46 



OUTLOOK FOR YOUNG MEN IN PHYSICS 



Henry Crew. 



Mr Chairman and Gentlemen: Sudden and unexpected as 

 this call IS, I feel bound by the courteous manner in which the in- 

 vitation IS extended, to respond. 



The opportunities offered by the science of physics may for 

 convenience, at least, be grouped under the four following heads • 

 (I) Research.~To him who finds his "manifest destiny" in 

 investigation, the recent discoveries of physical science have 

 vastly multiplied the opportunities for new discoveries To il- 

 lustrate: when Hertz in the autumn of 1888 showed u. how to 

 produce electric waves, a tremendous field was opened to re- 

 search. I he various properties of waves of different lengths un- 

 der different conditions all had to be studied. Every year some 

 new domain of this kind is n.ade ready for occupation by the 

 earnest and serious student. 



(2) Applied Physies.-For him who has that practical turn 

 of mmd which characterised Franklin and has yet preserved an 

 interest m pure science (which also characterized Franklin) there 

 IS always a rare opportunity. In the autumn of 1831 Faraday 

 not only discovered the induction of electric currents, but also ac- 

 tually made an electric n.otor and an electric generator about 

 the same time. But it was not until the late sixties that the 

 dynamo became a commercial success. This delay is typical of 

 the mental hysteresis which generally separates discoveries in 

 pliys.cal science from their industrial applications. 



