September 30, 1915J 



NATURE 



^^7 



Research. 

 If there is one thing more than another which the 

 British Association can be congratulated upon, it is 

 the work which it has done in the matter of research, 

 and it is very interesting to go bade to tlie earhest 

 days, more than eighty years ago, and to see how, in 

 very different days from the present, research in all 

 branches of science was encouraged, and what a 

 jjotent factor the various meetings have been, not only 

 in actually fostering the work of research itself, but in 

 Dbtaining the recognition which is accorded it to-day. 

 Amongst other things, the National Physical Labora- 

 tory stands largely to its credit, as having been first 

 powerfully advocated at one of its meetings. This 

 section has not been behind the others, and at the 

 present moment there are three research committees, 

 viz., those on gaseous explosions, compound stress, 

 and impact. The work of the first of these is so 

 valuable that its results have been published all over 

 the world. 



To-day there is a more general recognition of the 

 importance of research, and the recent institution by 

 the Government of a Committee for the organisation 



nd development of scientific and industrial research 



- the latest indication that the nation is beginning 



I realise its importance. 



So far from all this making our work less neces- 

 sary, there is all the more reason why we should have 

 a permanent Committee of Research, because one of 

 the intentions of the new Government Committee is 

 to utilise the most effective institutions and investi- 

 gators available, and the statements is made that one of 

 the objects of the Government Research Committee is to 

 select and co-ordinate rather than originate, and that 

 one of its chief functions will be the prevention of over- 

 lapping between institutions and individuals engaged 

 in research. The Government Committee in question 

 is only dealing with the organisation in England, 

 Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Now, the great advan- 

 tage possessed by this association is the fact that it 

 includes not only Great Britain and Ireland, but all 

 the Colonies, and indeed one of the three researches 

 above-mentioned is being carried out in Australia. 

 Another research of the association is being carried 

 out in Cyprus ; and work is also being done in such 

 places as Jamaica and Egypt. It is more important 

 tlierefore than ever that the British Association work 

 in research should go on, as, since its members are 

 drawn from all parts of the British Empire, its influ- 

 ence should be correspondingly jjreat. 



(The president then dealt with various aspects of 

 research specially relating to engineering.) 



Standardisation and the Metric and Decimal System. 

 One of the favourite gibes at this country is our 

 supposed utter want of system in regard to our 

 standards and systems of measurement generally. 

 With regard, for instance, to the decimal system, 

 it is frequently stated that thirty or forty countries 

 have adopted the metric system," while only three 

 retain the inch as a standard. It must be remem- 

 bered, however, that the population and wealth of the 

 three latter are at least equal to, if not greater than, 

 all the others, though this does really not prove any- 

 thing, except the difKculty of the subject, and that 

 there is a great deal to be said for both sides. In 

 the report of the Decimal Association last April, the hope 

 is expressed that one of the changes for the better 

 arising from the war will be a reform of our weights 

 and measures. Noclass of the community would be 

 affected more closely than the engineer, and engineers 

 cannot fail to be interested in the question as to 

 whether the general and immediate adoption of the 

 metric system would or would not be a valuable means 



NO. 2396, VOL. 96] 



of assisting British firms in their competition with 

 Germany and Austria, in countries where that system 

 is in vogue. Although it is very unlikely that a 

 wholesale change is imminent, it is certain that the 

 metric system is gradually spreading, and in the 

 United States and Australia very strong forces are on 

 foot to bring about a change to that system. The 

 British Association has over and over again had the 

 subject before it, and our committee might be of ser- 

 vice in making a report on the present state of the 

 matter. 



One thing is certain : the committee might be of 

 assistance in recommendations which would bring into 

 line all British engineers in duplicating tenders for 

 countries which have the metric system. 



Coming to standardisation, here we have more 

 ground for satisfaction. The Engineering Standards 

 Committee during the last ten years has done a work 

 which is quite equal to that in any other country, 

 of completing standardisation of all important matters 

 in engineering, and, moreover, has secured the recog- 

 nition of these standards in all public contracts. 



There is yet work to be done, however, and one 

 matter of great importance would be to get a universal 

 standard of temperature for instruments of measure- 

 ment other than zero. A temperature, for Instance, 

 of about 62° Fahr. would make steel rods' measures 

 more practically workable than at present. 



In connection with the subject of temperature and 

 standardisation, I recently came across a statement 

 by the general secretary of the International Electro- 

 technical Commission {Journal; January, 1915) that 

 the want of uniformity in the rating and testing of 

 electrical machinery has been a serious evil, and he 

 goes on to say:— "The German standardisation rules, 

 for instance, which, through well-organised and com- 

 bined effort on the part of the German makers, had 

 previous to the war become widely recognised on the 

 continent of Europe as well as in many countries to 

 which British machinery is exported, by permitting a 

 higher temperature rise than is considered good tech- 

 nical practice in Great Britain, certainly have not 

 assisted the British maker in foreign markets." 



Exhibitions and Museums. 



In recent years a large number of commercial ex- 

 hibitions have been held of all branches of machinery, 

 and it is satisfactory to note that one of the features 

 of such exhibitions has been the holding of scientific 

 lectures, and the inclusion of the exhibition of scien- 

 tific instruments and apparatus, and also exhibits 

 showing the relation of scientific experiments to 

 engineering work. 



(Here follows a number of practical suggestions or> 

 this subject.) 



Patents and Patent Laws. . 

 This subject is well worthy of the consideration of 

 the proposed committee, since progress in engineer- 

 ing, certainly on the mechanical and electrical sides, 

 is largely dependent upon invention, which is not 

 likely to be seriously undertaken without adequate 

 protection, not entirely for the inventor, but also for 

 those who really make the invention practical by 

 means of capital and. business support. A great deal 

 of nonsense is talked and written about inventors, as if 

 they were a special class of being, generally mad and 

 always, impossible. Some inventors are both, but the 

 fact -is, most engineers spend their lives seeking new 

 ideas and devising new methods of carrying them out, 

 in short, in inventitig. It is of the greatest import- 

 ance, that every step should be taken to encourage 

 sound .invention and to see that anything of value is 

 secured for this qountry. Of course, eve'rv .invention 



