scientists and politicians in power crisis The crisis in electricity generation and transmission is widening gaps among the political parties. Almost every body in the country is affected by the shortage of power generation. The opposition party naturally takes it as a serious issue for their political gains. On the otherhand, the ruling party tries to capture their glorious political images. Whatever be the roles of the politicians or political parties, common people and students particularly, the HSC examinees are suffering a lot. The present energy crisis in the country is a big lesson on “Sustainability of Power” for all. A basic question now arises for all “Are we really capable of using electricity effectively and efficiently”? How much do we know about generation, transmission and applications of electricity? How much is important electricity in our daily life compared to food, shelters, clothes, education or health? Is it possible to see electricity physically as a we can see rice, coconut or petrol? Can we buy just ten-taka electricity from nearby shop or super market? Or is it possible to measure its weight using traditional weigh machines? No, we cannot. It has no physical existence. It is a form of energy like sound, heat and light. Its intensity is still measured in kilowatts or Megawatts observing its effects or influence on other bodies through virtual methods. . . Perhaps electricity or electrons are the most dangerous innovations of human kind in the history of science. It escapes none from its dangerous effects. So the users always need to remain careful. If the total population of the country is now fifteen crore (150 million), then at least one crore (10 million) people have studied or now studying Physics and electricity but very few of them know the reasons of studying electricity. The present crisis in power generation has made many of them open the chapters of electricity. In four decades of teaching physics related courses like electricity, electronics and ICT, I have met one lac students (approx) who now realize the importance of electricity. Interestingly, I have recently met one of my brilliant students of 38 years back at the parliament house. She is now a Member of Parliament (MP) with an M.Sc degree in Physical Science and of course, a politician with scientific knowledge. Thousands of such brilliant human resources are not aware of their potentials and they do not know how much they can contribute for the nation even in the crisis that we are facing now. The recent crisis have made the citizens more curious about electricity, its production and transmission. If it is defined in scientific and technical language, electricity is a general term that encompasses a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. Lightning is also a recognizable phenomena and one of the most dramatic effects of electricity that we observe in the cloudy sky. The word electricity is adequate to refer to a number of physical effects. In scientific usage, the term is vague, and related concepts are better identified by more precise terms like Electric charge, Electric current, Electric field, Electric potential and electromagnetism. Now the question is what should be the roles of the politicians or scientists in solving the power crisis that we are now facing. The answer is neither the scientist nor the politician has much to do individually in such crisis but their joint efforts can give tremendous results for the nation. An honest and dedicated politician with scientific knowledge and vision, or an honest scientist with clear political ideas and vision can be the unique resource for the country in the present crisis and for future scientific development which is a continuous process and not one time proposition. Just setting up a power plant is not enough and not a sustainable process. It needs continous modification to adjust with global technological changes and to adapt ourselves with rest of the world. For such activities we need our human resources, not imported technologists (human resources) who might become a risky burden for a country like Bangladesh. Where to get the essential resources and resource persons in the country? The answer is - the country is full of resources like natural, mineral and human resources. We don’t need to invite from outside. The only thing to do – is to open our eyes and to refocus on our national resources. Not only the power crisis but scientific, technical and social problems can be solved on our own ways effectively and efficiently. How much electricity needed per person in the country? Is electricity equally important for everybody? Energy can be generated in local, traditional or indigenous processes. Have we ever requested them particularly, the rural and remote people to meet their partial needs in traditional ways?
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 05:10:44 +0000
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