58 burgess: science and after- war period 



The question may here be asked, can we not see from previous 

 wars what this war will bring forth, or at least the broad Unes 

 along which progress will be made, in science and in its relation 

 to mankind? But with what previous war shall we compare 

 this? Surely not with the short Franco-German war of 1870 in 

 which but two nations were engaged; if with the world-wide 

 wars of the French revolution and Napoleon, we have a duration 

 of twenty-five years as compared with four; and if any war prior 

 to that epoch is considered, the development of science was 

 hardly in a state to form a basis of comparison. 



Again it may be asked, does war, did this war, stimulate 

 scientific progress? Viewing the wealth of apphcation of science 

 in modern warfare, you will probably unhesitatingly say. Yes, 

 but if you undertake to make a list of fundamental, new scientific 

 principles developed as a war reaction I believe you will be 

 embarrassed to name even a few of them; although there have 

 been, of course, hundreds, nay, thousands, of applications of 

 known scientific principles to new uses. It is still too soon, 

 however, to estimate the scientific advance during the war 

 and as caused by the war and such, even though I were competent, 

 is not my purpose here. It wiU evidently be impossible to 

 treat adequately the subject Science and the after -war period 

 except in a most summary manner and I shall have to limit 

 myself to certain phases in which I have been interested, paying 

 particular attention to the physical sciences and the relation of 

 science to industry. 



SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTION 



What is the effect of the war on scientific production, is not an 

 easy question to answer. Many men have been killed, including 

 a few who are scientific producers and many more young men who 

 might have become distinguished in science; furthermore, not a 

 few scientific centers have been destroyed. Thus viewed, there 

 would appear to be a net loss to science in the world, but at the 

 same time there have been stimulated to greater endeavor a 

 considerable number of men of scientific ability and many new 

 laboratories have been established. I believe that, for the 



