16 president's address — SECTION A. 



As lias been already mentioned, in recent years the ablest men 

 among the younger Cambridge graduates have turned, oftener than 

 before, to Pure Mathematics. For this there may be various reasons, 

 but the decline in Applied Mathematics at Cambridge is, I believe, due 

 in part to the divorce between Mathematics and Experimental 

 Physics at that place. 



" Although the mathematician," says Berry, " has given about 

 half of his time to Applied Mathematics, he need have, and in fact 

 frequently has had, no knowledge of Experimental Physics. Normally, 

 he goes to no experimental lectures, he does no work in a laboratory, 

 and the experimental facts which he learns in his mathematical text- 

 books are usually of the simplest char.icter, reduced to an abstract 

 and almost conventional form, suitable for the direct application of 

 mathematical analysis. A high wrangler may be able to solve 

 elaborate problems in spherical trigonometry or optics without having 

 seen a telescope or handled a lens ; he may be able to calculate the 

 potential due to the most curious distributions of electricity, without 

 the least idea of the mechanism of an electric bell or tram. Physics 

 learnt in this way is naturally mosfc unreal, and the mathematician 

 who wishes afterwards to devote himself to Physics is at first at a great 

 disadvantage, not only by want of familiarity with physical apparatus 

 and physical data, but by a lack of ' physical instinct,' which enables 

 the trained physicist to judge what elements are important, or what 

 unimportant, in any particular investigation." 



In the earlier days of Experimental Physics this state of affairs did 

 not exist, at any rate, to the same extent. The subject was less 

 specialized, and it was comparatively easy for any mathematician 

 who so desired to obtain in a short time a practical acquaintance with 

 tiio experimental side of the subjects which interested him. Nowadays 

 this is not the case. But with the development of Experimental 

 Physics and the change in the content of what used to be called 

 Natural Philosophy, it is just as imperative that Experimental Physics 

 should enter into the training of the mathematician, as that Mat] e- 

 inatics should be part of the course followed by the physicist. 



In Australia, I think, we have passed from the Cambridge tradition 

 in this respect, and our Honours graduates in Mathematics will very 

 seldom be found to have completed their course without one year's — 

 and in many cases two years' — practical and theoretical study of 

 Physics. In this we follow the example of Germany and France. 

 The German Ph.D. who takes Mathematics as his chief subject, will 

 usually combine with it Physics and Chemistry as his minor subjects. 

 The French mathematician has, I believe, a similar wide curriculum. 

 Poincare certainly had no leaning towards experimental work, and 

 some pure mathematicians have been known to regret that the official 

 work which fell to him was Mathematical Physics and Astronomy ; 

 for they felt that in him the ideal pure mathematical mind had its 



