December 23, 1920] 



NATURE 



539 



Mr. H. C. B. Underdown, president of the latter 

 body, that the daughter association owes its exist- 

 ence. 



The active work of the Research Association of 

 British Motor and Allied Manufacturers began on 

 June 1, 1920, with the appointment of the present 

 writer as technical secretar)-. Since that time 

 considerable progress has been made in organ- 

 ising committees and arriving at a policy by which 

 to guide future work. A bureau of information 

 has also been established from which are issued 

 classified abstracts of most of the important 

 papers dealing with matters relevant to the auto- 

 mobile. There is in many quarters a rooted and 

 well-founded objection to the collection of in- 

 formation in this way; it is often asked : "Where 

 will it end?" The answer to this question is 

 neither easy nor necessary, but the fact remains 

 that already the information bureau has been of 

 great value. The needs of various industries are 

 different, and the organisation of the research 

 association must fit in with its own particular 

 industry. In the case of one textile industry there 

 was little or no scientific foundation on which to 

 build, and thus the first task of its research asso- 

 ciation was to gather information. In the motor 

 industry, on the other hand, there is a wealth of 

 information, but it is widely spread and often 

 hard to come at; as one example out of many we 

 have the transmission of heat across a plate 

 between two moving fluids. This problem has 

 been investigated by many engineers in many 

 countries, generally with reference to the steam 

 lx)iler ; the same principles must govern the 

 radiator and heated induction pipe of the motor- 

 car. The abstracts sent out to the members of 

 the association not only keep their technical and 

 design staffs in touch with new developments at 

 home and abroad, but as they are carefully classi- 

 fied they will in course of time provide a basis on 

 which research work may be founded. Moreover, 

 they will become a work of handy reference. 



Time teaches, and the views here presented arc 

 naturally subject to modification by experience. 

 At present the tasks in front of" the assnrintion 

 may be set out as follows : — 



(i) Collecting, recording, and disscmiiialing to 

 members accurate technical information. 



(2) Consultative and advisory work for 

 members of the association. 



(3) Original research and investigation into 

 iii.itters of importance to the industry of which 

 knowledge is at present unsatisfactory. 



(4) Co-operation with allied industrial and 

 s( icnfific workers. 



(5) Examination of new inventions, and, in 

 promising cases, their experimental development. 



fri) Impartial tests and verdicts. 

 A few words of explanation on these brief head- 

 ings are fitting. 

 The bureau of information has already been 



(lisrusscd. 



Regarding consultative work, it mu.st be clear 

 that a highly trained scientific staff is able to help 

 works engineers and designers in many ways. 

 NO. 2669, vol.. 106] 



There are, in any case, two main advantages to 

 be derived from consultative work in a research 

 association quite apart from the immediate solu- 

 tion of any difficulty ; not only are the obstacles 

 encountered by one firm brought to the notice 

 of other firms in the association, thus showing 

 them what to avoid, but also the scientific staff is 

 kept in touch with the men in the works, thus 

 learning' their needs, their outlook and point of 

 view, and possibly some of the manifold experi- 

 ence which is rarely formulated. 



Co-operation with allied trades is especially 

 necessary in motor-car research, for no other pro- 

 duct, except perhaps that of the shipbuilder, in- 

 volves so many handicrafts and sciences as the 

 automobile. As examples, we have spring- 

 making; lamp manufacturing; electrical apparatus 

 for starting, lighting, and ignition ; rubber tyres ; 

 upholstery ; body building ; and all the general 

 work implied by mechanical engineering. It 

 would clearly be unjust that the Research Associa- 

 tion of British Motor and Allied Manufacturers, 

 an association at present of chassis builders, 

 should, even if it had the necessary resources, 

 embark on such a wide sea of troubles. Thus 

 the title and aims of the association have co- 

 operation in view, and it is pleasant to know that 

 there are now prospects of firms in the allied 

 trades joining the association very shortly. With 

 those allied industries that have already formed 

 research associations close collaboration will be 

 encouraged. 



The examination of new inventions may seem to 

 many a piece of unwisdom, since it may be con- 

 cerned more often with design than with research. 

 On the other hand, it must be admitted that an 

 unbiassed and scientific view is necessary to do 

 justice to the inventor ; nor may we forget the 

 epoch-marking innovations which we owe to non- 

 technical people; the textile industry, for ex- 

 ample, owes much to a barber and to a clergy- 

 man. 



The views of men are the product of their ex- 

 periences, and in the hurry and bustle of practical 

 life notions and prejudices are acquired which 

 time and leisure for reflection would dispel. Or, 

 on the other hand, the natural bias of paternity 

 may lead the designer to retain his devices when 

 better substitutes are available. In such cases a 

 research association can serve a useful purpose in 

 giving an impartial, or at least a different, view. 

 Later, as the organisation develops, it may be 

 that the field of judgment will be extended in 

 order to expose or confirm the various claims of 

 blatant advertisers. In this way the true interests 

 of the-pul)Ii<- '"'1 i>f the automobile industry will 

 be served. 



The objc<.i> -. , ...it above arc probably not the 

 same as those of other research associations, but 

 the needs of various industries arc different; it 

 was sound statesmanship that led the Department 

 of Scientific and Industrial Research to give each 

 industry its freedom in the research movement. 

 In considering the list of objects given above, it 

 must not be assumed that the order adopted is 



