Tillsonburg District High School - Tatler Yearbook (Tillsonburg, Ontario Canada)

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THE MEANING OF THE ATOM BOMB by Ruth West, XIA On August 6, 1945, President Truman, speaking about the destruction of the Japanese army at Hiroshima, said, It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the Universe. Immediately the world asked, What is it? What does it mean ? In every language the press and radio rushed answers. The atomic bomb is a name given to a bomb which obtains its explosive energy from the release of atomic energy or, more exactly, the con- version of matter into energy by an atomic change. This process is known to scientists as nuclear fission. It is beyond the comprehension of an ordinary person. It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to estimate the meaning of the bomb. Its final power is not known. Nor, therefore, may we judge the various uses of such power. The first and obvious meaning of the bomb is that man has developed a weapon of destructiveness surpassing any other in his history. In its tiny compass lies power exceeding that of twenty thousand tons of T.N.T. It can devastate four square miles and damage a thousand square miles. It can kill an unthinkable number of people and its deadly radiation may affect people exposed to it years afterward. Military experts claim that in another war no city with a population of a hundred thousand people will remain as an effective operating centre one hour after the outbreak of war. So terrifying is the new weapon that nations are spending millions to develop it. This they do, knowing that in another war the nation without the atomic bomb cannot survive. They are also planning the possibility of moving centres of in- dustry to remote districts and under- ground. The use of the atomic bomb as a force for evil tends to draw attention from its worthier future as a force for peace. Science has long sought the release of atomic energy for the service of man. The great Atomic Bomb Project of World War II made it possible for science to proceed with its research on an undreamed THE TATLER of scale. Millions of people and dollars were devoted to the work. Now, with the war far behind, the knowledge and skills that perfected the bomb are being applied to assist us in the business of living. At the moment man is learning to con- vert this new power into heat. There are enormous plants at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Hannaford, Washington. Outside these plants are piles of uranium, the raw material which has been found most effective for nuclear fission. Uranium is mined at Great Bear Lake and in Colorado. It will be seen that this source of heat removes the fears that existed concerning the exhaustion of coal and oil deposits. In 'many laboratories experiments are going on so that the release of atomic energy will generate electrical power. In others scientists seek to perfect the power for other phases of industry. More im- portant than these is the research con- ducted in the interests of medicine. It is expected that atomic energy will, like the X-ray, become an instrument for the conquest of disease. The present is the time for hope. It is true that the bomb has made us realize that another war may mean disaster and death on a scale that may endanger civilization. On the other hand the very possibility of this may prevent war. There is, too, the fact that in the atomic bomb we have a weapon that, used by an inter- national police, can check any aggressor nation from embroiling others in war. Already the atomic bomb is being re- ferred to as the first milestone of the Atomic Age. Although we can only guess at the way of life that lies ahead, we do know that it will be profoundly different from that of today. Even cautious scien- tists get excited about it. They see a world of peace and a world free of disease, more fancifully, a world where it will be possible to drive a liner across the Atlantic on the energy in a glass of water. - One morning as Bill Mackie awoke at 9 o'clock he remembered that he had to take out the garbage. He dashed down- stairs with his hair tangled and in his night clothes. As he came out, the col- lector came up, and Bill asked, Am I too late for the garbage? The man answered, No, jump right in. 67

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ON CHANGING CLASSES - Ruth West, XIA. 157 .1 All . kai 4 .. ' A-lr . : Lula 1 , -W H ll ll l . 'l 'N l il :Milli ill! ll I XIX llflbx WQIT X 1 ' rv 5 6 by J BEFORE AFTER AN IN-BETWEEN-PERIOD DRINK OF INTEREST TO STUDENTS All through a period of Latin And a period of French, A high school boy sits waiting, His mortal thirst to quench. There goes the bell! The pupils leap, All through the doors they go, And when the fountain he has reached There's a large crowd there, and so He stands in line to wait his turn, Now he's feeling pretty gay. He bemls to wet his whistle, When out bellows Mr. Hay: Tanner, get away from there, You crazy little fool! If everyone should do THAT, We'd have QUITE a school! He moves on then, his head hung low, And again he sits downhearted. He realizes then that he's As thirsty as when he started. . Jack Tanner, XIB. 66 A new item of interest has recently graced the ancient walls of our local high school. This interest has been aroused by a significant new addition that has been made to our extra-curricular facilities. In short, the school has been loaned some radio equipment by the Department of Defence as an addition to our Cadet Corps. With this equipment we will be able to contact other schools equipped with radios and to practice signalling. Last December a number of boxes appeared in the base- ment and during the winter term Mr. Mansfield and some of the senior boys have set up the equipment they contained, making the library our station , Also, a telephone system has been set up about tial? school with the switchboard in the o ce. - During the year, a number of boys have been learning the Morse code in the hope of being able to use our radio. The telephone system has proved useful in helping to learn the code. Donald Lee, XII. T H E T A T I. E R

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NEW CANADIANS AT T.D.H.S. NIGHT CLASSES Uno aspect of the life of the school with which the day-pupils of T. D. H. S. are perhaps not well acquainted is the institution, by the Department of Edu- cation and the local Board, of night classes in Basic English for New Canadians. A very commendable beginning was made in this field several years ago under the guidance of Mr. S. Wightman. This year the Department of Education has en- couraged the expansion of this important effort. On Monday and Wednesday evenings throughout the winter, Miss Howitt and Mr. Hay have instructed two classes of enthusiastic and willing workers. These 68 men and women, boys and girls, oi' various nationalities, are united in their desire to perfect their knowledge of the Canadian speech and to absorb the customs and history of the country of their adoption. By their faithful attendance and enthu- siastic response they have shown their patient and understanding instructors how earnest is this desire. We are glad to welcome these new Canadians and to wish them success and happiness in their new home. Because we feel that our new friends have a desire to use their newly-acquired English and have something to say to us, we are pleased to print some of their compositions. THE TATLER