Information on Scientific Apparatus
A
TTENTIOX of our readers is called t o the existence of the Scientific Apparatus Information Service, a divisional activity of UNESCO. From a practical viewpoint we believe that this service will be of more practical assistance t o analytical chemists in countries other than the United States. Kevertheless, the history and scope of its activities will interest many of our readers. During the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education in London, when many requests were received for information on scientific equipment] the idea of an international noncommercial Scientific Apparatus Information Bureau was conceived. The Science Commission of the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education responded to such requests as best it could and when the conference was liquidated] suggested that UNESCO organize a similar service to help scientists all over the world. The first session of the general conference (Paris 1946) accepted this suggestion and authorized the secretariat to set up a Scientific Apparatus Information Service (SAIS) in 1947. The staff then available was entirely occupied with the urgent task of scientific reconstruction of war-devastated countries. Nevertheless, the second session of the general conference (Mexico City 1947) endorsed the previously approved activities of SAIS and included them in the program for 1945. The scope of this service is deliberately limited t o answering queries concerning scientific and technological equipment for education and research in the pure and applied sciences. It is also being equipped to satisfy the need among scientific workers for information on new materials and equipment developed in recent years. The equipment of SAIS, rudimentary as yet, consists of: 1. Up-to-date catalogs of the principal scientific manufacturers of the world and information on the newest developments in the fields of instruments. 2. Important periodicals dealing with scientificinstruments. 3. Technical journals published by the leading industrial concerns.
4. A card index of scientific instruments with cross references
and related to
i~
World Index of Scientific Manufacturers.
I n order to enhance the efficiency of SAIS and extend the available services of information] assurances of close cooperation were obtained from sixteen representatives of scientific apparatus manufacturers in nine leading countries, a t a specially convened meeting a t UNESCO House in Paris in June 1948. Contacts are being extended to include universities, research associations, and international scientific unions. I n addition to providing technical assistance in operating the Science Credit Scheme for the purchase of equipment for the war-devastated countries, SAIS has been responding during the past year and a half to the queries from UNESCO’s Science Cooperation Offices, science institutions] and individual scientists.
a k ~CHEVI, ~ r R Y ~shortly ~ willAexpand~ its scrvices ~ ~ to ~ readers in disseminating information about scientific apparatus and equipment. For several years Ralph H. Muller’s column on Instrumentation has acquainted readers with the rapid strides being made in the development and use of instruments. We rsill introduce a section on industrial literature and manufacturers’ announcements of new scientific apparatus, instruments] and materials of direct interest t o the analyst. The widespread use of comparable information in both Chemical and Engineering News and Industrial and Engineering Chemistry has demonstrated conclusively the value of such information to our readers. Each such item of information in C.&E.iV. and I.&E.C. is carefully screened by our editorial staff to ensure that what does appear is important and new. A similar policy will he followed in ASALYTICAL CHEMISTRY,
The Analyst’s Role in Increasing Crop Yields
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HE scientific approach to the problem of increasing food yields to feed more adequately a constantly increasing world population is gaining acceptance a t a highly satisfactory rate. Rule of thumb procedures are rapidly disappearing as scientists apply objective methods to provide truly scientific answers to questions which have long baffled those seeking to improve the quality and increase the quantity of foods the world over. Robert M. Salter, chief of the U. S.Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering] speaking a t the fourth annual convention of the Bmerican Plant Food Council a t Bretton Xoods last month, reported that while one improved method of crop production is beneficial, the advantages often pyramid when several good practices are used in the right combination. Recognition of this principle is spreading rapidly in research programs in this and other countries. Continuing] Dr. Salter stated: So far we have no more than scratched the surface with this combined approach to research. We have by no means exhausted the possibilities of still further increasing crop yields as we learn t o combine in optimum degree the various factors of crop production under the diverse environments of soil and climate. We now recognize that past ideas of what constituted adequate facility must now be revised drastically upward if we are to strive for top yield through this combined approach.
The chemical analyst will continue to play a very important and significant role in soil science. Improved analytical methods are providing soil scientists with more accurate analysis of soils. I n every step along the way to better food yields, the analyst is offered a challenging opportunity to extend present knowledge. As in most other fields of human endeavor, the analyst is essential to the successful conclusion of any program of uncovering the secrets of nature and the application of new knowledge t o improving the material wellbeing of man. 76 1
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