High
Form
—
Convenient
Triple-Beam Balance
THE
Fast, Accu
ANALYST'S
rat
Operation • 5TAINLESS STEEL • 3 graduated scale levels • Hard, Cobalite Knife Edges • Grooved A g a t e Bearings ' • CAPACITY l l l g .
COLUMN L.T. HALLET, Science Editor
IN
BROWSING
through
the
"News
Report" for November-December, we found a short report of the autumn meeting of the National Academy of Sciences held at Pasadena. Richard P. Feynman, professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology, delivered the public lecture on "The Value of Science." He discussed three points: first, the value of science as a key to knowledge and understanding. The same key can unlock the doors leading to good or evil, which emphasizes the necessity for mankind to look to its own instruction and discipline if the key is to be used for good. He mentioned secondly the personal satisfaction which comes from the thrill of scientific discovery in new fields or adding new knowledge in the old fields because of new concepts together with new instruments and techniques. This personal satisfaction which comes from discovery of the unknown, of course, is a very basic human trait, and is very often misunderstood. By way of illustration, I attended a meeting not long ago in which the speaker, a mountain climber, told of his experience in Alaska climbing new peaks. At the end of the lecture one questioner had the temerity to ask what were the practical results of such exploits. The earnest young man for a moment looked at our questioner quizzically and replied that it was undoubtedly a good question about which he had not thought but supposed there were no practical results except the feeling of doing something that had not been done before, and that we submit is as good a reason as one would require, provided there is someone ready to foot the bills. Luckily, scientific investigators nowadays, at least, can explore the unknown
With extra weight 2 0 1 g.)
No. 4030
SENSITIVITY 0.01 g . or less
4030.
TRIPLE-BEAM BALANCE, High Form.
4031.
AUXILIARY WEIGHT.
Each, $27.50 Each, $1.50
W. M. WELCH SCIENTIFIC COMPANY DIVISION O F W . M . WELCH MANUFACTURING
COMPANY
ESTABLISHED 7880 1515 Sedgwick Street, Dept. A - 1 , Chicago 10, Illinois, U. S. A . Manufacturers of Scientific Instruments and Laboratory Apparatus For further information, circle number 27 A-1 on Readers' Service Card, page 79 A
r
;
Temperatures to 2300 F.
with
HEVI
DUTY
CRUCIBLE FURNACES Designed for
if
Melting Small Quantities of Metals
*
Pyrometer Calibration Heating All Materials Contained in Crucibles
ir
L a b o r a t o r y technicians using Hevi Duty Crucible Furnaces f i n d t h e y g i v e t h e d e p e n d a b l e service d e m a n d e d b y e x a c t i n g research. Improved insulation a n d sturdy, l o n g l i f e h e a t i n g e l e m e n t construction a r e a f e w o f t h e a d vantageous features. Write for Bulletin LAB-1246
HEVI
DUTY
HEAT TREATING FURNACES
TYPE 506 Temperatures to 1850 ° F. Multiple Unit Cru cible Furnace Six sizes available
TYPE HD 1014 Temperatures to 2000 ° F. Square Crucible Furnace. Three sizes available.
ELECTRIC HiE^I§B'UIÎÎY
COMPANY
Ε L Ε C Τ R I C EX C t U S 1V Ε L Y
DRY TYPE TRANSFORMERS — CONSTANT CURRENT
MILWAUKEE
REGULATORS
1, WISCONSIN
For further information, circle number 27 A-2 on Readers' Service Card, page 79 A
VOLUME
2 8 , N O . 2, F E B R U A R Y
1956
27 A
