The Scientific Revolution

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 33, 8 February 1935, Page 47 (Supplement)

The Scientific Revolution

"" II "* HOUGH most "pure" scientists care little Jl_ for business, and most industrialists have little personal interest in science, science and industry go hand in hand, and cannot be separated. For the industrialist is always seeking belter methods, and it is the scientist who shows the way. The nineteenth century stands out as the age of materialism; the people of the advanced countries have been, in that period, far more concerned with things than with thinking; and they have acquired a vast wealth of "new things under the sun> Except when they are quite fresh, these novelties are taken for granted Ihe multitude of new things in daily use are tully recognised as the products of industry; but people easily forget that the scientist and the technical expert have played essential parts in bringing them into existence, not only by devising the things themselves, but by inventing and perfecting the methods and machines by which they are made. . It is probably in the realm of farming and in the manifold industries connected therewith tnat science has played the most important part during the last seventy years, when science in wi >h T t0 7 ln, dus]yy is considered in connection with New Zealand's growth. Changes of greater jmport have occurred during that period than in any two centuries of agricultural history, alhough, of course, New Zealand's agricultural history cannot as yet span a hundred years Seventy years ago such of New Zealand "as was cultivated was ploughed with single-furrow Ploughs drawn by two horses. Today that furrow has been multiplied and the power mover eight acres daily against the one acre a day which was then considered a good performance Seventy years ago the harvest was Rarnered with sickle and scythe, although a few crude horse-drawn mowers were just beginning °d th 566"- uTHe W°rk °f Cm™Z was agrduouS and the work of tying even more so. Mechanical inventions, however, have now enabled the whole of the harvesting programme to be carnecl out in one operation. The horse, seventy years ago, was the sole source of power on the farm, and remained so until the beginning of the present century. The development of tne i nternal combustion engine tthich gave the farmer the tractor brought about Mn CJ £T m Pre"war years ' hut its ful' ntilisaion did not eventuate until some twelve to fifeen years ago, when tractor haulage of all farm implements became a distinctive feature of New Zealand farming. Ploughing, drilling, harrowing, reaping, etc., all became tractor operations «Uh greatly-increased performances in consequence.

Seventy years ago the dairying industry could scarcely claim to be in existence. Dairying cows T pr,ised.the milkin S V hand of a few cons the churning of cream in a small domesc: churn, and the disposal of the.produce in the local market. Today machines milk most oi new Zealand s cows; machines separate the "earn f rom the milk, and pan-settiSg Is no Churning and butter-making are performed in factories which came into existence because of the expansion of the industry and its development along co-operative 1 a • tJ y<:ars, aSo.there were no such things objects , n the landscape of rural districts and T n f l7 fiI toWns- Science, too, has provided for the fulfilment of the proverbial doctrine that it is good to make two blades of grass grow where one grew before. Soil has come closely under he care of the chemist, with great effects upon the productivity of the land and the prosperity or the community. '

BOON OF REFRIGERATION Ihe meat freezing industry was unknown in Aew Zealand m thedays when "The Post" was hrst circu ated. There were, however, boilingdown works where the surplus of the rapidlygrowing flocks and herds of,the colony was disposed of. But after 1882 the situation changed. Once the refrigeration process became proficient, the overseas markets were brought within reach ot Aew Zealand, and meat freezing works began tcr spring up in all parts of the countp with the passage of time science has in this direction made rapid progress, and a whole orgamsation has been built-up whereby every part of the slaughtered animal is used to form a wonderful array of products. Refrigeration and electricity are the two great scientific advances which during the last seventy years have; brought new industries to New Zealand as well as revolutionising old ones. The principles of refrigeration have been applied to much else besides meat, and probably no other single factor has contributed so much to the country's welfare. THE ELECTMIC AGE. I Electricity has been responsible for vast industrial changes. Completely new industries have been built upon it, and it is now used not only in practically every home, but driving all kinds, of machinery formerly worked by steam or ha"d- Electricity, so readily generated from the abundant water-power resources of the country, has made an actuality of fairy stories wherein genii performed the bidding of mortals possessing the magic ring or stone. In homes and factories all over the country it is a case .of pressing the button" and miracles are performed. One has only to compare the modern factory with that of fifty years ago to realise the amazing changes which electricity has,

brought about in the industrial life of the country, as indeed of the world in general. It is in the application of power and illumination that electricity is most obvious, but its use extends far further and deeper. Our lives are subject to electrical control to a degree that it is far from easy to realise. We depend upon it for the accuracy of our clocks; and every organised transport system is governed by electrical messages. -. ; ;

BULLOCKS TO MOTORS. In the history of transport during the last seventy years, one can look back to the days when bullock drays were a common feature in Willis Street, when wind arid sails were the propellants of the vessels in the harbour. Who, seventy years ago, dreamed tof electric trams, of motor-cars, of aeroplanes? What revolutions have been accomplished by science during the last seventy years are almost unbelievable. There are countless ways in which science has revolutionised industry in a single lifetime. With the advent of a practically unlimited supply of cement, a complete change has come about in building. Stone had formerly to be sawn or fashioned, or bricks to be piled one on the other, to make permanent buildings. But these materials have now largely giyen way to steel and concrete, and hoists have displaced the hod. ihe engineer fashions the steel girders and rods that convert the building into a monolithic structure of great strength throughout. An entirely new range of processes has been developed in the iron and steel industry. Scientific research has in this field contributed ,an offering of enormous value. Nothing has contributed more to the success of all high-speed machinery than the advances made in metal alloys. These are illustrated especially' in the new steels. Our grandfathers knew "iron" and steel. One was soft, the other could be made hard. Now there are innumerable varieties, each with peculiar qualities. They include almost perfectly pure iron, which has behaviours of its own and has yet to show how it can be used. Alloys of iron can be made that are non-magnetic. Others show practically no expansion when heated. Steels can be made extraordinarily hard, and extraordinarily tough. The makers of armour plate and projectiles have in particular sought these qualities. Adding certain metals to steel has made it rustless, and abolished that household pest the knife-board. The flour from which the bread was made that nourished the founders of "The Post" was ground between two heavy circular stones, a method which had been employed for centuries. But a modern New Zealand fiourmill is equipped today with steel rollers and machinery, on a scale undreamt of seventy years ago, so that every part of the grain can be separated and sorted out entirely without manual interference. ' .

HAND OF SCIENCE EVERYWHERE. In other mills, too, there have been far-reach-ing improvements in the machinery installed, although perhaps in some cases, like woollen mills, the principle underlying the machinery has remained much the same. In sawmills circular saws and band saws and machines for planing and fashioning timber have abolished much manual labour, and in the bush itself the bullock team has given place to tHe steam winch and the tractor. ■ '■ ■

Mining has derived its share of benefits from science during the last seventy years. It is a far safer and less unpleasant occupation than it used to be, arid in recent years there have come on the scene the new geophysical methods of locating likely ore-bearing strata, thus obviating much abortive drilling. In the treatment of coal for gas, too, science has made great strides, and the number of additional products which coal is made to yield is legion. x Science has assisted the man on the land in many diverse ways. The chemistry of soils and manures has greatly complicated farming practice, but the farmer can now count on crops where previously failure was often the result of his labour. Insect pests can be controlled by sprays as well as diseases that attack his produce.

The hand of science is visible in all directions. Whether it be the rapid motor with its internal combustion engine that whisks the traveller from place to place, the aeroplane, or the luxurious oil-burning steamer; whether it be the cinematograph film or the radio which entertain at the end of the day's work—with each and all science has brought into being new industries which seventy years ago, when "The Post" first looked out on the world on a summer's day in 1865, were undreamed of.

It is, perhaps, easy to assume that scientific conquest is nearing its; zenith, but it is far. too much to assume. The great human creator today is the chemist. He has built up innumerable substances that never existed before, and many of them have become of the greatest industrial importance. One of these is bakelite, which has a multitude of uses. -He takes Natures products and twists them into new shapes: we have artificial silk, and that übiquitous wrapper, cellophane.. Mankind today can go further and faster, can see further, dnd hear more, andMive in every way more fully and gloriously than ever before. He has entered into a heritage of miraculous possibilities. It is science, combined with industry on the grand scale, that has given us this heritage. .And- today the world is faced with the great problem of utilising and enjoying it.

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