Bryn Mawr College - Bryn Mawr Yearbook (Bryn Mawr, PA)

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the question Why? A consideration of these differences does not concern us here. classification 3. Fields of Scientific Inquiry. Science may be roughly divided into four large fields: Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geology. We cannot in- clude Astronomy and other sciences in our present discussion, as only the above mentioned four are included under Dalton roof. 4. Physics. Physics has been defined as essentially a system of explanations. The truth of this definition will become increasingly clear as the paragraph advances. The spirit of the physicist is part of the great scientific spirit already referred to in para- graph 2, and is marked by a facility on the part of the physicist in explaining why experiments do not work out in the class room in quite the same way as predicted in the book. The classic example of these class room difficulties is seen in connection with the electric circuit (when all the wires are attached, and still no current seems to flow). It takes all the spirit the physicist has to explain this. Another case where professorial explanation is essential, is where the text book states that so and so will happen if a rod is rubbed with cat ' s fur, and where in the class room, so and so does happen when the rod is rubbed with what is obviously a piece of red flannel. All the ingenuity of the physicist is required to explain this crude substitution. divisions It is obviously quite impossible to consider all the phenomena of nature of physics without attempting a classification of some sort. In fact the chief charac- teristic of the scientific spirit (see paragraph 2), is to classify and reclassify, thus narrowing the field of inquiry from a topic such as The Universe; Its Laws and Nature, down to a topic such as: when you light a gas jet, why is it that the gas in the mains and tank does not take fire? A discussion of these two topics has no place among our present considerations; suffice it to say that the reason the gas in the mains and tank does not take fire is simply because the gas is being pushed out in very small quantities. We will now briefly go into the traditional divisions of physics. Mechanics. This field includes such problems as the man carrying the pails, the elephant getting on the raft, etc. Heat. Under this heading may be included such questions as the amount of hot water necessary to melt a certain amount of snow, the calorimeter, etc. Sound. This topic involves a detailed consideration of the tuning fork, the sound of tolling bells travelling under water, etc. The sluchnt in metaphysics is referred to our volume on Philosophy Proper, and is cautioned against Why Not Try God? AI1 those interested in Astronomy are referred to our volume on Astronomy Proper and cautioned against Stars Fell on Alabama. A First Course in Physics for Colleges, by Milliken, Gale and Edwards, p. 3. The thoughtful student, and in particular the candidate for the Ph.D. degree, will do well to acquire this habit of narrowing the field of scientific inquiry, as soon as possible. 14

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Philosophy, ninny. What else is there worth thinking about? It ' s all a lie. He doesn ' t think. Then, said Sophie triumphantly, if he doesn ' t think and I stop perceiving him he ought to become non-existent. You watch him, while I close my eyes, and see if he disappears. At this empirical suggestion they all scornfully turned their backs again on Sophie, who thus had to think very hard to keep from disappearing herself. Several painful minutes elapsed before they all burst into a lusty anassa kata kato kale, all except the gentleman with the stop watch, who turned out to be Zeno and of course wanted the tortoise to win. You see, Miss Phile, he explained confidentially to Sophie, the tortoise was winning in mythology. But time is funny, he added, looking ruefully at the watch, which he kept punching to make it read zero — and now that the race has become historical, it ' s getting quite out of hand Sophie thought it was getting rather out of sight as well, although strictly speaking it had never been in, so deciding she could read about it in the News she thanked Zeno and groped her way to the door. She was still a bit puzzled when on the following Wednesday she read : The tortoise . . . plodded on while Achilles was swifter and so rested and did not concentrate all his con- tinuous energies toward winning the race. . . . The tortoise beat the hare. Achilles didn ' t race this race, except maybe in spirit. But who was it, mused Sophie, who said, ' Next time get ethyl ' ? E. M. ' 35 Science ' Proper A Text Book and a Guide definition 1. Science. Science Proper must be carefully distinguished from Popular Science. Science Proper is what one hears in Dalton, Popular Science what one hears in the Home. A more detailed definition need not concern us here. As this work can by no means hope to treat both fields exhaustively or even adequately, we will confine ourselves here to a consideration of Science Proper, allowing ourselves a few brief words of introduction. the new 2. The Scientific Era. In a certain sense we are all of us children of a movement scientific age, and our approach to all questions is characterized by the scientific spirit, which makes it impossible for us to observe natural phenomena without asking the question Why? As early as the nineteenth century this spirit was manifest; Napoleon, departing for Elba exclaimed Why? And now, in the twentieth century, as an automobile refuses to start, the driver says to himself, Why not? The question of Why not?, however, is slightly different in its implications from See our volume on History Proper (No. 1). Just as it is important to distinguish between Science Proper and Popular Science, so it is absolutely essential to distinguish between such a volume as History Proper, and 1066 and All That. 13

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Light. This includes the glass and pins experiment, etc. Electricity. This subject is always introduced with the iron filings experiments, but proceeds rapidly to such interesting and useful fields as electric circuits. All of us, as we enter a room at night, press the switch to turn on the electric light bulb. If we analyze exactly what happens (and as Children of a Scientific Age, see paragraph 2, it is inevitable that we should), we find it easy to account fot this remarkable phe- nomenon. A spark jumps and sets the ujires burning. Streams of positive and negative electrons meet. The current breaker is lifted from the uiircs. 5. Chemistry. When we wish information about any specimen ot kind of mat- ter, we consult a chemist. Now chemists have worked out a point of view which en- ables them to attack any problem connected with matter in a systematic manner, and to state the results in a clear and simple way. To learn something of chemistry we must acquire this point of view and mastet the technical language the chemist uses in stating and discussing his results. If a liter of heavy watet wete submitted to anyone pos- sessed of the spirit of the chemist (similar to the spirit of the physicist, and both included under the mote comprehensive term of the scientific spirit, see patagraph 2), an examination would be conducted, and an analysis given, somewhat as follows: HEAVY WATER IS: 1. Poison. 2. Ice. 3. Nitric Acid. 4. Mercury. 5. Water containing chemicals. 6. Distilled water. 7. Water with a concentrated specific gravity. 8. Wa ' er with the oxygen removed. 9- Water with unusual bacterial content. It has been seen best to treat this subject diagraniatically. ' Smith ' s College Chemistry, p. 3. 15