SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS

-'TWO IMPORTANT NEW TEXTSfor

Physical Science Survey Courses

MATTER, ENERGY, AND RADIATIONBv J. R. DUNNING and H. C. PAXTON, Columbia University. 665 pages, 6 x 9. $3.50

In this text the authors present a thoroughly modern discussion which, although dealing pri-marily with the materials of astronomy and physics, lays a sound foundation for a knowledge of allsciences. Here is a text that is distinctly on science, not merely about science, offering a definitedeparture, in organization and spirit, from the conventional survey textbook on physics. The bookassumes no previous knowledge of the fields of science. It starts from simple basic ideas, buildingup so that any intelligent student should have a good grasp of the present state of advances inphysical sciences.

The first section traces the history of astronomy in order to give the student a clear picture ofthe beginning, growth, and development of a science. The three sections dealing with matter, en-ergy, and radiation reorganize the materials of physics which have traditionally been dealt with asthough in watertight compartments, into logical and more fundamental order suggested by modernadvances. Emphasis is placed upon the now apparent relationships between all physical phenomena.

FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL SCIENCEBY KONRAD BATES KRAUSKOPF, Stanford University. 660 pages, 6 x 9. $3.50

This distinctive book has already won a place for itself as a well-balanced and scholarly textwhich captures and holds the interest of the beginning student. Teachers like the book because ofits completeness and balance of subject matter; the emphasis on basic principles rather than details;and the presentation of physics, chemistry, astronomy and geology as a unified field of knowledge.The achievements of modern science and important discoveries of the past are discussed with specialemphasis on fundamentals and on methods of scientific reasoning.

Difficult subjects are fully explained in simple language, with a minimum of technical terms.From a pedagogical standpoint, the book is extremely flexible. It is readily adaptable to coursesof different lengths, and contains sufficient materials so that a course based on the text may be variedfrom year to year.

Send for copies on approval

3.30 West 42nd Street, New York, N. Y.

McGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY, INC.

JANUAR g, 1942 9

Aldwych House, London, W.C.2

SCIENCE-SUPPLEMENT

SCIENCE NEWSScience Service, Washington. D. C.

ULTRAVIOLET RAYS AND VIRUS DISEASESTESTS of ultraviolet rays as a weapon against epi-

demics of influenza or other virus-caused diseases thatmay follow the war are now under way at the Westing-house Lamp Laboratories at Bloomfield, N. J., of whichDr. Harvey C. Rentschler is director.

In his laboratory stand row after row of test-tubes,cloudy from the pus germs growing inside them. Thesegerms are the staphylococci that cause boils and other skininfections. When a few drops of a staphylococcus bac-teriophage are poured into the tubes, the cloudiness disap-pears, because the bacteriophage has destroyed thestaphylococci.The staphylococei and the bacteriophage have no direct

connection with influenza or colds. But they are part ofthe elaborate set-up devised by Dr. Rentschler to test thepower of the ultraviolet rays to kill germs that causeinfluenza, colds, infantile paralysis and the like. Thesegerms are viruses. Unlike the staphylococci of boils andother bacteria, the bacteriophage and other viruses cannot be seen even under very powerful microscopes.Shadow pictures of them have been taken with the elec-tron microscope, but except for these, the viruses haveremained completely invisible. Yet they take a stagger-ing toll of life in man, plants and animals.How to tell whether you have killed or paralysed some-

thing you can not see is part of the problem to be solvedin order to test the possibility of using ultraviolet light tostop epidemics caused by these invisible agents of dis-ease. Dr. Rentschler believes that it can be solved withthe staphylococci and the bacteriophage that lives onthem. Bacteriophage is a virus, although it does notattack humans. If it can be destroyed by ultravioletrays, perhaps the rays can kill other viruses that do at-tack man.You can actually see whether or not bacteriophage has

been destroyed. If, after it has been irradiated with ultra-violet, it fails to clear up the cloudy tube of growingstaphylococci, it seems logical to conclude that it haseither been killed by the rays or at least has lost its abilityto destroy the staphylococci.

Experimentally it isn 't just as simple as that. Dr.Rentschler points out that chance plays a large part insuch a test, for he has no idea of the number of bacterio-phage particles that go into a given bacteria-infested tube.Individual drops of solution may contain one active par-ticle, or a million. They can not be counted in an elec-tron microscope because the electron beam probably woulddestroy their potency as quickly and surely as ultravioletrays. So the only scientifically accurate approach is tomake thousands of tests until observed results can nolonger be attributed to chance.

GAS GANGRENEA NEw kind of gas gangrene threatens workers in Amer-

ica 's war industries unless care is taken to guard opencuts and wounds from magnesium splinters and dust, it

appears from a report by Dr. Carey P. McCord, of themedical department of the Chrysler Corporation at De-troit.

Metallic magnesium and some of its alloys, the newestwidely used metal in war industries, have been found toproduce a unique gaseous condition when they get intowounds. Unless the magnesium is properly and com-pletely cleaned out of the wound, even trivial injuries maybecome serious and prolonged. The condition that re-sults is similar to gas gangrene, a serious war wounddanger, except that it is caused by the magnesium insteadof by germs. According to reports received, this kindof chemical gas gangrene has been very prevalent inGerman industries with as many as 5,000 cases in 1939.The studies by Dr. McCord, Dr. Stuart F. Meek and Dr.

Gordon C. Harrold, also of the Chrysler Corporation, arebelieved to be the first in the United States showing thedanger of not cleaning out all metal particles or dust froma wound in which magnesium particles might be involved."Early in our investigation," Dr. MeCord reported, "wefound that rat wounds in which small particles of mag-nesium had been introduced, unlike those contaminatedwith most metals, glass and wood, promptly lead to hydro-gen gas formation in the tissues. The quantity of gaswe found to be extensive and if neglected probably wouldproduce a condition akin to a chemical gas gangrene. Inthe presence of magnesium particles it was discoveredthat hydrogen was evolved from the fluids of the tissuesthemselves and if the metal was not immediately ex-

tracted, would form a gaseous tumor. Thus it wouldseem that injuries resulting from not cleaning all mag-nesium particles from wounds may be much more seriousthan ordinary industrial injuries. The danger of thiseffect of magnesium calls, in the first place, for specialpreventative procedure against accidental injuries wheremagnesium particles might be involved, and in the sec-ond place, the availability of immediate proper medicalcare. The complete removal of all metallic magnesiumapparently is vital."

A SOYBEAN RUBBER SUBSTITUTEINVESTIGATORS in the Department of Agriculture hope

to develop a process whereby they believe soybean mealcan be transformed into a substitute for rubber. Theprocess, which for military reasons can not be describedin detail, consists of a series of chemical changes whichfinally transform the protein molecules of soybean mealinto molecules similar in structure to those of rubber."Soybean rubber," according to chemists of the bu-

reau, "won 't come the day after to-morrow, but it 's on

the way. It's possible on paper."Meanwhile soybean oil already is being substituted for

tung oil in paints. Tung oil was imported from Chinabefore the war, and diminishing stocks lend special em-

phasis to soybean substitutes.Adhesives, plastics, paper finishes and substitute-wool

fibers are other uses for soybeans-uses developed largely

10 VOL. 95, NO. 2454-

SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS 11

Rtadio...all out for VictoryResearch and invention have placed radio in the first line of battle

COMMUNICATION-rapid communi-cation-is a vital necessity, on land, at

sea and in the air. RCA research and engi-neering developments in both radio andelectronics are strengthening-and will fur-ther fortify- the bulwarks of our communi-cations system. At Princeton, New Jersey,the new RCA Laboratories-the foremostcenter of radio research in the world-areunder construction.

* * *International circuits, operating on shortand long waves, have made the UnitedStates the communication center of theworld. Today, R.C.A. Communications,Inc., conducts direct radiotelegraph servicewith 49 countries.

* * *

Production of radio equipment is essentialfor news and timely information, for mili-tary and naval communications, for dis-semination of news among foreign coun-tries. The "arsenal of democracy" has aradio voice unsurpassed in range and effi-ciency. In the RCA Manufacturing Com-pany's plants, workers have pledged them-selves to "beat the promise," in productionand delivery dates ofradio equipment neededfor war and civilian defense.

* * *American life and property at sea are beingsafeguarded by ship-and-shore stations.

The Radiomarine Corporation of Americahas equipped more than 1500 Americanvessels with radio apparatus and is com-pletely engaged in an all-out war effort.

* * *Radio broadcasting is keeping the Ameri-can people informed accurately and up-to-the-minute. It is a life-line of communica-tion reaching 55,000,000 radio sets in homesand automobiles. It stands as the very sym-bol of democracy and is one of the essentialfreedoms for which America fights. TheNational Broadcasting Company-a serviceof RCA-and its associated stations, arefully organized for the coordination of war-time broadcasting.

* * *

.New radio operators and technicians mustbe trained for wartime posts. RCA Insti-tutes, the pioneer radio school of its kindin the United States, has more than 1,200students enrolled and studying in its NewYork and Chicago classrooms.

* * *When war came and America took its placeon the widespread fighting front, radio wasAt the Ready ... with radio men and radiofacilities prepared to answer the call to duty"in the most tremendous undertaking of ournational history."

PRESIDENT

W) Radio Corporation of AmericaRADIO CITY, NEW YORK

The Services of RCA: RCA Manufacturing Co., Inc. . RCA Laboratories . R.C.A. Communications, Inc.National Broadcasting Company, Inc. . Radiomarine Corporation of America . RCA Institutes, Inc.

JANUARY 9, 1942

12SC1ENCE-4DVERTISEMENTS

Character-' P~ortrait. of a War MachineNO thin-skinned beauties are Uncle

Sam's battleships and tanks. Toughwarriors of the land and sea, they are readyto give punishment and ready to take it.To the metallographer, photographs suchas the one above tell just how tough thesewar maces will be.

In steel mills, in rolling mills, in the tool-making industry wherever -metals are

made or fabricated for specialized purposes,wherever specific qualities must be main-tained- you will find the metallographerstanding guard.With his mosaic-patterned photographs

he is today safeguarding the qualities thgtinsure the survival of the floating gray steel

fortresses that guard our ocean lanes and ofthe thundering tanks of our new armoreddivisions, as for years he has been improv-ing our automobiles and. our planes andeven our razor blades.To the metallographer, as to the physi-

cian, the teacher, the industridl researchworker and those who are dedicated to theconservation of vision, the name of Bausch& Lomb on.any optical instrument standsfor optical excellence and mechanical pre-

cision.

BAUSCH & LOMBOPTICAL CO. * ROCHESTER, NEW YORK

ESTABLISHED I853

AN AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTION PRODUCING OPTICAL GLASS AND INSTRUMENTSFOR NATIONAL DEFENSE, EDUCATION, RESEARCH, INDUSTRY AND EYESIGHT -CORRECTION

VOL. 957 NO-2454'12 ,SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS

SCIENCE-SUPPLEMENT

by American Government and industrial chemists since1936 when the soybean laboratory of the Departmen$ ofAgriculture was set up at Urbana, Ill.The production of a synthetic fiber from soybeans has

already been begun by the Ford Motor Company. Thefiber is similar to sheep 's wool. It is spun from a molasses-like substance that contains soybean protein. "Pilot"mills at Highland Park, Mich., can spin 1,000 pounds offiber daily. The Highland Park mills are being moved toDearborn, where they will undertake regular production.The synthetic product is best when blended with sheep'swool. The soybean fiber is considerably less than halfas expensive as wool.

A POSSIBLE PACIFIC NORTHWEST IRONAND STEEL INDUSTRY

CREATION of a great iron and steel industry in thePacific northwest to provide the basic war metals nowvitally needed is believed possible owing to the discoveryby government geologists of rich, high-grade iron oredeposits in Kasaan Peninsula, southeastern Alaska.The deposits are less than 600 miles from Seattle by

the "inside passage" along the Canadian coast protectedfrom submarines by o4f-shore islands.With limitless power now available from Grand Coulee

and Bonneville dams the Pacific northwest 's dream of aniron and steel industry equal to Youngstown and Bethle-hem becomes more real.Two geologists of the U. S. Geological Survey have an-

nounced that the iron deposits on the Alaskan peninsulaare far richer than even suspected. It is hoped that pri-vate industry will take the hint and send other geologiststo verify their find.

Copper was mined thirty years ago on the KasaanPeninsula, and in 1917 the area was appraised as a"possible" source of iron. John C. Reed and George0. Gates, of the survey, however, this year found the irondeposits tar richer than they expected.

Their examinations appraise the iron content of the oreas high as 60 per cent. It is reported by Drs. Reed andGates that many of the individual bodies of high-grademagnetite probably contain between 25,000 and 2,000,000tons each, and some of the bodies may contain even morethan 2,000,000 tons. These substantial deposits, if theirgrade holds with depth, may have national significance inconnection with the large hydroelectric installations atthe Grand Coulee and Bonneville power projects. Theavailability of large quantities of cheap electric power inthe Pacific northwest area, coupled with the needs foriron and steel of the war machine, focuses attention ofexpanding industrialization not only on the Kasaan de-posits, but also on similar deposits on Texada and Van-couver Islands, British Columbia, and in the vicinity ofCopper Mountain, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska.

ITEMSSTOCKPILES of rubber and other strategic materials

should be maintained after the war as well as during thewar and the United States government should immediatelyappropriate $100,000,000 for the development of synthetic

rubber, was pointed out by Dr. Harry N. Holmes, headof the department of chemistry of Oberlin College, onassuming office as president of the American ChemicalSociety. "Many contend," he continued, "that we arepromised free access to raw materials all over the worldwhen peace comes. But treaties have been broken beforeand we must not again be -caught napping. "

ON the "scorched earth policy," the glaciers which in-vaded North America a million years before the birth ofChrist could teach even the Russians a thing or two, ac-cording to a report that Professor R. F. Flint, of YaleUniversity, made at the Boston meeting of the GeologicalSociety of America. Whereas the Soviets burn the stand-ing crops on the rich soils of Russia, the great ice fieldstook along the soil itself down to bed rock. Dr. Flint de-scribed to the meeting the first glacial map of NorthAmerica, a cooperative scientific venture directed bytwelve American geologists and four Canadians. Eachinch on the map represents 60 miles and the vast areacovered by the finished map will require seven feet fromnorth to south.

A DEVICE which allows double-quick counting of starson a photographic plate has been successfully tested andused at the Warner and Swasey Observatory at Cleveland.Dr. S. W. McCuskey reported on the use of this instru-ment before the meeting of the American AstronomicalSociety. His instrument counts stars as faint as thefifteenth magnitude, regardless of the number of stars onthe plate. At present, the machine counts are made byan observer who places each star image in the sensitivebeam of the photometer. Thus far completely automaticscanning of the plate has not yielded results accurateenough for statistical purposes. The rate of counting,including the necessary calibration and setting, is about2,000 stars per hour. A run over a given area of the plateresults directly in the number of stars brighter than fourarbitrarily chosen magnitude intervals.

STUDENTS born in the spring are taller, heavier andsmarter than those born during summer, a survey pub-lished in the December issue of Human Biology appearsto indicate. The survey concerned 10,005 students of theUniversity of Cincinnati, born between the years 1904-1921, inclusive. It was conducted by Dr. Laurence B.Chenoweth and Richard G. Canning of the Student 'sHealth Service. The study also showed that students aretaller than those of just two decades ago. The averageheight of freshmen in the University of Cincinnati in1916 was 67.5 inches-in 1936 it had increased to 69.9inches. Since 1936 there has been no increase in theaverage size of freshmen students at the university. Notonly has the size of man increased, the scientists say, butchildren are growing more rapidly. This increase in sizeand rate of growth is explained by Dr. Chenoweth andMr. Canning by decreased communicable disease, betterfood, knowledge of vitamins and generally improved liv-ing conditions during the last half-century.

13JANUARY 9, 1942

14 SCEC-DERIEET VO.9,N.25

A New, Moderate-Priced P0 ARIMETER0 . . with Lippich Half-Shade Polarizer

FOR teaching polarimetry, for routine laboratory work and for research in certain fields,Spencer has developed a new, moderately priced Polarimeter.

The highly desirable characteristics of the Lippich triple-field, half-shade polarizer areachieved through the use of special Polaroid optical elements. The dividing lines are sensitive,and measurements can be made with monochromatic light of any desired wave-length. Theinstrument is regularly supplied with a filter for use with tungsten light.

The optical rotation of the sample is measured on an easily-read scale to one tenth of a degree.The sample chamber accommodates tubes up to 200 mm. length for general or special uses.Technicians working in the fields of bio-chemistry and in industrial organic chemistry will beparticularly interested in this instrument.

FOR A FOLDER DESCRIBING THE NEW POLARIMETER, WRITE DEPT. A2

Spencer Lens CompanyrER BUFFALO, NEW YORK

jQrALO Scientific Instrument Division ofAMERICAN OPTICAL COMPANY

Sales Offices: NewYork,Chicago,San Francisco,Washington, Boston, Los Angeles, Dallas,Columbus,St.Louis,Philadelphia,Atlant.

14 SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS VOL. 95, No. 2454