November io, 1923] 



NA TURE 



705 



Scientific Activities in Birmingham. 



THE closing, days of October have witnessed two 

 highly interesting and important functions in 

 the educational life of Birmingham. The former of 

 these events was the visit of Sir Robert Hadfield on 

 October 30 to the Metallurgical Society of the Uni- 

 versity of Birmingham to receive the Thomas Turner 

 Gold Medal and to deliver an address on " The History 

 and Progress of Metallurgical Science and its Influence 

 upon Modern Engineering." In presenting the medal 

 the Principal of the University, Mr. C. Grant Robertson, 

 stated that about three years ago a Birmingham manu- 

 facturer, desirous of commemorating the valuable 

 work done by Prof. Turner in metallurgy, generously 

 presented a sum of money to the University to found 

 a Thomas Turner gold medal. The donor stated that 

 it was his express wish that the medal should only be 

 awarded to such persons as had rendered eminent 

 service to metallurgy. In Sir Robert Hadfield they 

 had a man who was not only the head of a large firm 

 of world-wide reputation, but one who was also a 

 fellow of the Royal Society, eminently distinguished 

 by his own metallurgical researches. The authorities 

 were perfectly unanimous in deciding that the first 

 award of the medal should be made to him. Mr. 

 Grant Robertson then handed the medal to Sir Robert, 

 who, after expressing his deep appreciation of the 

 honour conferred upon him, delivered his address. 

 ^Tore than three tons of exhibits were on view, and 

 lie address was illustrated with lantern slides and a 

 .^t-ries of uniqvie cinematograph pictures. One slide 

 was particularly impressive. It showed Sir Robert's 

 own motor car together with a 4^ inch projectile. It 

 was pointed out that the car, when travelling at the 

 rate of 60 miles per hour, possessed exactly the same 

 energy as the small projectile on leaving the gun with 

 a velocity of 11 00 feet per second. The cinemato- 

 graph pictures were likewise highly instructive. They 

 included, by special permission of the Directors of 

 Artillery and Naval Ordnance respectively, pictures 

 of the loading and firing of a 15-inch gun. This type 

 . f gun, which was used largely during the War, weighs 

 q tons, is 57 feet in length, and carries a projectile 

 weighing 1910 lb. At full elevation and with a muzzle 

 \elocity of 2500 foot seconds, the range is 20 miles. 



Sir Robert's address has been printed in extenso, 

 and is issued as a beautifully illustrated monograph 

 which repays careful study. An interesting account 

 is given of modem artillery practice, reference being 

 made to the 18-inch naval gun, the largest yet con- 

 structed, which weighs 150 tons, but is now prohibited 

 as the result of the Washington Conference. Armour- 

 ])iercing projectiles, li tons in weight, were made by 

 Messrs. Hadfield for this gun and could be hurled for 

 a distance of 30 miles. Even at this extreme range 

 they could pierce nearly one foot of ordinary steel 

 armour. Attention is directed to the practical diffi- 

 culty of hardening these projectiles, for a mass of 

 something like 10,000 cubic inches of steel at 900° C. 

 lias to be quenched suddenly in a cold bath. This 

 induces internal strains which may continue for weeks 

 or months, leading to rupture during storage, unless 

 suitable treatment is applied. 



A considerable portion of the address is devoted to 

 lUrmingham itself, and contains a r<isum6 of the lives 

 of its great men, past and present. It is pointed out 

 that our present Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Stanley 

 lialdwin, was once a student in the Metallurgical 

 Department of the old Mason College in Edmund 

 Street, under Prof. Turner. So also was the present 

 Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt. Hon. Neville 

 Chamberlain, who was that evening unanimously 

 elected an honorary member of the University Metal- 



N ). 2819, VOL. I 12] 



lurgical Society. Dr. F. W. Aston, a Nobel Prizeman, 

 is another old student of the College. 



Birmingham is the second city in England, and the 

 fourth city in the Empire, as regards population. In 

 1700 it contained 15,000 people, a number that had 

 swelled in 1921 to 920,000. With these figures before 

 us it is natural to inquire into the cause of the steady 

 growth of the city. But upon doing so we are at once 

 confronted with a difficulty. Most of our large 

 industrial cities have received help from their geo- 

 graphical position. What does not London owe, for 

 example, to the Thames ; Liverpool to the sea ; 

 Manchester to her climate ; Sheffield to her mineral 

 wealth ? But Birmingham has none of these ad- 

 vantages. Situated in the centre of England, one 

 hundred miles from the sea, helped by no large river, 

 supported by no great mineral wealth, it has never- 

 theless more than managed to hold its own. This is 

 the more striking when we recollect that Dudley, with 

 all its ancient prestige and mineral wealth, is still a 

 small neighbour ; whilst Aston, which once was of 

 far greater importance than Birmingham, has now 

 been swallowed up in the extension of this latter city. 

 Why is this ? There have, no doubt, been many 

 contributory causes. Small things ofttimes deter- 

 mine which rivulet, among many, shall ultimately 

 grow into a mighty river. So with cities. In the 

 twelfth century Henry II. granted to Petei: de 

 Bermingham the right to hold a weekly market. This 

 much coveted privilege, though long since obsolete, 

 exerted no small influence on the future of the town, 

 by converting it into an important Midland trading 

 centre. In later years Birmingham became popular 

 for its broad-minded policy of religious toleration, 

 which led many worthy persons to take up residence 

 in the town, thereby strengthening its intellectual life 

 and quickening its industrial vitality. 



It not infrequently happens that those whom 

 Nature has most richly endowed fail to achieve great- 

 ness because their path through life has been too easy» 

 It may well prove that the very lack of natural 

 advantages, so far from being a hindrance, has 

 actually been one of Birmingham's greatest assets, 

 in that it has taught the sons of Birmingham to rely 

 upon themselves. A strong mental calibre has thus 

 been developed together with a spirit of sturdy inde- 

 pendence — attributes that have enabled Birmingham 

 to raise itself to a position of eminence within the 

 Empire. A city that can boast an intimate associa- 

 tion with Watt, Boulton, Murdoch, Priestley, Bright, 

 Chamberlain, and scores of others known to fame, 

 need not fear the future. 



This brings us to the second event of which we 

 write, namely, the opening by Sir Robert Hadfield on 

 October 3 1 of a new research laboratory and lecture 

 room in the Chemistry Department of the Birming- 

 ham Municipal Technical School. The Principal, Dr. 

 W. E. Sumpner, stated that two years ago these 

 rooms were merely attics filled with lumber. They 

 have now been cleared and made habitable by the 

 Education Committee, the equipment being provided 

 out of funds amounting to more than 400/. voluntarily 

 subscribed by local firms. This recognition by manu- 

 facturei:s and others of the value of technical educa- 

 tion and research is a most encouraging sign of the 

 times. The Rt. Hon. the Lord Mayor, Alderman Sir 

 David Davis, presided, and in his introductory remarks 

 pointed out that the rooms could not have been 

 opened under more auspicious conditions. The 

 Hadfield Works in Sheffield, the home of manganese 

 steel, are a striking example of the efficiency attain- 

 able by the co-operation of science and industry, and 



