VOL. 8, NO. 3
ABSTRACTS
579
American Contribution to Royal Institution. See page 598. Jubilee of Society of Chemical Industry. See page 599. President of American Institute of Chemists Honored. See page 599. Dr. LaMer to Visit Stanford University. See page 600. Summer Courses in Chemical Microscopy at Cornell University. See page 600. Sigma Xi Chapter a t the University of Pittsburgh. See page BOO. Meeting of New York Alumni of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. See page 600. DeathafRiehardB. Moore,Isolatorof RadiumframAmeriean Ores. SCPpage 601. Dr. Williams Joins Staff of Battelle Memorial Institute. See page 602 Department Changes at Georgetown College. See page 602. Fraternity Award to Student at University of Akron. See page 602. GENERAL Science and Modern Industry. WM. J. POPE. CIzem. S? I n d . , 49, 966-70 (Nov. 14, 1930).-"Many thousands of years since, a t a time prehistorically distant, man existed on this planet as a creature practically indistinguishable, physically and mentally, from his descendants of today." The languages of ancient man were probahly more expressive and flexible than any modern tongue, and the delicacy and perfection of the great literature of the past has never been surpassed in recent times. The work of the goldsmith and the sculptor of five thousand years ago defies modern competition. "It may, indeed, be asserted that in many of the arts,in literature, and perhaps also in sucn abstract subjects as moral philosophy, no progress has been made for many centuries past; no novel conception has been introduced, and the only change consists in the representation of the age-old material in a form which meets the taste of the current period." These branches of knowledge have long been developed practically t o the limits of what is intellectually possible, a great advance can take place only with the exercise of some previously unsuspected faculty of human intelligence. "That faculty finds expression in the study of the natural sciences." Natural science is concerned with the collection and correlation of precise observations of fact; modern industry deals with the application of exact knowledge t o production. E. R. W.
Girls Equal Boys in Mechanical Ability. The ability of children t o succeed in vocational and trade school courses is independent of their ability in the more scholastic subjects. Children lacking in intelligence may be superior in mechanical ability. And, despite tradition, girls equal boys in this aptitude. These are among the interesting facts indicated by tests recently devised a t the University of Minnesota under the direction of Professors Donald G. Paterson and Richard M. Elliott. The tests were used to measure mechanical ability in a group of junior high-school pupils. I t has been proposed that the tests be used t o aid immigrants coming to the United States to find the work for which they are best fitted.-Science Sewice New Fumigant for Grain Eliminates Fire Hazard. Development of a new method of fumigating grain in storage without incurring a fire hazard is an outstanding achievement of government scientists during the past year, Dr. C. L. Marlatt, chief of the Bureau of Entomology of the Department of Agriculture, reveals in his annual report. The new fumigant is a mixture of solid carbon dioxide or "dry ice" and ethylene oxide. Tests by commercial handlers of grains have proved the value of the method, which, due to its non-inflammability, is economical and superior to the more familiar carbon disulfide treatment of grain.-Science Service Cosmic Rays Explain Reported Superradiation. Reports from Vienna crediting Prof. V. F. Hess of the University of Graz with discovery of highly penetrating radiation ten times more powerful than the strongest radium rays are believed to refer t o the cosmic rays which have been studied by Dr. R. A. Millikan, American physicist, and other scientists here and abroad for several years. Cosmic radiation has intensities about ten times that of radium rays. I t is probable that Prof. Hess was describing research upon these rays.-Sc ence Service
