On Both Sides of the Atlantic
place that analysis is taking has led to the appcarmce of a number of analytical experts in industry and, M here it is more surprising and more welcome, in academic laboratories. These experts are analysts first and foremost, and are analysts because they believe in the art of analysis for its own sake and not as the tedious confirmation of a successful synthesis . . .
T H E resurging interest in analytical chemistry in the United States is matched by similar developments in Great Britain. The Chemical Trade Journal and Chemical Engineer reports a very successful display of apparatus used in chemical analysis held a t the Science Museum in South Kensington. Originally the display was planned for the benefit of the trvo hundred analysts attending the Royal Institute of Chemistry (London Section) Summer School in Analytical Chemistry. It was later decided to present this small exhibition in a form suitable for the general public. Considerable ingenuity was shown in the type of displays. for example, a push-button demonstration of the There m..~, principles of radiochemical analysis in which visitors u-ere able t o bring radioactive specimens, in turn, in front of a device for measuring their activity. The principles of microbiological analysis were shown throiigh the use of apparatus well known to analysts. The display was arranged through the cooperation of leading instrument manufacturers, government departments, and the senior staffs in some of London’s technical colleges. According to reports, the exhibition attracted large crowds and aroused considerable interest. The success of this project in London leads us to suggest the possibility of a similar display in Sew York a t the time of the Diamond Jubilee Neeting of the A.C.S. and the meetings of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and the International Congress of Pure and Applied Chemistry in the fall of 1951. Possibly the Scientific Apparatus Makers iissociation might take the leadership in planning such an exhibition with the support of the Division of Analytical Chemistry of the A.C.S. and other groups directly interested in publicizing the work of the analyst. This opportunity should not be lost, and if something really worth while is to be accomplished plans must be made immediately. Chemistry and Industry, the official publication of the Society of Chemical Industry. in an editorial in the Septeniber 2 issue discussing the renaissance of analytical chemistry states: The increased interest in analysis has been encouraged by the development of new physical methods involving the use of spectrographs, polarographs, absorptiometers, and such instruments, and by the new methods of bacteriological assay for antibiotics and vitamins and of radiochemical estimations. One of the most skilled branches of analysis is that of the microanalyst, whose handling of ingenious apparatus and techniques remains a wonder to the uninitiated. It surprised us to hear that in certain colleges all students are taught their routine inorganic qualitative analysis using a micro- or semimicrotechnique, thereby saving both reagents and time. The public analyst has always been of necessity one of the chief upholders of the analytical branch of chemistry, but the new
S. A.M. A.’s Standardization Committee E trust that the renewed interest in standardization indi\]ljcatecl a t the recent mid-year meeting of the Scientific Apparatus Makers Association will result in more practical accomplishments than have been made in the past despite herculean efforts by John Marshall Roberts, former vice president of S.A.1I.A. Under the chairmanship of T. M. Mints, president of E. H. Sargent & Company, the standardization committee will center its attention on manufacturers rather than dealers in an effort to find areas of agreement for the elimination from manufacturers’ catalogs of slow-moving items which plague both manufacturers and dealers. Efforts will also be made to cut down the number of sizes and shapes, in order to alleviate the troublesome stock and inventory problems of dealers. The AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY is cooperating. Khen the complete report of the Mints committee is ready it will be forwarded to U’. D. Collins, who will review the S.A.M.A. recommendations with the Standardization Committee of the Society. Users, dealers, and manufacturers-all should benefit from a realistic evaluation of what can be eliminated from the catalogs of manufacturers and dealers.
Number 3 Is Analytical UMBER 3 in the Advances in Chemistry Series has now made its appearance. “Analytical Methods in the Food Industry” is a collection of the papers presented a t the Symposium on Analytical hlethods in the Food Industry held by the Divisions of Analytical Chemistry and Agricultural and Food Chemistry of the ANERICAN CHEMICALSOCIETY a t the 115th national meeting in San Francisco, ?*larch28 to April 1, 1949. The latest in the series is priced a t $1.50 per copy, and your order with check or money order should be sent to the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY,1155 Sixteenth St., K. IF7,; Washington 6, D. C., attention Special Publications Department. The reception given the AdLiances in Chemistry Series is most gratifying. These monographs are recognized universally as a new and important addition to the permanent literature. A limited number of copies of “Agricultural Control Chemicals” (No. 1, $2.50) and “Chemical Factors in Hypertension” (No. 2, $1.00) are still available.
1229
