18 
IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE Voi,. XXIX, 1922 
thought there are several directions from which impressions come 
to the secretary’s mind and varied channels through which he may 
in thought or action effect desired results. It is desirable first of 
all that the secretary, in common with the officers and members of 
the Academy, keep continually the welfare of the general body as 
one chief goal of attainment. Another aim of large importance 
is the improvement and quickening of scientific research in gen- 
eral, and in particular in the schools of our own state and those 
represented in this body. And the still broader desideratum is 
the bringing of the value and results of such study and research 
to the attention and comprehension of a public which still knows 
and appreciates all too little of the import of the work we are 
doing. In fact, to what degree do we ourselves appreciate the 
general signification of the work of our fellow investigators? 
How far is the mathematician cognizant of the universal value 
of chemical research? To what extent does the psychologist ap- 
preciate the personal application of the studies of a botanist? Of 
course the geologist must enlist all sciences to aid in his advance — 
from the highest Leavens to the profoundest depths — and there- 
fore he must needs realize the value of all scientific endeavor and 
achievement. 
Closely connected with research in pure science is its application 
to subserve the needs of the public which is perpetually clamoring 
for new means of bettering its physical and mental condition. 
Research for research’s sake is fascinating and worthy of ap- 
preciation, but research for the uplift of humanity is more worthy 
still. During the year there appeared in one of the technical 
journals an advertisement which impressed this thought so strong- 
ly that I have taken the liberty of reproducing it in part here. 
It read as follows : 
HOW DO HOT THINGS COOL? 
“The blacksmith draws a white-hot bar from the forge. It be- 
gins at once to cool. How does it lose its heat? Some is radiat- 
ed, as heat is radiated by the sun ; but some of it i9 carried away 
by the surrounding air. Now suppose the bar to be only one-half 
the diameter ; in that case it loses heat only half as fast. Smaller 
bars lose in proportion. It would seem that this proportion should 
hold, however much the scale is reduced. But does it? Does a 
fine glowing wire lose heat in proportion to its diminished size? 
The research laboratories of the General Electric Company 
began a purely scientific investigation to ascertain just how fast 
a glowing wire loses heat. It was found that for small bodies 
the old simple law did not hold at all. A hot wire .010 inch diame- 
