(■iii'.MisTS' pKi'.si-.XT ( )i'i'()K-iT\rni':s and 



l',V I. I. I). llliVDS, 



Castle Ilci,^hts ScIkkiI, I .cliaiKni. 'iV'iiii. 



"TpOR my present purpose, I shall divide chemists into two 

 ^ classes, pure or theoretical chemists, and industrial 

 ciiemists. To the first class belong- those who are doing re- 

 search work independently, that is, in nobody's interest, with 

 the sole purpose of adding- to the store of chemical knowledge, 

 and without the idea of making money out of the results of 

 their researches. Chemists of this class have not been particu- 

 larly affected by the European war, except as their work has 

 been interrupted, especially in the countries at war. They are 

 usually in the employ of universities, or of the national or 

 state governments, and are working for the advancement of 

 science and for the general good. 



To the pure chemists there are now open many rare op- 

 portunities. There are vast fields unexplored in physical 

 chemistry, electrochemistry, radiochemistry, in the study of 

 the nature of the atom and of the molecule and of colloids. 

 None of these bid fair to have much commercial importance 

 unless it should be in the study of the atom. If we can ever 

 learn how to decompose and recompose the atom, we may 

 find access to stores of energy w^hich will dwarf all those 

 w^hich we now^ possess. Our utilizable sources of energy are 

 chemical action, water power, electricity, and the sun. Water 

 power traces back to the sun and electricity is made available 

 through chemical or mechanical energy. The atomic disinteg- 

 ration of a gram of radium or of uranium develops something 

 like a million times as much energy as the combustion of a 

 gram of coal. This energy of atomic decomposition is peculiar, 

 having characteristics not possessed by the energy of chemical 

 action. This atomic decomposition is spontaneous and we 

 know of no way either to cause it or prevent it. 



The pure chemist is altruistic. He thinks little of the 

 commercial value of his discoveries. He takes as much inter- 

 est in estimating the weight of the hydrogen atom as in meas- 

 uring the heat of combustion of a pound of coal. It is to him. 



*By the kind permission of the Tennessee Academy of Sciences, 

 this article is reprinted from Volume Two of its Transactions, Jan- 

 uary 1, 1914 to May 5, 1917. 



18 



