Popular Science Lecture on "Hymn to Agni: The God of Fire!" 
Friday, 26th October 2007: 3:30 to 5:00 pm,
Auditorium I 
Gujarat Science City 

The Gujarat Science City is announcing the popular science lecture on the topic "Hymn to Agni: The God of Fire! to be delivered by Padma Shree Prof. P. K. Kaw, Director, Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Bhat, Gandhinagar on the Friday, 26th October 2007.  
The lecture is 17th of the popular science lecture series titled as "SCIENCE MATTERS" that aims to bring awareness among the young students, parents, teachers and the media persons about the fascinating world of basic sciences and its promising future. The series deals with topics on frontier areas of science and technology for the spreading of new knowledge and awareness among the students as well as the public at large.

 

Prof. P. K. Kaw will give an interactive talk on bringing the power source of the stars down to earth. It is the pioneering effect of plasma science and the process which provides the concept of nuclear fusion, the fundamental process that powering the Sun and stars. As known to all that human being depends upon the Sun, which give us light, heat and the air that we breathe, and the Sun powers the atmosphere to give us the winds and rain. Plants and animals that lived hundreds of millions of years ago and depended on the Sun for life formed the coal and oil that we used to generate electricity for light and power. The sun is a huge reactor where the fusion reactions take place, and we live upon the power provided by fusion in the core of the Sun. To harness fusion seems very rewarding and promising. 

The lecture and interaction will trace this history linking it finally to the latest quest, in which scientists are attempting to light and sustain STARFIRE (the fire of nuclear fusion) in the laboratory. Mans search for sources of energy has typically always resulted in an encounter with AGNI, the God of Fire, in one form or another.

Prof. P. K. Kaw is a distinguished scientist and technocrat and a pioneer in plasma science. He is the Vice President of Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and also the recipient of prestigious Bhatnagar Award for life time achievents in scientific research. He has 300 research publications in various national and international journals. 

It's a long way from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, to the center of the sun but, in a sense, that's the journey Prof. P. K. Kaw and the team set out to take couple of years ago at the Institute for Plasma Research. The IPR, along with others in the United States, Western Europe, the Soviet Union, Japan and China, is attempting to re-create on earth many of the conditions that exist at the center of the sun, attempting to produce energy the way the sun does - through nuclear fusion. Fusion is the basic mechanism that causes the sun and the other stars to shine. The interior of the sun is 14 million degrees centigrade, and at such high temperatures, its nuclear particles fuse together with the release of tremendous energy.

The interaction on "Hymn to Agni will explore many more examples and experiences by the eminent scientist. Prof. P. K. Kaw, who will give an insight to harness fusion technology, seems very rewarding and promising and is central to the development of a clean, renewable energy source for the future. 

We invite one and all to attend the programme at Auditorium I in the Science City.

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Gujarat Science City