THE BRITISH SCIENCE GUILD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18850, 1 May 1923, Page 4

THE BRITISH SCIENCE GUILD

■ i GREAT ADVANCE OF SCIENTIFIC , ] DISCOVERY. GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. : COMPARISON OP EXPENDITURE. (Ff.om Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, March 3. ’ That all the people should realise the ' value of science and support its development and application to the affairs of everyday life, is the broad aim of the British Science Guild, which received the endorsement, by way of resolution, of a meeting i held in the Mansion House, with the Lord Mayor of Loudon presiding. The rewarding of men who benefit mankind by solving scientific problems was among the points urged by the speakers. The activities of the British Science Guild are now in process of being extended to the dominions, branches having .been already i established in Australia. When the guild was founded in 1905, its first object was stated to bo to convince British people, by means of piiblications and meetings, of “the necessity of applying the methods of science to all branches of human endeavour, and thus to further the progress and increase the welfare of the Empire,” stated the Lord Mayor, in opening the meeting, which was attended by several hundreds of people invited by the council of the guild. Pointing out that this was an age of science, when such wonders ns X-ray, radium, and wireless telephony were accepted almost as commonplaces, the Lord Mayor said that from scientific work now being carried on we might expect even greater value than those already Achieved. industries were continually being founded upon scientific discoveries, but old as well as new business .and all public qffairs must also adopt scientific _ methods if they wore to he administered efficiently. ’ ; Lord Askwith, K.C.8., K. 0., president of the guild, proposed the motion by which those present pledged themselves to support the efforts of the guild to promote national and Imperial interests, from a conviction that the progressive use of scientific knowledge was essential to industry and commerce. “Science discovers, invention constructs, industry produces,’’ Lord Askwith said, indicating the important part played by science in the life of a nation. Scientific . discovery was going forward with giant strides,' upsetting the equilibrium of nations and bringing new things into the lives r ,of men and women; so much so, that industrialists and men of commerce must bo panting after it, out of breadth in their endeavour to keep pace with it. This made it ail the more important that our Empire shou’d have the knowledge of scientific discoveries quickly and be able to distribute it and apply it. To '‘popularise science” Was the description applied by Lord Askwith to the aim of the guild, having this objeet in view.

The diffusion of scientific knowledge and the establishing of- some system of reward for discovery, were defined as the two main points o ( the guild’s propaganda by Sir Ronald Ross, K.C.8., F.R.S., the eminent scientist ,and. medical investigator, who seconded ihe motion. By “popularising science*’ it was not meant only to give the public a knowledge of scientific discoveries, but also to give the public what had been called “tbs spirit of science” by his Majesty in. his reply to a message from the president regarding the meeting. This spirit was being diffused by a number of agencies including eve.u some of the most popular newspapers, and Sir Ttopald Ross said, he was certain that it was obtaining a stronger and stronger hold on the people of this country and the civilised world., While - admitting that' a groat deal of encouragement was being given to scientific research through the provision of funds from both private and public sources, he pointed out a need of greater support in one direction. Classifying scientific investigation under two headings, direct and inverse, he asserted that practically ihe whole of the funds was spent in supporting the former. The direct operations were carried on at the univerai ties, almost wholly by young men, and the results wore recorded, put away and, ho feared, often lost “Can you not do something for the problem solvers?” Sir Ronald appeal, on behalf of the men who carry out the inverse opera tions. Nearly all the greatest benefits of science, had been given by this class of man, which included Darwin. The guild thought that the country should do something for men in this class, who were not being subsidised from any of the funds, not being given doles for direct observation at the universities, but. many of whom were wonting steadily and might make discoveries of tremendous importance. After giving instances of past neglect of discoverers of important scientific truths, not only in Britain, Sir Ronald Ross said that the Germans had more intelligence in this respect before tne war, whatever they might have now or have had during it.

The annual expenditure of the British Empire on the investigation of science was mentioned by Sir Ronald as bifing. something like one-quarter of a million, while he believed that the United States of America was spending three times that sum, if not four times it.

Sir Joseph Cook, High Commissioner for Australia, spoke, on the general aspect of science in its application within the Empire.

IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH IN INDUSTRY. ’

Sir J. J. Thomson, master of Trinity College, Cambridge, expected to be present at the Mansion House, but ho was prevented. However, in an interview ho insisted on the importance of pure research as a factor in the development of trade and industry. “If is often forgotten,” he said, “that electricity as an art is only some 90 years old, and dates back in effect to the discovery by Faraday in 1831 of the induction of electric currents. At that time electricity belonged to the realm of pure research, and to-day in its various aspects it has become one of the world's great industries. This relation between pure research and industry remains as intimate to-day' as it has been throughout the history of science. To illustrate from one of •my researches. In 1807 I discovered in the Cavendish laboratory the existence of elections. At the moment the discovery was that of an interesting phenomenon; but there was no indication then that this would be followed by any -practical application. Twenty years, however, passed, and the discovery has been utilised on a vast commercial scale in the electric valves now so generally used in wireless telegraphy and telephony. Consider, again, the discovery of argon by Ramsay. Ramsay found it as a comparatively useless gas present in the atmosphere, and in making the discovery cleared up a theoretical anomaly. To-day argon is the basis of a flourishing electric lights industry. Wireless in its various phases illustrates the thesis admirably. Hertz, when he was working on the so-called Hertzian waves, never imagined their utilisation for the purpose of transmitting messages; but it w:is theoretical work done by Hertz that made the introduction by Marconi of 'wireless possible. Take again the old coherer. Branly, long before wireless was thought of, had noted that a pile of loose filings became a good conductor of electricity if a high tension electric current was discharged close to them. This discovery seemed to have no practical, bearing; but on it depended all the earlyj working of wireless telegraphy. The whole' branch of chemistry known as colloidal chemistry started with the noting down of strange phenomena. Research followed, and the apnlicalion of the results obtained has yielded valuable results in connection with the treatment of*3&res, in tanning, and in many other industries.

“The vast dye trade again was the direct result of pure research, and it is only in the later stages of development that pure reresearch gave way to ad hoc investigations. At the end of the war there was an instance where results of purely theoretical interest were being brought into the realm of practical value in the case of the supersonic waves which we were on the point of adapting for under-water signalling. It would he-possible to multiply these instances indefinitely and to.. show in every branch of science that pure research is commercially definitely remunerative.

"As to tlio future, to forecast is always dangerous. Take one new departure alone — the break-up of the atom. At present the foa.t has been achieved, but so far very much greater energy is required to effect disruption than ia recovered through disruption. All one can do at present is to note down results and to continue research.”