Weymouth High School - Campus / Reflector Yearbook (Weymouth, MA)

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The closer affiliation between science and industry that has developed from the present wartime emergency is one ol the most progressive steps yet realized from the war. Pure science, alone in the laboratory or textbook, is useless without a field ol application; and industry, without the advantage of scientific improvement, is a self-centred, non-advancing field. Let these two be joined, however, and ' we see the signs of man ' s ingenuity beginning to stir. Fix to these the necessity provided by war, and with startling speed the formula emerges spontaneously as the achievement ol success that we have today. Necessity is indeed the spark of life granted to this combination; and war, an unnecessary business, paradoxically supplies just the impetus needed. Fortunately, on our side, this nation stands, with test tube poised and welding torch ablaze, ready to provide for anything that is desired; for the winning strength in battles, for the superiority ol instruments and weapons, ' and for the utmost safety pre- cautions for our lighting men. Let us see how these developments emerge. Perhaps, in the midst ol a battle a soldier thinks of some gadget that might do a better job than some of the present equipment. He suggests this to one of the officers who makes a note of it. Eventually the idea gets back to the United States, and is referred to a group of scientists who study the problem. In time, if the project is feasible, it is perfected and turned over to our modern industrial organization. This group applies its principles of mass production, and with enemy-stunning alacrity a new weapon is produced and distributed. This is an example ol the cooperation between science and industry. Another instance. A naval officer complains that he must have a better submarine detector. Immediately, with scientific precision, old devices are analysed, defects corrected, improvements made, and new inventions tested. Soon, with the apparatus completed, it. too. goes to the assembly line; another product of this splendid co-operation helping to save lives and win the war. Thus, we see that in the course of war many previously unsuspected problems arise. With the aid of minute scientific investigation, discoveries are effected and then, by means of organized industry, these implements ol war are rapidly produced. Necessity is the incentive of co-operation which is the keynote of success. Progress is not limited to an emergency created by war, but is only accelerated by it. Constant research is being undertaken in laboratories through- out the country, and from time to time fundamental principles are discovered. A practical application of one or more of these principles is called an invention. page twelve

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High Honor Essays

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In wartime more and more research scientists are needed to work longer hours investigating more diversified fields. Under such a system more of the basic laws of nature are evolved. Also in wartime, inventors bend all their efforts towards contrivances applicable to winning the war. Heme, there are produced belter engines, more effective medicines, momentous achievements in the science ol communications, and many other advances all pointing to final victory. In the realm of industry, the effect of war is just as stimulating. Every manufacturer increases his output, and those plants not able to make war materials are remodeled so that their facilities may be utilized in making essential articles rather than their normal products. Every conceivable type ol factory is a masterpiece of human ingenuity in expeditious production. Now, let us examine the results of a speeded-up home front by watching a typical member of the armed forces. He gets up early in the morning and eats a hearty breakfast of food that has probably been shipped in a dehydrated condition, a process that saves much space and weight on cargo boats. After that, he sets about his daily routine, protected, if he is in such a zone, from serious tropical diseases by powerful treatments given him by the medical stafl. Next, our average fighting man goes out on field maneuvers, or perhaps it is a real battle. There he uses the most accurate weapons ever made, scientifically designed and under high-speed mass production in the United States. Or, maybe, he is in the air force fighting the enemy; still he uses the best planes, the best bombsights, the best radios, and the best of all equipment. He may be in a submarine, or a tank, or on a battleship or even in a commando unit; always he has the best that we can supply the fastest. Later in the day comes the most enjoyable part, V-mail from home; and there we have an undeniably outstanding achievement of the war. The solution that V-mail is providing to the all important problem of quick, facile transmission of morale-builders will stand as a monument to success. So we observe a world struggle. So we see the progressiveness of a world of science and industry in a time of turmoil. There we realize the true significance of unity and the application of that union to success; a combination furthered by trial helping to abolish its stimulant. Science is dependent on industry; industry depends on science; the present world crisis is dependent on both of these and the future of this nation depends on the successful outcome of the war. page thirteen