Providence Technical High School - Review Yearbook (Providence, RI)

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64 THE TECH REVIEW 1928 purification of drinking water. No one can deny that a city’s water supply affects the health of the inhabitants of that city. Contagious diseases such as typhoid and diphtheria have often been traced to im- pure drinking water as their source, so too much stress cannot be laid upon the necessity for an absolutely pure water supply. The chlorination of water has done much towards its purification. Lack of iodine in the water has ofter caused goiter, and certain sections of the country are more in danger of this disease than are others. In Rochester, New York, iodine is artificially introduced into the reservoir there, to make up for the lack of a natural supply. It is to the chemist that the physician owes the use of anesthetics. That there were anesthesia-producing substances was not unknown to early physicians, but they scorned to use them, so even the most painful operations were performed while the patients were entirely conscious. The use of ether and “laughing gas” as an- esthetics marked the beginning of a new era in both medicine and chemistry, for it was left to the chemist to delve deeper into the study of anesthetics, and to per- fect those already in use. Local anes- thetics for minor operations soon came into general use. For a time cocaine served this purpose, but many deaths were caused by its use. Chemists then undertook the study of the cocaine mole- cule, which was found to contain three atoms—one relative to that found in nicotine; another, to the poison hemlock; while only the remaining atom contains the anesthesia-producing property. The useful atom was then extracted from the molecule, so that cocaine is no longer dangerous, but a new substance, novo- caine, is rapidly displacing cocaine for current use. These are but a few instances in which medicine and chemistry are necessarily linked together, and chemistry will al- ways be vitally connected with health and the cure and prevention of disease. The Gentleman in Gray Marvin Cornell. ’30 Told by a A small gentleman in gray, out on one of his habitual exploring trips, came upon a large, “spooky-looking” house. Led by his natural curiosity, he entered by a loose fitting door, lie found himself in a dismal room in which there were many strange appearing articles. He could hear doors rattling, and the wind moaning. Over all he smelt an odor which was very pleasing to him. On tiptoe, he progressed across the room, led on by that fragrant smell. Freshman Ah! He spies the source of the odor upon a small platform. He nears it, he reaches for it. and as he does, lie hears a faint click. He looks up quickly; an iron bar is descending; it is too late to dodge; the horrible device has broken the gentleman in gray’s neck. All is quiet again except for the moan- ing of the wind. Ah! Such is the sad tale of a poor mouse on his quest for cheese.

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1928 THE TECH REVIEW 63 The Relation of Chemistry to Health and Disease By Helen Vanderburgh. ’28 (Awarded Girl’s Price in In early times, chemistry and medicine were more noticeably bound together than at the present day, although with careful study one may see to what great extent chemistry and health and disease are now related. In Alexandria, years before the birth of Christ, students at the medical schools there spent much time on the study of the human anatomy. The bodies of liv- ing men—usually criminals condemned to death—were opened, and in this way much was found out about the organs, functions, and structure of the body. Hippocrates, a Greek physician living several centuries before the birth of Christ, was of great service to the cause of chemistry and medicine. Over two hundred different remedies (mainly herbs) are mentioned in his writings, al- though he was a strong advocate of diet, air, and exercise. In the far east, chemistry was turned over to the priests, who spent many hours of the day in the temples, mixing and preparing medicine from herbs. It was at about this time that the priests were forbidden to shed blood, so operations were performed by barbers, and the fa- miliar barber’s pole still bears testimony to that practice. Gradually there was a visible separa- tion between chemistry and medicine, and Anthony Medal Contest) they were soon relegated to two distinct fields, hut even the widening influence of the times could not prevent the two from being constantly linked together. So they went, down through the ages up to mod- ern times and the advancement of Pasteur’s important discoveries. Pasteur was a Frenchman, and at this time France was suffering heavy losses, due to the spoiling of wine during storage and transportation. The wine became muddy in appearance and sour in taste, totally unfit for use. After some experi- menting, Pasteur found that if the wine were heated to a certain temperature and then cooled, it would neither spoil nor turn muddy, and the flavor would still be retained. This process became known as “pasteurization,” after its famous dis- coverer, but the term is now used more in connection with milk than with wine. In the pasteurization of milk there are two methods which can be used—the “flash” method and the “holding” method. In the flash method the milk is raised to a high temperature, held there for about thirty seconds, then cooled rapidly. Al- though this is the commercial way, it does not compare with the holding method, in which the milk is held at a high temperature for a much longer period. Chemistry has also had its share in the

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1928 THE TECH REVIEW 65 The Relation of Chemistry to National Defence By Gommaire Domaige, ’28 (Awarded Roy's Trice in Anthony Medal Contes!) Although chemistry is comparatively a new study in the scientific world, its uses and appliances are very old, and its im- portance to national defense can no longer he ignored. The first time that chemistry was used directly as a weapon goes back to the old stone age, when a man was smoked out of his cave by the smoke of a fire built among the leaves at his cave entrance by his enemy. But the first time that the appliances of chemistry was used on a large scale as a war weapon was during the World War, when all kinds of gases, smoke screens and ex- plosives were used. Ever since men first fought among themselves they have tried to get at their enemy from a distance so as not to en- danger themselves too much. Therefor when the first explosive gunpowder, was invented, by some unknown chemist, it started a new era in warfare. One of the most wonderful things that the chemist has done, is finding some use- ful application in peace time for all the gases and other chemical weapons used during the war. Most all the poisonous gases can he used for the manufacturing of dyes and medicines as well as other minor uses. Dynamite, one of the most widely used explosives, is in war time used for wreck- ing purposes, while in peace time it is used for building purposes and for agri- cultural purposes in clearing fields of obstacles such as rocks and stumps. Dynamite is entirely a chemical product and is both just as important in peace time as in war time. Another great achievement of chem- istry in relation to national defense as well as to industries is the manufactur- ing of steel by the Bessemer process. In peace time this steel is used for build- ing purposes of all kinds, while in war time it is used for the manufacture of guns that defend the nation. When the war broke out we were prac- tically unprepared because the people had not wanted to face the truths of chem- istry. Instead when a chemist discovered a poisonous gas they placed a ban upon it. This ban was usually so strict that the chemist did not bother to investigate either the gas or the protection against it. When Germany made her first gas at- tack the result was tragic. Thousands were found dead and dying with horrible agonies; the result of unpreparedness. Then! the ban on poisonous gases was withdrawn and the chemists were let “loose” in their laboratories to find some means of protection for the soldiers. During the war Germany taught us a hitter lesson, but did we learn it? Arc we realizing the importance of chemistry