Bromfield High School - Beacon Yearbook (Harvard, MA)

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E HEY-com? i el.cl B eaicoin In our ordinary home life, the accomplishments of science are constant- ly and steadily appearing, the linoleum on the floors, the paint on the house and furnishings 5 the electric stoves, timers and toastersg the pressure cookers, and the fuel we use to heat our homes. All of these things are direct results of science. You can see therefore that no matter which way we turn, we constantly are faced by science and its accomplishments. John E. Murphy WASHINGTON, D. C. After the Revolutionary War, the United States was becoming a vital part of the world. It was growing quickly, but we had no capitol. The government had been seated temporarily in several cities, so in July, 1790, Congress authorized the appointment of a committee of three to choose a site. Washington himself appointed the men and infiuenced the choice greatly. The location chosen was an area of ten square miles on the Potomac River. The original plan for the city was drawn by Pierre L'Enfant, but it was completed by Andrew Ellicott. The first corner stone was laid by George Washington in 1793. When the original city was completed in 1800, it had only 109 brick houses and 263 frame houses. Washington was cheated of the satisfaction of seeing the government established in this new location, for death claimed him in 1799. TheCongress moved in the summer of 1800. When the government was transferred, the area was a wilderness. There was only one hotel, and -only muddy roads and footpaths. The President's house was placed in an open field. There was no business or society. After eight years of occupying the city, there was talk of return- ing the government to Philadelphia. Gouveneur Morris once Wrote, We need nothing here, but h-ouses, men, women, and other little trifies of the kind to make a city perfect. As the country grew, so did the capitol. In time, it was necessary to start thinking about how to govern the city. Finally, a mayor was appointed by the President, and a council was elected by the people. Today Washington is under the jurisdiction of the Congress. There are no rep- resentatives in Congress for Washington, therefore, the residents have no self government. This is taxation without representation. In 1814 the British burned all the buildings in Washington with the exception of the Post Ofiice and the Patent Office Building. While the city was being rebuilt, L'Enfant's original plan which had been missing over a period of years was found. This was the plan used in constructing the city as it is today. Streets, duly numbered and lettered, mark off rectangular blocks mak- ing it very easy for a stranger to travel around Washington. Today Washington is the most beautiful capitol in the world. In the spring, its fragrant cherry blossoms draw multitudes of spectators, while throughout the year, its monuments attract many sightseers. Among the Page Twenty-seven

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Zunromfzzeia Be aiconm SCIENCE IN OUR DAILY LIVING Think of how life would be if there were no such thing as science. Webster says that science is the accumulation and accepted knowledge systematized and formulated with reference to the discovery of general truths or the operation of general laws . The scientist, by using these laws as the basis of his experiments discovers many new and useful items, which are later applied to our daily living in fields of agriculture, industry, medi- cine and our ordinary home life. Many people will disagree when they are told that science contributes more to our every day being than any other thing, but I say that they are wrong. Scientific experimentation in the fields of agriculture is carried on to produce better and fuller fruits and vegetables, better fertilizers, and better insecticides to rid the growing plants and trees of harmful pests. Scientists are continually working and testing to find new and better methods of preservation. In former times all meats and fish were dried or smoked, and fruits and vegetables had to be home canned. Today, foods of all kinds are frozen or vacuum-packed by sanitary, scientific methods, and are trans- ported to the markets by trucks, boats, and planes, all of which result directly from scientific facts and experiments. In industry there is always a quest for new metals or alloys with which to construct new tools and machines or to improve the old ones. The search for these new metals and alloys is carried on in metallurgical laboratories with the aid of scientific data of all types, varying from periodic tables to notes on stress and strain and the reactions of the metals to the weather and extreme temperatures. The machines built with these metals and alloys preserve our food, construct the tractors and tools with which we grow this food, and construct the automobiles we use every day, they even aid in constructing articles from or with which we derive some of our en- tertainment and recreation. Radios, movie projectors and cameras, and television sets, which are constructed by these machines, in themselves are the applications of over a thousand different laws of science. In the field of medicine, many of the new treatments such as the radio- logical treatments and the X-ray treatments for cancer are direct results of experiments in the fields of physics and biology which are component parts of science in themselves. If experiments had not been carried on in these fields of science, we would have a terrifyingly high death rate because of tuberculosis, small pox, typhoid fever, diphtheria, and other diseases which were fatal not so many years ago. Through scientific research it was dis- covered which chemical compounds were the best to meet and combat various affiictions. We have also discovered processes by which to synthe- size adrenalin for chronic ailments, insulin for diabetes, penicillin, strepto- mycine, and auriomycine for pneumonia, and the anti-histamine for hay fever and the common cold. In recent weeks there have been a few out- standing accomplishments: the mechanical heart which by-passes the fiow of blood around the heart instead of through it while doctors are perform- ing delicate operations upon this organ, a new two-way plastic valve to re- place the heart valves damaged by rheumatic fever, and the mechanical kidney to purify the blood while the natural kidney is being operated on. Page Twenty-six

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Er 013-pique Ld I3 eaic on great attractions are the Capitol Building and the White House. Perhaps the greatest of all Washington monuments is the Lincoln Memorial. Here the figure of the martyred President sits brooding over a well loved city. Another monument close to the hearts of all Americans is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which honors every soldier Who has fallen in defense of his country. Arlington Cemetery, The Library of Congress, the Smith- sonian Institute, the Pan American Union Building are all interesting places to visit in Washington. Today Washington is the diplomatic center of the world. People who know no freedom look upon it as the symbol of liberty. Our capitol city must be kept high in the esteem of the world. To do this each and every one of us must endeavor every day of our lives to be better citizens. We must not allow ourselves to be swayed by our personal desires if they are injurious to our country. Our capitol and country represent our very life and liberty. There is nothing more important than liberty. Mary Ann Poitras MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Mechanical Engineering is that branch of the science and art of en- gineering which relates especially to machinery. It is closely related to all other classes of engineering, inasmuch as there is hardly an occupation or industry in which machines of some sort are not directly or indirectly concerned. This is why you can't draw a line between the different branches of engineering. A mechanical engineer has many problems and responsibilities in the company or firm in which he is employed. One of the leading problems confronting him, whatever the special line in which he is engaged, is the reduction in the cost of production. He should do his best in attaining the maximum result from machinery with the least cost, time, and labor. A mechanical engineer has a lot to do with transportation if he is in the field which involves it, because he is the man who thinks of and designs machines to make the process of building parts faster and more accurately. For example, if a motor block is to be drilled and planed, the engineer designs a machine that will bore all the holes and plane the surfaces all in one sweep. This makes production more economical. Another accomplishment of the mechanical engineer is the utilization of the sun's heat. It has been worked out in a small way in California. A concave mirror having 1,000 square feet of surface has been used for sending the sun's rays upon a steam boiler which lies at its focus and there is a mechanical device which keeps the mirror focused perfectly. The boiler produces power equal to ten horse power. Wind power is widely and successfully employed on a small scale, but the problem involves how to store up these fuels. The engineer takes a great part in solving this type of problem. Page Twenyt-eight