3 1 2 



MATicrkE 



[May 5, 1921 



The Inauguration of the Institute of Physics. 



THE inaugural meeting of the new Institute of 

 Physics was held on Wednesday, April 27, in 

 the rooms of the Institution of Civil Engineers. The 

 creation of a new institute was first suggested about 

 four years ago, and in the interim the scheme has 

 been most carefully deliberated over and developed, 

 and it received the sanction of the Board of Trade in 

 November of last year. The object of the institute 

 is specially to look after the protessional interests of 

 physicists, to set up and require from its members a 

 high standard of professional conduct, and in other 

 ways to forward the development of physics. It is thus 

 intended to play the same part for physics that the 

 Institute of Chemistry and various engineering bodies 

 do for the cognate subjects. Its founders look forward 

 to the foundation of a central building in which the 

 various societies that participate with it can be housed 

 and their libraries assembled so as to become more 

 accessible than at present. It is not likely that this 

 part of the scheme can come to fruition at any early 

 date; the possibility may, however, rapidly develop 

 now that the public has been called in to inaugurate 

 the institute. 



The chair at the meeting was taken by the presi- 

 dent, Sir Richard Glazebrook, who in opening it out- 

 lined the aims of the promoters. He then called upon 

 Sir J. J. Thomson to address the assembly. Sir 

 Joseph, speaking on behalf of those interested in 

 physics, pointed out that the institute had become 

 necessary on account of the increased number of men 

 and women who now earn their livelihood in one 

 capacity or another in connection with physics. This 

 necessity is evidenced by the fact that in the first 

 year of its existence it has secured 300 members out 

 of the 800 or 1000 persons that are available even 

 when school-teachers are counted. This support is 

 sufficient to justify the recognition of physics as an 

 independent profession. The institute is intended to 

 act as a bond of union. Chemistry (a branch of 

 physics) has long been recognised professionally. The 

 need for a similar recognition of physics has become 

 urgent owing to the establishment of numerous re- 

 search institutions, especially in connection with 

 industry. 



Sir Joseph Thomson indicated that the connection 

 of physics with its applications was accidental, 

 although there have been great developments on the 

 material side. His recollection went back to fifty 

 years ago ; the laboratories in existence then were few 

 .and sparsely populated. The Cavendish Laboratory 

 had been decided upon, but had not been started. 

 The estimated cost of it was only 6300L, though this 

 estimate was, in fact, exceeded. It was then a reck- 

 less and a dangerous thing to make physics the busi- 

 ness of one's life, and, in consequence, this course 

 was confined to enthusiasts whose delight in research 

 more than compensated for the deficiencies in their 

 salaries. There were probably fewer than a hundred 

 phvsictsts in all, but the list included such names as 

 Kelvin. Stokes, Maxwell, Crookes, and Osborne 

 Reynolds. Yet work in a laboratory in those days 

 had some advantages. There were fewer students, 

 even though there was less apparatus ; now there 

 are twelve induction coils and twenty students want- 

 ing them. In these circumstances the director of a 

 laboratory has to exercise the functions of a league 

 of nations in the maintenance of peace. At that time 

 also committees were sporadic rather than chronic, as 

 at present. 



The rapid growth of laboratories connected with 



NO. 2688, VOL. 107] 



various industries and with schools and new universi- 

 ties has created a demand for men which exceeds the 

 supply. In Sir Joseph Thomson's opinion, physics 

 now offers to any competent man a livelihood, though 

 there is small hope of its providing him with a 

 fortune. 



There is an increased belief in the use of physics in 

 industry. Sir Joseph Thomson suggested that though 

 it is undoubtedly a good thing to have a physicist in 

 the laboratory, there is a need also for one in the 

 works itself where articles are manufactured in large 

 quantities. This need he illustrated by the case of 

 an article in general use for which the English design 

 is better than the German, and the article itself is 

 superior when it is made in the old-fashioned way 

 by skilled workmen; but when it is manufactured by 

 automatic processes on a large scale (i.e. by mass 

 production) the article is very inferior to the 

 German. 



Sir Joseph Thomson considers that the scarcity of 

 physicists is likely to continue, for the supply is not 

 adequate to the demand. The number of first- and 

 second-class honours men in 19 16 were fewer than five 

 hundred when engineers, chemists, and the higher 

 type of medical men are all included in the estimate. 

 The needs of schools had to be supplied out of this 

 number. It is difficult to see how the insufficiency of 

 eligible men ' is to be rectified. Each man must 

 undergo at least one year's training in research in 

 order to develop his character, to increase his inde- 

 pendence of thought, and to develop his resource, 

 critical power, and enthusiasm — to raise him, in fact, 

 from intellectual adolescence to intellectual manhood. 

 But this means another year at college, involving 

 additional expense that must be faced. This ex- 

 pense is met in part by fellowships and post-graduate 

 studentships, which, however, are insufficient. But 

 lately a Committee of the Department of Scientific 

 and Industrial Research has awarded grants to 

 students in training. Thirty-seven such grants have 

 been awarded by the Committee. 



Research is also expensive for the university ; the 

 present increase in cost is horrible. Research is as 

 much a part of the work of the university as educa- 

 tion. Much more money is now available than for- 

 merly, and we should be grateful to a Government for 

 what it does in thjs direction. 



Sir Joseph Thomson directed attention to the vast 

 increase in the amount of work that is now done. 

 The number of papers that were abstracted in the 

 Beiblatter in 1873 was 400 for the whole world ; in 

 19 13 this was increased to 2700. It may be a question 

 whether pioneer work has increased in the same 

 proportion as routine work, but still it has certainly 

 been accelerated to a very great extent. In examin- 

 ing discoveries the physicist requires, not that truth 

 shall be beauty, but that it shall be in accordance 

 with the laws of Nature. To judge this, a period of 

 suspense is needed ; this period is shortened when 

 the number of laboratories and workers is large. It 

 results that even pioneer work has been helped by the 

 appliances which are now available. 



In conclusion. Sir Joseph Thomson emphasised that, 

 together with all the developments taking place in 

 response to the stimulus of industry, he saw no dis- 

 position to undervalue research undertaken without 

 any thought of industrial applications. Scholarships 

 had been given bv the Committee already mentioned 

 for the most abstract researches in pure mathematics. 

 The intellectual harvest is even a higher reward than 



