December 15, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



833 



conventional and long-established forms of 

 higher educational work. 



Louis E. Rebeb 

 The University op Wisconsin 



AN OPPOBTUNITY FOB THE SPIBIT OF 



BESEAMCH IN LAB0BAT0B7 INSTBUC- 



TION IN PETSICS 



A RITUAL does not require worship ; a system 

 in laboratory instruction does not demand the 

 investment of the personality of the in- 

 structor. A smoothly operating system is a 

 delight to the mill owner or to the manufac- 

 turer. According to general practise, such a 

 system affords the modern laboratory in- 

 structor in physics a great deal of satisfaction. 



But has not laboratory instruction in phys- 

 ics become enslaved to laboratory methods? 

 The fundamental purpose of such instruction 

 should be decided in the light of its origin. 

 At first the laboratory work was not prescribed 

 in the course of study. Magnus' in Berlin 

 conducted such a laboratory. The experi- 

 ments performed were of an investigational 

 nature. Some of his pupils were G. H. "Wiede- 

 mann, Helmholtz and Tyndall. Later, Lord 

 Kelvin," at Glasgow, entered upon certain in- 

 vestigations of the electrodynamic qualities of 

 matter and, finding the labor of observing too 

 heavy for one individual, invited certain stu- 

 dents to aid in the work. Other students de- 

 sired experimental work of a similar nature 

 and thus was developed a research laboratory 

 in which the students took an enthusiastic 

 interest. The funds of this laboratory were 

 obtained from the university, but, in the be- 

 ginning, there was no systematic instruction 

 of students similar to that in the laboratories 

 of to-day. 



As these two illustrations indicate, the stu- 

 dent's physical laboratory had its origin in 

 research. The zeal for new knowledge fur- 

 nished the enthusiasm and prescribed the 

 methods of work. To-day, apparently, the 

 student enters the laboratory to learn how to 

 perform experiments and to become expert in 



'Cajori, "History of Physics," p. 291. 



^ From Kelvin 's Bangor address, quoted in 

 Gray's "Lord Kelvin," p. 71. 



the use of various devices such as the microm- 

 eter microscope, or the optical lever, or the 

 dividing engine, and to familiarize himself 

 with certain methods of measurement, such as 

 the method of coincidences or the method of 

 double weighing. Indeed, quite frequently 

 courses have such titles as " Laboratory prac- 

 tise " and " Electrical measurements." 



Jesus claimed that the Pharisees tithed 

 mint, anise and cummin, but neglected the 

 weightier matters of the law. One can not 

 deny the virtue of tithing; neither can one 

 fail to appreciate the educational value of an 

 experiment which requires great care and ac- 

 curacy on the part of the student. But what 

 about the weightier matters ? The chief func- 

 tion of the laboratory is to give the student an 

 intimate acquaintance with the phenomena 

 and the so-called laws. The familiarity of 

 the student with a particular instrument or 

 method is of temporary importance and should 

 be of little interest. Lideed, why should accu- 

 rate measurements be considered so highly 

 desirable? Do not the thoughtful regret the 

 fact that in the progress of physics so much 

 valuable time must be spent in accurate meas- 

 urements by the investigators? Does not the 

 physicist seek to obtain the accuracy needed 

 in a particular investigation with the least 

 amount of painstaking effort, and therefore 

 the least time and labor? Accurate measure- 

 ments are found in research because they are 

 needed to obtain results, and not because they 

 are intrinsically worthy of a scholar's time 

 and attention. Let this be the recognition of 

 accurate measurements in the laboratory of 

 the student. 



The Pharisees thought that they were right, 

 and doubtless their attitude can be explained 

 by the powerful influence of tradition. The 

 defect in our present laboratory instruction 

 can be explained in a similar manner. The 

 instructor accepts the laboratory as an ap- 

 proved method of instruction and is not con- 

 tinually conscious of its highest function. 

 The student working under his direction is 

 just " doing laboratory work." 



The slavery to method can be resisted only 

 where the true spirit of research is supreme. 



