November iS, 1922] 



NA TURE 



68- 



carrying out the deformation by hammering, two 

 small specimens, each weighing about one gram, were 

 used. The temperature was raised to 900° C. and 

 then lowered in about ten minutes to 695 C. After 

 fifteen minutes the manganese steel rod was carefully 

 placed on one of them, and a smart blow given with a 

 hammer. To neutralise the effect of any slight differ- 

 ence in temperature between the end of the rod and 

 the pieces, the rod was also placed on the other, but 

 no blow was given. The positions of the two pieces 

 were then interchanged. After an interval of ten 

 minutes, the temperature still being 695 C, the above 

 procedure was repeated in varying order about six 

 times, and after a further five minutes the specimens 

 were quenched in water. The deformations produced 

 were comparatively small, not exceeding fo of an inch. 

 Repeated experiments all agreed in showing that the 

 lag at Ar 1 was diminished by this slight deformation. 

 The author shows two photomicrographs. In one of 

 these (the hammered specimen) fully half the austenite 

 areas have been converted into pearlite. In the other 

 (an unhammered piece) only one such area has under- 

 gone a change. 



The same apparatus was used in the deformation 

 by bending experiments. A V-shaped notch, J of an 

 inch deep, was cut in the top of the anvil, and the end 



of the manganese steel rod was shaped like a chisel. 

 The metal used was a mild steel strip -J- in. x ^ c in. 

 x -rV. This was placed across the notch, heated to 

 900 C. and cooled to 695° C. After fifteen minutes 

 the rod was placed upon it so that the end was in line 

 with the notch, and two or three light blows were given 

 with the hammer. In this way the strip was bent to 

 an angle of about 6o°. After a further five minutes 

 at 695° C. the strip was taken out and quenched. 

 This experiment was made repeatedly, always with 

 the same result. At the bend, asslmu n in the author's 

 photomicrograph, pearlite was always present, but in 

 the limbs where the metal had not been distorted, the 

 structure consisted almost entirely of ferrite and 

 martensite. A similar but less pronounced effect 

 was produced when strips were bent while being 

 maintained at a temperature of 700° C. 



The author states in conclusion that although lag was 

 reduced, it was not completely eliminated by the 

 methods of deformation used, since, in a previous 

 investigation with the same steel, globular pearlite 

 was found to grow between 705 and 708 C. when 

 carbide nuclei were present in the austenite. Both 

 hammering and bending tests, however, agree in 

 showing that the lag at Ar 1 can be appreciably 

 diminished through deformation. 



Medical Education. 



THE professional course has grown so full in the 

 •*■ training of a medical student that it has 

 become increasingly difficult to cover the ground 

 and secure qualification in a reasonable time. Some 

 years ago this fact raised in an acute form the position 

 of tlir preliminary examinations in the pure sciences. 

 If these examinations were abolished, or placed 

 outside the professional course, obviously a gain in 

 time would result for abler students. The best 

 account of the matter is to be found in the appendix 

 to the fifth report of the Royal Commission on 

 University Education in London — especially under 

 the evidence of Sir H. Morris, Mr. Flexner, and 

 others. The practice in other countries in regard to 

 the preliminary sciences is also clearly described. 



The new regulations of the General Medical Council 

 in regard to student registration presumably indicate 

 the conclusions of that body on the problem. The 

 preliminary sciences are retained, but two of them 

 are placed outside the professional course ; at the 

 same time the age of student registration is raised to 

 seventeen years. The examinations in chemistrj 

 and physics must be passed before registration but 

 after the examination in general education. Biology 

 may not be taken until after registration. 



The examinations in these preliminary sciences 

 must be conducted or recognised by one of the exist- 

 ing licensing bodies. It remains to be seen what 

 provision the licensing bodies will make for these 

 pre-registration examinations. The Conjoint Board 

 has not yet issued its regulations. Student registra- 

 tion is, of course, at present not legally obligatory, 



but the older licensing bodies, such as the Universities 

 of Oxford and Cambridge, usually conform so far 

 as possible to the requirements of the General 

 Medical Council. It is at present unlikely that either 

 Oxford or Cambridge will alter its current practice. 

 Each will continue to conduct its present preliminary 

 examinations and postpone student registration until 

 after they have been passed. 



These examinations can all of them now be taken 

 under certain conditions before residence is begun. 

 This comparatively recent concession on the part 

 of these universities leaves their candidates practi- 

 cally unaffected by the new General Medical Council 

 regulations. Boys going to these universities will 

 postpone registration until after passing the pre- 

 liminary examinations instead of, as at present, 

 registering when they have passed the general educa- 

 tion examination. It is not unlikely, however, that 

 both Oxford and Cambridge may extend recognition 

 to biology in their own Higher Certificate examina- 

 tions — they will inevitably do so some day. This 

 would prevent a hardship which may occur at 

 present to a boy who can only proceed to the uni- 

 versity if he wins a scholarship. The university 

 scholarships are open up to nineteen years of age. 

 If a boy waits for these and is unsuccessful, he 

 would have obtained his qualification more quickly 

 by leaving school at seventeen years of age ami pro- 

 ceeding straight to a hospital. If he is allowed a 

 certificate for all the preliminary sciences on the 

 Higher Certificate examination, such a boy would 

 lose less time. 



The Chilian 



FR( )M the first accounts which have reached this 

 country, it is evident that one of the world's 

 greatest earthquakes occurred shortly before midnight 

 on November 10-11 off the coast of Chile. As in 

 all such earthquakes, the duration of the shock was 

 considerable — nearly three minutes at Valparaiso and 

 four minutes at Caldera — but it should be remembered 

 that such estimates may include some of the im- 

 mediately succeeding after-shocks. There can be no 

 doubt, however, as to the great extent of the disturbed 



NO. 2768, VOL. I IO] 



Earthquake. 



area. Along the coast, the tiocl was felt from 

 Antofagasta to Valdivia, a distance of 1100 miles. 

 It was felt across the continent at Buenos Ayres, 

 where it was strong enough to stop clocks. As this 

 city is about 900 miles from Coquimbo (which appears 

 to be near the epicentre), the disturbed area must 

 contain more than 2J million quare miles. The 

 shock is also said to have been felt at Hilo, in Hawaii, 

 but, without further and much stronger evidence, 

 the statement may be discredited. The district over 



