MIRACLES OF SCIENCE 



was sent out to 1000 eminent men in Europe ana 

 America, including members of the French Academy 

 of Science, the Royal Society of London, the great 

 German Universities, the American Academy of 

 Science, and various famous men of science in private 

 life. The request was made that each would mark 

 off on the list of 56 subjects the seven that seemed 

 to him to represent the most wonderful modern 

 achievements. It is reported that about 700 of the 

 scientists responded. The result of their balloting 

 is not definitive, of course, but it has obvious interest. 

 It presents seven modern wonders in the following 

 order: (1) the wireless telegraph; (2) the telephone; 

 (3) the aeroplane; (4) radium; (5) antiseptics and 

 antitoxins; (6) spectrum analysis; (7) the X-Ray. 

 The three next most popular "wonders," making up 

 a total list of ten, were in succession, (8) the Panama 

 Canal, (9) anaesthesia, and (10) synthetic chem- 

 istry. The last named of these may fairly be con- 

 sidered too vague and general a subject to be rightly 

 listed with the other specific achievements. 



Of the seven chief "wonders," all but one are en- 

 tirely famiHar to the general public as to their main 

 developments. The exception is spectrum analysis, 

 which is less familiar partly, perhaps, for the rather 

 paradoxical reason that it has been longest in evi- 

 dence. The first efforts at spectrum analysis were 

 made about the middle of the nineteenth century, 

 and the spectroscope was applied to the analysis of 

 the composition of stars about fifty years ago. The 

 perfected instrument, however, is of much more re- 

 cent development, and its feat of measuring the flight 



324 



