MATHEMATICS AND CHEMISTRY 



By F. P. WORLEY, M.A. 



" The tendency to hide ignorance under the cover of a mathematical formula 

 had already appeared but was not openly advocated ; hence students were still 

 taught to form definite ideas of the processes of nature." — Arthur Schuster, 

 The Progress of Physics, 1875-1908. 



The publication of a new book on Mathematics for Chemists 1 

 may well be regarded as an opportunity for a short discussion 

 of the relation between chemistry and mathematics from the 

 point of view of the many students who nowadays are called 

 upon to use mathematics in the investigation of chemical 

 problems. To the undergraduate, struggling against various 

 unnecessary and unnatural obstacles to obtain a degree, such a 

 book has two uses — he may derive from it sufficient superficial 

 knowledge to satisfy his examiners ; it also may enable him to 

 understand the mathematical part of the works he has to read 

 and master. 



But unfortunately, under our present educational system, the 

 undergraduate is little concerned with the use and application 

 of mathematics as a means of investigating actual problems : 

 not only is he not required to carry out anything in the nature 

 of an original investigation but more often than not he is dis- 

 couraged, if not practically prevented, from so doing. Still, 

 though we are not here concerned with the utility of a book 

 for examination purposes, this being a matter more for writers, 

 publishers and examination coaches, we cannot but remember 

 that such utility is the factor which chiefly determines the 

 demand for a book and can only regret that it is unfortunately 

 achieved very much at the expense of strictly scientific value. 



Chemists, as a rule, know very little mathematics but even 

 when they have received what is considered to be a fair amount 

 of mathematical training they only too frequently find that their 

 knowledge is not sufficient to enable them to deal with the 



1 Higher Mathematics for Chemical Students. By J. Riddick Partington, 

 B.Sc, pp. 272 and 44 diagrams. Methuen & Co., London, 191 1. 5s. 



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