42nd parsons memorial lecture. Power generation in the future

Today the utilisation of the world´s sources of energy for the generation of power is the subject of intense and urgent investigation. That such researches would be critical to the needs of civilisation was seen clearly at the end of the last century by Charles Parsons. Parsons´ steam turbine and his development, in parallel, of the dynamo marked a turning point in the history of electrical-power generation, but his interest covered a far wider range. He concerned himself with many aspects of energy conversion, and many current ventures have associations with his early ideas. Moreover, his scientific curiosity led him to explore in other quite different directions, into such diverse subjects as telescopes and the manufacture of diamonds. Against a background sketch of Parsons´ life and achievements, this lecture comments on a number of promising alternatives for the generation of electricity in the future.