MODERN CONCEPTS IN PHYSICS — LANQMUIR 241 



In order to find approximately how many chemists are also active 

 as physicists and vice versa. I have selected at random 100 pa<:;es of 

 the fourth edition of American Men of Science (rJ27) which con- 

 tains the names of 13,500 American scientists. Of these, approx- 

 imately 2,700 are classed as chemists and 7G0 as physicists. Of the 

 chemists 87 per cent ai'c members of the American Cliemical Society, 

 while only 2.5 per cent belong also to the American Physical Society. 

 Seventy-seven per cent of the physicists are members of the American 

 Physical Society, while 8.;3 per cent are also members of the Ameri- 

 can Chemical Society. Thus only about 3 per cent of the physicists 

 and chemists of the United States, whose names are given in the 

 American Men of Science, belong to both of the national societies. 

 This leaves far too small a number of men who are ca|)able or are 

 properly prepared to carry on the impoitant work of bringing these 

 two sciences close together. 



To pave the way for the coming revolutionary changes in chemis- 

 try we mu.st be prepared to modify our methods of thinking, prob- 

 ably along lines now so prevalent in physics. But above all we must 

 urge young chemists in the universities and after graduation to be- 

 come thoroughly well trained in mathematics and in modern physics. 



