EK 12, 



f 9 I<8 



.v./y ( re 



hi basis of a i onsi. hich ha 



attaint 'I its present dimensions as th( res 



tinuous research and enterprise. No field 



ol investigation iromise ol useful dis- 



coveries than thai of high emperatures, • vitreous 



be taken as an example "f what mighl be 

 in man) directions if systematic worl 

 out 

 I >i \\ . 1 1 1 ■ i Rosenhain, in 1 1 i — lecture al King's 

 < . ill. u' . inyicl ill. nrril Imi serious attention In 

 aluminium and its alloys. Even now, foi aircraft and 

 other military purposes, this subject has the import- 

 .. "key" industry; but considerable develop 

 in tin widet inilusiii.il field may be expected. 

 Dr. Rosenhain claims that, so fai as scientifii re- 

 in (I. w . hold a vet j high plai i in 

 regard to light alloys. What is needed now is indus- 

 enterprise which will give commercial applica- 

 tion i" the results obtained. I lases were mentioned 

 ol structural design where the greater efficiency of 

 tin lightei material would make it easy, or, at least, 

 possible, i" carrj out work which could not be con- 

 templated with ordinary steel. Even where there is 

 nu approach to a limiting span, there are mam cases 

 when tin- use of a lighter metal would effect very 

 it economy. A direction in which the use of strong 

 and light materials is of ven great importance is in 

 tin construction of objects which have to be started 

 and 9topped. The greatest expenditure of power in 

 mam cases occurs in this process of "-tailing and 

 iwing to the fact that energy has to be put 

 into the moving objects while the) are being set in 

 motion, and has to be absorbed again and usually 

 wasted when they have to bi stopped. The recipro- 

 cating parts of machim mples erf that kind, 

 and the importance "f making these as ligbt as pos- 

 sible has been fully recognised recently. Tube and 

 electi i. railways generally furnish other impressive 

 To start an electric train and to bring 

 1 that rapid acceleration which is the most valu- 

 able feature ol electric railways, an i normous expendi- 

 ture of power is necessary. In one actual case the 

 starting current Foi a train is as high as 3000 am- 

 olts. As this same amount of powei 

 has to be absorbed when a train is stopped, it is 



I a k.n up b) the brakes and affects cost ol running 



bv heav) wear of rails and tyres. The powei re- 

 quired for these operations is simpl) proportional to 

 ih. w.ighl of the train. Dr. Rosenhain suggested 

 that if tht -"'I parts of the train, the usder-frames 

 of thi carriages, and much of the electric locomo- 

 tives w.re constructed of light alloy, a ver) consider- 

 abli saving of weight would result. 



Th. main reason whj light .dims have not ci 



into much wider use is probabl) due 1,1 (heir cost, 

 which is still very high as compared with that of 

 . while there are ak'. certain technical difficulties. 

 Svstet ii 1 'si .a eh, howe\ er, ha - now goni 

 enough in 1 leat the ground and to place aluminium 

 -11 111 e and si hi nil ha si,. With regard tu cost , 



although aluminium alloys cannoi as vet be regarded 

 -nip. tine; with steel. Dr. Rosenhain does not 

 l.eti hi difference will persist. He looks for- 



ward : " a cheapening in th< cost of aluminium by the 

 developm. nomical means ol separating the 



aluminium, which is present in considerable propor- 

 tions in all clays and in main rocks, also in tin 



exploitation and method of utilisation of water-powei 



for this purpose. There lies in ibis direction a great 

 field for future progress provided that the requisit. 

 1 and industrial enterprise are applii d 

 to it. 



Mr. C. H. Wordingham indicated main of the 



fields in which there was scop, for electrical en- 

 NO. -.550. VOL. I02 1 



neei ing. A ne • 1 dinat j application is to 



the propulsion oi ban!- cruisers, while a 



most importani field ha opened up in connec- 



tion with salvage work in respect of an electri 

 motor driving a pump which will work wholly im- 

 mersed in the sea. Tin 51 di velopments 



only take place, however, b) cheap SUppl) of 



power, and Mr. Wordingham 01 -.heme foi 



the establishmi ni ol lat gi 01 3U] p stations. 



\mong the important industries 1 in this 



country which are dependent upon the cl 

 of power, Mr. Wordingham mentioned carbons for 

 searchlights and other arc lamps, magni in- 



descenl lamps, and insulating materials. Oni 

 important class of insulating materials almost wholl) 

 imported from abroad is that known under the generic 



term of composite materials. These material 

 usually mouldable, and are used largely for a great 

 variety of apparatus. One particular class of vul- 

 canised material is a vital part of the magneto used 

 in connection with the ignition and internal-combus- 

 tion engines. 



A curious fact mentioned by Mr. D. T. Chadwick 

 in a paper on the industrial development of India 

 during the war is that, in spite of a forest area of 

 more than 250,000 square miles, imports of timber 

 into India exceed exports b) some 250,000 tons a year. 

 These imports consist largely of teak, hard woods, 

 and pine. In some cases wpod is imported from 

 Siam when exactly the same was available locally 

 and at a lower price. The development which has 

 taken place since the war is due to tin realisation of 

 the vital necessity of utilising local resources, and bv 

 the adoption of scientific methods in this process. 

 Inquiries are being carried out in co-operation with 

 business houses in directions in which forest resources 

 an essential to industries. In regard to sandalwood 

 oil, a trade has been established which was formerly 

 centred in Germany; before the war sandalwood to 

 the value of more than 100,000/. was exported an- 

 nually. The factories 1 stablished in Mysore since the 

 war are now capable of producing nearly 20,000?. 

 worth of oil per month of tin highest quality, well 

 suited to medicinal purposes. The manufacture of 

 the alloys of iron has been commenced, and, in addi- 

 tion, electric furnaces have been erected at Sakchi, 

 primarily for the manufacture of steel for springs, 

 tools, and other purposes, but it is expected that these 

 furnaces will be devoted to the production of ferro- 

 chrome, ferro-tungsten, and other ferro-alloys. The 

 ]inssiliilit\ of developing local resou aluminium, 



calcium carbide, cyanide, etc., turns on the supplv oi 

 cheap electric power from the w, erfalls ..1 India. 



Many chemical problems associated with industry 

 in India await solution, and one of the activities of 

 the Munitions Board has been in mobilise the chemists 

 and allocate to them specific problems for solution. 

 Hitherto, except in a few cases, chemists in India 

 have been mosth empli ed in Che educational depart- 

 ments scattered throughout the colleges, and have not 

 been in touch with industrial problems. This know- 

 ledge and talent is now being utilised. A few of the 



1 - i.' allotted I" different chemists may 



be cited as indicative of the class of work under- 

 taken : these an colloidal medicinal preparations, the 

 causes which render bleaching powder unstable in 

 hot climates, the proportion of suitable ehromati b; 

 extraction from chrome-iron ore without the usi ol 

 caustic soda or sodium carbonate, the refinl 

 copper, the refining and preparation of - 

 0! tin essential oils and varnishes, etc. One of the 

 • .ds of the immediate futun is for more 

 organised practical scientific research into the indus- 

 trial resources of India, alike in for. stry, mineralogy, 



