596 
NATURE 
[JANUARY 22, I914 
vapour, and a cyclic process was traced. The water 
vapour attacked the heated filament, producing a vola- 
tile oxide of tungsten and atomic hydrogen; the 
oxide which became deposited on the bulb was again 
reduced by the hydrogen, leaving metallic tungsten 
and forming water vapour, which again attacked the 
filament. Even when practically every trace of water 
vapour was removed, however, a certain blackening 
of the bulb still occurred, and this was eventually 
found to be occasioned by evaporation of the metal. 
To overcome this, nitrogen or some other inert gas 
is introduced into the bulb at about atmospheric pres- 
sure, and this is one of the features of the new lamp. 
This, however, introduced another effect. The fila- 
ment is more rapidly cooled by the convection currents 
induced in the gas, and in consequence more energy 
is required to maintain the temperature. With’ fila- 
ments of large diameter this is of less relative import- 
ance, but with filaments of the usual size the loss was 
found actually to reduce the efficiency in spite of the 
higher temperature, as the small filaments are cooled 
relatively more rapidly by the convection currents. As 
a result the high-temperature half-watt lamps are only 
made in large sizes—from 600 c.p. upwards—and in 
order to diminish this cooling effect the filaments are 
constructed in the form of a helix of very small pitch. 
Last week’s issue (January 15) of Electrical Engineer- 
ing ‘s devoted largely to the new lamp, and the 
opinions of leading central station engineers in 
various parts of the country upon it are quoted. 
THE ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOL 
SCIENCE MASTERS. 
‘T° HE annual meeting of the Association of Public 
School Science Masters was held at the Imperial 
College of Science and Technology on January 13-14. 
The president, Prof. H. B. Baker, F.R.S., in his 
address, extracts from which are given separately in 
this issue, regretted that so few science masters 
were engaged in research, and suggested that the 
interest of boys would be stimulated by the thought 
that such work was being carried out in the laboratory 
attached to their own school. Mr. C. E. Ashford 
(Dartmouth), in seconding a vote of thanks, disagreed 
with this view, and, speaking as a headmaster, main- 
tained that it was of greater importance for a school- 
master to spend his spare time in the playing fields 
getting to know his boys than it was for him to be 
undertaking research in the laboratory. 
On the afternoon of the first day an interesting 
demonstration of the application of the gyroscope to 
mono-rail traction was given by his Excellency 
Monsieur Pierre Schilowsky, who exhibited a model of 
a new and improved form of the appliance he has 
recently invented. Mr. H. O. Hale (Oundle) read a 
paper upon agricultural experiments in public schools ; 
he urged that agricultural research was well within 
the capacity of the average boy, and was more real 
than most of the ‘‘mock research”? carried out in the 
chemical laboratories. The idea is excellent, and many 
of the results obtained were of considerable interest ; 
it was, however, rather disappointing to find during 
the course of the subsequent discussion that much of 
the work, and even of the cbservations, were made 
for, instead of by, the boys themselves : the impression 
left being that, although the ‘‘experiments”’ afforded 
the foundation of a useful future hobby, they did 
not, under the conditions which prevail at present, 
provide a basis for a scientific education. 
Wednesday morning was occupied by a discussion 
upon the ‘Present Condition of Science Teaching in 
Public Schools,’ which was opened by Dr. 
E. H. Tripp (Bedford) and Mr. J.. R. Eccles 
NO. 2308, VOL. 92] 
(Holt), Dr. Tripp deplored that the pamphlet 
published by the Board of Education in 1906 
referred to a few only of the public schools, 
and that its aim was to state faets rather than to make 
suggestions; he urged the need of a fresh report 
which should not only state the conditions under which 
science was taught in all schools represented by the 
Headmasters’ Conference, but should contain expres- 
sions of opinion from external authorities, e.g. univer- 
sity teachers and employers of ex-public school boys 
engaged in scientific occupations. [1e maintained that 
the chief drawbacks to progress in science teaching 
were (a) the undue preponderance of literary head- 
masters; (b) the conservative influence of the older 
universities ; and (c) the evils of the present examina- 
tion system. The address was chieflv of a destructive 
nature, and the subsequent discussion, although well 
maintained, was less fruitful in producing constructive 
proposals than in pointing out the defects of the exist- 
ing system. 
The discussion opened by Mr. D. Rintoul (Clifton) 
upon the ‘Place of Acoustics in a School Course of 
Physics,’ fell rather flat, owing, probably, to the 
uranimity of the members in considering that, whilst 
acoustics afforded a valuable introduction to the Study 
of the wave theory, the difficulty in devising suitable 
laboratory exercises made it educationally the least 
valuable branch of physics. The most useful sugges- 
tion was that made by Mr. G. F. Daniell, that the 
determination of the velocity of sound in various gases 
might be introduced into the ordinary worl: of the 
chemical laboratory; he urged that if this were done 
something would have been accomplished towards 
breaking down the watertight compartment which too 
often separated chemistry from physics. 
Mr. H. A. Wootton (Westminster) read a paper upon 
the ‘‘ Relative Educational Value of Physics, Chem- 
istry, and Biology,” maintaining that chemistry, when 
properly taught, was the most useful subject. During 
the discussion which followed the paper it was pointed 
out that it was impossible to teach chemistry without 
also giving considerable instruction in physics, and 
several speakers urged that organic chemistry should 
be commenced at an earlier age than is at present the 
practice. 
At the business meeting, Sir William Osler, F.R.S., 
Regius professor of medicine at Oxford, was elected 
president of the association for 1915. 
SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC. SCHOUGES 
NE of the chief difficulties which besets a science 
master is that few of his colleagues will have 
sympathy with his work. There are some, but I am 
afraid not very many, classical scholars who have 
some knowledge of studies which are so different 
tility on their part to science subjects, and since the 
first years of a boy’s life are usually under the charge 
of a classical master, there is often instilled into his 
mind a contempt for the subjects which may be useful 
to him in his after life. oo: 
In most schools which I know, there is a system of 
selection of the boys by which those of the best ability 
are induced to continue on the classical side. It is, 
with comparatively few exceptions, only the weaker 
boys, or those whose ability has escaped notice, who 
are allowed to make science their chief study. But, 
in spite of this fact, which is known to most school- 
masters, how often is it triumphantly declared that a 
boy who has been educated on the classical side of a 
school is superior to one brought up on the science 
side? I wish, for just one year, that the science 
1 From the presidential address delivered to the As#ociation of Public 
| School Science Masters on January 13 by Prof. H. B. Baker, F.R S. 
from their own, but, too often, there is actual hos- _. 
