UFO Info Week-End

But they also dramatically changed Britain’s physical landscape not always for

But they also dramatically changed Britain’s physical landscape, not always for the better, and helped fuel damaging changes in the climate which continue to the present day.Surprisingly, some of the technology which was revolutionary in the 18th and 19th centuries is not as outdated as might be expected: pioneering work by Charles Parsons on the steam turbine remains the foundation of the steam turbine still used in most power stations today.The shift in focus in the Energy Hall is being made partly as a result of feedback from teachers, who were asked why they were not using the engine gallery in their history lessons. A mining operation would be good for the island but it would have to be carefully controlled.”. But the value of platinum, usually used in jewellery, is outstripping gold: in the past year, the price of platinum rose 45 per cent and 18-carat gold has gone up by just 8 per cent.Mr Macaulay added: “If there was a massive amount of platinum discovered it would have a huge environmental impact I hope it does happen. Much of it is a sanctuary for thousands of gannets, puffins, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, shags, great skuas, Arctic skuas and whimbrels. Mr Young said: “We would like to find evidence of an underground deposit because we don’t want to cause damage to the surface.Many islanders are treating the news cautiously, because other attempts to discover and mine platinum have come to nothing. “We have known for a while that there is platinum there but nobody has ever made a systematic survey.”If the final findings are positive, a platinum mine could provide much-needed jobs.

In the past few years, the isolated north Atlantic island, best known for its variety of protected wildlife, has suffered a population fall from more than 1,000 since the Royal Air Force reduced its base at Saxa Vord.Opencast mining is unlikely because of the island’s rich wildlife. The main catalyst in the electrolyser which converts the water into hydrogen is made from platinum, so to have a source of the essential ingredient for a new industry on their doorstep could be a great help.Sandy Macaulay, the manager of the island’s economic development agency, Unst Partnership, said: “These precious metals are becoming scarce and security of supply is becoming more of an issue. In the mid-1980s, exploration suggested the precious metal was present in many times the densities of other commercial mines.A more thorough analysis is still being performed at the AS Chemex Laboratories in Vancouver, but the inhabitants of Unst are hoping for a very happy 2005, especially because platinum is also the vital component in the island’s other pioneering business venture: turning water into hydrogen.In April, the island will open the first community-owned hydrogen production plant in Europe to harness wind power that will help split hydrogen from oxygen in water so it can be bottled. The possession of even a modest amount, and having that secured for exploitation if the worst happened is worthwhile.”The rights to explore and mine the island are held by Agricola Resources which paid £95,000 last year to the island’s Alexander Sandisons & Sons, of Baltasound, owner of the UK’s only talcum mine, for the right to exploit an area of the island.”We are very optimistic,” Robert Young, chairman of Agricola, said.

They believe there is enough on Unst to make a mine financially viable.Researchers have made six visits to the island and each time they have been encouraged by the results of soil and rock samples. My guests instantly find the handy glass-holders by the knobs around the side Within 10 minutes, one of them vows that he will buy one. We spend a rather glorious afternoon, during which the conversation naturally turns to the more intimate aspects of life, despite the fact that some of them have never even met each other before. When making an earnest point to a chum sitting beside me, instead of lightly touching his forearm, I find myself gripping his leg.Having baked Nigella’s chocolate- fudge cake in honour of my friends’ visit, the suggestion is made that we have it in the tub. How much danger can my guests really be in? Quite a lot, apparently. Last September, a survey found that the deadly Legionella bacterium was present in 26 per cent of health-club spas.

One volunteer pads off to the kitchen and returns, dripping, with six slices. We eat it in the water and life suddenly reaches an even higher level of perfection.Three and a half hours later, when my guests finally start to leave, it occurs to me that we have drunk rather a lot, and yet some of them haven’t visited the lavatory even once. And that worries me.The following day, when I test the water, there is no longer any trace of chlorine. I am also now rather anxious about my electricity bill and wonder whether I should put a collection box on the tub’s wooden steps. But a quick call to Glen, manager of the showroom in Reading, reveals that the company guarantees in writing that their tubs won’t cost more than £3.50 a week to run for an hour a day, every day, at 40C. He claims that other spas on the market have to have their main pumps turned on twice a day, which not only makes a lot of noise but pushes up the electricity bill.