RESEARCH

Hokitika Guardian, 6 January 1930, Page 2

RESEARCH

WORK OF CARNEGIE INSTITUTE

INTERVIEW WITH MR FREEBORN JOHNSTON.

CHRISTCHURCH January 3.

A visitor to Christchurch at present is Mr Freeborn Johnston, of the Carnegie Institute, who lias been lor the past lb years served with the English Navy during the Great War, in its iorengn service, conducting and organising the various branches of research work on land and sea all over the world He has just returned from opening up the new observatory in Watheroo, IttO miles north of Perth, and is on his way back to the bead office of the institute in Washington. This is bis final tn ip on foreign service, as lie is going to settle down in asliington and devote himself to head office work.

'I lie fund for the establishment ol the Carnegie Institute came from a huge endowment made by Andrew Carnegie 25 years ago. It was made for scientific researcii to torwaru the interests of mankind, and under the terms of the endowment it was decided to take up the attack on the greater problems of research requiting much investigation. One of the best Known of the Institute’s stations, peiliaps, is the Solar Observatory at Mt. Wilson, California.

RESEARCH IN AUSTRALIA. Mr Johnston, in an interviefw with a representative of “The Press” yesterday, outlined the work that at present was being carried out by the Institute. In Watheroo. West Australia, lie said, a magnetic and atmospheric electric observatory bad been established. The reasons for its established in that place were first, that it was almost' antipodean, to the. head office in Washington, and also that the experiments required a place away from all dwellings and human influences, and which would remain so for 50 years. The observatory was right in the desert, and transportation of supplies, problems. A special type of car to travel over sand was tried first, but although it did the work, it cost 3s 2d a mile to run it. Now a truck with 10-inch tyres was being used, and proved much more satisfactory, permitting trips to be made twice a week.

EFFECTS OF EARTH CURRENTS. The object of the observatory is to uy to ascertain the origin of the earth’s magnetic fields, and the underlying causes of the charges of electric current)- which--flow through the earth’s surface. At/.ordinary times the currents were not apparent, but in times, of magnetic disturbances they interfere with telegrahps, telephones, etc. That was tin instance of their bigger manifestations, and there were hundreds of others of equal importance, though more, difficult to define. Thus, such observations as were being taken were hoped to further the research work in this direction. Experiments were being made to determine the effect of the sun on the earth's magnetism, and to ascertain the reason for the changed condition in which the earth exists.. A great deal oi valuable data has been collected, too, ,y a. mathematical analysis of the earth’s magnetism.

The Watheroo Observatory is purely to carry out experiments and record dUservaltions, and there are being taken back to Washington to deduct scientific results from them. Recordings have already been made, and will continue for .50 years.

USE OF HUGE TELESCOPES. In regard to the observations being made at Mt. Wilson, California, Mr oohnston said that more intensive investigations of the solar sysem were being carried out. Whereas ICO inch telescopes had been used formerly and had been the means of securing greatly extended knowledge of the sun, moon, and stars, plans are now under way for an extension to 200 inch reflecting telescopes from which wonderful results are expected. It had been found by the present apparatus that matter on the various worlds varied, and in some pieces as big as a man’s fist weighed over a ton. These observations were of great assitance in solving the problem of matter.

This problem of origin was also being attacked from other angles and the latest advance was the use of the Coolidge tube, charged with 3,000,000 volts, by which it was hoped to shatter the atom. The Institute was conducting all such development work in its own workshops in Washington. Radio experiments were also being conducted. The most recent investigations centre' round the Heaviside layer. This is a conducting layer which, exists approximateily 80 miles above the earth’s surface, and which makes the use of short-wave wireless possible. At Watberoo, too, there has been established a transmitting station, and a series of experiments is being carried out in regard to the polarisation of the incoming wave for a short wave wireless. LOSS OF RESEARCH VESSEL. Asked as to the probability of the replacement of the research vessel Carnegie, which was unfortunately destroyed at- Samoa a. few weeks ago, Mr Johnston said that she will not be replaced. The schooner had been built in the early days of the Institute, and since then the funds available had been so allocated ovejr more than 200 investigations that a lump sum necess-