PREFACE 



In February, 1919, the editor of the Century New World 

 Series invited Dr. George Ellery Hale to prepare for the series 

 a volume on the war and science. This invitation contained 

 the following suggestions : 



" It is desirable to give, first, a general statement of the ex- 

 tent to which the successful prosecution of the war required 

 the mobilization of the resources of the country; second, the 

 manner in which such resources came to the aid of the Govern- 

 ment; third, the results gained in the fields of research; and, 

 finally, the effect that the war has had and will have on the 

 promotion of scientific research and the application of science 

 to industry in the future. An account, of course, should be 

 given of the organization and work of the National Research 

 Council and the other agencies created by the Government 

 for the handling of scientific phases of the war administration." 



Dr. Hale, feeling that it was impracticable for him to prepare 

 the entire volume, requested the writer to arrange with scientific 

 authorities for the preparation of various chapters and to act 

 as editor of the volume. It was originally planned to have 

 manuscripts prepared by a few individuals, each of whom 

 should be responsible for the military contributions of a cer- 

 tain science or group of sciences. This idea could not be put 

 into effect because of specialization in scientific war service. 

 The final outcome was the splitting of major sections of the 

 book into chapters which deal with the special aspects and 

 contributions of physics, chemistry, geology, and other 

 sciences. 



The volume is not a complete account of the relations of 

 science in America to military activities; instead it presents 

 examples oj the important contributions of several of the 



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