemporary society on energy sources, likening it to an organ that stops playing music when it runs out of wind. This metaphor illustrates how the sudden loss of energy supply would disrupt the functioning of modern life, underscoring the importance of energy in maintaining social stability and progress.
In practice
In a discussion about renewable energy initiatives, this quote can emphasize the necessity of energy for societal functioning.
The ruling passion of the age is to convert wealth into debt in order to_x000D_ derive a permanent future income from it - to convert wealth that perishes_x000D_ into debt that endures, debt that does not rot, costs nothing to maintain,_x000D_ and brings in perennial interest.
Mankind has always drawn from outside sources of energy. This island was the first to harness coal and steam. But our present sources stand in the ratio of a million to one, compared with any previous sources. The release of atomic energy will change the whole structure of society.
The real value of science is in the getting, and those who have tasted the pleasure of discovery alone know what science is. A problem solved is dead. A world without problems to be solved would be devoid of science.
As a true scientist, I have been proved wrong so many times that I'm very humble.
My study is NOT as a climatologist, but from a completely different perspective in_x000D_ which I am an expert β¦ For decades, as a professional experimental test engineer, I have analyzed experimental data and watched others massage and present data. I became a cynic; My conclusion - 'if someone is aggressively selling a technical product who's merits are dependent on complex experimental data, he is likely lying'. That is true whether the product is an airplane or a Carbon Credit.
It is hard to overstate how valuable it is to have all the incredible tools that are used for human disease to study plants.
Physicists analyse systems. Web scientists, however, can create the systems.
What was most significant about the lunar voyage was not that men set foot on the moon but that they set eye on the earth.
The scientific method of examining facts is not peculiar to one class of phenomena and to one class of workers; it is applicable to social as well as to physical problems, and we must carefully guard ourselves against supposing that the scientific frame of mind is a peculiarity of the professional scientist.
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