Fusion Goes To Cambridge

Fusion Day 2003 started with a visit to Cambridge's famous Cavendish Laboratory. We had an excellent talk by Jane Blunt, the Cavendish's Safety Officer (and OU student!) tracing the history of the laboratory from the time of Maxwell to the present day; then a walk round the museum, wondering what all those wonderful old pieces of polished wood and brass actually were (though Jane was always on hand to enlighten us) and we even peeped into a 'real' lab, although there was no-one there (it was, after all, a Saturday).

Then to Cintra House, the OU's Regional Office, for lunch and the AGM. Among the things we decided were: to order more Maxwell T-shirts (blue ones this time) and design a new one; to have a higher profile at physics summer schools; and to solicit more newsletter material from members, e.g. Physics Puzzles and Book Reviews. We decided not to send a delegate to OUSA Conference this year, due to the confusion over costs. Membership fees were increased slightly, together with the introduction of 3- and 5-year options for new members, but renewal fees are frozen at current levels.

The committee elections saw some new blood in the form of Robert Wilby (membership), Digby Tarvin (website) and Steve Sutcliffe (extra committee member). Eleanor has returned to the 'back benches', and Jim takes over Events.

The day was rounded off with a fascinating talk on 'Time Travelling' by Bob Lambourne, the OU's Head of Physics and Astronomy, and then a group of us retired to the 'Cambridge Blue' for a pub meal and (as it turned out, it being Burns Night) an awful lot of Scottish poetry (or was that a lot of awful Scottish poetry? - Ed).

QUANTA AND CONTINUUM

Fusion Wins Award for Newsletter

The award was one of four given by NEXUS, the student section of the Institute of Physics, on its tenth anniversary. FUSION, which was set up just two years ago, beat off stiff competition from much longer-established physics societies such as those at Imperial College and Cambridge University.

The winners were announced at the Nexus Annual Dinner in December, which was attended by six OU students. The news understandably led to instant euphoria and a desperate need to celebrate, which found expression in various ways amongst the members of our party. One group tried to gatecrash a posh hotel in Portland Place - much to the disgust of the residents - before settling for a seedy wine bar. Other individuals, including a certain Mr Tarvin, are rumoured to have stayed up all night - see below!

We are planning to spend the £100 prize money on something that will be of benefit to the membership, and a colour poster, which could be sent out to all members, has been suggested. Watch this space.

Nexus Dinner revellers, including the IoP's Student Liaison Officer Sam Rae and Fusion member Digby Tarvin, recover after a serious bout of clubbing!

Congratulations!

FUSION member Jackie Millins-Horne has won an IoP Physics Technician Award and a Salter's Institute Science Technician Award.

Jackie, who is a Senior Laboratory Technician at Copthall Girls' School in North London, is one of the first two winners of the IoP award.

As well as all the preparation, devising practicals, etc, and looking after her team of five technicians, Jackie trains new staff, including technicians, new science teachers and heads of science from all over the Borough of Barnet, and some in Hertfordshire and Hackney too; she also helps run science lessons for boys who are in a special unit for excluded children. 'They are forever trying to get me to train to teach', says Jackie, 'but I just smile and run the other way'.

Jackie is currently studying MST207, and is an avid amateur astronomer. For her picture see the February Physics World on page 48!

Ask-a-Boffin

In last Spring's Newsletter we asked the following question:

'David Parker works for a laser cutting company and asked us why he can cut 15mm mild steel but only 3-4mm aluminium. The wavelength of his laser is 10.64µm (NOT nm, sorry! - Ed) and the power is 3.5Kw.'

We have had the following reply from Science Line:

'In simple terms, mild steel has a natural surface reflectivity at 10.6µm of about 60%, i.e. 40 % will be absorbed by the steel. If the power is high enough you can raise the metal temperature above its vaporisation point, especially if you use a high pressure oxygen assist gas (the cutting process is really like very fast oxidation of the metal).

Other factors that increase cutability are heat capacity, thermal conductivity and the nonlinear index (absorption rate or reflectivity change with temperature). Aluminium has a much higher reflectivity at 10.6µm than mild steel - approximately 93-96% of the incident light from commercial grade aluminium will be reflected away. Pure aluminium (without any surface oxide layer) has a reflectivity of about 99%.'

Science Line is a free public science information service based in the UK, which provides answers to questions on all aspects of science, medicine, technology and engineering. Phone lines are open from 1:00-7:00pm Monday to Saturday on the freephone number 0808 800 4000 (only available in the UK). The electronic equivalent, ScienceNet, is available on the world wide web. It contains all the questions answered over the years in an online searchable database. ScienceNet's URL is www.sciencenet.org.uk.

Now for this month's questions:

1. You know when your battery runs down in a radio. Then you turn it off for a while and when you turn it back on it's quite strong for several minutes, then it runs down again etc, etc. What's going on in the chemical interior for it to gain strength this way?

2. What is the fundamental difference between what happens (or will happen) in a fusion reactor and what happens in an H-bomb - thereby guaranteeing that fusion power is safe?

Do you know the answer to either of these? If so, write to us at
92a Springfield Road, Brighton BN1 6DE or email editor@oufusion.org.uk.

The Silly Season is always with us

A fable for our times by Ray Mackintosh

It was the depths of the silly season and Jack Splatt, the tabloid editor, was in a state of panic. It wasn't really funny that the idiots out there in the tabloid audience couldn't tell the difference between paedophile and paediatrician. But the most pressing problem was the perennial one: what was he going to run with tomorrow? It was just as panic began to induce reflections on the comforting potential of self-defenestration, that a press release dropped onto his desk. It was from a familiar sounding environmental group, 'Friends of Terra', ("... that name doesn't sound quite right...") and the content was literally electric.

The press release was headed: 'Massive cover-up of deadly radioactivity in British homes'. The nub of it was that nearly 30 percent of our electric power comes from nuclear power stations and that this 'radioactive' electric power brings deadly radioactivity into our homes. The fact that much of this nuclear power comes from France, with French safety standards, made the situation worse. According to the press release, reports detailing the extent of this radioactivity, including mortality figures, are in the possession of both the power generating and radiation protection authorities. Naturally, the power authorities have done everything possible to hush it up, and the radiation protection authorities have been ordered by both the health and energy ministers to keep it a closely guarded secret.

Could this be the item to preserve the integrity of his windows, Jack wondered? He called over all his editorial associates and, swearing them to secrecy, asked who 'in this bloody building' knows anything about radioactivity or electricity. 'Find them and have them here at once. Also, contact these Terra people, and grill them on it. It's a bit vague on who did the research... find out all that...'

It transpired that one person on the paper's staff knew a little about radioactivity, and he had also once replaced a flashlight battery. When shown the press release, he said that it didn't sound too plausible, but then '...who would have thought that granite fills houses with radium in Cornwall'. Terra could not be contacted.

Of course other papers picked up the story. The exception was the paper who had someone on its staff who had rewired his house without his hair falling out. There was a huge public outcry and no-one believed the Government spin-doctors when they denied the danger.

Moral: everyone should know some basic electromagnetism
(or if you are really keen, plan on doing the third level course SMT356 - Electromagnetism in 2004 - Ed).

Fusion members after their visit to the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge.

Summer School on Mars!

by Digby Tarvin

No, Mars isn't the venue, but it is normally one of the topics covered, along with the other Terrestrial planets and their moons.

If you are tired of the same old Summer School venues at campuses around the UK, or perhaps your subjects of choice don't offer a Summer School at all this year, then why not broaden your horizons with a short course at the International Research School of Planetary Sciences (IRSPS) in Pescara, Italy.

The IRSPS is an independent, non-profit institution devoted to research and graduate studies in the field of planetary sciences. It operates as a small visiting institution attracting new, collaborative multidisciplinary projects on leading subjects, and aims to promote the study of Planetary Geology and Planetary Science within the European and larger scientific community.

To this end, as well as providing a venue for postgraduate and postdoctoral research in the field, the IRSPS has held a number of short courses aimed at bringing together undergraduates and post graduates from a broad range of disciplines and backgrounds, providing them with a basic grounding in planetary science.

My first encounter with what is now the IRSPS was in May 1997, when I attended their first Short Course in Planetary Geology. At this time the group was still part of the Faculty of Sciences of the Universita' d'Annunzio, comprising a core (no pun intended) of geologists doing research on Mars and Venus and organizing workshops and short courses.

This was the same year that I started studying with the OU, and as my only academic qualification at that stage was an honours degree in computer science, I was quite concerned that I might not have had the pre-requisite knowledge required for the course. But I wrote and asked, and was encouraged to apply.

The course ran from the 11th till the 17th of May, and was held on the campus of the Universita' d'Annunzio in Pescara. Fortunately for me, the international nature of the course meant that it, like all of the subsequent events I have attended, was held in English.

Pescara is a delightful little seaside resort just over half-way down the Adriatic coast. And in case you think a summer school in Italy sounds expensive, my last flight from London was only £30.00 each way. I have paid more than that to catch the train to some of my summer schools in England.

Bob Strom at the K/T Boundary >

The course (and the research group in general) was directed by Gian Gabriele Ori, the driving force behind the organization. Gian is not at all an office bound administrator. He is as friendly and approachable as he is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his subject. He is always on hand during IRSPS activities, making sure everything is running smoothly.

From Monday to Friday our days were filled with fascinating lectures by the likes of Alexander T. Basilevsky from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow (who will be familiar to those who have seen the BBC series The Planets) and Robert G. Strom from the University of Arizona in Tucson. Our lecturers were not only experts in the field, but also exhibited a obvious passion for the subject that really captivated the audience. In addition, their extensive experience provided a wealth of anecdotes from their personal experiences that really brought the subject to life. Each day of lectures concluded with a laboratory session run by Lucia Marinangeli, who was at that time a postgraduate student. Lucia is usually a key person in the organization and administration of all IRSPS events.

The first day of lectures was rounded off with the Martian Party, an evening get together arranged to provide an opportunity for the organizers and participants to get to know each other.

There was no officially organised activity on the subsequent evenings, but each day one or more of the local postgraduate students that were helping out with the running of the course would always round us up and take us in to town to find a suitable venue for dinner and to sample the local night life. Their local knowledge was invaluable, and the evening get togethers really helped to build a course spirit amongst the participants.

Gian Ori at the Sirente crater field >

When I first arrived, I had wondered how I would pass the time in my spartan hotel room which did not have so much as a television set. But I need not have worried, as the days were so full that I would invariably collapse into bed as soon as I got back in the evening (or at times, the early morning), and slept soundly until my alarm announced that it was time to jump out of bed, grab a quick bite of breakfast, and then make the morning dash to the University to arrive just in time for the first lecture.

The course concluded on Saturday with a visit to the Gran Sasso National Laboratories. This is an underground complex beside the Gran Sasso Tunnel on the highway connecting Teramo to Rome. The impressive underground entrance, with guards, thick steel doors and flashing lights really made it look like something out of a James Bond movie.

The laboratory lies beneath a rock overburden of up to 1400m thickness. The rock overburden is a very effective cosmic ray shield, and is characterised by a low rate of natural radioactivity, making the laboratory an ideal place for delicate experiments involving rare events such as double beta decay and proton decay.

In May of 1998 the IRSPS held its second short course, this time on the Geochemical Evolution of the Solar System. This course was a little shorter, running just for the five days, but other than not having the Saturday excursion, was just as enjoyable and rewarding as the first.

Gian oversees the ascent at Mt Etna >

The most recent course was the European Summer School in Planetary Geology, held last May. The Summer School lasted a full two weeks, from the 5th till the 19th, with the team of lecturers expanded with the addition of the likes of Lionel Wilson from Lancaster, UK, Goro Komatsu from IRSPS and Paul Geissler from the University of Arizona. The lecture program was divided into two parts. The first provided an overview of basic geological processes, and the later part covered the individual planetary bodies. In addition to the lectures, there were training sessions on image processing and interpretation of satellite data, oral presentations by many of the students on their own research projects, and two field trips.

The first of the field trips was to the K/T boundary exposure at Gubbio, made famous by Walter and Louis Alvarez. The second was to a suspected impact crater field at Sirente on the Apennine mountain chain. The Sirente Crater Field was first identified by Jens Ormö, who was a student on the first short course in 1997.

My last experience with IRSPS was in September, at the International Workshop on Exploring Mars Surface and its Earth Analogues in Sicily, with a pre-meeting field trip to the now erupting Mt Etna.

The Beagle 2 mole demonstrated on Etna >

The event differed from the earlier ones in that it was a workshop targeted at scientists actively working in the field, allowing them to meet and report on the results of current research. As such, many of the presentations provided a much greater challenge to the students in the audience, but it did provide valuable insights into the state of the art in Planetary Science, and what it is like to be a researcher in the field. The workshop included a field trip to Piano delle Concazze on Mt Etna, where the similarity to some Martian terrain was taken advantage of for a field demonstration of a number of pieces of equipment, some scheduled to fly on up and coming planetary missions (such as the PLUTO subsurface soil sampler that will fly to Mars on Beagle 2) and others being proposed for future missions.

The meeting was complemented by a pre-meeting field trip to Mt Etna where similarities between the volcanic terrain and the Martian surface were highlighted, and insights into several aspects of the evolution of the Martian surface gained. It isn't always easy to find out about opportunities like this as an OU student, with no faculty notice board or frequent contact with professors who can pass on the information.

You can learn more about the IRSPS from their web site at http://irsps.sci.unich.it. In addition, I also have quite a number of pictures from the events described in this article on my web pages at www.cthulhu.dircon.co.uk.

I learned about my first IRSPS Summer School from a fellow member of the Planetary Society, who knew of it because Bob Strom, one of his former professors, was going to be one of the instructors. Since then, I have learned of them by being on their mailing list. If you are interested, you will probably have to keep an eye on the IRSPS web site or perhaps try sending them an email asking to be put on their mailing list.

Leading Lights of Contemporary Science

Peter Shor - Computer Scientist

by Max Little

Peter Shor's research work is wide and varied and extends from geometry, probability, combinatorics to algorithms and computational complexity theory. He was born in 1959 in New York, and grew up in Washington D.C. and in San Francisco. He received a degree in Mathematics from Caltech in 1981 and a doctorate in Applied Mathematics from the prestigious MIT Theory of Computer Science Group in 1985. His thesis advisor was Tom Leighton, an MIT authority on algorithms and networks, and the subject was 'bin packing'.

The problem he studied arises in a variety of practical situations, often in operational research and logistics. For example, during the manufacture of some product parts must be cut from sheet metal. To minimize cost and waste, it is necessary to lay out the parts to use as few fixed-size metal sheets as possible. Identifying which part goes on which sheet in which location is a bin-packing problem. Crucially, his work analysed probabilistic solutions.

After a one-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley, in 1986 Shor took a job at AT&T Bell Laboratories and has been at AT&T ever since. Until 1994, he worked mainly on algorithms for conventional computers and also did some research in probability and combinatorics. In 1994, after thinking about the problem on and off for nearly a year, Shor discovered an algorithm for factoring large integers into primes on a quantum computer. This has brought him fame and not inconsiderable fortune.

Quantum computing is the science of exploiting the inherent parallelism of quantum mechanics to solving problems in classical computation. Up until Peter Shor's pioneering work, most people considered quantum computation to be an interesting curiosity, despite some fascinating applications such as Grover's algorithm: a method for efficient database searching.

Before his ground-breaking paper 'Algorithms for quantum computation: Discrete logarithms and factoring', it was generally agreed that adding one extra digit to the number to be factorised generally multiplies the number of algorithm steps required by a fixed factor. Thus, as the number of digits is increased, the task rapidly becomes intractable. This paper demonstrated however that in principle, the problem could be reduced from an exponential-time problem to a nearly polynomial-time one.

This meant that the number of algorithm steps required to find the prime factors of a large integer could be made small enough to be almost as practical as the reverse process, multiplication. This created quite a stir, because it was previously considered that public-key cryptosystems such as the RSA algorithm that relied upon the relative difficulty of factorisation (by comparison to multiplication) were safe from being cracked. Therefore it was partly Shor's work that has stimulated much research effort into the construction of practical quantum computers.

Since 1994 he has spent most of his research time investigating quantum computing and quantum information theory. He is a prolific researcher and a tour-de-force in the emerging field of quantum informatics that has developed from the interaction between quantum physics and theoretical computer science. He has made many subsequent contributions to the theoretical progress necessary for building practical quantum computers.

As he explains, 'One of the main difficulties in building quantum computers is in manipulating coherent quantum states without introducing errors or losing coherence. One way to alleviate this problem is to use quantum error correcting codes, which can theoretically make quantum computers fault-tolerant through software, given only moderately reliable hardware.'

For example, the paper 'Fault-tolerant error correction with efficient quantum codes' co-authored with David DiVincenzo shows combinatorial methods of constructing quantum error-correcting codes.

Clearly his talent is displayed in the wide range of subjects in which he has been interested. In 1995 he co-authored a paper on theoretical microbiology entitled Local Rule Switching Mechanism for Viral Shell Geometry, in which he describes how slight differences in the configuration of the constituent molecules lead to the formation of closely related, but different overall shell types. He has also made investigations into the computational power of analogue computers.

His talent has also brought him to the wide attention of academia and commercial research, and he subsequently came to work with such scientific luminaries as Charles Bennett from IBM. He has received several awards, including the 1999 Goedel Prize (after Kurt Goedel, one of the fore-runners of computer science in the early 20th century) and the 1998 Nevanlinna Award, both of which are considered to be well-recognised awards in the field of theoretical computer science. He also received a 1999 MacArthur Fellowship, or 'genius grant', one of the most prestigious (and lucrative!) awards in America.

For more information, visit www.research.att.com/~shor.

SHFV BANG OYRG PUYR LCNE X

by Norrette Moore

Remember the Sinclair ZX-81? The Acorn? The BBC Micro? Did you throw yours away? Well, luckily someone has had the good sense to preserve one of each for posterity. Yes, they're all there on display at Bletchley Park's computer museum (www.bletchleypark.org.uk). But then you'd expect that of the place that housed the world's first programmable electronic computer, wouldn't you?

That computer was Colossus, a vast matrix of valves and relays, built at the secret code-breaking station in Buckinghamshire during World War II - the venue for a visit by members of FUSION, University College London and Imperial College in November. Although the original Colossus machine no longer exists, a facsimile is currently being built at the site, where one can also see Enigma machines - the German wartime encryption devices whose coded messages Bletchley Park was set up to break, using machines called Bombes, which are also on display. A tour around the grounds took us to Cottage No. 3 where Alan Turing first broke into Enigma.

The rebuild of Colossus >

As well as all that, we were given a fascinating talk by someone who claimed to have been in a U-boat in 1942 but didn't look a day over sixty; and we also stumbled across a fully equipped German command post complete with uniformed Wehrmacht officers and the inevitable Enigma machine. There was also a museum of cinematography - giant film projectors and a real cinema where we were shown a selection of WWII propaganda films. Oh, and a real live plywood submarine which was apparently used in the film version of Robert Harris' Enigma. And those who tired of playing with a real Enigma machine could always attend a talk on the decrypting of Japanese ciphers!

Bletchley Park (aka Station X) is fantastic value for money, even though they are self-funded - there is easily enough to see to take up a whole day, and some of us are determined to go back for a second look soon. And thanks to a subsidy from NEXUS, even the train fare was affordable! (For a decryption of the headline see page 497.)

Pictures of the event can be found at www.ucl.ac.uk/~rmaprmd/bletchley.htm

COURSE REVIEW

S207 - The Physical World

by Ray Ash

It's generally not a good idea to do a course in its first year of presentation, so I did S207 in its second year - 2001 (anyone disagree? - Ed). After three years of maths study at second and third level, it was a joy to do something more practical. The maths part came easily, however the volume of study is considerable and well worth 60 points.

There are eight substantial manuals making over 1,500 pages of study, all beautifully illustrated and not like the physics texts of yesteryear. But the multimedia is the jewel in the crown of this course, with hundreds of exercises to do taking you through each subject step by step. You could learn the course just using the multimedia; however, it is complementary to the manuals and you could almost manage without it. I found there was too much in this course to cover everything in detail. A level Physics, and/or MST207, is a more than adequate preparation.

One great aspect of the course was the practical day school at a school near Leicester, where we did three or four experiments. This was organised by a local tutor - I didn't do SXR207 (the detached one-week summer school held at Durham University) as I did two summer schools for the Maths diploma and was sick of them. In fact it was so well organised success was almost guaranteed, and we even got to measure the speed of light. Other experiments we could choose were: measuring the speed of an air gun pellet; investigating moment of inertia of a bicycle wheel; mapping electric potential using conducting paper; investigating simple circuits; and investigating water waves.

From a mathematician's point of view, it was challenging to have to remember so many laws and definitions which are needed in the exam; I memorised about 20 but only one or two came up . There are many more you could learn. The syllabus is like a standard physics A level but more in-depth. It's all logical, except when you get to the quantum part - then nothing makes sense. As Niels Bohr said, 'Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it'. So in revision I left out the quantum physics and still managed a grade two.

Ray has just completed a degree in mathematical sciences and is doing teacher training next year with a view to teaching maths. He believes maths needs to be inspirational, like the early scientists such as Newton and Maxwell. When not doing triple integrals, he has been known to climb the odd rock.

All at Sea?

If you think studying with the OU is difficult, spare a thought for two FUSION members who have had to grapple with all the usual stresses of studying and working PLUS the fact that several thousand kilometres of water separate them from the nearest tutor, bookshop or library.

First we hear from MUSTAFA JAFFARI who recalls his early experiences of studying with the OU.

I was offered a place in the Science Foundation course with the Open University in the very first year of its inception. I was thirty five years of age then and was a Merchant Navy Officer (Chief Engineer) on oil tankers. I had some qualms about my ability to follow the course in full, as we were on a 'four months ON, two months OFF' cycle of seagoing duties. I knew that I was going to miss many TV lessons and meeting TMA deadlines, even if I was able to follow the course units working on them at sea.

I did start the course well and had my first CMA and TMA marked and returned. I attended tutorials at Harrow Technical College.

The course fee was £10 and there was a deposit of £10 for the home laboratory kit. There were experiments to verify Galileo's experiment with finding the value of g, verifying the speed of light from actual laboratory print outs, identifying certain chemicals using prism spectrometer etc. I had to buy a couple of paperbacks costing only 2s.6d each.

I was enjoying the course, when (not unexpected) I was called to join a ship. My first loss was the access to TV programmes which were essential to the study. I took some of the units with me, but soon found out the impossibility to continue at sea. At that moment in time there was no TV reception at sea (except perhaps on passenger liners) and the delivery of mail in far off places was totally unreliable, and often missed the ship's schedule of stay in port. (Tankers had a very brief stay in ports, 24-36 hours typically).

I wrote to the Seafarers' Education Service and the Director approached the Chancellor of the OU to find a way to have video tapes sent out and some other facilities implemented, but in all fairness to the OU, considering this was the first year of what was an experiment, no appropriate solution could be found. I learnt that there was only one other OU student in the merchant navy and lucky for him, he was sailing on coastal vessels. About half way through the first year I gave it up.

Studying at sea is not a serious problem, if the units are of OU quality and especially written for self study. There is a great deal of spare time outside working hours during which the crew is going nowhere and reading is a popular pastime. There are some indoor games, films and of course the BBC world service to amuse oneself with.

About five years before my OU course, I had done a lot of study at sea when I was preparing for the Extra First Class Engineers examination. This is a requirement for many special jobs like Ship surveyors, examiners and some senior civil service jobs in the Marine field. I had initially done a condensed course at Stow College, Glasgow, lasting about 18 months, then armed with text books and three years of examination papers from London, Birmingham and Glasgow universities in Thermodynamics, Mechanics, Structures, Naval Architecture, Electricity, I worked at them at sea. The Seafarers Education Service purchased the text books and hired them to me at nominal charge. As soon as I had passed, I was offered an appointment in Australia, but declined because there was sufficient demand in the UK. Incidentally, credit points are also given by the OU.

DAVID RAE has served in the Royal Navy since 1986 as an aircraft mechanic. He started with the OU in 1993 with the maths foundation course M101, and is currently studying Mathematical Methods and Fluid Mechanics (MST322).

At present I am serving with HMS Endurance, whose mission is to provide UK sovereign presence and defence diplomacy in the South Atlantic and Antarctica, which involves support to Foreign and Commonwealth objectives, British Antarctic Survey Science and the charting of unsurveyed waters.

The problems that I have experienced studying at sea are:

Space - not so much of a problem on my current ship, but on other RN warships living space is normally much more confined - such as on HMS Illustrious, where I shared an 18-man cabin around the size of a normal living room. In such cases normally some office space is available, normally during the quiet hours. Locker space is also restricted, meaning carefully planning which textbooks you will require during a deployment.

Communication can also be difficult. Most ships have email facilities these days, which makes life much easier; however this was not always the case. Mail can still be erratic, and depends on the ship's programme. So far on this present trip we have averaged about one mail drop a month; so when sending or receiving parcels careful planning is required. However the OU is very helpful in cases like mine and if possible will despatch mailings early. Also I have found tutors are normally very helpful in the circumstances

Shift patterns - not always conducive to good study. However when your body has adjusted to the shift pattern, study can be achieved during the small hours when the ship's routines are normally quieter.

There are advantages, however. Firstly, the opportunity to travel can assist in your study. My present deployment would be a heaven send for someone studying the earth sciences, with the chances we have of going ashore in such places as South Georgia and Antarctica. Also language students would be helped: in my first trip around the Mediterranean we visited countries speaking six different languages (so far in my naval career I have visited 15 different countries, and this trip will increase my tally further). Furthermore, the Ministry of Defence provides time and some financial assistance in the completion of OU study. Finally, with greater than normal pressures on the time you have available, studying with the OU has helped me to develop my ability to achieve the maximum results with the minimum effort. This is a skill that can be applied to all aspects of my job and allows more effective use of the time that I do have available.

CPO David Rae aboard HMS Endurance.

FUSION members might be interested to know that the HMS Endurance Tracking Project follows the route of HMS Endurance as she sails from her home port of Portsmouth to Antarctica (www.visitandlearn.co.uk).

HMS Endurance in Antarctica (readers will recall Iain Coleman's account of the British Antarctic Survey) >