Ashbury College - Ashburian Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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zz THE ASHBURIAN THE SENIOR SCIENCE TRIP TO MONTREAL HE Science Group this year left for Nlontreal shortly after the Hfinter Half Term tests. IVe were excused the last class period on Vlednesday, February 4th, HIC supper in Symington Hall, and then were picked up by bus at the front door. The bus service was parti- cularly notable, as the bus company went out of its way to be of service to us, with Mr. Sibley's assistance. Vlfe arrived in Montreal, and went our separate ways, all of us being billeted at parents and friends. Vlfe met together early next morning and set off to visit the Fry-Cadbury Plant. This was a wonderful beginning for our excursion, for there were many sights, smells and tastes which were richly satisfying. VVe watched the whole process of chocolate-bar making: the arrival and crushing of the cocoa beans, nuts and special Havouring, the slow steady beating and moulding into all the multitudinous shapes and set- tings. It was quite fascinating to realize the variety of recipes which are followed, and to see new ones being developed. One question which was on the tongues of many was how are the fillings put in bars like 'Cara- milk'? Our guides, however, told us that this was a top secret operation, and could only tell us that it required split second timing. One interest- ing little process was the making of chocolate chips. These are origin- ally little drops of liquid chocolate which are dropped into a long sliding tray which passes through various coolers. At the end of the route, they are slid off and automatically wrapped in air tight containers. No human hand touches them from the start to the finish of this wonder- ful little process. VVe also saw the complete manufacture of cocoa and hot chocolate. For permission to see this plant, we are indebted to Mr. Philip IYoollcombe, of Fry-Cadbury. After a private lunch, we set off for the Dominion Rubber Com- pany where we took in some smells and sights which were in sharp contrast to those of the morning tour. XVe saw many different kinds of rubber merchandise being made - fire hose, belting, foam rubber cushions, stoppers, trays, mats, drain boards, and containers. There was one fascinating weaving process where string was woven at a terrific rate into rubber tubing to make reinforced hosing. We also saw their plastics department which was in its initial stages of development. Tough transparent hose of vinyl was one feature of this section. On Thursday evening, the Headmaster came to Montreal to an Old Boys' Dinner very kindly given in our honour by a group of Klon- treal Old Boys. This sumptuous meal was held in the University Club, and was enjoyed by all present. The Old Boys present were introduced very wittily by Mr. Bill lfakins. The Headmaster spoke briefly, and Nlr. Sibley extended a hearty vote of thanks to Messrs. B. Robinson, P. XYoollcombe, R. Craig, H. Ronalds, P. Gault, XY. Chipman and

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THE ASHBURIAN 21 SCIENCE NOTES N the Autumn Term our Science activity took the form of trips to the Leonardo Da Vinci show held at the International Business Kla- chines Company. Two groups paid a visit here. Da Vinci, besides being the painter of the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper , was a great sculptor, engineer, architect and scientist. At the exhibit here in Ottawa, we learned that many of the so called new ideas of today are very old indeed. IVe think of town planning as a modern idea, Da Vinci was town planning in 1484. We think of the aeroplane as a modern device, Da Vinci was designing a primitive aeroplane in the early l6th century. IVe think of the automobile as a recent innovation, but Da Vinci designed and built a working automobile in his day. Ilere at the exhibit, we also saw models of the first hc:ur-minute-second clock, gun turrets, catapults, scaling ladders, water locks for canals, gears and military devices which were all forerunners of our modern devices of a similar nature. There were also copies of his notebooks which were written backwards so that others of his time would not steal his in- ventions. IVe left feeling very humble in the presence of the work of this genius of long ago. In january, as usual, we paid our annual visit to the Gatineau Power Plant, which was a great assistance to our study of e..ectricity. Also in january we were fortunate in obtaining a new film Pack- aged Poweru, the latest of the Aluminum Company's films. This told the fantastic story of the Kitimat Project out in British Columbia. By the time this project is completed, the contours of a vast area of British Columbia will have changed, and rivers will have been re-directed un- derneath a mountain to provide the power necessary for the electrolytic manufacture of aluminum. At the end of january, a group toured the E. B. Eddy Plant in Hull. Here we saw the manufacture of mechanical pulp to be later pro- cessed into hand towels, paper of all sorts, and light bond. The long wet paper machines always amazed us with their many parts, their speed and their versatility. XVe are indebted to Nlr. N. B. A. Fair for his efforts in making this trip possible. On XVednesday, April 22nd, we had another of the Bell Telephone Demonstrations. This was well attended. The new long distance system, and the new micro wave development were demonstrated and explained. Here too, we saw light running around lucite, sound waves being picked up by receivers, and an illustration of how television will travel through this area. The Science Club this year has made good progress, with arrange- ments in the hands of Mr. Sibley assisted by Ifpper School students.

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THE :lSHBL'Rl:1.X' s 51 SENIOR SCIFNCF TRIP Bin-lc ro-12: L. H. Sibley, l-fsq., Clark l. Carne. Abbott. jackson. Barr, llarr, Hore. From row: lfnwin. Xueman. Xlclnnes. Hogben, .Xlattht-ws. TY. Eakin. Un this occasion we also welcomed Nlr. Robert Spiers. Nl..-X., the Headmaster of Selwyn House as a guest. The next morning, we went to see the Shell Oil Refinery at Klon- treal East. The Company very kindly sent station wagons to pick us up at our headquarters, the lYindsor Hotel. On arrival at the Refinery. over steaming coffee, we were given an explanation of a How sheet depicting the large, involved plant. Then we were off on our tour. Our first stop was at the Topping Plant where the lighter hydrocarbons are separated. These consisted of fractionating columns. where the lighter gasoline molecules are taken off. leaving behind a heavy black residue - topped crude . This residue was taken and heated in a Vacuum Flasher, which broke down this residue into pitch and more fuel. These fuels were further broken down in the Catalytic Cracking and the Thermal Cracking Process. The Catalytic process used a clay catalyst at 10003 F.. and here the heavier molecules were broken down into lighter ones. The Thermal Cracking process changed the fuel molecules still further into high octane material. These processes were followed by the Polymerizer and Solutizer Plants. The Polyinerizer built the smaller molecules into larger molecules of gasoline. The Solutizer literally scrubbed every drop of gasoline to remove sulphur compounds. The last stage was the Blending Plant. where all the varieties of gasoline were blended to form the commercial products - propane, aviation gasoline, napthas, kerosene. jet fuel. diesel oil. fuel oils, and bunker fuel. After our tour, lunch was provided by the company in their cafeteria. After lunch we were driven to the huge Canadair Plant at St. Laurent.