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New Scientific Paintings Outline the Earth’s History

THE first seven of a series of paintings designed to present a systematic outline of the evolution of life on our planet has been placed on exhibition in the Ernest R. Graham Hall of Historical Geology in the vast Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The paintings were made by the well-known scientific artist Charles R. Knight, and their production was made possible by Ernest R. Graham, patron of science. Although these seven paintings touch only a few of the high spots in evolution, their total time scope is considerably more than a thousand million years. Read the rest of this entry »

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INDUSTRY GIVES A LABORATORY TO AMERICA’S YOUNG SCIENTISTS

YOUTHFUL, IMAGINATION, an inexhaustible national resource, is being developed along scientific lines by the American Institute of the City of New-York. This organization, chartered in 1828 and devoted throughout its existence to the promulgation of science and the encouragement of American industry, established its junior branch in 1928 and recently has intensified its efforts in this direction through the American Institute Laboratory at 310 Fifth Avenue, New York.
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Will It Perish in Collision with Some Huge Wandering Star— to Die in Flaming Dust as It Was Born?

The Story of Man and His World By Dr. E. E. Free A Fascinating Serial of Evolution This is the second of a fascinating series of articles on the secrets of life, prepared with the cooperation of some of the world’s leading scientists.

A TREMENDOUS burst of light blazed out in infinite space; two huge stars surged together at terrific speed. They shattered vast fragments from each other as they passed—and thus our earth was born!

No romance is more interesting, no chapter of science more inspiring, than the story of how modern astronomers have learned to read the meaning of the stars; of how they have gone exploring into the vast depths of space and come back with answers to some of the first questions that man ever asked himself; questions of what the stars are made of, why they shine, how far away they are.
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Light Proved Even Faster than Previously Determined

The speed of light, the magic number that affects nearly all laws of physics, is even faster than scientists thought. New experiments at Stanford University place it at 186,280 miles per second—eight miles per second higher than the old value. Even this small change may be important in radar and Loran. The researchers actually measured the speed of a radio wave—which is the same as that of light—by finding its resonance frequency in a “cavity” whose dimensions are known to a millionth of an inch.

This is pretty cool. The last paragraph talks about looking for the Higgs particle. Guess it didn’t work out.

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Colliding-beam accelerators — will they reveal the ultimate particles?

Giant, high-energy devices can help reveal the forces that bind matter together

By PETER GWYNNE

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND The security guard studied our passes carefully.

I was sitting in a car with engineer Vince Hatton at the entrance to a tunnel in the spacious grounds of the Centre Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire, known universally by its acronym CERN, in Geneva.

Despite its title, CERN has nothing to do with nuclear power. It is a center for the study of high-energy physics, the science that reveals the fundamental basis of matter. The security guard who stopped us was more concerned with checking passports than flushing out terrorists. For after he approved our papers, and Vince drove the few hundred yards through the tunnel, we emerged in France. CERN and its huge accelerator known as the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) stretch across the boundary between Switzerland and France, and the special tunnel allows scientists to move themselves and their equipment easily within the installation without having to pass through the passport and customs posts above ground.
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Icy Missiles from the Summer Sky

by Calvin Frazer

Do hailstones enter the earth’s atmosphere, like falling meteors, from the outer spaces? In this article Mr, Fraser explodes the “Cosmic Ice” theory and explains just how hailstones are formed in hot weather by the violent upward air currents of gigantic thunderheads.

WHAT is hail? And what isn’t? If you can answer these questions you are wiser than the professional weathermen were until a generation or so ago. Up to that time three totally different things had generally been confounded with one another under the single name “hail”, and confusion on this subject still prevails widely outside of scientific circles.
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Amateur Chemist’s Robot
Hyman Cordon, chemical student, of Boston, with a “man” he built out of rubber, glass, and other scraps. It eats food and digests it in human fashion, having heart, intestines, lungs, bladder, etc. It was exhibited at a recent “science fair.” (Int. News)

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The MYSTERY of HOTTER and COLDER

THE STRANGE effects of extreme heat and cold on common substances is arousing interest in what may become a field of sensational discovery.

For years man has sought to extend his command of temperature and pressure, but until quite recently he was restricted to the ordinary temperatures found in nature. Today there are about ten special low-temperature laboratories scattered about the world. After twenty years, the low-temperature laboratory at Leyden, Holland, has succeeded in coming within five-thousandths of a degree of absolute zero, which is —273 degrees Centigrade. This establishes a record for cold that is likely to stand for some time.
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Microscope Magnifies 20,000 Times

A NEW universal microscope that has a magnification of 20,000 is expected to bring greater success in man’s battle against disease germs.

With present microscopes only germs that have reached maturity could be seen. With the new powerful 21 phase microscope it will be possible to study and photograph germs in immaturity, giving scientists a greater knowledge of the development of disease.

The microscope was invented by Dr. Royal R. Rife. Object and light are transposed 21 times before being photographed.

COSMIC RAYS MAY FORECAST WEATHER

Cosmic rays may help to prophesy the weather. This first practical use for the mysterious radiations from outer space was recently announced by Dr. R. A. Millikan, Calif. Institute of Technology physicist.

The “cosmic rays” are more penetrating than radium or X-rays, but it is not known whether they affect human beings.

Dr. Millikan, who discovered the source of the rays (P. S. M., July, ’28, p. 13), has measured their strength with his new electroscope, and is able to determine high-altitude atmospheric conditions.

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England Now Has Gasoline Made from Coal

British motorists may now enjoy the novelty of buying gasoline made from coal, which has just been placed on public sale. The event marks the beginning of a great chemical industry by which England hopes to put 65,000 men to work and to end her dependence upon imported petroleum. A monster plant now rising at Billingham-on-Tees will transform 1,000 tons of coal daily into the synthetic fuel, using a process already in successful operation in a smaller experimental plant at the same site. Read the rest of this entry »