SCIENCE & SCIENTISTS

Waikato Times, Volume 112, Issue 18704, 2 August 1932, Page 11

SCIENCE & SCIENTISTS

PAST AND PRESENT. HUMBLE, NON-AVARICIOUS MEN. JOY OF DISCOVERY. An address on “Scientists and Science’’ was given by Dr. H. E. Annett at the Hamilton Rotary Club yesterday. Dr. Annett dealt with some scientists of past centuries and some with whom he had come in personal contact. Dr. Annett started with Galileo, to show what prejudice and ignorance the scientists of the past had to contend with. In 1591, in the presence of university professors, Galileo ascended the leaning tower of Pisa with two weights, one 200 times heavier than the other. These he let drop at the same instant and they reached the ground simultaneously, illustrating a fact which is well known to us to-day, but was not known then. The learned men of the age contended that the heavier object should strike the ground first. Against the learning of the time he also taught that the sun, not the earth, was the centre of the universe. That was, of course, not correct, but it was nearer the truth. As a result of his revolutionary doctrines Gallileo suffered the Inquisition and died brokenhearted. Bruno later also taught that the earth was not the centre of the universe and suffered death for his convictions. Outstanding Last Century. Faraday was the outstanding scientist of last century. The son of a blacksmith, he eventually conferred upon the world many of the amenities it enjoyed to-day. Through his experiments " electricity was brought into everyday use. However, even at that late date prejudice existed. Faraday on one occasion was explaining one of his experiments to Gladstone. Gladstone listened patiently and then remarked, “But of what use will this bo, Mr Faraday?” Faraday answered, “One day you may be able to tax it.” He made a large number of important discoveries, but died a comparatively poor man. In common with many other scientists, he had no ambition to make money. lie refused a most lucrative industrial post in order to continue his research work. Pasteur also had no ambition to make money. A later head of the Pasteur Institute. Dr. Roux, whom the speaker had come in contact with on tho problem of diphtheria, was the same. Upon winning a prize for £4OOO he presented it to the Institute for further research. The donor of tho prize was so delighted at this example of unselfishness that In his will lie bequeathed £1,500.000 to the institute. Love of Knowledge. Sir William Bayliss, whom Dr. Annett worked under, was a man who had a wonderful knaok of making one feel that' one knew as much as he did. He had a vivisecting theatre fitted up like those used for human beings, and on one occasion was performing an operation on a dog before a class at which the speaker was present. A woman student, an ardent' anti-vivisectionist, later wrote to a newspaper stating that the dog had not' being properly anaesthetised. Dr. Bayliss, as lie was then, won the subsequent libel action and donated the £3OOO damages to vivisection research ! These examples showed that scientists worked not for monetary reward but for love of knowledge and the joy of discovery. How humble they were was demonstrated by Kelvin’s words at his jubilee celebration. He told the assembled students at .Glasgow University that Ills whole work of 55 years could be summed up in tho one word—“failure” —he knew no more of what electricity was than when he first started experimenting. Sir Oliver Lodge, at a lecture»which the speaker attended, dealt with Einstein’s theory. He explained It extremely well. At the conclusion he said, “If you have understood you have done me a great honour. I do not understand it myself." And yet there was a man who had just given a most wonderful exposition of the theory. Why the Sea Is Blue. Sir C. V. Raman, an Indian scientist with whom the speaker had been associated, was responsible for valued research on sound and light, discovering a lot about the latter subject which had previously been unknown. The sun’s rays, though white ,to our eyes, were 'composed of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, Indigo and violet rays. The red rays were twice as long as' the violet. Raman showed how the longer waves went through the sea over the ultimate particles, whereas the shorter blue or green, were reflected back into the eyes, and thus gave the impression that the sea was' blue. In agricultural soicnce Sir John Russell was a leading authority. While Dr. Annett was working with him as research' assistant, Sir John, quite by accident, lit on a discovery which changed our ideas of soil. They had been sterilising soil in a steam oven | with a view to getting rid of the light ! in it. Previously sterilised soil had been thought to be dead, but on this j occasion plants were planted in that and ordinary soil. In the former the plants came up twice as fast as in the latter! Investigations had shown the organisms which fed on good bacteria had been destroyed by the heat. As a result in cases where soil had previously been thrown out of tomato greenhouses, ote.pil was now rejuvenated by steam heat. "Thus,” concluded Dr. Annett, “you will see that scientists are, simpleminded men, with other ambitions than the winning of money.”