Professor Chris Rhodes is a writer and researcher. He studied chemistry at Sussex University, earning both a B.Sc and a Doctoral degree (D.Phil.); rising to become the youngest professor of physical chemistry in the U.K. at the age of 34.
A prolific author, Chris has published more than 400 research and popular science articles (some in national newspapers: The Independent and The Daily Telegraph)
He has recently published his first novel, "University Shambles" was published in April 2009 (Melrose Books). http://universityshambles.com
Though there is much mention of the promise of algal biofuels and word of their commercial development, it seems timely to view what precisely has…
Britain is the pioneer in offshore wind energy, with more turbines placed out at sea than by any other nation. However, constructing such offshore wind…
The ownership of the largest deposits of oil, notably in the former U.S.S.R., e.g. Siberia and Kazakhstan and the Caspian region generally, in addition to…
If they are not actually "commandments" they might as well be. The original set of 10 provided a simple set of rules for members of…
Britain's first public hydrogen filling-station has opened in Swindon. It will be run by BOC (British Oxygen Company) who are the nation's biggest supplier of…
The UK company AWE and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory have joined-forces with the US-based National Ignition Facility (NIF) to help provide energy using Inertial Confinement…
In the light of the Chinese hegemony for its own energy projects, it is feared that restrictions in the global supply of rare earth elements…
The amount of energy available in the Earth system to be extracted by wind-turbines is limited, and if sufficient energy is removed the world climate…
Not only are supplies of oil and natural gas under imminent threat of failing to meet demand for them, but so is a whole range…
Hydraulic Fracturing, known as "frac'ing" in the industry, has made another unwelcome appearance in the media, in which the process is termed "fracking", where it…
Not all biofuels are "green" according to where the crops from which they are derived are grown. The worst offenders are palm oils which may…
The UK Secretary for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne, has committed to establish an "Oil Shock Response Plan" to cope with some of the…
A study has been undertaken by Duke University of methane levels in water from 68 private wells above the Marcellus and Utica shales in Pennsylvania…
According to a new computer model, liquid methane in contact with a partially hydrogen-terminated diamond surface at extremely high pressures and temperatures spontaneously forms longer…
Always ready to air the other side of an argument, I return to the matter of whether Rare Earth Elements (REEs) and their impending scarcity…
I attended a fascinating event last night - a Cafe' Scientifique meeting held in the town of Reading in South East England. Last month it…
Political tensions in the Middle East once again remind us of the fragile dependency of the Western nations on imported petroleum, which have driven the…
I saw a wonderful play at the Royal Court Theatre in London recently: "The Heretic" by Richard Bean. In a nutshell, the plot centres on…
97% of world market supplies of rare earth elements (REEs) come from China and look to become insecure in regard to meeting "green" energy targets,…
Oil production is somewhat confounded by the reference more lately to “liquids” rather than “oil”, which includes hydrocarbons that are recovered, sometimes in great quantity,…