SCIENCE NEEDS A NEW BROOM.

Cromwell Argus, Volume LXI, Issue 3159, 20 April 1931, Page 2

SCIENCE NEEDS A NEW BROOM.

Inventors Wanted to Sweep Away Dusty Problems.

During the last hundred years mankind has made greater advances In knowledge and in turning natural forces to his own use than in the course of any other period in the world's history, and there is no question that the coming century will see a still more astonishing forward movement.

We seem to be on the verge of solving problems that have baffled humanity through the ages—and yet the solutions elude us.

Perhaps the most needed of all discoveries are cures for the many appalling diseases that still afflict the human race. Cancer still baffles medical science, though any day its cause and the means of curing it may be known. We have discovered how to deal with typhus, smallpox, plague, and other dreadful scourges of the past, but doctors are still baffled by influenza and the common cold.

Means of communication between one part of the world and almost any other are marvels to-day. A hundred years ago it took six months to send a message to Australia; now it can be done in a fraction of a second. But our communications, marvellous as they are, are not perfect. Magnetic storms may completely upset the working of cables for hours or even days upon end, whilst atmospherics may render the reception of messages by wireless Impossible. One of the greatest needs of the day is for a certain and absolutely reliable means of communication. Another invention for which the world is waiting is that of some satisfactory means of disposing of refuse. Though refuse of all kinds contains huge stores of energy any many valuable chemicals, we do not know what to do with it. We turn our rivers Into sewers and disfigure our countryside with horrible dumps. What Great Britain alone pours down drains and throws Into dustbins would probably be worth at least £100,000,000 a year. Power for driving machinery is one of the greatest needs of civilisation. In the tides of the sea, which rise or fall twice a day, almost unlimited power is available if we could find a means of using It.

Some means must be found of furnishing heat and power without burning substances such as coal, oil, or wood. These are wasteful methods, and, far more Important, the smoke tbat they produce seriously affects man's health and comfort. So far we have discussed inventions and discoveries that can plainly be classed as big. Many more of this kind could be mentioned, but they are not the only ones for which the world i's waiting. There are much needed iuventions which, though they may seem relatively unimportant, would have an enormous effect upon human health.

Here are a few of the lesser inventions the world badly needs. The great majority of deaths due to traffic accidents—and these run into thousands in a year—are caused by skidding. A road surface upon which, wet or dry, wheels cannot slip is one of our greatest needs. Sudden changes in the weather result in enormous losses not only to farmers, but also to innumerable kinds of business. We still have no certain method of forecasting these. Fog completely disorganises our transport by land, sea and air, and we have found no means of penetrating it. Never before in history have there been such opportunities for inventors.