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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIV. No. 1148 



which science has ever sought to remedy; 

 and yet there are many who hold science 

 in some measure responsible for the ter- 

 rible destructiveness of this war. Fire is 

 man's friend, but it may become a ter- 

 rible scourge when uncontrolled; and so 

 the beneficent discoveries of science may 

 be perverted to evil ends. We must re- 

 member, however, that death-dealing de- 

 vices based on scientific discoveries may be 

 the defense of the rights and liberties 

 of peoples as well as the instruments of 

 those who would devastate the world for 

 their own advantage. There have always 

 been those who have exploited the discov- 

 eries of science for their own selfish ends, 

 but who can point to one of these exploit- 

 ers who was himself a scientist ? "When we 

 are told that the ends of science are ma- 

 terial, let us think of Faraday, who never 

 had time for money-making; when we are 

 told that the aims of science are selfish, let 

 us think of the men engaged in medical re- 

 search who have sacrificed themselves to 

 discover how others might be saved. Such 

 men are typical of the ideals of science. 

 Yet it is true that we are sometimes too 

 much absorbed in our individual work, al- 

 though our aims may be unselfish. With 

 the lesson before us of the great cataclysm 

 in Europe, we must not only recognize our 

 greater responsibility in carrying forward 

 scientific investigation, but we must like- 

 wise seek to arouse in our people a fuller 

 realization of the relations of this work 

 to their own happiness and prosperity. 

 Conditions and habits of thought simi- 

 lar to those which have brought dis- 

 aster upon Europe are not entirely ab- 

 sent from our own country, and will 

 have similar results if not remedied in 

 time. Certain social, economic and po- 

 litical ills which are held to be inevitable 

 to imperfect humanity by minds which 

 move in the grooves of tradition or of le- 

 galistic logic may be found capable of im- 



provement if treated by scientific methods, 

 which seek the truth regardless of the harm 

 it may do to ancient superstitions, preju- 

 dices and privileges. We must look to 

 those who think scientifically, even though 

 they may not call themselves scientists, to 

 replace our haphazard ways in agricul- 

 ture, business, manufacture, law and poli- 

 tics, our criminal wastefulness and careless 

 extravagance, by more efficient methods, 

 not only to the end of increasing national 

 prosperity, but still more to the end of 

 promoting intellectual development, uni- 

 versal justice and happiness, unselfish and 

 enlightened patriotism, and exalted ideals 

 of life and conduct. Fortunately there 

 seems to be a growing tendency to recog- 

 nize the service which science may render 

 to society. For the first time in our his- 

 tory, our government has sought advice 

 from scientific men, and those who have 

 been called upon are giving their services 

 fully and loyally, with no thought of pay 

 or political preferment. 



It seems not altogether irrelevant to 

 preface my remarks with this protest 

 against some current criticism of science; 

 but now I turn to the specific subject of 

 my address. 



Ten years ago the subject of Professor 

 Crew's vice-presidential address was 

 "Facts and Theories in Spectroscopy." 

 Since that time some notable discoveries 

 have been made and some remarkable 

 theories have challenged attention. It is 

 my purpose to review a few of the more 

 important experimental results and to dis- 

 cuss the relations of some of them to theo- 

 ries brought before you in two recent vice- 

 presidential addresses on "Atomic Theo- 

 ries of Eadiation" and "The Theory of 

 the Nucleus Atom." Inasmuch as it will 

 be necessary to refer to them, I will restate 

 the salient features of the theories which 

 have attracted the most attention. 



Planck derived an expression for the 



