Brooklyn Technical High School - Blueprint Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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THE AMERICAN By WILLIAM A. LYONS, 89 I QIGHT before you stands an American who unfortu- E4 ,E nately does not exemplify xr ,V every citizen of this democ- . XR racy. He is, rather, what every citizen should be if we are to have democracy in its purest form. His philosophy of life has been expressed by Bertrand Russell in a recent magazine article, that is, he does not feel that as one person he is too insignificant to do anything worth while to beneht mankind. This quality is shown in the way he partakes of the privileges accorded him by the fathers of the Constitution. Every year at election time he is to be found at the voting polls in the local school, fully prepared to cast his ballot for his choice. To him this choice is very impor- tant and therefore he always acquaints himself with the background and quali- ties of the man he is to vote for. He re- alizes he must do this if he is to preserve his rights for himself and for posterity. This American is vitally concerned with our present foreign policy. He thinks that the moral point of view has been ignored by many people and since Britain is defending the ideals of democracy, then we, as the foremost practicers of the dem- ocratic form of government, should give aid to Britain, In following up his belief that foreign dictators are a definite menace, regardless of what expanse of ocean separate our shores from theirs, he has registered for civilian defense. His daily life consists of rising at seven-thirty on week-day mornings in or- der to be at work at nine. Wlien he goes home at five he looks forward to supper because, as he tells the boys at the of- hce, his wife's mind is chock full of darn good recipes. just as he likes to brag about his wife's cooking, he also takes pride in his children and well he might, for their characters are being helped in their development by the hour or so which he spends with them each night, talking with them and helping them with their homework. In this way he teaches them to use their minds to their best advantage. In the evening he also listens to the radio and reads the eve- ning paper and entertains or visits friends with his wife. Sunday is a day of rest for him. He at- tends church in the morning because he feels we cannot have unity within our country without faith. He is a strong sup- porter of the inter-faith leagues, believ- ing that these movements are the most potent cures for lack of unity. He is not the type who talks religion in one breath and then condemns his fellow-man for his shortcomings in the next. He knows that good will brings about faith and this in turn brings about an unbreakable fed- eration of mankind. This American enjoys Sunday after- noon because his youngsters derive so much pleasure from the automobile rides they take, the beaches and picnic grounds they visit, or the indoor games they play if the weather is not favorable. Tomorrow is his best day for it is to- morrow he will accomplish something else. This something may be trivial but it will be an accomplishment. Today was a tomorrow and today he strengthened the bond between himself and his family and between himself and mankind. This man does not preach democracyg he practices it. 11 s

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IDX 1 7 I ODE TO PEACE By CALMAN AMBROSY, E53 A thousand, thousand years ago, Our ancestor, the ape, Perched high upon a lofty tree, Above his roaring enemy, Dropped cocoa-nuts of spheroid shape, Upon the beast below. And then the primal man appeared, No cocoa-nuts used heg A piece of skin he took, and string, And made himself a whirling sling, Then sent his stone unerringly- The weakling now was feared. Then passed a time, a long, long time, The knight came on the sceneg Chain armor, cap, and vest he wore, A heavy shield and lance he bore, He fought for country and for queen- But soon passed knighthood's prime. For now the smoking hre-arms came, Small use your armor, knight! The strong, the weak, the short, the tall ln war are equal, one and allg For skill is now the badge of might, And not brute strength or fame. In every stage, alas! we see Man fighting against man, It's not to help man that he tries, But from his brother's fall to rise, And grasp all treasures that he can, But long this will not be. Another day is drawing near, The pen shall rule that day, At first the populace will use The pen to injure and abuse, But even now, a voice I hear, This too shall pass away. For slowly man will learn to wield His pen in the noblest way, Then, only then, will cease this strife, Then, man will aid man in this life, The brute unto the god shall yield, And joy shall hold full sway.

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COSMIC RAYS By JOHN ,....: ECAUSE of its inherent mysteries nothing is more fascinating in current sci- entific research than the i , study of cosmic rays. The investigations combine pre- cise experimentation with reasoning and with the romance and grandeur of astronomy. The rays themselves, in spite of all the characteristics that have been attributed to them, appear to be either infinitesimal- ly small, charged particles, or waves of extremely small length. The present in- vestigations concern themselves with de- termining their exact nature and the meth- od of their origin. In order to understand the study, we must first learn something about the instruments employed. The simplest of these is the electro- scope. It consists of a metallic rod in a container, but insulated from it, from which two metallic leaves are suspended. If an electric charge is applied, it travels through the rod to the leaves. These swing out because they both acquire the same charge. It was found that no matter how perfect the insulation, the leaves soon began to collapse, thus indicating the loss of the charge. The assumption was made ,that the air was filled with ions, that is, atoms with an electric charge, Those ions with the proper sign were attracted to the electroscope, where they were neutralized, thus gradually robbing the instrument of its charge. To account for the ions, it was thought that particles or rays traveling through the atmosphere collided with atoms and ion- ized them. These rays may be counted by the 12 SCHEPP, 85 Geiger-Muller counter. It consists of a wire stretched within a metal container. A voltage is applied across the two com- ponents almost high enough to cause an arc. Now any ions inside the device will be attracted to one terminal, and thus cause an electric current to flow. After suitable amplification, this operates a counting device. By the use of a third device, the Wil- son Cloud Chamber, we may actually see the path of the ray. A glass cylinder is fitted with a piston and filled with warm air saturated with water. When the piston is drawn down, the air expands, and in so doing is cooled. It is now supersatu- rated and if possible, the water will con- dense. To do this, however, it must have a nucleus, which may be either a particle of dust or an ion. If we have taken care to purify the air, we can see the path of cosmic rays by watching water condense on the ions in the trail of the rays. Armed with these devices, scientists began investigations. At first it was thought that the rays came from radio- active material in the earth, especially since one such material, radium, had been discovered only a short time before. It was found, however, that the particularly penetrating rays sought became weaker when the instruments were apparently surrounded by radioactive material. Later, balloon ascensions showed that the in- tensity of the rays increased with altitude, and this led scientists to believe that the rays originated from beyond our own planet. Since little variation in intensity is noticed at various times of the day, it is doubtful whether they come from any one heavenly body, such as the sun. In-