

NATURE 



[June 21, 1917 



the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, 

 and by Dr. Rosenhain in a lecture, delivered at Glas- 

 gow, on "The National Physical Laboratory: its 

 Work and Aims." For the industrial research 

 laboratory the plant, etc., must be so planned that it 

 is possible to carry out the necessary operations on a 

 scale comparable with that required in works, and, 

 moreover, the man who carries through the investiga- 

 tion must be not only acquainted with the latest scien- 

 tific advances in his subject, but must know what is 

 possible in works, and must mould his solution of the 

 problem to harmonise with these possibilities. The 

 undertaking is often more complex than that of 

 , the pure man of science. It is one which needs a 

 special laboratory, a special equipment. 



As examples of such a laboratory, both of which 

 happen to be at works, I may instance the research 

 laboratory of the Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik, in 

 which the commercial production of synthetic indigo 

 was worked out, or the laboratory of the General Elec- 

 tric Co. of America at Schenectady, where in numerous 

 instances the discoveries of modern electrical theory 

 have been turned to practical use. The Coolidge tube, 

 the most powerful source of X-rays which we possess, 

 is one product of this laboratory. Such also are some 

 branches of the Bureau of Standards at Washington, 

 the Materialpriifungsamt^ at Gross-Lichterfelde, near 

 Berlin, and, in some aspects of its work, the National 

 Physical Laboratory and the research institutions for 

 glass, pottery, fuel, etc., which are coming into exist- 

 ence as part of the work of the Department of Scien- 

 tific and Industrial Research. 



Thus, the task of an institution like the National 

 Physical Laboratory differs from that of either a uni- 

 versity or technical college laboratory or a works 

 laboratory. In the first place, it is' not educational ; 

 every member of the staff is, it is true, learning con- 

 tinually, yet he is not there to be taught, but to be 

 asked questions and to find the answers. Its functions 

 are primarily to encourage and initiate the applications 

 of science to the problems of industry. It is, in the words 

 of the Order in Council, an institution for the 

 scientific study of problems affecting particular indus- 

 tries and trades. The staff devote themselves solely 

 to this work ; their whole time and energy are given 

 to it. They have no educational duties ; they are 

 free from the responsibilities of the classroom and the 

 burden of students' exercises. The senior members 

 of the staff joined avowedly with the purpose of apply- 

 ing science to industry ; they are prepared to make it 

 their life-work. The juniors retain their posts for some 

 time ; thus all acquire a store of experience of the 

 highest value, with a unique knowledge of the tech- 

 nical aspects of industrv which it is difficult to gain 

 in any other way. The laboratory has, I trust, 

 acquired the confidence of the technical industrial 

 world, and problems are brought before the staff with 

 the knowledge that they wi'l he handled in a confiden- 

 tial manner by men trained to deal with them. In 

 such an institution it is possible to specialise as to both 

 staff and equipment in a manner which can scarcely be 

 done in a .laboratory attached to an educational insti- 

 tution. The whole staff are engaged in applying 

 sci,ence to industry ; equipment is provided for this pur- 

 pose only. The needs of the student and the educa- 

 tional value of the apparatus have not to be considered. 



I- would not advocate that work such as I have 

 outlined should, as fi rule, find a place in a university 

 laboratory, but a university has its own task in con- 

 nection with these laboratories, which, believe me, are 

 a necessity if science is to be freely applied to industry. 

 The universities and technical schools must provide and 

 train the staff, not in the application of science, but 

 in methods of investigation, in the knowledge of scien- 



NO. 2486, VOL. 99] 



tific truths, in the power of observation, the capacity 

 to interpret the observations they make, and the experi- 

 mental results they obtain, and, above all, in the desire 

 to discover the truth and apply the consequences fear- 

 lessly to their daily work. 



Nor is this all. No doubt the number of men en- 

 gaged in the application of science to industry must 

 increase, but if we are to reap the full advantages 

 science can give, steps must be taken to ensure a 

 wider appreciation of the value of her gifts, the great- 

 ness of her powers. 



Some knowledge of the meaning of ordinary scien- 

 tific terms, of the usual everyday processes of Nature 

 —both chemical and biological — of the cause of the 

 simple natural phenomena, and of the general scope 

 and methods of scientific inquiry should be the posses- 

 sion of each undergraduate before he leaves Cambridge 

 to take up his life-work elsewhere. " It is essential," 

 as Prof. Keeble writes in his contribution to 

 " Science and the Nation," " that our statesmen 

 and administrators, our teachers and our poets, know 

 something of the work and method and beauty of 

 science." But how is this to be secured? Mr. Wells, 

 in a recent review of the volume, is severely critical 

 because the authors have not answered this question ; 

 the criticism is undeserved, it seems to me, because the 

 authors did not set out with this object. " The time 

 seemed propitious," says the editor, Dr. Seward, " for 

 emphasising a particular aspect of the general question 

 of the interdependence of many phases of national 

 prosperity and a just appreciation of the value of pure 

 science." Still, the question needs an answer. We 

 look forward with some eagei-ness to the report of the 

 committee, of which Sir J. J. Thomson is chairman, 

 which is dealing with the place of science in education. 



Meanwhile, it may not be out of place to hazard 

 some few remarks. I will quote again from the presi- 

 dent of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, who, 

 after pointing out that the education of an engineer 

 must be varied to suit the capacities of different minds, 

 writes thus : — 



■"And my complaint. It is against the obstinacy of 

 our two most famous universities in retaining Greek as a 

 compulsory subject in their examinations. This reacts' 

 upon our public schools, and is a serious handicap on 

 those who, intending to deal with the concrete rather 

 than the abstract in their future lives, yet wish to find 

 their levels in the social life and moral discipline of 

 these two universities. The English public-school boy 

 can generally be relied on to face difficulties, lead men, 

 and keep his hands clean in business. Engineering 

 cannot afford to lose him to satisfy those who rule 

 Oxford and Cambridge in this matter." 



To insist on the retention of Greek in the Previous 

 Examination is to close Cambridge to many of those 

 who would profit most by its lessons, who would carry 

 the rich benefits three years' residence here can give 

 to places where at present they never penetrate, and 

 who themselves. In not a few instances, would add to 

 the lustre and the glory of our universitv. 



The study of Greek is not really advanced by its 

 compulsory character. Lord Bryce, in a recent article 

 addressed in the first Instance to a classical audience, 

 writes, after a reference to the verv few who retain 

 a competent knowIede"e of Latin and Greek beyond an 

 early age : — " Let us frartklv admit the facts. Let us 

 recognise that the despotism of a purely grammatical 

 study of the ancient languages needed to be over*, 

 thrown," and he continues : — "What is the chief aim 

 of education? How should the mental training fitted 

 to produce the caoaclties which go to make an educated 

 man begin? First of all bv teaching- him how to; 

 observe and by making him enjoy the power of observa- 

 tion. The attention of the child should from the 



