THE MOBILISATION OF SCIENCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3214, 20 October 1915, Page 71

THE MOBILISATION OF SCIENCE.

INTERVIEW WITH SIR OLIVER LODGE. As I was being ushered Into Sir Oliver Lodge’s room in the department specially set aside for his researches in the Birmingham University in the heart of England, I caught a glimpse of several of his laboratories. Here were delicate instruments of strange shape, at the purpose of which a layman could only guess and wonder, weirdly shaped retort and endless rows of bottles, books of reference, and notebooks of research; beyond were the humming wheels and restless tracery of driving belts appertaining to an engineer’s workshop. For the principal of this great British industrial university is no mere bookish ; theorist, but an energetic investigator into many branches of science. Though his device for dissipating fogs is still a thing of wonder, his inventions are by no means all “in the air” as the universal use of the “ Lodge sparking plug ” will readily prove. As with a cordial greeting he waved me to a chair, Sir Oliver settled down to his cross-examination with a zest which gave no indication that he was giving Up a portion of a particularly busy morning for the benefit of our readers. Whilst he sat there before me, his great frame overflowing the boundaries of his_ chair, his head bent a little forward, his face was irradiated with a boyish smile which smoothed out the lines of care from his rugged features. “ Our readers would like to know, Sir Oliver, your views on some of the scientific aspects of the war. For instance, the leading English papers have contained for the last few weeks a wide correspondence deploring a lack of organisation in the field of chemistry, physics, mechanics, and general invention. Do you think that British leaders of science are alive to these matters and that the organisation of them is adequate for our need or equal to that of Austria and Germany ?” “ Many of the people busy writing to the papers on these matters,” broke in Sir Oliver, “are uninformed or misinformed. There is far more organisation of science in England than the public are aware of. It is not known, as many of the recent letters prove—and I am perhaps giving away secrets by saying so now r —that practically since the beginning of the war there has been in existence a special W' ar Committee of the Royal Society.” “You surprise me, Sir Oliver,” I said “ for at least one prominent member of the Royal Society, referring to it as ‘ A Scientific House of Peers,’ deplored the fact that it was not organised and that the abilities of its members were not being Utilised by the country in this terrible struggle.’ “ The committee is a fact, however,” said Sir Oliver, “for I myself am a member. It includes representatives of every branch of science, who meet and discuss various suggestions for research into matters” of martial importance. The laboratories of its members are then setbusy with investigations, and the outcome of this work is eventually felt at the front.” “ Would it not help,” I asked, “ if the existence Of this committee were generally known and a public address given to which private inventors might send their schemes?” “ It could do no harm,” replied Sir Oliver, “ and I, for one, have been in favour of more publicity in our work. But it might possibly lead to the inundation of the committee beneath a flood of useless proposals. As it is, the individual members receive numbers of suggestions from outside sources. Some few contain germs of real worth; the majority are useless. Still, in spite of the extra Aveeding out which such publicity -with its attendant flood of letters would entail, I, for one, am in favour of publicity, as I think that we may be missing something of excel fence through lack of it.” “Are you connected in any way with the fighting departments?” “Yes; from time to time we receive requests from the War and Admiralty Offices, and these requests are passed on to the members of the committee best able to deal with them. Investigations are made in our laboratories, maybe in some university, maybe in some private laboratory, perhaps in some large manu factoring works. The results are communicated to the official departments, and orders are then given. Yes, there is nothing much the matter with our organisation,” said Sir Oliver, as he smiled the wise smile of the one who knows. “ With regard to the scientific interests which the war has brought into prominence, do you think that any striking development has taken place?” “There is nothing new,” said Sir Oliver, ■with a shrug of his huge shoulders. “There have been developments, of course, and strange reversions also to old-fashioned methods and engines of warfare. But when our enemies use poison gas they are employing only a means of destruction which was known before the war—and forbidden. Their Zeppelins and their submarines have certainly been improved so as to become a real menace, and the range of their big guns has been increased. But these are only developments of already existing engines of destruction, and cannot be called inventions in the strict sense. You will notice, too, that with the possible exception of aircraft, these machines are all necessarily of a de strnctive nature, and are therefore not truly and in any real sense contributions to the world’s science. To my mind the most wonderful scientific development is that of long-range wireless telephony.” Here Sir Oliver became animated. For was not ho one of the pioneers in the world of wireless messages? “By its means the human voice can travel for miles, and man can speak to man though only air connect them. This is a true contribution to science which the war has ■developed—a contribution which will out-

last all the engines of destruction which have been used or are still to be made.’ “In your opinion, is Great Britain, together with her Allies, keeping pace with her enemies in the invention of destructive ■war machines? Has she anything to counter their craft of the Zeppelin type? Can she hold in check the raids of their submarines? Is she keeping pace with the many inventions in field war fare?” I may have appeared a little anxious, for Sir Oliver hastened to reassure me. “ Means are being found, and some are, indeed, in use,” he said — “ means concerning which, for obvious reasons, I cannot give which will counter all these. Take, for instance, the submarines. We are .. .” I must have leaned forward too eagerly, or, perhaps the spirit of caution nudged Sir Oliver at the moment, but he closed up as tight as an oyster, and no persuasion could get him to hint at the secrets he guards. So I had perforce to change the subject. “ As principal of a university, what part do you think your students and institution generally should play in this war?” “All who can,” he said, “have been invited to enlist. The names of those fighting and. of those dead on the field of battle j r ou will see on the Roll of Honour in the corrridor.” And here Sir Oliver sounded, for a few moments only during the time of our interview, an old and careworn man. “Our science students have gone in large numbers to help with the chemical and engineering departments at the front. Some are staying behind to carry out investigations in our laboratories. ‘ All, I believe, are doing their utmost for the successful prosecution of the war. The majority of those who have been rejected at the recruiting office owing to physical defects have found a field for their services in the munition works of our city. Of the staff, over 80 are engaged in war work. During the vacation which is just beginning, even the women students have volunteered for war work, and places are being found for them according to their, strength and abilities. Our large buildings at Bournbrook, which were mainly devoted to engineering work, have been taken over by the military authorities as a hospital; But the machinery has been removed, and is busily at work’turning out munitions of war. Yes, a universit-v can and should supplyfighting forces of’the greatest importance. ’ In a war of such magnitude, where science is playing so important a part, I thought it might be 'possible to_ ascertain the probable lines along which inventions might develop. I remember, as a boy, once reading a story by Jules Verne, in which an American inventor made a discovery by which he could annihilate enemy vessels many miles away across the sea by simply moving a switch in front of him. ~ A strange conceit, truly! And yet it is just possible that some invention may be made against which the largest armies and the strongest ships are powerless. So I asked : _ “ Can you give me, Sir Oliver, any indication, even a hint, as to the probable line of development of our fighting gear? Will it be with regard to machines on the land; to gases; to craft in the air, on the water, or under the sea ? Or is it likely that someone may harness a force of Nature to work destruction on his opponents?” But Sir Oliver shook his head, and, with the curious raising of his right eyebrow, a frequent quizzical habit he has, replied: “I am no prophet.” Whether he knew or not, he took the course of wisdom and refused to commit himself. Perhaps, I thought, an answer may some day come from the busy laboratories and workshops which I had just seen. “Speaking of prophets,” I said, “what is your opinion of the various prophecies which have been made with regard to the war ?” “The prophets have not done themselves justice,” was the laconic answer. “But you believe,” I insisted, “and the public expect you, as a spiritualist investigator, to believe that future events can be foretold. Surely a catastrophe such as the present would have been foretold by a medium at some seance. Has such a message been given?” “I know of no definite message—no authentic prophecy. There have been allusions through the media, and many of ns felt that something terrible was pending—but there was nothing definite.” “ What do you think, then, of the messages from the past that are said to have foretold this war? There was the one of the French monk which purported to foretell the beginning and end of the w'ar as w r ell as its result. There was the one ■which prophesied the dmvnfall of the House of Hohenzollern when the head of the house mounted his horse from the wrong side—as does the present Kaiser. There was the horoscope of the Kaiser cast by the American astrologer which foretold the downfall of the German Emperor for last December. Are not these false prophecies sufficient to shake your belief in the existence of communion with the spirit world —these and no true ones?” But Sir Oliver would not be caught. “These were probably misinterpretations.” And here spoke the man of science who requires that all the phenomena of his investigation shall be fully known—preferably to himself—-before judgment is passed. “I myself have investigated none of these prophecies; but they were probably misinterpretations,” he repeated, “ because some people get hold of a cryptic Latin screed which is supposed to have been -written many, many years ago by a French monk, and twist his translation to make the resulting version into a prophecy of a Avar already begun. Such a fact neither affirms nor denies the possibility of prophecy. It docs nothing. The other Avhich, as I said, I have not investigated, may he In like case.” Pressed, however, on the point, Sir Oliver was bound to admit, somewhat sorroAvfully, I thought, that he had not come across any instance of an authentic prophecy concerning the Avar. I was still eager for some indication as to the probable course which scientific in-

vention might take, so I reverted to the question; but Sir Oliver shook me off with a laugh, the tantalising raising of his right eyebrow, and “ I am not going to make any prophecies—they, too, might not come true. ’ —T. P.’s Weekly.