Arvida High School - Yearbook (Arvida, Quebec Canada)

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-10 ATOMIC My speech has to do with Atomic Energy and how it may bring peace to this troubled world. It is a simple narrative of what was done to give man his first control over the energy locked in the atom and the possibi- lities that some day atomic power will bring man to a state of permanent peace. What may come of atomic fission, for good or evil is enough to stagger any imagination, but the atomic bomb itself is no awesome mys- tery. Let us think of the tapping of atomic ener- gy as a detective story. The first meager clues were found about fifty years ago, when a Ger- man scientist discovered the X-Ray and a Frenchman, William Becquerel discovered what we call radioactivity when he found that uranium salts had exposed a photographic plate in the dark. From this point, Pierre and Marie Curie went on to discover radium, the first known radioactive element and always present in uranium. Scientists had believed that this energy could be nothing less than a breaking down of the element, but this was against the Laws of Physics which stated that the elements were unchanging and unchangeable. As radium dissipates its energy, it eventually turns to lead, but this natural decay is very, very slow. Dangerous to human flesh as exposure is, a gram of it would be one hun- dred years in giving off enough heat to boil a cup of water. According to Physics Laws , everything is made up of indivisible particles called atoms, but as early as 1900, Sir J. J. Thompson, a British Physicist had identified the electron, a minute particle of the atom. By 1918, Lord Rutherford had chipped a fragment from an atom and discovered the proton, and in 1932, Sir James Chadwick discovered a third par- ticle which he had called a neutron. All electrons, protons and neutrons are the same, and it is the proportion of protons which makes one element differ from another. Just as detectives make assumptions, to solve mysteries, the scientists, acting as de- tectives now made some major assumptions but there could have been no bomb if these as- sumptions had not been true. The first of these assumptions was rea- soned out in 1905 by Dr. Albert Einstein who announced his conclusion that mass and ener- gy were different forms of the same thing. He declared that all matter was locked up energy and energy was dissipated matter. ENERGY He now made another assumption, that if matter could be converted into energy by the breaking down of the atom, it would pro- duce unbelievable power. Then, Dr. Enrico Fermi, by using a neu- tron as a bullet and by first slowing it down by passing it through hydrogen succeeded in splitting an atom of uranium. A new figure now appears-he is Dr. Niels Bohr, a great atomic physicist. By his calcu- lations, if the atom had been split, the parts should have flown apart like celestial cannon balls. He soon proved this in the laboratory. Meanwhile, it had been discovered that uranium contains three different kinds of atoms. Chemically they are the same, U-238, U-235, U-234. More than 9952 of Uranium is U-238, there is only one part in 140 of U-235 and the barest trace of U-234. It is the less-than-192 of U-235 which was the material out of which an atom bomb might be made. The great problem now was to produce the U-235 in quantity. At this time, Hitler was about to invade Poland bringing on World War II and un- doubtedly,whoever succeeded in producing the U-235 in quantity would win the war. There could be no doubt of' the parali- zing effect, physically and morally, of even one bomb. In the terms of a detective story, the mur- derer now was identified and the case against him completed by the police. But the facts and alleged motives were fantastic beyond the experience of normal people, and a jury remained to be convinced. Ways were found to produce the U-235 from plutonium in sufficient quantities. It was now time to test the bomb. Other exposives can be tested safely in small a- mounts but a small scale atom bomb would be no bomb at all. U-235 is no more automa- tically explosive than so much sand until the quantity reaches a certain size and shape. If, for a given shape there is a critical weight, at which it explodes, how could man postpone the explosion until a desired mo- ment? The obvious way would be to divide the bomb into two or more well separated parts, bringing them together at the chosen moment with gunpowder or some other con- venient force. tConfinued on page 621

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39 A MISERABLE MOMENT There it stood, tall, sentinel-like and un- nerving - reminding me, always reminding me. Why was it there? I hated it, with its leering look and silly talk. Oh, why had I been so stupid? Why hadnit I stayed in that even- ing? Oh be quiet you foolish grinning article with your silly phrase, 'did-it-again, did-it- again, did-it-again. I buried my face in my hands and tried to forget, but I couldn't. The thought kept coming back and torturing me. I looked at the little alarm clock on the kitchen shelf. It was ticking away the minutes rhythmically. I wanted to stop it. I wanted to stop time altogether, turn it back to much earlier that evening. How could I face people? It was the fourth time. Each time I had vowed that I wouldn't. but I had done it again. Why? SURE Spring is here at least. The snow has gone - practicallyg the trees are beginning to bud, and it is mild enough out that we can dispense with our winter clothing. Baseball has begun, and already there are several broken windows in token of this fact. Bicycles are appearing by the dozens. The pedestrians are beginning to trample down and mutilate the lawns again. The winter has gone by in record time in some respects, but, according to some of the old timers, we can expect snowstorms right up to the end of June. However, we shall see what we shall see. The little kids are starting to litter the roads with glass in one of their favourite games - hopscotch. From the bottoms of drawers, alleys and marbles have appeared, I turned. There he stood, looking malicious and domineering, Said-you-wouldn't, did-it-again, said-you- wouldnit, did-it-again. I took a coke from the fridge. It tasted flat and old. I left it and decided to try to get some sleep. As I mounted the stairs I could still hear that Grandfather Clock ticking away, did-it-again, did-it-again, did-it-again. Oh. why had I gone out instead of staying in and studying for my exams? It would be the fourth time I flunked my final exam to complete my course. 'fDid-it-again, did-it-again. did-it-again. MOYNA BERESFORD Grade 10. SIGNS and we shall be lucky if nobody breaks his neck trying to navigate through the marble tournament vicinities. All the women are starting to spring clean their houses, and one can hardly negotiate through the piles of furniture, Birds are beginning to establish themselves for the summer, and animals are busy repairing the ravages of winter on their homes and themselves. All in all, even though the old-timers insist that this is just an inter- lude, that a blizzard may be excepted any day, I'm not pessimistic - Spring is here! EDWARD NEFF, Grade 10.

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41 IMPRESSIONS Since the motion picture industry has im- proved movies so greatly with sound and colour, going to the show has become one of the most popular forms of entertainment. To keep up with this modern trend, most schools now have up-to-date projectors and show films in school hours. An interesting store of films, mostly on subjects dealing with school work, can be ob- tained from the Department of Education li- brary. This novel way of learning is an excel- lcnt supplement to learning from the old, tra- ditional text book. And what school child isn't pleased when he is allowed to miss the old routine of the classroom and teacher to spend the period watching movies? Is the time well spent? Are we educated as well as amused? Arvida High School has film day about once each month, when most of Friday after- noon is spent seeing films, ranging on a wide variety of topics from the National Film Board or Crawley Films. The following is a short account of the movies seen by the pupils on one of these film days. The first, entitled Newfoundlanders , was a grim story of the sturdy Newfound- landers who live with the ocean at their door, From the time when the sun rises until it sets, men with unconquerable wills toil on the cruel sea for their very existence. When the season comes for the inshore codfishing, it is usually made a family affair with father, sons, and brothers. Before too long, these resolute men have mastered the art of being jack-of-all- trades, including farmer, mechanic, carpenter, and fisherman. Even though these Newfound- landers get along amazingly well, there is a definite need for contact with the outside world. So each year from the time when spring clears the harbour until the freezeup in the fall, steamers visiting the few ports along the coast occasion interest and excitement. Du- ring the winter when most fishing has stop- ped, one of the most interesting and profitable pastimes is hunting for young seals. To the place where birthblood has left a scar of dazzling stain on the white snow, the men head to strip these seals of their valuable fur. After a hard day's work on the bountiful but cruel sea, the misty shores faithfully lit by lighthouses are a symbol of safe return. This old tradition of those who keep the lights along the shores will remain as long as the seas and the centuries roll on. The next film was one of the favourites, Eye Witnessn, a type of newsreel with five or six subtitles. This one included: Still Gold on Them Thar Hills , showing new methods of obtaining gold on a large scale, Canada's New State Residence , in which we were shown through the home at 24 Sussex Street, Sister Pelagie , which witnessed the swear- ing-in ceremony of the first Eskimo in history to become a member of the Order of the Grey Nuns, Trapping the Sea Lamprey which showed an ingenious method of catching the killer who is such a threat to commercial fishing, and Chic Chicks in Air Force Bluet' in which a few R.C.A.F. models displayed the fashionable new uniform for W. D.'s, proving that women are women wherever they go. The last film, 'Screaming Jets , kept every body watching closely since jets cruising in the air are no novelty over Arvida. Within the last few years, the whole world has begun to listen to the high-pitched siren of jet pro- pulsion, whose birthplace was Switzerland. In order to keep up with the Russian MIG'S, Canadair of Montreal has started to build jets. along with other members of the U.N. This film showed close-ups of many different types of jets, including the F-86 Sabre and very powerful Strato-Jets, which take off like a homesick angel . Their top engineers who design the plane from the ground up strive for nothing less than supremacy. One of the top-priority orders now, the CF-100, calls for the closest collaboration of everyone involved. The engine presents the biggest problem as it has to be able to stand terrific heat and still maintain precision action. Every essential ins- trument has to be placed perfectly, since no pilot will have time to fumble for an out-of- reach lever while hurtling through the air in peace or war. When most of the headaches of building are over, the aluminum skin is riveted around the fuselage and the plane is ready for jet propulsion to thrust it through the sky. Has this film day been educational? Has it been worthwhile to allow classes to stop for the afternoon to see movies? These questions can be answered by listening to the pupil's comments on them afterwards, proving that they must have learned something from the films. Very seldom would pupils spend their own free time to talk about some chapter in a history book, but discussions showed that they learned more from the films on Newfoundland and jet planes than most pupils would learn in a week from a text book. Arguments arise which can only be settled by further reading on the subjets. Films naturally hold the inte- rest of most children under sixteen as they are not allowed to go to the theatre in the Province of Ouebecg and since Arvida is so far from most large centers, this means of contact broadens their horizons and deepens their interest in many fields. Generally, every- one has profited in some way from these movies, and they look forward eagerly to next month when film dav comes again. JEAN WOODWARK Grade 11