NbVEMBER 21, 1' I ^ 



NATURE 



required in times ol peace. If, howi 

 aviation is to take a prominent place in the com- 

 mero ure, an outlet will lound 



for ilir energies ol designers and manufacturers 

 ui aircraft. 



rhere are many indications thai tin- aeroplane 

 will soon become an important factor in inter- 

 national trade, though it is at present impossible 

 to forecast the extern ol such developments. The 

 Times of November 15 reports thai Mr. Holt 

 Thomas intends to institute a pa rvice 



between London and Paris as soon as circum- 

 mit. Machines thai had been designed 

 for bombing work over German territory arc to 

 be used, and it is hoped to make the complete 

 ley in three hours and a half, the actual 

 flying time from aerodrome to aerodrome being" 

 md a half hours. The price ol the tickets 

 will be fifteen guineas per passenger, and the 

 service will be a daily one, weather permitting. 

 Close on this announcement comes the news 

 1 record flight has been made over London 

 by a Handley-Page machine carrying forty pas- 

 's, together with fuel fur a six hours' flight. 

 remarkable achievement, in which tin- 

 previous record number ol passengers has been 

 doubled, should do much to convince the sceptic 

 of the possibility of an effective aeroplane pas- 

 senger service. It appears likely, however, that 

 one of the greatest commercial uses of the aero- 

 plane will be thi ■ international mails, 

 where the increased speed of transit would be a 

 great asset to commercial activities. 



The Times of November 10, which reports the 



above record passenger flight, also gives an 



account of a speech by Lord Weir, made at the 



opening of the exhibition of eneim aircraft at the 



\gricultural Hall. Lord Weir, in referring to 



commercial aviation, expressed his opinion that 



while the possibilities are great, the probabilities 



iot so great. A period ol pioneer work must 



icpected, and he hoped that the State would 



ble to render much assistance to those manu- 



ers whose thoughts wen lurried to the new 



ill nis involved. It is earnestly to be hoped 



that such will be the case, and there seems little 



doubt that if our unique facilities for aeronautical 



riment and research can be applied to the new 



'•ms of commercial aviation, the pioneer 



period will not be a very long one, and results of 



importance will soon be reached. The 



elopment of aerial intercourse between the 



nations should do much to keep them in closer 



touch one with another, and thus aid in the 



world's progress towards the desired goal of 



universal peace. 



NOTES. 



The following is a list of thosi to whom the Roval 



- tlii- year awarded medals. The awards 



of the Royal medals have received the King's ap- 



il The Cople; medal to Prof. II V Lorentz, 



Mem.R.S., fur his distinguished researches in 



hematical physics. The Rumford medal to Prof. 



les F.->l.i\ and Dr. Alfred Perot (jointly) for theii 



rsfio. vol. 102] 



ntributtons to optics. A Royal medal to Pi of. Alfred 

 er, F.R.S., for his distinguished researches on 



: .inoim and \ R, , ,,! medal 



Prof. F. <■. Hopkins, F.R.S., for his res arches in 

 chemical physiology. The Davi medal to Prof. F. S. 

 Kipping, F.R.S., for his studies in the camphoi 

 1 oup and among the organii deri es ol niti 

 md silicon. The I >ai « in medal to Dr. II I I 1 

 for his valuable researches on verti 

 and palaeontology . The Hugh< - | 



Langmuii foi his researches in molecular ph 



Weather information is now agal 



11 in the columns of the newspaper P 

 the Meteorological Office has, from last M61 

 1 sumed the issue of its official forecasts. [1 



iil\ be some time before the circulatioi 

 the various weather reports is in pre-war order. i 

 the action of the Government the issue of much of 

 the ordinary weather information was suspend' 



nd of September, 1914, and from May 1, 1915, 

 the Meteorological Office ceased to issue weather fore- 

 casts; for some time afterwards, so far as current 

 weather is concerned, only the observations of sun- 

 shine, rainfall, and temperature from the health 

 resorts were issued, and these, after a short period. 



also stnppe,!. The action was taken in order that 

 no useful hint should be given to aid Germany's air- 

 raids. During the last few months of the war the 

 censorship of the weather was so severe that no 

 mention of the weather was allowed in the newspaper 

 Press. The Weather Office has contributed informa- 

 tion of the highest value to the Air Service, Navj , 

 and Army throughout the period of the war. There 

 is an opportunity now for much greater usefulness 

 1 ban prior to the war, and information will doubtless 



gerly sought for by the aerial services. If a 

 journey to India is undertaken bv aii craft it would 

 probably be fairly ideal in the summer, the surface 

 winds being favourable, and bv passing over the 

 \rabian Sea use can he made of the area of low 

 barometric pressure situated over the northern portion 

 of India. In the winter, however, the strong 

 southerly surface winds blowing round the high- 

 pressure area over Asia would be embarrassing, and 

 orobablv the upper-air current would prove more 

 favourable. Meteorological problems will have to be 

 grasped by the frying experts, and knowledge gained 

 relative to the upper air must be made public, just 

 as in the past the seaman has acquired knowledge of 

 air and sea currents at the sea surface. 



We sympathise with Lord Sudeley's protest, in a 

 letter to the Times of November 15, against "such a 

 long delay as six months being permitted to elapsi 

 Kefori mir museums are once more at full swing." 

 The sooner the\ resume their full activities of acquisi- 

 tion, investigation, and instruction, the better. It is 

 with elementary and popular education that Lord 

 Sudeley is chieflv concerned, and he rightlv directs 

 : n to the presence of our soldiers 

 from the Dominions and we would add those from 

 the United States, so mam of whom wish to see these 



institutions. Yet if Lord Sudeley thinks 

 1 return ti ditions can be "a matter onlv of 



'■ he is over-sanguine. It is easier to pull 

 'han to build up, and, even with a full staff, th 



ment of the numerous objects that have been 

 removed some to considerable distances with their 

 ordering and labelling, would take months 

 rather than weeks. But the staffs are not complete; 

 mam men will never return; many cannot yet be 

 soared from their military and other national duties. 

 Their work cannot be done 1. 11 w and untrained 

 men, still less bv stopgaps. V ■-. the task of 



