TEACHING AT CANTERBURY COLLEGE.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11753, 30 November 1903, Page 7

TEACHING AT CANTERBURY COLLEGE.

PHYSICS AND ELECTRICAL ENOIHEERINQ. ■.■(_■' .J '

to tub xnrrom or run raxss. » Sir,-—For some years past repeated changes have been made in the arrange* ments for teaching physics at Canterbury CoUege, and still there seems no immediate prospect of a permanent arrangement being adopted. It i* inevitable that this unsettled state of things must seriousJy handicap the teaching of physics, and tbe students themselves have so far realised this that in the last number of the "Canterbury College Review," the editor has devoted a leading article to a suggested permanent arrangement. With the teaching of physics, and more especially electricity, is intimately connected tbe teaching of electrical engineering. During' the list three years I have had experience in-teaching these two subjects, and, besides being familiar* with what, haa recently been written on the subject of technical education., I have exaxoined the methods adopted in some of the best-known Universities and Technical Colleges in the world. lam convinced that a. satlsfac* tory arrangement might have been adopted years ago, and might be adopted now, which 'would necure tbe pema_e_t efficiency of these two departments, and it seems to mc to be my duty, in the interests of students, and of the institution to which I owe 'the early part of my own training, to point out, before leaving New Zealand, what the advantages of this orr_y_ent are. A little over three years ago it was de-. cided to separate the two subjects of physics and chemistry, and to appoint a Professor of Physic-. This resolution, however, was afterwards rescinded, and physics itself divided. Two 'lecturers were appointed—one for heat, sound, and light, which was fanned into a separate department, amd one for electricity and electrical engineering. This was not, however, nude » eepasnate department., but was placed under 4he control of the Professor of Mecl_nknl Engineering, and, a» cv result, there was a general fusion of tbe subjects of batfi pure and applied electricity with meb_u„cal engineering subjects. The conditionii were altered last year by. the appointment of the lecturer in heat, sound, and light, to the chair, of chemistry, and this year by the resignation of the lecturer m ekctricity and electric— engineering. The arrangement for the ensuing year differs only in. the appointment of a new lecturer for pure electricity, while the standing of tlie new teacher of electrical engineering n reduced from that) of a lecturer to that of a demonstrator. This ejTsngemeni, however, is only temporary. For a permanant arrangement two proposals have been brought forward, with a view to obviating certain difficulties-thafc ba-ve occurred,, owing to tbe association of electricity with mechanical engineering. (1) The foundation of a separate department of electricity and electrical engineering. If beat, iiound, and light, were transferred from title department) o** chemistry this would be a departaßeot of physics Ad electrical engineering. (2) The foundation of a dens-taw* of physics. This would mean the separation of pare electricity from engineering, whse electrical eagliieaing would presumably continue to h» taught br a. demonstrator in the engineering department.,• ... v The latter fourse is the ona thai ameers at present most likely to be adopted, hut there would tteetn to bo two gnat objection* to it. . (1) It would entail the seperatk- «f ties . subject of electricity from electrical softneering—a step described in tha ertida above referred to aa a reform, bat oftfer' which an electrical engineer would mf cs on' impossibility. (2) The subject of eleotrioal e&gfatoiof without doubt the most difficult of oaf taught ia * tlniversity--_ivolving a knowledge of mathematics, physios, ohs-dst*?, a thorough fwniliarity with advaaaed ska* trical theory, end, in addition; « praetteei acquaintance with trsechanical engtaeeiinf, as well as with the.technical appitaMtkm of electricity, only «b present to be obUJav ed by actual experience abroad, this subjoct is in thei hands of * denw-strntor. We ore so far here from the centres of engineering itctMty, that, we ere apt to lose sight of the enomouw extension of tbe applications of'eleotricity, and the great importance to uoy student of a sound training in this subject. The demand that has from time to „mft arisen for young electrical engineers has caused aa enormous rush Into the profession of imperfectlytrained men, with the result'that competition in the lower rank, "ia very keen. Indeed, so much bos this been the due, that - it haa led the editor of the London''Ettgineer" to remark in s, recent Article on electrical engineering j* a profession:-----"It is not, we are e_t_s_ed, to* noon - to. say, In ©meludott, that, broadly speak- ' ing, engineering is at thk time the very ' went pttrfeedon that shy young ma_ without money, end without take up with a view to makrag euoEgh'ln, a few yean to maintain a wife aad a haute with moderate comfort at_t refinement." It aeeme, then, that in electrics, engineering, especially, a man with less than' the besti training has little chance «P making much hwdwey. At *he nine time, it is generally admitted (that/there is plenty of scope for able and wellrtratoed men. Sir Andrew Noble, director of the Elswick works, in his inaugural address to the students of the Central Technical OoHega, in 1899, said, in this connection::.-. ' • "Consider a* on _h_tr__«i, electricity in tho aervke of man. Think of ita ifltnunerable applications, and of the number ,of hands dependent.» upon its humstrie*. Bot for owi man capahfc of derigtitof or impro-ing these powetfafc machines, there are a tho_M_d ready and able to carry out their designs. But it 5s the fetffler who ore toe salt of the earth, and Chaser .who have the of large concerns know Wdl ihenir to value them." The same thing has been emphasised by . Dr. Fleming, Professor of 10ec_ic*l En- * * giMcrinjf fa Univendtsr College, lxmdon, in an article a. tlwtni__f of electrical engineers:— . "As regards eleotrical engineering, we may cay, wnphalk-lly, tW it k the profession of ithe young _ian. ... . . . There isless and liets rocan hi It every' year foe the half-trained Ba&v, or tbe prefctotbus smatterex; but there k * abundance of room and opportunity foe w_l-infoirmisd and competent young, men who have knowledge, character, and plack. "To make improvements nowaday* jo submarine cables, telephones,dynnwe, transfonnezs, or wireless telegraphy, demands an exhaustivo knowledge of advanced electrical and saagnetio theory; and the dectriisjaa whose theoretical.. atta.o--mento ore limibed to Ohm's Law and a ■ mere edboolboy knowledge of. electricity jmd magnetism may succeed in pushing himself on ia life in virtse of puahfahu*- „ or skill in making use of, other- people's ' b|sW, buli be wfll never succeed as an 1 electrical engineer on hk own a*coo__" There is another point mentioned in the above quotations which hiss been, oOuananted on agidn and again, and fbaii ia that success as an electrical engineer ia be- , coining »ne and more dependent oa a knowledge of advanced electrical theory. In fact the principlea of electrical engineering and tine principles of pur* electricity ore the -awe—ot no point con tho two> lie separafed. As far as the teaching of electrical engineering is concerned, this «p----y plk* to the practical work «s weO aa the . theoretical, and it will he found that the i , i course of practical work in electrical «&•!, gineering in Technical Colleges is largely; ; composed of experhnebte, which ore also ■ dossed _)der the heading of pure elee- [ tricity. The latest text-books on electrical tasting eßi_hasise tha asm* thing. Far

«_ample. the,preface to one of these books, written by the present examiner in elec- •'• trical engineering to the New Zealand University, begins as follows: — "This work is intended to form a systematic counte of instruction in electrical tiling connected with physics and electrical engineering. It is difficult, if not well-nigh » imposmble, to draw sny distinctive line between a va«fc number "of experimental inTMitigatlofle ill that, branch nf P"?* termed electricity and magnetism, and the more elementary portions of electrical engineering. In fact the latter may be regarded a* the development r-f the former, and almost entirely dependent oa it. If the atudent intendiug to take up electrical engineering requires this intimate acquaintance with what is sometimes called "pure" electricity, it is no less true that tlie student of pure electricity must study many of the principle* of electrical engineering- In fact few students take adranced electrical work for other than pro- . fessional purposes, and those few who may be intending to take up teaching or retearch work, must gain as full a knowledge as possible of the technical parts of tne subject. Indeed, it will be found that if the papers set for example m this Lniverntv in honours electricity (pure), and in electrical engineering, be examined, the questions naked are very similar, and in many cases precisely tbe same. It ioilows then that for the proper teaching_ of pure electricit- a great deal of technical work mart- be"done, requiring most of the apparatus to be found in an electrical engineering laboratory. . . I should like to quote on this question of pure and applied electricity front a prudential addree* by Mr James Swinburne, to the Institution of Electrical hngineere. •• Physics is merely unapplied engineering Science is split-unfortunately the split v very difficult to heal-into two parts, generally wrongly called the.theory-and the practice, or pure and applied science. Ibw figure- ia not so deep in one branch ol engineering, but it is there. . . • engineering -science, and science ,s «- t-ineering. You can cut off a part and call • tnnapjlied science. This is what is wnerally known as theory or pure science It Is not purer than any other science, and the term theory is misapplied. 1«M« engineer you must know both branches. If it be admitted then that electricity and electrical engineering must be kept together—a necessary course in tho interests, both of electricity and electrical engineerintt—the position of heat, sound and light must be considered. This subject might readily be kept distinct from electricity; the student of electricity requites a knowledge of mechanics and chemistry, quite as much as, or even more than, a knowledge of beat, sound and light. Indeed, the probability is that owing to tlie rapid growth of the subject of electricity, it will in time bo made separate for all but the most elementary work, as it ia already separated from heat/sound and light for M.A. and University honours, and for importanft public examinations, e.g., Whitworth scholarships. Again, the experimental apparatus necessary for the teaching of heat, sound and light is almost entirely distinct from that required for the teaching of pure electricity, as may be seen by a visit to laboratories devoted to these two subjects. Still, there is no doubt that heat, sound and light would be better undertaken by a department of electricity and electrical engineering than by a department of chemistry; and the former department would then become one of physics and electrical engineering. This course, in addition to securing whatever advantages are to be expected from keeping the two branches of physics together, would be beneficial in other matters respecting electrical engineering. For example, the study of photometry ia important, both in light and in. electrical engineering, and some considerable saving in equipment would be secured, both in this and other respects, by a combination of these departments. In ffcet the advantages of a combination of .physics and electrical engineering into one department) are shown by tbe widespread adoption of this arrangement—not only in ". thelarge Technical Colleges, like MaHsachuTaetta and McGill in America, Charlotten- ' Vbexg and Darmstadt in Germany, and most of,-the largest in England, bub also in ' . smaller institutions. There remains the question of the connection., between electrical and medianicil engineering. - The electrical engineer must be a mechanical engineer, but his training in mechanical engineering must proceed parallel with his electrical training. It does not form such an essential part of & .' training in electrical engineering hb elec- ■■; -tricity does..' In fact, except for. fundamental principles', the electrical engineer will learn hla mechanical engineering from actual experience after he has left the walls of the College behind him. The connection between the two branches of engineering cannot be better put than in the following extract from the prospectus of the Departms-t of Physic* and Electrical -Engineering of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the most successful technical colleges in the world: (1) "In most large work in electrical engineering tlie questions involved are not merely electrical in their nature, and oftentimes they are not' chiefly so. The decision as to whether the erection of a plant under giveri circumstances is financially advisable or as to which is tlie best of

several possible modes of procedure, is 0, generally en economic one, and involves a f knowledge of structures and machinery, quite>as much ea of. electrical details, and by meet branches of electrical engineering the design and, handling of machines, of one or another kind, is a constant necessity.. 'For this reason/the course aims ' ■ to train electrical engineers, not mere electricians. Ite original plrfn fully recognised the principle, afterwards so forcibly stated by Lord Kelvin, .that electrical engineers "must, before all, be engineers: tbey must be engineers, and they must learn electricity?" To carry out. this important end, the t student in electrical engineering spends a very large portion, •of his time in the laboratories and lecture room* of tbe Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics'. ~..'« j (2) On the other hand, it will be observed that thjs course is not simply a coarse in mechanical engineering, with electlvtf'Btudies in electricity, or with only a single y«j* devoted to this subject. Almost from 'the time the -tudent chooses his course, his work is differentiated! from

'that of the student in mechanical engineert ing. In the - eecond .year he receives special Instruction In acoustics and; electricity in the-lecture room, and also be"gins work in. the physical laboratory. In tbe third year the courses in tlieoretical electricity, the methods of telegraphy, the construction and use of electrical measuring- instrument!!, and the work pursued in the physical laboratory are all peculiar to •I.the conrse in electrical engineering. And in the last year of the courre by far i the greater portion of the student 1 - time _ spent upon technical electrical studies." v It is hoped that a good case has been made out for better facilities for teaching both physics and electrical engineering. It must be remembered that students trained here will inevitably have to compete with those having the advantage of A first-class training in older countries; and every possible endeavour should be made to ensure that their training in this difficult profession is as perfect a* possibile*. I may summarise briefly as follows: — If pure electricity isHaken away electrical engineering department, it will stiH not be possible to remove from that department any but a few pieces of to* most inexpensive apparatus. •If pure electricity ia taught by a sep. a rate professor in a separate department Ids work will be greatly handicapped unlets he is provided with a great deal of expensive apparatus, similar-to that already existing in the electrical engineering department. Even if this duplication of apparatus is effected, electrical students /will hove to go to and fro between two departments, to learn one subject divided in an artificial manner into two parts. Tlie Subjects proposed to be separated from electrical engineering are elementary elecpass electricity, and honours electricity. In ail of these from 70 to 100: jW cent, of the students are engjwering]

students. temeiaberirig how diffisuft it is to draw any distinctive line between pure and applied electricity, it would surely be better that all these students should be in one department, under the control of a man competent to teach both honours electricity and electrical engineering. As regards the connection of electrical and mechanical engineering, the fact that these two department* are co seldom combined shows that, no advantage is to be expected from the arrangement. .. The proper training of electrical engineers is an important question, and an mV portent local question. The arrangements adopted in tlie pant- have not proved satisfactory, and the question ariwe, "If the arrangcinen , i proposed above bad been adopted in tbe first instance, would there have been any necessity to change it?" and, secondly," "Does it not form the best solution of the present difficulty?"— Yours, etc., _ A. R. CRADDOCK. Chriittchurch, November 27th. 1903.