SCIENCE 



Friday, Maeoh 5, 1919 



CONTENTS 

 American Association for the Advancement of 

 Science : — 



Some Aspects of Physics in War and 

 Peace: PRorEssoE Gordon F. Hull 221 



Board of Surveys and Maps of the Federal 

 Government : WiLLLiM Bowie 233 



The Cinchona Tropical Botanical Station again 

 Available : Professoe Duncan S. Johnson. 235 



Entomology in the United States National Mu- 

 seum 236 



Scientific Events: — 



Manganese in Costa JEica and Panama; The 

 Cambridge Natural Science Club; Fellow- 

 ship of the New Zealand Institute 237 



Scientific Notes and News 239 



University and Educational News 242 



Discussion and Correspondence: — 



Mathematics at the University of Stras- 

 bourg: Professor Edwin Bidwell Wil- 

 son. Professor Pawlow: Professor Fran- 

 cis 6. Benedict. Anopheles quadrimacu- 

 latus and Anopheles punctipennis in Salt 

 Water: De. P. E. Chidester. A Paraffine 

 Buler for drawing Curves: Dr. D. P. Jones. 243 



The Handwriting on the Walls of Universities. 245 



Special Articles: — 



Two Destructive Busts ready to invade 

 the United States: Professor J. C. Arthur. 

 The Fixation of Free Nitrogen by Green 

 Plants: P. B. Wann 246 



The Am,erican Physiological Society: Pro- 

 fessoe Chas. W. Geeene 248 



MSS. intended for publication and books, etc., intended for 

 review should be sent to The Bditor of Science, Garrison-on- 

 Hudson, N. Y. 



SOME ASPECTS OF PHYSICS IN WAR 

 AND PEACEi 



PART I. SOME applications OF PHYSICS TO WAR 

 PROBLEMS 



A YEAR ago in Baltimore we met with peace 

 in prospect. The armistice had been signed. 

 But like a strong runner who had just gotten 

 under way we found it difficult to stop. We 

 continued many of the programs of war. 

 Many of us were still in uniform. Our 

 thoughts were still largely concerned with 

 those problems upon which we had been en- 

 gaged. But now most of us are back to our 

 normal pursuits, eager as we had been during 

 the war to contribute our energies to securing 

 the welfare of the nation. The tumult and 

 the shouting dies, the captains and the kings 

 depart, still stands the ancient and abiding 

 sacrifice, the labor of unselfish service which 

 we regard as the natural birthright of 

 scientific men. 



We are still too near the war to get a clear 

 perspective of the extent to which the various 

 agencies contributed to its successful prosecu- 

 tion. But we can examine it in part and later 

 the results of our examination can be gathered 

 together. It had been my intention to pass 

 in review the many ways in which physics 

 had been applied to the problems of war, but 

 these had been so numerous and so extensive 

 that my time would be given to a mere 

 enumeration of the activities. For the war 

 was one of many elements and many dimen- 

 sions. Leaving aside the human and, I may 

 add, the inhuman elements, and considering 

 those confined to space, we had warfare in the 

 air, on the surface of the earth, under the 

 earth, on and under the sea. Applications of 

 science were everywhere. Many of the appli- 

 cations of physics have been presented else- 



1 Addfl-ess of the vice-presidenit and chairman of 

 Section B — Physios — American Association for the 

 Advajieement of Science, St. Louis, December, 1919. 



