September 16, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



235 



series of published researches, which are 

 acknowledged to be among the most important 

 contributions to pure and applied physics 

 which this country has made during recent 

 years. 



I may be pardoned, I hope, for another per- 

 sonal reference, if I recall that it was at the 

 Edinburgh meeting, under Lord Kelvin's presi- 

 dency, fifty years ago, that I first became a 

 member of this association, and had the honor 

 of serving it as one of the secretaries of its 

 chemical section. Fifty years is a considerable 

 span in the life of an individual, but it is a 

 relatively short period in the history of science. 

 ISTevertheless, those fifty years are richer in 

 scientific achievement and in the importance 

 and magnitude of the utilitarian applications 

 of practically every branch of science than any 

 preceding similar interval. The most cursory 

 comparison of the state of science, as revealed 

 in his comprehensive address, with the present 

 condition of those departments on which he 

 chiefly dwelt, will suffice to show that the de- 

 velopment has been such that even Lord Kel- 

 vin's penetrative genius, vivid imagination, 

 and sanguine temperament could hardly have 

 anticipated. N'o previous half -century in the 

 history of science has witnessed such momen- 

 tous and far-reaching achievements. In pure 

 chemistry it has seen the discovery of argon by 

 Eayleigh, of radium by Madame Curie, of 

 helium as a terrestrial element by Ramsay, of 

 neon, xenon, and krypton by Ramsay and 

 Travers, the production of helium from ra- 

 dium by Ramsay and Soddy, and the isolation 

 of fluorine by Moissan. These are undoubtedly 

 great discoveries, bvit their value is enormously 

 enhanced by the theoretical and practical con- 

 sequences which flow from them. 



In applied chemistry it has witnessed the 

 general application of the Gilchrist-Thomas 

 process of iron-purification, the production of 

 calcium cyanamide by the process of Frank and 

 Caro, Sabatier's process of hydrogenation, a 

 widespread application of liquefied gases, and 

 Haber's work on ammonia synthesis — all man- 

 ufacturing processes which have practically 

 revolutionized the industries with which they 

 are concerned. 



In pure physics it has seen the rise of the 

 electron theory, by Lorentz; Hertz's discovery 

 of electro-magnetic waves; the investigation 

 of cathode rays by Lenard, and the elucidation 

 of crystal structure by Bragg. 



It has seen, moreover, the invention of the 

 telephone, the establishment of incandescent 

 lighting, the electric transmission of force, 

 the invention of the cinematograph, of wireless 

 telegraphy, the application of the Rontgen 

 rays, and the photographic reproduction of 

 color. 



In physical chemistry it has witnessed the 

 creation of stereo-chemistry by Van't Hoff and 

 Le Bel, Gibbs's work on the phase rule, Van't 

 Hoff's theory of solutions, Arrhenius's theory 

 of ionic dissociation, and Nernst's theory of 

 the galvanic cell. 



Such a list is far from complete, and might 

 be greatly extended. But it will at least serve 

 to indicate the measure of progress which the 

 world owes to the development and application 

 during the last fifty years of the two sciences 

 — physics and chemistry — to which Lord Kel- 

 vin specially referred. 



The more rapid dissemination of informa- 

 tion concerning the results of recent or con- 

 temporary investigation, which Lord Kelvin 

 so strongly urged as " an object to which the 

 powerful action of the British Association 

 would be thoroughly appropriate," has been 

 happily accomplished. The timely aid of the 

 association in contributing to the initial ex- 

 pense of preparing and publishing monthly ab- 

 stracts of foreign chemical literature by the 

 Chemical Society is gratefully remembered 

 by British chemists. The example has been 

 followed by the greater number of our scientific 

 and technical societies, and the results of con- 

 temporary inquiry in every important branch 

 of pure and applied science are now quickly 

 brought to the knowledge of all interested 

 workers. In fact, as regards the particular 

 branch of science with which I am more di- 

 rectly concerned, the arrangements for the 

 preparation and dissemination of abstracts of 

 contemporary foreign chemical literature are 

 proving to be a veritable embarrassment of 

 riches, and there is much need for cooperation 



