November i8, 1920] 



NATURE 



?8i 



The accompanying illustrations give some idea 

 of the comparative results obtained with living 

 organisms. Figs. 2 and 4 arc illuminated by a 

 concentric dark-ground illuminator, the most 

 s.-itisfaitory method available for observing 



living organisms by ordinary light, and Figs. 3 

 and 5 by a solid cone of ultra-violet light. 

 The apparatus as figured is now in operation in 

 the microscopical department at the National In- 

 stitule for Medical Research. 



II.- 



Industrial Research Associations. 

 -British Non-Ferrous Metai.s Rese.arch .Xssociatiox. 

 Bv Ernest A. S.mith. 



"T^ffE Research .Association for the non-ferrous 

 ■*■ metals industry had its inception during the 

 recent conflict, when manufacturers, under the 

 stern necessity of war demands, began to realise 

 the need for fuller knowledge respecting the metals 

 and alloys with which they had to deal. I're- 

 liminary meetings were held at the end of 191 8 

 and during 1919, the attendance being well repre- 

 sentative of the non-ferrous metals and allied 

 industries, and included smelters, founders, metal 

 rollers, tube manufacturers, wire drawers, and 

 makers of every class of industrial alloys, including 

 the precious metals. After some unforeseen delay 

 the association was formally incorporated in 

 January, 1920. with headquarters in Birmingham, 

 the centre of the British non-ferrous metals 

 industry. 



The association seeks the membership not onlv 

 of firms engaged solely in the non-ferrous metal« 

 industries, but also of firms which are substanti:il 

 users or workers of non-ferrous metals and alien s, 

 such as engineers, shipbuilders, railway companies, 

 etc. It will be obvious that if there is to be effec- 

 tive development of research in this important 

 national industry, the whole-hearted co-operation 

 of every manufacturer and user of non-ferrous 

 metals is essential. 



Whilst the main object of the association is to 

 carry on research, it also seeks to disseminate 

 technical and scientific information relative to the 

 production, treatment, manufacture, and uses of 

 the non-ferrous metals and alloys. To this end a 

 bureau of information has been started, thus sup- 

 plying a long-felt need experienced by many manu- 

 facturers in this industry. Attempts are being 

 made to make the bureau as comprehensive as 

 possible, and already good work has been done. 



With regard to the scientific aspects of the re- 

 search work to be undertaken, no definite pro- 

 gramme of research has yet been arranged, owing 

 to the comparatively recent date of incorporation, 

 but the council is dealing fully with the matter in 

 the neat future. Technical committees, represen- 

 tative of the various sections of the non-ferrous 

 industry, have been appointed to review the field 

 of research in each particular sphere and to report 

 to a full council in due course. 



It may be well, however, to indicate briefly in 

 which directions intensive research appears to be 

 most necessary for the future development of the 

 industry. It is now generally recognised that, im- 

 portant and necessary as improvements in smelting 

 NO. 2664, VOL. 106] 



and other processes of metal production un- 

 doubtedly are, the most marked technical advance 

 ' in the immediate future may be expected from a 

 more complete study of the properties of metals 

 and alloys, as influenced by thermal or mechanical 

 I treatment, and by the presence of foreign matter. 

 This being so, the first duty of the association will 

 be to initiate researches into the fundamental prin 

 , ciples which underlie the working of metals and 

 alloys. Whilst it is true that the past few decades 

 have seen considerable progress in non-ferrous 

 metallurgical research, a careful review of this 

 work reveals the fact that existing knowledge re- 

 specting non-ferrous metals and alloys is far less 

 exact and complete than that which is available in 

 the case of iron and steel. This lack of more 

 extensive knowledge was brought home to manu- 

 facturers by the claims made upon the industry 

 during the war period, and has helped to em- 

 phasise the importance of systematic research to 

 provide that new knowledge without which an 

 industry cannot make progress. 



More exact data are required in connection with 

 the physical constants of most of the industrial 

 metals, and the vexed problem of the cause of 

 hardening under mechanical treatment still requires 

 elucidation ; also problems concerning the quality 

 of hardness and methods of testing such. 



.Apart from the conduct of research into the con- 

 stitution and properties of met:ds and allovs, the 

 most pressing problems that await solution appear 

 to be those connected with the melting, casting, 

 and working of metals in works practice. Each 

 stage of manufacture, from the raw material to the 

 finished product, presents its own individual 

 problems. Realising the importance of starting 

 with a sound ingot, the Brass and Copper Tube 

 Association, in co-operation with the Research 

 Department, initialed in igiS a research into the 

 production of sound brass and copper castings, 

 under the direction of Prof. Thos. Turner. This 

 research, which was established in a temporary 

 laboratory in Birmingham, has now been handed 

 over to the British Non-F"errous Metals Research 

 Association. As the result of two years' work, 

 results of practical value have been obtained, and 

 a report will be issued to members shortly. Atten- 

 tion has been directed mainly to the important 

 question of the inclusion of gases, a subject which 

 h.is been brought more into prominence since the 

 introduction of gas and oil melting furnaces. 

 The laboratory experiments have been repeated 



