Pr esenled before the Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry at the 119th Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Boston, Mass.
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Chemical engineers and chemists are increasingly dependent upon tools and special techniques drawn from other branches of science and technology. Automatic computers are a new tool, and as such have received great publicity in the lay press. As a result, there are both overenthusiasm and cynicism regar ding their potentialities in chemical engineering and chemistry. As far as possible, the papers of this symposium have been confined to applications to specific kinds of problems. They also deal exclusively with small computers that are available now for ordinary technical organizations. Probably the major reason for extended use of automatic computers a t present is their capability for saving manpower. From a long-range point of view there are even more significant applications and advantages in prospect. Symposia and discussions on the applications of computers often are pervaded by the feeling that statements of farreaching significance are being made. Far more is possible than can be clearly outlined today. Both the computers themselves and the methods of application are so new that often a problem that is apparently insoluble with automatic computers in October will be solved relatively easily by December. Among the potential advances are those stemming from a strengthening of mathematics as an aid in solving technical problems. There are many instances where the mathematical solution to a problem is of limited value because differential equations are encountered that are insoluble. In other cases, an impractically large amount of labor is required for a solution, or oversimplification is carried out in order to obtain a solution. Some of the papers of the present symposium show how automatic computers serve to reduce or eliminate such difficulties.
One of the marked advantages of automatic computers is that they frequently make possible a multiplicity of numerical solutions for a series of different values of the variables or parameters, a t a reasonable cost in time and money. A considerable number of numerical solutions is often possible with little more time and trouble than a single solution. The result is a much better understanding of the interrelations of variables and end results. Elimination of the need for simplifying assumptions in theoretical calculations and numerical predictions also leads to better understanding of process interrelations, and occasionally to discovery of entirely new effects or clarification of inconsistencies. A relatively untouched portion of the computer field in chemical engineering and chemistry is the joining of computers and control instruments. Almost unlimited development seems possible here. Every organization with responsibility for either extended numerical computations or solution of theoretical problems is a probable point for profitable use of automatic computers. I t is hoped that the symposium papers will lead to better understanding of the many potential applications of automatic computer devices. ARTHUR ROSE
