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Physics in Canada The Bulletin of the Canadian Association oj Physicists

Bulletin de l'Association Canadienne des Physiciens

Vol. 20, N o . 3, Summer 1964

CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP 4

ABOUT THE ASSOCIATION 5

THE P.S.S.C. HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICS COURSE IN SASKATCHEWAN, by L. A. Wilson and G. G. Shepherd 6

"THE P.S.S.C. COURSE IN A UNIVERSITY CURRICULUM" 13

C.A.P. AFFAIRS 17

NEWS 19

CANADIAN PHYSICISTS 26

A PLAN FOR GRADUATE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH IN SCIENCE by J. H. Chapman 28

IN MY OPINION—by "Capius" 31

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 34

BOOKS 38

EDITOR: A. Vallance Jones, ÉDITORIAL BOARD: A. Kavadas, J. D. King, T. P. Pepper, G. G. Shepherd, R. Skinner. EDITORIAL ADDRESS: Dept. of Physics, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Sask.

ADVERTISING AND SUBSCRIPTIONS: University of Toronto Press, Front Campus, Toronto.

PUBLISHED FOR THE ASSOCIATION BY THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS

AUTHORIZED AS SECOND CLASS MAIL BY THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, OTTAWA, AND FOR PAYMENT OF POSTAGE IN CASH

CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP

The constitution of the Association provides for the enrollment of Corporate Member?. Corporate Membership is open to all corporations, firms, institutions or individuals who wish to contribute to the Educa-tional Trust Fund of the Association. This fund is being put to good use in furthering the educational activities of the Association—in particular the C.AP. Secondary School Prize examination which has been operating with such success. Arrangements for corporate member-ship should be made by contacting Dr. R. H. Hay, Aluminum Company of Canada, Kingston, Ontario.

The following is a list of our corporate members at the time of going to press:

D. VAN NOSTRAND CO.; POLYMER CORP. LTD., SARNIA; THE STEEL COMPANY OF CANADA, LTD., HAMILTON; DOMINION FOUNDRY AND STEEL; DEHAVILLAND AIRCRAFT; DOMINION ELECTROHOME; CANADIAN WESTINGHOUSE; R.C.A. VICTOR CO. LTD.; BRITISH-AMERICAN OIL CO. LTD.

4

About the Association

THE CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICISTS invites applications for mem-bership from physicists, scientists and engineers whose work is related to physics, from teachers of physics and from university students study-ing physics or an allied course. Besides organizing an annual congress and special symposia of its subject divisions, the association is active in supporting High School and University Education in Physics by organiz-ing Prize Examinations and in encouraging students to embark upon physics as a career. Full members receive the Canadian Journal of Physics free, while Associate Members receive it free for four years. All members receive the association's own bulletin, Physics in Canada, and membership lists from time to time.

Membership is available in four grades—full member, associate mem-ber, student member and corporate member.

Subject divisions of Theoretical Physics, Medical Physics and Earth Physics are active. When demand warrants, other divisions may be formed.

For further details regarding membership of the Association write the Registrar, Canadian Association of Physicists, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, or see the nearest Council member.

The annual membership fees of the Association are as follows: Full members $15.00; Associate members, $6.00; Student members $2.00. Arrangements for corporate membership should be made by contacting Dr. R. H. Hay, Aluminum Company of Canada, Kingston, Ontario.

C.A.P. EXECUTIVE. President: L. Katz, University of Saskatchewan. Past President: G. M. Volkoff, University of British Columbia. Vice-President: P. Lorrain, Uni-versity of Montreal. Secretary: A. C. H. Hallett, University of Toronto. Treasurer: C. C. McMullen. Directors: F. T. Davies, Defence Research Board; J. H. Ormrod, McMaster University; A. Lemieux, University of Montreal. Division Chairmen: G. F. Whitmore, University of Toronto, Medical Physics; E. W. Vogt, Chalk River, Theoretical Physics', P. A. Forsyth, University of Western Ontario, Earth Physics. Registrar: R. G. Summers-Gill, McMaster University. Editor: A. Vallance Jones, University of Saskatchewan. C.A.P. COUNCIL. B.C. and Yukon: J. E. Lokken, R. Barrie. Alberta: B. G. Wilson, W. K. Dawson. Sask. and Man.: K. G. Standing, L. H. Greenberg. S. W. Ontario: E. B. MacNaughton, P. A. Fraser. Central Ontario: H. M. Love, J. C. Stryland. Ottawa Valley: A. G. Ward, E. P. Hincks. Quebec: W. R. Raudorf, P. Marmet. New Brunswick and Newfoundland: W. J. Noble, S. W. Breckon. Nova Scotia and P.E.I.: H. D. Smith, W. J. Archibald. EXECUTIVE ADDRESS: Dept. of Physics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.

5

The P.S.S C. High School Physics Course

in Saskatchewan

L. A. WILSON* AND G. G. SHEPHERD

INTRODUCTION: In common with many other Canadian provinces, Saskatchewan has a four year high school program with physics, as a separate subject, being taught in grades XI and XII. About three-quarters of the junior science work of grades IX and X is given over to physics and the remaining quarter is mainly chemistry. The complete educational struc-ture of the Province of Saskatchewan is, at the moment, undergoing a vast reorganization; the eventual outcome will probably be some form of the 6-3-3 divisional system. What will happen to the present junior science program then is uncertain, but one can hope that there will be a year and a half of elementary physics before the senior years are reached.

In the past, revisions in the physics program have occurred about every ten or twelve years. The previous one went into operation in most schools in 1950 and was based on the text by Charles E. Dull and othersf. At that time it was felt that this was a satisfactory choice both of course content and of text. In 1955 this text was revised by several Canadian high school physics teachers, and this revision was accepted in Saskatchewan even though by this time there was some feeling of dissatisfaction among teachers. The fact that the text revision proved to be a poor one, with even more errors in the revised book than in the previous edition, added fuel to the unrest. The physics course seemed to be getting weaker and did not include material that some teachers felt should be used.

During the period 1950 to 1960 the geographically isolated high schools of one to four rooms began to disappear, to be replaced by larger composite units placed near population centres. Previous to this

•Mr. Wilson is a physics teacher at Aden Bowman Collegiate, Saskatoon, and presently Chairman of the High School Physics Curriculum Revision Committee,

tModern Physics, by C. E. Dull, H. C. Melcalfe, and W. O. Brooks. Clarke, Irwin and Company Ltd., 1956. Not to be confused with a later edition by Dull, Melcalfe, and Williams, published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston., Inc., in 1960.

6

THE P.S.S.C. HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICS COURSE 7

the schools had the minimum of staff and less than the minimum of physics equipment. Such a school was considered fortunate if one staff member had had some education in one of the sciences; specialization was impossible. Of the three major sciences, physics probably suffered most, because in many regions it was felt that this discipline was difficult. Isolated schools of fewer than eight rooms usually budgeted for the teachers' salaries and little else, with the result that, except for the larger town and city schools, practically no physics equipment was ever bought or improvised. In the towns and cities where larger classes were available, there was a reasonable supply of equipment and many of the "experiments" that were suggested in the prescribed text were carried out.

By the year 1962 a sufficient number of larger schools had been organized and put into operation throughout the province that boards and principals were asking for 'physics' teachers in their advertisements. These new teachers soon found themselves in agreement with the physics teachers of the existing town and city schools in suggesting that the course which was suitable for 1950 was now inadequate. Many physics teachers had access to the work of the Physical Science Study Committee* (P.S.S.C.) which originated at M.I.T. in 1956 and one or two had been on courses sponsored by that committee. In the fall of 1962 the provincial director of curricula, with the aid of the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (S.T.F.), assembled a committee to discuss the position of the subject in this province. That committee was made up of practising teachers of physics, two professors, representatives of the provincial department of education, and one member from the S.T.F. From the original meeting a further committee was organized with equal membership from Regina and Saskatoon, including in all four teachers, two professors, a high school superintendent, a S.T.F. executive member, and the director of curricula. This distribution was used because of the awkwardness of arranging meetings if the represent-atives have to come from too many points in the province.

At the first meeting of the latter committee three alternatives came into prominence. First, it was felt that the present program could be updated with one that would be similar but more advanced, second, that a new program of our own could be designed, and third, a new program that had already been designed and tested could be chosen.

*It is assumed that all readers of Physics in Canada are aware of this high school physics course. The written materials; text, laboratory guide, and teacher's resource books are available in Canada f rom the Copp Clark Publishing Co. Ltd. Those who attended the Congress at Université Laval in 1963 may recall the lively Saturday morning discussion on this course.

8 PHYSICS IN CANADA

Of these alternatives the first one despaired us, the second frightened us, and the third pointed toward the P.S.S.C. course. Between the first and second meetings all members made a study of the P.S.S.C. course and by the time they reassembled each was convinced that in order to get teacher and student reaction this course should be given a try in a few pilot schools throughout the province.

THE PILOT PROJECT: During the spring of 1962 pilot classes involving twelve schools and

fourteen teachers were organized. Parts I and II of the P.S.S.C. course were to be taught as grade XI. The schools were given the choice of teaching this to all students in the grade or to any number of students or classes that they so desired. At least one school on the pilot project assembled a group of low achievement pupils into a class to observe the effect of this type of course on those who would normally not take physics. Several schools elected to teach the course to all grade XI students (this was the situation in the five Saskatoon collegiates which offered it), whereas others chose one or two classes. One school offered the course to the best grade XI class only. The greatest difficulty that the schools iad to overcome during this period was to secure sufficient equipment and books to be ready for the fall term.

To assist the pilot project teachers, and to give a preliminary assess-ment, the Physics Department of the University of Saskatchewan used the P.S.S.C. course for the Senior Matriculation class given at Summer School. The instructor was in general very pleased with the course. Pilot project teachers who were unable to audit this class, and who had not previously attended a National Science Foundation sponsored course in the U.S.A., took part in a one-week seminar arranged during Summer School by the S.T.F. A physics department consultant was employed for this, and its main purpose was not teacher-training, but was to introduce the course to a wider range of teachers, in hopes that the program would expand in the following year. About one hundred teachers attended.

During the first year the Curriculum Committee held regular meetings to keep track of progress. The pilot teachers met four times as a group during that period, in order to discuss the course, talk over common problems and to plan ahead. On a smaller scale, the seven Saskatoon city teachers held monthly meetings for the same reasons. It became clear at the very first meetings that a completely different type of course was being dealt with. It was well known, of course, that the P.S.S.C. course was designed with a different educational philosophy, and with a


vastly different selection of topics. The question was as to what would happen in practice. The first reaction was that of markedly increased student interest in laboratory work. Teachers reported that they had never seen such high student interest in any subject before. Some teachers allowed students to sign out equipment kits overnight, and on some weekends there were few kits left in the school! Teachers also reported that some students showed ability and originality of a level that one would not have previously thought possible. At none of these meetings did any teacher ever suggest going back to the original course.

It must not be concluded from this and from the fact that the meetings brought out no severe opposition that the introduction of this course faced no difficulties. There has been criticism but all of it has been of a constructive nature, with the intention of making things easier for the various schools and the teachers during the transition period. Younger teachers and recent graduates into the teaching profession have been very enthusiastic; some older teachers have tended to be more con-servative. Many teachers have had reservations about leaving out so many parts of the traditional course, but on the whole they were reassured by the proposal that such discarded sections could become the basis of the junior science course in grades IX and X. Still others have worried about the slow learners and those not gifted toward academic achievement, but our experience to date seems to indicate that many of these can gain more from the P.S.S.C. course than similar students had gained from the more traditional physics teaching.

Two perennial problems of the high school teacher are those of tests and suitable problems for extra work. During the pilot year for grade XI the Educational Testing Services tests, developed for the course, were tried in all schools. Most teachers who used them were dissatisfied with the results in that they gave an insufficient marking spread for such things as grading or promotion work. To alleviate the shortage of problems based on the course a system of examination and test exchange was instituted, in which all teachers made copies of their tests available to others. In this way a file of problems has been built up; this is useful in itself and has also formed the basis of comparison between the various schools. The expense of such a system prevents its use indefinite-ly but it has been helpful and some modification of it will probably be continued.

EXPANSION OF THE PROGRAM: In September of 1963, Parts I and II of the course were authorized as

an alternative to the standard grade XI physics course in the schools of

1 0 PHYSICS IN CANADA

the province. Experience gained from the pilot course and from the lectures and seminars in 1962 indicated that a broader training program was needed for the summer of 1963. In February 1963 several one-day institutes were arranged so that teachers not using the course could increase their familiarity with it and ask questions of those who were actively engaged in the pilot program. These institutes were held at various places throughout the province so that all teachers had an opportunity to attend. The winter institutes were of the seminar type and were frequently rather lively. One must keep in mind the fact that high school physics was being upgraded to a level approaching that which some of the teachers themselves had attained (because of having specialized in some other field).

During the summer of 1963 five different training groups were avail-able for P.S.S.C. physics teachers. The physics departments of the Saskatoon and Regina campuses cooperated in developing, and each offered, a new University course designed for this purpose. Called "A Survey of Physics for Teachers", it took cognizance of the fact that traditional University courses do not constitute a good background for teaching P.S.S.C. physics. The lecture notes were developed by DT. R. Skinner, and the laboratory was designed by L. H. Greenberg and G. G. Shepherd. This class carried credit as a physics class in the College of Arts, or a methods class in the College of Education, thereby making it a feasible class for many teachers. Total enrollment for both campuses was about 85. The International Nickel Seminar in Physics, held in Saskatoon that summer, had 25 participants, and considerable time was devoted to P.S.S.C. physics. The S.T.F. sponsored two-week seminars in both Regina and Saskatoon.

The result of this was that 128 teachers elected to teach the P.S.S.C. course in the fall of 1963. Once again shortages of supplies and texts proved the biggest; problem. Many teachers had difficulty making the experimental equipment work, and even such a detail as assembling the apparatus managed to become bothersome in some places*. Once again perseverance and teacher ingenuity carried the issue; the teachers wanted something better to offer to their students so they used every means available to solve their problems. Another source of trouble appeared in the form of time tables; schools had for many years been indoctrinated toward the idea of a 'lab period' per so many days, and

•P.S.S.C. apparatus (of somewhat different design) is manufactured by two different firms in the U.S.A. Their agents in Canada are Stark Electronics, Ajax, Ont., and Canlab Sup project, Stark Electro 1963 .

31 lii lies Ltd. Presumably partly influenced by the Saskatchewan 'cs began manufacturing P.S.S.C. equipment in Canada in


this notion plagued the teachers attempting to introduce this course. It seemed impossible to convince some principals that experiments had to be done at a specific junction in the course and that room and equip-ment had to be available at that time rather than wait for 'Friday'. Another bit of awkwardness arose when some of the more wealthy stu-dents (perhaps a comparative condition in Saskatchewan) bought copies of the teachers' guide. They thus obtained, among other things, a complete set of solutions to the problems in the text!

Some teachers have, tongue in cheek, tried to assess pupil reaction. All complain loudly when asked for their opinions so the adventure must be a success and the students must have accepted it. At least one grade XII class of a year ago complained bitterly because they were not able to take the course. The most frequent complaint to date has been to the effect that the course makes them think. Perhaps even this may be a good feature.

One student reaction noticed by all teachers using the course is the enthusiasm that these young people have shown for both the practical and theoretical aspects of this type of physics. Their approach to the lab exercises is one of honest inquiry; even the relatively poor students are intrigued and make excellent attempts to take measurements and draw conclusions. A teacher may be even allowed the pleasure of a feeling of accomplishment when a student takes a set of apparatus home and then a day or two later the father wants to discuss with the teacher the limitations of such a piece of apparatus as the distance measuring kit. Apparently the kit showed the back fence at home to be a foot or so shorter than the yard stick had done!

CONCLUSIONS: The first crop of P.S.S.C. students will graduate shortly, and some of

these will appear in University classes in September. It is, therefore, perhaps too early to draw conclusions. But with this proviso, it does appear that the P.S.S.C. physics course will succeed, or has already succeeded, in Saskatchewan. This success must naturally be attributed to the course itself. It should be mentioned that the text, despite its admirable qualities, does not "sell" the course to a prospective teacher. The laboratory work does that. No person should pass judgement on the P.S.S.C. physics course without first experiencing the laboratory work.

But the authors feel that some of the credit for success in Saskatchewan must be given to the cooperative roles played by the Department of Education, the S.T.F., the University, and most impor-tant, the teachers themselves. The teachers have been given adequate


time for familiarity with the course, they have not been pushed, nor forced to teach it. Each teacher has decided himself when he feels prepared to do so—the resulting enthusiasm of the teachers has been a key factor in the success. It is expected that in about two more years the entire province may be using this course.

Vive le, biculturalisme/

The P.S.S.C. Course in a University

Curriculum

The following is the abstract of a paper on the above subject by J. Hart and P. Kelly presented at the 1963 Congress together with some excerpts of the discussion which followed. An article based on the paper presented by G. Hall on "Problems of Teaching Physics in Secondary Schools of French Canada" was published in our Winter Issue.

QUALIFYING YEAR PHYSICS at Carleton University consists of about one hundred students who entered with very high standing in the Ontario junior matriculation examinations or with high standing from similar examinations in other provinces. If these students had not entered the qualifying year they would have taken the ordinary Grade XIII senior matriculation academic course in an Ottawa high school, entering the university one year later. With a view to making an assessment of the P.S.S.C. course, we have presented it to them as their Qualifying Year physics course. Questionnaires have been completed by the students in an attempt to obtain their opinions.

The study is divided into three parts: the textbook, the laboratory experiments, and the films.

THE BOOK The textbook is good but uneven, and shows signs of having been

written by a committee. The students have spotted this defect and are consequently suspicious, even of some of the better chapters; the order of presentation also leaves something to be desired. Most students appeared to prefer more conventional texts.

THE EXPERIMENTS We have a selection of apparatus recommended for use with the

course, but our previous experience with qualifying year students led us to use our own more rugged experiments. The P.S.S.C. experiments are well conceived but are poorly made to the point of trashiness, and at the age of seventeen or eighteen the students tend to evaluate them at their face value. Many of the P.S.S.C. experiments should be performed in the high school at the age of thirteen or fourteen, or even earlier.

13

14 PHYSICS IN CANADA

THE FILMS Like the textbook, the films are very variable in quality. Some of the

better-known ones, like "Frames of Reference", are really first class; some of them, which it would be uncharitable to name, are pathetic and, in one particular film, the mannerisms of the lecturer kept the class in a state of uproar for some thirty minutes. A criticism of the more elaborate demonstrations is that, although they are beautifully conceived, the amount of apparatus used is excessive, and it is difficult for the under-graduate student to sort out the desired information. In some films, such as that depicting the oil drop experiment (which is beautifully done), necessary quantitative information, which the film lecturer must have had access to, is not supplied. Some well-qualified physicists are of the opinion that some of the experiments are cooked; we do not think that this is so, but we do think it unfortunate that they give the impression of being cooked, which is just as bad from a pedagogical point of view.

DISCUSSION: QUESTION: Were the E.T.S. tests used in assessing the students? KELLY: The tests consisted of essays on objective questions at a slightly

higher level than the E.T.S. tests. SHEPHERD: The P.S.S.C. course has been used for one to two years in 12

Saskatchewan schools. The teachers have considered the results to be very favourable and are very enthusiastic. Student reaction is also very enthusiastic. It is possible that Grade 11 is a more suitable level at which to offer the course.

HOGG: Are there any results yet from the student entering university? SHEPHERD: NO. HOGG (Manitoba) : Grade 11 students in the main find it very interesting. SCOTT (Alberta) : The P.S.S.C. course represents an attempt to diverge

from the authoritative system of teaching. Changes such as the reduction of the laboratory time described by Mr. Kelly are at variance with the proposals of the committee.

ANON: The group taught at Carleton was a very select one since all had averages over 70%.

LORRAIN: One advantage of the P.S.S.C. course is that it is difficult to find Honors B.Sc. graduates to teach the usual trash but you can find graduates to teach the P.S.S.C. course.

HASLAM: It is unfair to compare the book standard with university texts like Sears and Zemansky since they are for a different grade of student.

THE P.S.S.C. COURSE IN A UNIVERSITY 15

KELLY: The test was made to find if the text could be used at this level. CHALLICE: Students are sometimes deficient in experimental work in

Alberta schools and the experimental approach was a specially valuable feature in the P.S.S.C. course. I would suggest that you have side-stepped an important aspect of the course.

KELLY: The teaching was divided into two parts, lectures and laboratory. These were done by different persons and the experiments were chosen to fit the progress of the lecturers. Some new experiments were added and some were omitted. There were 13 complete 3-hour laboratory periods.

LORRAIN: It would be interesting to know how the application of the courses are going across Canada.

HOGG: One school in Manitoba is giving it and twelve in Saskatchewan. SCOTT: Fifteen to twenty schools are giving the course at the grade 11

and 12 level in Alberta. SHEPHERD: There will be a hundred schools giving the course next year

in Saskatchewan. POUNDER: It is being discussed for final adoption in Quebec. MCNEILL: A committee sat on grade 12 in Ontario and is strongly in

favour of the P.S.S.C. approach. I also understand that it will not definitely be stated that the P.S.S.C. text should be used.

HOGG: It is a question of when it should be introduced, sometimes it is grade 11 and sometimes at grade 12.

MCNEILL: There is no intention of putting it in at grade 11 in Ontario. ANON: There is some activity in Nova Scotia. Twelve schools gave the

course last year. PRESCOTT: Has anyone encountered P.S.S.C. students in first year uni-

versity? POUNDER: The course has been going for five years in Montreal. Quite a

number have to come to university. The first year teachers have thought such students to be better but not all that much better. The statistics are complicated by the steering of able students into more difficult courses. In addition many simultaneously occurring changes have obscured the results.

MCNEILL: Were the Saskatchewan schools selected for the use of the course?

SHEPHERD: They were selected in a sense since the teachers giving the course were those who were able to be talked into doing so.

MCNEILL: This is a very important selective factor. CONNOR: I can comment on the fact that the less good students did veiy

well.

16 PHYSICS IN CANADA

SHEPHERD: The average student seems very happy. Also the low average student who cannot follow all the text gets a great deal from the laboratory experiments. Probably the really low students won't go to grade 12 but will have had a year of physics. Before such a student would have taken agriculture. For the final examination I hope that some kind of normalization can be applied.

MCNEILL : Which way will they be normalized? SHEPHERD: They will have to be raised. MCNEILL : Therefore there is no basis of comparison. SHEPHERD: I would place more reliance on the opinion of the teachers.

One teacher asked especially to teach the class of lowest available ability and he still found that these students were getting something out of the course.

HOGG: On the question of the Carleton experiment, making the theory preceed the experiment seems to reverse the procedure of the course and also the normal procedure of physics.

KELLY: We did it this way partly because I recall liking to do the theory first when I was a student and partly because it would have taken much more time to set things up the other way round.

HOGG: It is however wonderful to see a whole class find Snell's Law experimentally.

LOBB: I have heard the comments of students exposed to both systems. The students often feel it better to have the theory first so that they can interpret the experiment.

COOKE : I detect an inflexibility of approach to physics here. I am disturbed to see people testing with standard exams is somewhat inflexible.

objecting to departures from convention. Also the

C.A.P. Affairs

C . A . P . COMMITTEE ON PHYSICS IN CANADA

CANADIAN PHYSICS is confronted with circumstances, in 1964, which may enable action on some of the major problems with which it has lived for many years. While undergraduate teaching of physics in Canada remains generally strong, the growth of physics research has been accompanied by problems concerning level of support, balance of effort and formation of high-policy. A favourable new circumstance in connection with these problems is the federal government's development of new machinery for the formulation of national science policy.

The Glassco Commission report (The Royal Commission on Govern-ment Organization, Vol. 4, 1963) clearly stated the inadequacy of existing machinery for the formulation of national science policy. It recommended some new machinery to fill this vacuum. During the winter of 1964 there have been indications that the federal government is going to set up some of the recommended machinery. Such machinery would constitute an important new link among scientists and between scientists and the government and might serve toward giving the prob-lems of Canadian physics the attention which they deserve. However, before any clear picture of Canadian physics is established for the bodies concerned with high policy the community of physicists themselves will need to understand their own field. The C.A.P. might help to bring our house in order for this purpose.

At several times in the past the C.A.P. has made efforts toward assess-ing the state of Canadian physics and toward resolving some of the problems. In 1958, a "Committee on Promotion of Physics" [See "Physics in Canada", 13, No. 4, Winter (1957), Page 35, and subse-quent issues] helped to initiate some new educational programmes of the C.A.P. and to establish new relationships with the press. In 1959 a "Standing Committee on Physics in Canada" [See "Physics in Canada, 15, No. 3, Autumn (1959), Page 29, 30, and subsequent issues] was given broad terms of reference but was not able to carry them out. During the same period the C.A.P. devoted much work toward its un-successful high energy proposal. The lack of adequate machinery for forming high-policy was undoubtedly a great disadvantage to the two

17

(2)


committees which might well have contributed toward high-policy. Similarly the lack of high-policy may have been a disadvantage to the high-energy proposal. In each of these past efforts some practical goals were attained as well as experience for future work on the main prob-lems.

In view of the new circumstances a renewed attack on the matter seems warranted. The executive of the C.A.P. will ask its members at the annual meeting to be held in Halifax (June 11-13, 1964), to support a new "C.A.P. Committee on Physics in Canada". Some of the questions which the committee might consider are: (1) the adequacy of basic and applied research in Canadian industry,

of government support for such research, of graduate schools training a sufficient number of physicists in the wide variety of fields required for a large industrial research effort; the balance of physics research in Canada where several fields (perhaps nuclear structure, radio astronomy etc.) receive major support (and major international recognition) but where other important fields (perhaps elementary particle physics, solid state physics, etc.) are almost ignored compared to the per capita effort of countries such as the U.S.A. or the U.K.;

(3) the establishment among Canadian physicists of a clear picture of physics research and education in Canada;

(4) the adequacy of machinery for the formation of national science policy.

The future action of the committee might include: (1) the preparation of a report on physics research and education in

Canada to be circulated to all C.A.P. members and to appropriate government channels;

(2) the encouragement, if necessary, of new government machinery to formulate national science policy;

(3) steps to increase research at Canadian institutions and corporations in neglected fields through discussions of committee member with government, industry and universities.

Although there are now new reasons why these things need to be done the carrying out of these tasks will require hard work from many C.A.P. members. Hopefully these pages will contain progress reports of the proposed new committee and of other independent efforts toward the same goal. If this work succeeds our association may well soon attain some of its latent stature.

E. W. VOGT

News

ACOUSTICS AT N . R . C .

SEVERAL INVESTIGATIONS in the Acoustics Section of the Division of Applied Physics have recently produced significant results. Low fre-quency noise of physiological origin has been measured using a specially adapted condenser microphone resiliency mounted in a cavity enclosing the ear. The levels in certain frequency bands rise and fall with the heart beat, indicating that this noise is produced by the circulatory system. However, above about 80 cps the main mechanism is muscle tremor with head shaking playing an important part.

The level of these noises is roughly the same as the threshold of hearing up to 250 cps., and suggests strongly that masking noises may influence the threshold even if they do not determine it completely.

An important instrument in cases where a sound field has to be measured with minimum disturbance is the probe microphone. Its high frequency response has been very poor and development of better designs has been stagnant for many years. The current improvement uses an exponential horn to couple the probe tube of uniform cross-section to a condenser microphone. This provides a gradually decreasing impedance and reduces the tendency of the compliant microphone to short circuit the high impedance of the tube, which otherwise produces the loss of sensitivity at high frequencies.

Groves of trees would often be the solution to a problem of noise control if only their acoustical performance matched their aesthetic appeal. A comparison between multiple scattering theory and measure-ments of the attenuation of sound waves in a variety of forests indicates the predominant effect is that the branches and trunks behave as cylindrical scatterers. Quantitative agreement is obtained providing that the acoustic impedance of the scattering surfaces is not greater than about ten times that of air—results of this order of magnitude have been found by laboratory measurements on samples of wood covered with bark.

In the field of ultrasonic relaxations in liquids, a critical study has shown that the contradictory conclusions drawn from many investigations of methyl cyclohexane can be reconciled with a single

19


mechanism—the interconversion of axial and equatorial conformations. Although this reaction plays a central role in the conformational analysis often used in the chemistry of alicyclic systems, it has not so far been possible to measure the energy and entropy diiïerences directly in such a simple molecule, data.

These values may be deduced from the ultrasonic

T . EMBLETON

AUTOMATIC PICTURE TRANSMISSION—WEATHER SATELLITES

The weather satellite, TIROS VIII, was launched on Dec. 21, 1963 and this vehiqle carried the first Automatic Picture Transmission (APT) system. This system permitted reception and reproduction of video pictures by means of relatively inexpensive ground equipment. In anticipation, the Meteorological Branch of the Department of Transport had set up a Satellite Data Laboratory located at and supported by the Radio and Electrical Engineering Division of the National Research Council at Ottawa. The APT pictures from TIROS VIII were received on an experimental basis and indicated that good use can be made of this type of transmission for receiving cloud, snow and ice information in real time and for operational purposes. Plans are proceeding for expand-ing the number of receiving stations in a research and development program. If the anticipated potential of this program is realized, an operational system will be developed to provide observational data to a number of users in addition to the Meteorological Branch utilizing APT pictures from future weather satellites.

SCIENCE FILMS

Readers of Physics in Canada may not be aware of the effort now going into the preparation and acquisition of science films. There is in fact an International Scientific Film Association (ISFA) with member organizations in some thirty countries. This association, jointly with the Belgian government, established in April, 1963 an International Scien-tific Film Library in Brussels. In addition to the acquisition and cata-loguing of film, this Library will be concerned with documentation and bibliographical service on the techniques and applications of cinema-tography to scientific research and exposition.

The following film catalogues may be of particular interest: the Argonne National Laboratory Catalogue, Technical Information Divi-sion Film Library, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, 111.; The National Aeronautics and Space Administra-

NEWS 2 1

tion Catalogue, Educational Audio-Visual Branch Code AFEE-3, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington 25, D.C.; films from Britain, available from The National Science Film Library, Canadian Film Institute, 1762 Carling avenue, Ottawa.

The Canadian Film Institute also has its own catalogue, and indi-viduals will be placed on their mailing list upon request. A perusal of their catalogue shows that "science" is interpreted very broadly indeed, since the list includes films on such topics as machine tool techniques. Nevertheless, the sections on Astronomy, Atomic Energy, Physics, and General Films on Scientific Research and Scientists will be of interest to many readers. A number of the films listed are ones well known from their association with the Physical Science Study Committee, but many are less well known. It is suggested that all student Physics Clubs may wish to obtain a catalogue.

G. G. S.

CONFERENCE ON MANY-BODY PROBLEMS

A short conference on many-body problems in physics and chemistry is being arranged by The Institute of Physics and TTie Physical Society in the University of Manchester on 22, 23 and 24 September, 1964. The object of the conference will be to review recent progress, and above all to highlight points of similarity between the concepts and methods in different fields. It is provisionally proposed to hold sessions on the following topics:

Atomic structure and spectra, solid state physics, molecular struc-ture and excited states, nuclear structure, nuclear excited states, scattering and reaction theory, polymers, liquids and phase transi-tions.

To deal adequately with this broad range of topics, and in order that individual contributions may appear in perspective, each topic will be dealt with in a review paper by an invited rapporteur, who will be asked to report on the individual contributions which fall into his field. (It will, however, be within the discretion of rapporteurs to have selected contributions read in full by their authors. )

Offers of contributions are welcome from now on. Each offer should be accompanied by three copies of an abstract (100-200 words). Although the bias of the conference will obviously be theoretical; experimental papers illustrating basic points will be very welcome. Offers and abstracts should reach the Conference Secretary, Dr. A. Herzen-berg, Theoretical Physics Department, The University, Manchester, 13, not later than 24 June, 1964, for inclusion in an abstract booklet which


will be sent to participants prior to the conference. The complete papers should reach the Conference Secretary not later than 3 August, 1964, for transmission to the rapporteur. All communications about the conference should be marked "MANY-BODY CONFERENCE". It is not intended to publish the proceedings of the conference and contribu-tors may feel free to publish their papers in suitable journals. Since the object of the conference is to discuss the current state of affairs, papers which may have appeared in print up to about three months before the conference will be welcome.

The number of participants will be limited by the conference hall which holds 480. Accommodation has been arranged for 190 people at a students' hostel for the nights of 21, 22 and 23 September, 1964. These places will go to the first 190 applicants. Further details and application forms will be available in May 1964 from the Administra-tion Assistant, The Institute of Physics and The Physical Society, 47 Belgrave Square, London, S.W.I.

APPLIED SPECTROSCOPY AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

The 11th Ottawa Symposium on Applied Spectroscopy and Analytical Chemistry will be held in Ottawa, September 9-11, 1964, at Carleton University. This joiùt meeting is being sponsored by the Analytical Chemistry Division of The Chemical Institute of Canada and the Cana-dion Association for Applied Spectroscopy.

Upwards of 200 delegates are expected to attend and speakers from Canada, the United States, and England, will be on hand. Separate sessions are being planned on gas chromatography and instrumental methods in quality control.

BIOENERGETICS TO BE FEATURED AT C.I.C. SYMPOSIUM

Three half-day sessions have been arranged for the Symposium on Bioenergetics being held at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, October 15-16, 1964. This meeting is being sponsored by The Biochemistry Division of The Chemical Institute of Canada.

The afternoon of October 15th will feature a session on Bioenergetics in Plants. The speakers will be Dr. D. I. Arnon (University of Cali-fornia); Dr. A. T. Jagendorf (Johns Hopkins University); and Dr. N. E. Good (Michigan State University). Dr. Good was formerly with the Agricultural Research Institute, London, Ontario.

Bioenergetics in Microorganisms will be the topic on the morning of October 16th. Dr. W. C. Umbreit (Rutgers University); Dr. A. F. Brodie (University of Southern California); Dr. H. Lees (University of

NEWS 2 3

Manitoba) and Dr. R. M. Hochster (Canada Department of Agriculture, Ottawa) will be the speakers at this session.

A session on Bioenergetics in Animals will conclude the symposium on the afternoon of October 16th. Featured speakers will be Dr. H. A. Lardy (Institute of Enzyme Research, University of Wisconsin); Dr. C. L. Wadkins (Johns Hopkins University); Dr. W. Chefurka (Agri-cultural Research Institute, London, Ontario), and Dr. G. R. Williams (University of Toronto).

Organizing Committee Chairman is Dr. K. P. Strickland, department of biochemistry, faculty of medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, Ont.

SECOND SOLID STATE PHYSICS CONFERENCE JANUARY 1 9 6 5

The Institute of Physics and The Physical Society propose to hold a second annual conference of Solid State Physics at the H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, from 5 to 8 January 1965.

This conference will follow the same general pattern as the meeting held there in January 1964: it will provide an opportunity for workers in all branches of the solid-state field to meet and discuss recent develop-ments, and contributions on any topic of current interest in the field will be considered. To enable new work to be included, the deadline for offers of contributed papers has been set at 20 November 1964. Offers of contributions should be made to the Conference Secretary, Dr. D. A. Greenwood, H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory, Royal Fort, Bristol 8. The presentation time for each paper will be about ten minutes, as at the previous meeting. Abstracts should be set out in the standard form: this is described in a note (ref ACB78) available from the Administra-tion Assistant of the Institute and Society.

Accommodation will be available at one of the University Halls of Residence. Enquiries regarding attendance should be made to the Administration Assistant, The Institute of Physics and The Physical Society, 47 Belgrave Square, London S.W. 1.

T H E LINEAR ACCELERATOR AT SASKATCHEWAN

The linear accelerator building is almost complete and has been partially occupied by the accelerator staff. Shipment of the first acceler-ator components from Varian Associates began in April. Dr. J. Moore has joined the staff of the Physics Department and is attached to the linear accelerator project. Dr. H. Breuer has joined the accelerator staff as a post-doctorate fellow. He is on leave from the linear accelerator group in Darmstadt, Germany.

( w ) Westinghouse SCIENTISTS

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MOLECULAR ELECTRONICS PROGRAMME Our RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT LABORATORY in Hamilton is administer-ing an extensive programme in the development of Semiconductors and Molecular Electronics.

Several requirements exist for this sophisticated, challenging project. As a large part of the programme will be original research, we are seeking members for the team who have a high degree of creativity and individuality.

POSITIONS AVAILABLE ARE AS FOLLOWS : -

SOLID STATE PHYSICISTS Ph.D. or equivalent in and creativity. Capable cular Electronics devic photoresist techniques

Ph.D. or M.Sc. level of Solid State Circuitry, and eventually design

Solid State Physics. Must have high degree of initiative of doing original research on Semiconductor and Mole-

s including studies of diffusion of impurities into metals, semiconductor device design fabrication and evaluation.

SOLID STATE CIRCUITRY EXPERTS highly imaginative and creative, with thorough knowledge

Required to study and do research in Molecular Electronics integrated circuits and molecular blocks.

PHYSICAL CHEMISTS, METALLURGISTS OR PHYSICISTS Ph.D. or M.Sc. level—preferably with experience in successful research in thin films, diffusion of impurities into solids. Required to do research in diffusion processes, photoresist etching of semi-conductor devices, deposition of thin films, epitaxial growth, vacuum metallizing.

SALARY will be dependent on qualifications and experience and compatible with calibre of assignment.

Applications invited from recent Graduates.

To obtain further information and application form, apply to

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CANADIAN WESTINGHOUSE COMPANY LIMITED P.O. Box 510, Hamilton, Canada

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NEW PROGRAMME IN

MOLECULAR ELECTRONICS N E E D S

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Scientist of Ph .D . level (o r equivalent) to f o r m and guide team of experts, and to assume responsibility of directing this sophisti-cated and challenging p rogramme.

Must be capable of guiding his team in the research and develop-ment of this project by displaying leadership in creativity and initiative, and by his own contr ibut ion of experienced successful research.

His team will comprise Solid State Physicists and Circuitry Experts , Physical Chemists and Metallurgists (all of Ph .D . or M.Sc. level) w h o will be capable of original research on Semi-conductor and Molecular Electronics devices.

Salary will be generous and will reflect the calibre and impor tance of this assignment.

T o obtain fu r the r informat ion and application fo rm , apply to:

W-2-5 Salaried Personnel Department, CANADIAN WESTINGHOUSE COMPANY LTD., P.O. Box 510, Hamilton, Canada.

Canadian Physicists

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO . . . . R . P . LOWE a t t ended the 16th Gaseous Electronics Conference in Pittsburgh in October 1963, and presented a paper . . . . DR. W. R. S. GARTON, Professor of Spectro-scopy, Imperial College of London, has been appointed Nuffield Founda-tion Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Physics during the period March to May 1964 . . . . PROFESSOR R. W. NICHOLLS has been granted leave of absence to t|ake up a Visiting Professorship in Aerophysics and Astrophysics, at Stanford University in California, June to December 1964 . . . . DR. D . C. TYTE (NRC Post Doctoral Fellow) has been appointed Visiting Assistant Professor, and DR. G. R. HEBERT has been appointed Assistant Professor, both in the Department of Physics for the academic year 1964-65.

A t N R C , DIVISION OF APPLIED PHYSICS DR. T . F . W . EMBLETON has been named recipient of the 1964 Biennial Award of the Acoustical Society of America for his investigation of acoustic radiation forces in curved fields, improvements in the preision of calibration of standard microphones and for varied theoretical and experimental studies to reduce the sources of noise in machinery . . . . DR. L . E. HOWLETT, Director of the Division, is a member of the Advisory Committee on Science and Medicine for the Canadian World Exhibition, 1967 . . . . Under the auspices of UNESCO, DR. D . LOVEJOY is spending a year at the National Research Center, Cairo, UAR, where he is responsible for the setting up of a standards laboratory for thermometry . . . . DR. D. MAKOW, formerly with the Division of Radio and Electrical Engineer-ing, is now a member of the Photogrammetry Section . . . . DR. A. SCHAUER and DR. W . VAN WITZENBURO have joined the staff of the Heat and Solid State Physics Section.

At the UNIVERSITY OF WINDSOR . . . . DR. L. KRAUSE spent the week of March 7-15 in Boulder, Colorado, as guest of the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, working on the theory of atomic collisions.

A t t h e METEOROLOGICAL BRANCH, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT DR. W. L. GODSON, Superintendent of Atmospheric Research, has been awarded the Buchan Prize of the ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY. This prize is awarded biennially for the most distinguished papers pub-lished in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society for the

26

CANADIAN PHYSICISTS 2 7

past five years. In addition DR. GODSON has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

At BROCK UNIVERSITY . . . . DR. JOHN HART has recently been appointed Professor of Physics, Director of Science Studies at the new Brock University in St. Catharines, Southern Ontario. DR. HART was previously Chairman of the Department of Physics, Carleton University, Ottawa.

At DRTE . . . . DR. IAN BOURNE joined DRTE the end of January, 1964, from the University of New England, Australia. He is working with DR. J. S. BELROSE on the partial reflection ionospheric experiment. . . , MR. R. HEDEMARK joined DRTE in December as a Canadian Defence Research Fellow from Norway, for a year.

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A Plan for Graduate Education and

Research in Science

J . H. CHAPMAN

IN THE WINTER ISSUE of Physics in Canada, Dr. J. B. Warren proposed a "Canadian Institute of Technology", a new university based on the pattern of M.I.T. or Cal. Tech.

Dr. Warren has put the argument for a new approach to graduate education in science very well. The backwardness of Canada in this regard is indicated by the comparative figures for the U.S.A. and Canada in production of doctorates, about 11,000 per year in all fields, as against about 325 per year in Canada (1961/62). These work out to more than 55 per million of population in the U.S.A., as against about 17 per million in Canada, pf these about half (slightly higher in Canada) are in physical sciences. The U.S.A. passed Canada's level of production of doctorates before 1930, and is now aiming at 100 doctorates per million.

The consequences to Canada are not just the wastage of human talent (and only a few slip across the border to get their Ph.D.s in U.S. universities) and the failure to meet the need for university teachers (1,200 per year), but also in the stagnation of our economic develop-ment. Canada is an industrial nation, its people create three-quarters of their wealth by manufacturing, and not by farming, mining, or lumber-ing. Innovation is the life-blood of the economy of the 1960's, and to quote the NAS/NRC survey on doctorate production in the U.S.A. "the rate of innovation in a society is coming to be recognised as highly dependent upon the amount and quality of its high level manpower. . . . Typical of this advanced training is the research doctorate (Ph.D., Sc.D., Eng. D., Ed. D.)".

The Robbins Report on Higher Education in Britain makes very instructive reading for Canadians. Britain has the same problem as we have in Canada (no doubt part of our heritage of British culture!). Lord Robbins recommends the formation of a number of Special Institu-tions for Scientific and Technological Education and Research, based on the MIT pattern. His committee has found that, as a general rule

28

A PLAN FOR GRADUATE EDUCATION 2 9

"in countries such as the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden, which owe much of their prosperity to skills and the wise use of limited resources, there is at least one special institution of this kind to about six or seven million of the population."

If we were to apply this rule in Canada, we would require three of these Special Institutions now, and a fourth by 1972 when our popula-tion should approach 25 million.

Experience in the U.S.A. shows that students tend to travel no more than 500 miles to university. These Special Institutions should be distributed at about 1,000 mile intervals across the country. One should therefore be located in each of the main geographical divisions of Canada, e.g., the Maritimes, Central Canada (Quebec and Ontario), the Prairie Provinces, and the West Coast.

Dr. Warren's suggestion is therefore appropriate to the Special Institu-tion for the West Coast.

There are particularly favourable conditions for the formation of one such Special Institution in the Hull-Ottawa area, because of the excellent research laboratories of the Federal Government. The Federal Government makes in its laboratories more than half of the total expenditures in research and development in the Country ($178.7 mil-lion of a total of $300 million in 1961-62). It has a large and com-petent professional scientific staff (5,000, of whom more than 1,500 hold doctorates). This compares with the 10,000 now teaching in Canadian universities of whom about 4,500 hold doctorates. The Federal Govern-ment laboratories therefore provide a base for an immediate increase in post-graduate education. The problem is to discover means of using these on the needed scale. The writer has been unable to find any prohibition, constitutional limitation, or other reason to prevent this expansion. It is in fact taking place on a small scale, in which the two universities, Ottawa University and Carleton University use the Federal (and also industrial) facilities for research training of their graduate students, and employ government and industrial scientific staff as part-time lecturers.

Constitutionally, education is a provincial responsibility. The Fathers of Confederation did not assign responsibility for scientific research, being not unnaturally quite ignorant of the scientific explosion of the mid-twentieth Century. At the present time, research is supported primarily by the Federal Government. One might conclude that split-jurisdiction has been one cause of the lamentable failure of Canada to deal with this problem of graduate education in science and engineering.

A plan can be made for the formation of four Special Institutions for Scientific and Technological Education and Research to meet the


urgent needs of Canada. Its implementation will require the co-operation of Governments at Federal and Provincial level, the enthusiastic support of the university fraternity, and the encouragement and financial support of Canadian industry.

The U.S.A. has been building the technological revolution for nearly half a century. Canada is so far behind that a mere revolution will not suffice, we require an explosion. Our target, 1,000 doctorates per year in pure and applied science! Let's get moving.

Physiciens Eliminent? o.

fat— k - T + <j> )

par i o u r et 3ar nuit

in MY Opinion--

" C A P I U S "

The Role of the N.R.C. THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL has for so many years been the main hand in guiding the scientific research policies of the nation, through the system of University grants, and through the preservation of research in its own laboratories, that now, when some voices are being raised questioning what the scientific research policy of the Canadian Govern-ment should be, particularly as it affects industry, the National Research Council spokesmen find themselves automatically taking a defensive attitude, in favour of the status quo. This need not be.

In fact it must not be. For if the National Research Council does not rise to the challenge and take the lead in imaginative and bold moves to vitalize the new technological growth needed in Canadian industry, it will find itself increasingly under attack, the weight and prestige of its voice in Government councils will be undermined, and the high quality of staff and work it has built up over the years will suffer. Such are the habits of politicians and journalists these days, that only a little doubt needs to be cast on our crown institutions for them to be sub-jected to the most corroding scrutiny and abuse from the people who "know not what they do".

This is not a threat from any particular quarter, but a statement of concern from an admirer of worthwhile structures patiently built.

Thoughts on the nature of our Association While our Association has in many ways made a place for itself

among physicists in Canada, its stature and authority falls far short of what might be expected of a national scientific society. In my opinion,

31


the root cause goes back to the origins of the organization which was originally intended to be a professional association to protect and establish the rights of physicists. As a consequence the association was provided with a name and a constitution more appropriate to a trade union than to the kind of organization which it today aspires to be.

Take the name first. What kind of image does it conjure up? I would submit that it suggests a body of practitioners of the art of physics banded together for the purpose of furthering their own collective interest rather than the rather altruistic activities in which the associa-tion actually indulges. The very word "association" has come to be a euphemism for the Word union employed by those who feel themselves a cut above the proleteriat* but who wish to achieve the same purpose as a trade union. This name not only fails to present the correct picture of our organization to those outside it but also provokes an unfavourable reaction frequently in those being canvassed for membership. It causes the prospective member to think in terms of what personal advantage he may gain from joining rather than to consider whether his member-ship will further the science of physics in Canada. Consequently such a prospective member frequently concludes that he can do better for himself in his own specialty by joining a specialized foreign society. This is not a new suggestion, but I would submit that a name such as the Canadian Physical Society would present and represent the aims of the group much more truly and effectively.

Secondly the constitution. In many ways this is admirable and we have been truly fortunate in having a succession of hard-working and devoted officers including most of the eminent physicists of Canada. It is nevertheless true that the governing body of the association does not comprise at one time more than one or two individuals of real power and influence in the direction of physical research and education in Canada. This is np more than one can expect; after all, eminent physicists and administrators cannot be expected to give their time for more than a year or so at the most to partake in the deliberations of a body of which the decisions and opinions have little weight. And these opinions and decisions have little weight partly because of the absence of these persons. Thus a vicious circle exists. The solution to this dilemma is not obvious. The suggestion has been made that the President should hold office for more than one year so as to give more time to be identified with the association. This however does have the disadvantage that it might be harder to find good candidates for the office which would become proportionately more onerous. Moreover the benefits of such a prolongation of the presidential office might not on balance be very

•or who are legally prevented from forming a union

CAPIUS 3 3

great. An alternative which might fulfill the purpose better would be to set up an advisory board consisting of past presidents (and perhaps other suitable members) charged with the general task of watching over the interests of the science of physics in Canada and of the interests of Canada in the field of physics. This body could probably meet at the time of the annual congress so that serving on it would not involve any great amount of work for its members. Such a board might do much towards overcoming the notorious problem of the lack of communication between government and physicists.

In conclusion I believe we should make the necessary changes to enable us to build a society to which it would obviously be in the interests of every physicist to belong, to which it would also obviously be his duty to belong and which also would be an effective organization in the sense that its expressed opinions would represent the consensus of the wisest and most experienced men of physics in Canada.

The Department of Physics Memorial University of Newfoundland

has openings for Assistant or Associate Professors

to teach graduate and undergraduate courses and to initiate and conduct research programs. Appointments begin September 1, 1964. Ph.D. required. Prefer physicists with interest in solid state physics or low energy nuclear physics. Salaries will depend upon qualifications and experience. Send curriculum vitae and names and addresses of three references to Head of the Dept. of Physics, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

Letters to the Editor

Dear Sir: There is some merit in John Hart's critique of the new Ontario Grade XI

physics course (issue of Winter 1963). However, many of your readers may have difficulty in distinguishing Dr. Hart's criticisms of the course f rom those which he directs at a particular textbook. That book's treatment of physics as gadgetry is not sufficient evidence to claim that the course implied that physics is "building . . . running . . . des igning . . . " etc. This is particularly so when another textbook*, written for the same course, was designed to show physics as investigating natural events. Dr. Hart 's failure to mention this book in his article has cut me to the quick, not only because of its undoubted merit, but because two of its authors are members in good standing of the C.A.P.

We can agree that '̂it is the interpretation of the syllabus that is important", and Matter and Energy represents an effort to portray mathematical, experimental, and conceptual aspects of physics in a reasonably consistent way, for the edifica-tion of general course) pupils and for the encouragement of future scientists. I dare not claim that our book contains no errors, but many of the items to which Dr. Hart takes exception in Basic Physics are treated differently (I hope, better) in Matter and Energy.

Since it is unlikely that either the syllabus or the textbook will be revised because Dr. Hart looks for it, I can only recommend that he and other physicists in Ontario consider encouraging physics teachers to adopt Matter and Energy for Grade XI. But, of course, I 'm prejudiced.

(Sgd. ) JAMES MACLACHLAN *Matter and Energy, by MacLachlan, McNeill, Bell; published by Clarke, Irwin. 23 March, 1964 55 Williamson Rd. Toronto 13, Ont.

Dear Sir: All physicists who are interested in the revision of Secondary-school physics

courses must have read John Hart's article on the Ontario Grade XI syllabus with great interest The only matter of contention which is likely to arise among profes-sional physicists is his suggestion that courses like the Ontario Grade XI course should be introduced earlier, to be followed by "something like the P.S.S.C. course". Experience in the U.S. and elsewhere indicates that it is a profound mis-take to put school pupils through a traditional physics course and then expect them to respond to the P.S.S.C. program.

A possible solution to the problem is being tried out in the schools of B.C. where the experimental approach is adopted in Grade VIII for the physics units of the General Science program. Laboratory work is developed, with growing sophistication, through Grades IX and X and the P.S.S.C. material is spread over two years in the Senior grades. In this way an integrated physics program lasting five years has been evolved: the results should be interesting.

(Sgd. ) D . L . LIVESEY 11 February 1964 Department of Physics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver 8.

34

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 3 5

Dear Sir: Ontario physicists have recently received a letter from a firm of scientific

laboratory suppliers, the first paragraph of which reads: "The new Course of Studies for Ontario Grade XIII Physics will provide for

the adoption of the P.S.S.C. programme." This is the first intimation that most of us have received that there is to be a

change in syllabus. The form of the announcement is doubly unfortunate, first, because it indicates that Ontario physicists have obviously not been kept informed of developments as they occurred, and second, because the letter by implication, puts the emphasis on the apparatus, and this emphasis can ruin the whole idea before it gets off the ground.

My assessment of the P.S.S.C. course is that teachers need training in the methodology, rather than the apparatus. The latter is ancillary to the problem of getting the little so and so's to think.

(Sgd. ) JOHN HART, Chairman.

25 February, 1964 Department of Physics, Carleton University

Dear Sir: The CAP high energy committee proposes in a recent article (1) and report

(2) that Canada should initiate a significant and expanding high energy research program. We should like to put on record our strong opposition to such a course, and our dissent from the article's arguments. The latter have been used for some time in an effort to prevail on the government to give special support to high energy physics, and little has been said publicly on behalf of the many research workers in all fields of science who must be out of sympathy with the proposal.

The principal argument used by the CAP committee is, in effect, that we should keep up with the Joneses. They assert that virtually all other industrialised coun-tries devote a not inconsiderable proportion (of the order of 1 in 104) of their gross national product to high energy physics; and that Canada should follow their example.

In point of fact the CAP committee's assessment of world expenditure is mis-leading; very few of the smaller countries underwrite independent high energy research to a significant extent*. But our real quarrel is with the idea that Canada should, for no readily apparent reason, allocate research funds in the same pro-portions of the G.N.P. as the U.S., U.S.S.R., or the Cern consortium. Considering the large absolute difference in the G.N.P. of Canada and those of such countries, or groups of countries, it is apparent that this unimaginative policy, if applied to all fields of research, would ensure a minimum chance of spending wisely the total percentage of the G.N.P. that Canada may assign to research purposes. The scaled-down funds would be completely inadequate for a serious effort in some fields and too much would be assigned to others where, by unfortunate chance, Canada possessed no interested researchers of really adequate quality.

For countries with small G.N.P.s it is particularly true that quality and effectiveness in research done must be the prime consideration in determining the amount of support. Doing the proportionate little in everything that larger coun-tries are doing would be the antithesis of the proper course. To gain quality and effectiveness in some areas of research a greater percentage of G.N.P. may

* Fourteen countries undertake cooperative research as members of CERN, which constitutes an admirable multi-national method of financing research in this expensive field. Of these, only four (U.K., France, West Germany, and Italy) support considerable additional programs of their own. Japan also has a high energy program. Australia started one but has reconsidered its commitment


have to be spent in a small country than in a large one; this can be accepted if all factors justify the expenditure. In the same perspective certain fields will be absolutely ruled out because it would either be quite impossible to devote enough money to make them rewarding or, alternatively, even if just feasible, the amount needed would so cripple the overall research program that both the science and the economics of the country would be sure to suffer.

In small countries choice among competing research projects has been necessary for a long time, and today it is becoming important even in the wealthiest coun-tries. It is obvious that criteria that should govern such choices are of importance. Weinberg has recently given an excellent treatment of the subject and identifies two internal and three external criteria of choice. His internal criteria (Is the field ready for exploitation and are the scientists in the field really competent) are the only ones that need be applied for relatively small expenditures. But where the necessary expenditures are large Weinberg requires that his external criteria, of technological merit, scientific merit and social merit, also be satisfied. He rates high energy physics poorly in these respects, arguing that its relevance to the sciences in which it is embedded, to human affairs and to technology are all low. Weinberg also points out that over and above the tremendous financial cost a major, if not obvious, cost of high energy physics is the large number of high quality men diverted into it f rom other, more promising fields. Canada needs to use to the best advantage all of the highly gifted people she has available. If many of them became high energy physicists not only is the degree of advantage questionable, but it appears certain that the very best of these would inevitably leave a purely Canadian research effort for the better equipped laboratories of the United States.

One way of preventing this type of migration from Canada would be to initiate a CERN like (though unequal) cooperation between Canada and the United States. This would allow Canadian physicists really devoted to high energy physics to work at the large American centres which could be partly, if minisculy, sup-ported by Canadian funds. How minisculy may be inferred from the American A.E.C. estimate that its expenditures for high energy research for 1969 will be $340,000,000.

The Ramsey report on high energy physics (4) argues that $30,000,000 is the minimum capital expenditure that is likely to be effective in this field. Short of some new conception by a Canadian genius that makes high energy research cheaper it seems inevitable that the most expensive independent effort that Canada could make is doomed to mediocrity. But the price exacted for even a mediocre effort would be a lack of balance in Canadian research because of loss of adequate support for other fields of physics—or of medicine, biology, chemistry, geology, biophysics, biochemistry, etc—where, by proper choosing, Canada could make a first class international contribution.

Already there is too heavy a trend in Canadian universities toward accelerator based research. An extension to high energy physics will entice still more physicists away from other fields of research. At the pre-Ph.D. level there are not many students who have strongly fixed views on the kind of research that they would like to do for their degree, and it would certainly be advantageous for Canada to encourage them to enter fields where Canada can attain real distinction and where a career within the country will be challenging and rewarding. There is the added consideration that many of these other fields will be of great value to the development of the Canadian industrial economy, a matter which is of concern even to physicists.

In the light of these arguments, it appears to us that the probable advances in high energy physics and its cost structure are such that Canada should no more set up an indepedent research project in this field than she should seek to develop her own manned space flight program: there would certainly be returns of a sort

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 3 7

f rom both programs, but these would not be commensurate with those resulting f rom similar expenditures in other fields.

Lacking a Canadian high energy program, a few physicists who have, for some reason or other, become dedicated to high energy physics will certainly be lost to the country. It is questionable whether this should be a matter of concern if, in recompense, our first class establishments in other fields attract foreign workers here, while in addition a much larger number of similar brains remain in Canada to perform research in fields more likely to benefit directly or indirect-ly the future of our economy. This argument would be less cogent if we were willing to accept the doctrine quoted in the high energy report to the effect that better scientists and scientific leaders are developed in the high energy area than in any other domain of research. However, we feel that there will be many neurologists, biophysicists, organic chemists, and others, who will be as surprised by this information as we were. 17th April 1964.

(Sgd.) L . E . HOWLETT H . PRESTON-THOMAS

Division de Physique Appliquée Division of Applied Physics Conseil National de Recherches National Research Council Canada Canada

REFERENCES

1. The World's Support of High Energy Physics Research, E. P. Hincks et al., Physics in Canada 20, 9 (Spring 1964).

2. Brief Report on the World's Support of High Energy Physics, E. P. Hincks et al., July 1963.

3. Criteria for Scientific Choice, A. V. Weinberg, Physics Today 17, 42 (March 1964).

4. Report of the Panel on High Energy Accelerator Physics of the General Advisory Committee to the Atomic Energy Commission and the President's Science Advisory Committee, N. F. Ramsey et al., T.I.D.-18636, April 26, 1963.

University of New Brunswick Fredericton, N.B.

Applications are invited for an appointment, probably as

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR in the Department of Physics. Salary and rank wil l depend upon qualifications and experience. Write to the Head of Department

of Physics

Books

Electricity and Magnetism. 2nd Edition. By R. P. WINCH. Prentice & Hall Inc. 1963. Pp. 606. $10.25.

THIS NEW EDITION of a well-tried book has some significant changes and additions, but it retains a sequence of subjects which is probably unusual for most teachers. After a brief introduction to rationalised MKS units, it treats KirchhofFs Laws and network problems, magnetic flux and induction, capacitors and inductors and vector and complex number methods for A.C. before considering, in chapter nine, the electrostatic field, potential and dielectrics. The claim is that "most students . . . enter college with a certain amount of familiarity and physical intuition about circuits, but with no physical intuition about field theory." However, if they have already received as much tuition in gravity and statics as it is assumed they have had in electricity and magnetism, this is clearly an overstatement. It is interesting to note that an appeal to intuition about fields is made as early as the first page of chapter three, in company with the debatable concept of magnetic poles.

Those acquainted with the first edition will appreciate the new material and revi-sions, in particular the streamlining of A.C. theory and the extended and solely vector treatment of Maxwell's equations, although they will miss the discussion of radiation from an oscijllating dipole. Instruments are now considered in a separate chapter at the end, but in teaching they would be introduced most naturally when required for practical classes or as concrete examples of principles recently discussed.

The treatment is careful and often detailed, but unfortunately little guidance is given to the portions that are conveniently omitted at first reading, or by weaker students. New concepts do not always receive special attention, and there are rather few examples worked out in the text. The result is a book that will serve teachers for reference, and at times illumination, with a useful range of problems, but it could fail to attract all but the more conscientious or confident students unless it received support f rom a convinced and experienced tutor.

E . J . BURGE University of Manitoba

Introduction to Electron Beam Technology. By ROBERT BAKISH, Editor (with 18 contributors). John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, London. Pp. 452. $14.00.

ANOTHER FIELD OF PHYSICS is just becoming a "technology", and this book can give a good idea of the transition process. Since little of this kind of technical physics finds its way into the Canadian Journal of Physics, I recommend the book very highly to all Canadian students of engineering physics. But beware! For details it is not a reliable guide. The task which the editor and the eighteen authors of the 16 chapters have taken on was too much. Even signs of hurried writing are numerous.

The first chapter: "The History of Electron Beam Technology" is symptomatic for the major shortcomings of the book as a whole. It contains many historical details which I did not know. However, after this statement I may be permitted to say that a great many facts known as milestones of the development are missing. Although beginning this history as far back as 1705, nothing pertaining to the passage of electrons through matter is mentioned, such as the discovery of

38

BOOKS 3 9

Heinrich Hertz that cathode rays penetrate metals foils, which was utilized later by Lenard who studied their scatter-absorption in gases and, in 1905, received the Nobel Prize for it. Under focussing of electron beams, some early workers are mentioned and others are not. Then there appears the misleading statement,

. . thermodynamics imposes a definite limit on the current density available f rom a given cathode" which ignores field and secondary emission. Under "Elec-tron Beams in Analytical Work", no reference is found to beam probes for electric and magnetic fields (Marton, v. Ardenne), fluorescence probes for rarefied gas analysis (Boersch, Schopper, Gruen, Schumacher, Marton et al., Venable and Kaplan, Hurlbut) . X-ray excitation of targets in air, electron beam drilling in air (Schumacher 1953) are ignored. Chemical Processes under electron beam bom-bardment were studied already in the 1930's not only in the last six years.

All this could be overlooked had the chapter been given a more modest heading and not called "a systematic survey of the historical events . . . " with ". . . complete-ness of the subject matter", and done under "the auspices of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission". I believe such kinds of history violate the code of ethics of the historian and the physicist.

The technical chapters range from excellent to poor. Some show, in very good presentations, what a certain firm has done, but not the general state of the art as the title suggests. Other chapters remain stuck in the fundamentals, ignoring what the practitioner wants to know. Under "Magnetic Lenses", we find all the integrals to be evaluated in order to get the focal length, but no reference that all these data have long been presented in convenient graphical form (e.g. Lieb-mann, 1955). The chapter "Electron Gun Design" is similarly academic and not up to date either. On another page of the book one can find the expansions of vector operators like gradient and curl into rectangular, cylindrical and spherical coordinates, in case one has misplaced one's undergraduate mathematics books.

The field covered by all the chapters is very wide and includes power applica-tions (e.g. welding, machining), recording applications (e.g. thermoplastic, static printing), analytical applications (electron microscopy and microprobe analysis in several forms), and radiation applications (radiation chemistry, sterilization).

There is no other book that I know of which would give a similar general review of the field of electron beam technology, and therefore, the efforts of editor and publisher are to be commended. One can only hope a second edition of the book will rectify the more serious faults. Last but not least, this would be a debt towards those contributors who gave an excellent presentation of their field.

B. W . SCHUMACHER Ontario Research Foundation

Nuclear Shell Theory, Volume 14 of Pure and Applied Physics. By A. DE-SHALIT and I. TALMI. Academic Press Inc. New York. Pp. 568. $14.50.

THIS BOOK COLLECTS into one volume the mathematical techniques which have been used in recent years to describe the quasistationary states of a many-nucleon system. In order to give a comprehensive treatment, the authors have restricted themselves to nucléons in an averaged central field, so that discussion of the collective model, and therefore also the unified model, are excluded. The book is written in a self-contained, text book form, with few references and with the topics presented in logical rather than historical order.

The first half of the book, Parts I and II, takes the mathematical development as far as is needed to describe two interacting particles in the central field. There is a formal treatment of spherical harmonics, rotation matrices, the Clebsch-Gordon and Racah coefficients, and some tensor algebra. Interleaved with this detailed mathematics are short chapters outlining the situation as it is encountered


in nuclei. The Coulomb and centrifugal potentials are described. Allowed (3 decay and y multipole emission are developed in their relation to transitions between shell structures.

Part III is concerned with the many-nucleon system. It develops the coupling schemes, the formalism of fractional parentage coefficients and seniority. This is again followed by a short review of nuclear properties and a comparison with experiment in nuclei where the shell theory is most applicable. The calculation of the average energy of many interacting particles is described. Later chapters extend the theory successively to include many particle isospin, and finally to states with particles in more than one shell.

A useful appendix is included, giving the definitions and algebraic relations of many functions described in the text, and a table of coefficients of fractional parentage.

The book should be a useful standard reference for the theoretician working in this field. For the newcomer, or the theoretically-inclined experimentalist, the detailed logical development and a single notation throughout are an attractive alternative to review articles and the many original papers.

B . HIRD University of Manitoba

Interstellar Matter in Galaxies. By L. WOLTJER (EDITOR). W. A. Benjamin Inc., New York, 1962. Pp. 330. $11.75.

THIS VOLUME RECORDS the proceedings of a conference held at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton during April 1961.

The title of the volume, while doubtlessly chosen in the interests of reasonable brevity, is somewhat misleading, since the contents are heavily biased towards only a few aspects of the subject. Specifically, the majority of the papers are concerned with neutral hydrogen in galaxies. None of the papers is concerned with such topics as the nature or growth mechanisms of interstellar dust grains, problems of reddening laws, the interstellar abundance of molecular hydrogen, etc., despite much current work in these fields. It is surprising that workers in these topics were not represented at the conference.

Except, perhaps, for the excellent opening paper by Oort, the book does not constitute a review of our present knowledge of the subject; rather it is a collec-tion of specialized topics of interest to particular people. The volume is not suitable as a text or even reference work, but is valuable as a record of specialists discussing a number of current matters of interest among themselves (the discus-sions following the individual papers are also presented). In short, a well-edited, well-put-together book, but mostly of interest to the specialist

J . D . FERNIE David Dunlap Observatory University of Toronto

The Green Function Method in Statistical Mechanics. By V. L. BONCH-BRUEVICH and S. V. TYABLIKOV, translated f rom the Russian by D. TER HAAR. John Wiley & Sons. Pp. 251. $9.75.

The Quantum Theory of Many-Particle Systems. Edited by H. L. MORRISON. Gordon and Breach. Pp. 345. $4.95.

THE APPLICATION of field theoretical techniques to the quantum mechanical many-body problem has been with us long enough now for an assortment of texts to have appeared on the scene. We have received for reviewing purposes two contrast-ing members of this species. One is a straight forward text by two Russians, S. V. Tyablikov & V. L. Bonch-Bruevich. The other is a selection of some fundamental papers in the subject edited by H. L. Morrison.

BOOKS 4 1

Tyablikov and Bonch-Bruevich have produced a coherent, self-contained story which uses as its basic vocabulary the Green's function formalism developed for quantum field theory by Julian Schwinger and others. The definition of the Green's functions and at the same time their connection with statistical mechanics is accomplished by reference to the many body density matrix. The reader is introduced to the coupled Green's function equations of motion for the finite temperature many particle system and to the standard perturbation techniques for solving these equations. The central role played by the spectral representations of the Green's functions is emphasized.

Applications of the formalism are made exclusively to the physics of the Solid State. Included are such topics as plasma oscillations in a solid, superconductivity and electron-phonon interactions, semi-conductors, ferromagnetism.

The appendices to the book by Tyablikov and Bonch-Bruevich develop explicit-ly the connections of many body physics with quantum field theory and thus complete the picture nicely. The translation by D. Ter Haar seems to be excellent.

The collection of papers edited by Professor H. L. Morrison are undoubtedly of great importance and many are necessary reading for a student in many body physics. But to label these papers collectively as "The Theory of Many-Particle Systems" seems to me somewhat pretentious. The most glaring omission in this selection are the contributions of such Russians as Bogolyubov, Galitski, Migdal and Gorkov.

W . HITSCHFELD McGill University

A Programmed Introduction to Vectors. By ROBERT A. CARMAN. John Wiley and Sons. Pp. xi + 121. $2.75 (paper with spiral binding).

THIS LITTLE BOOK at the grade 12 or first year university level provides an ade-quate introduction to vectors to students of physics. It also should pave the way for a course in vector analysis in their sophomore year. Its main feature is that little help is needed from the teacher who, presumably, will then be able to talk of vectors and vector operations more freely. Physical examples are used through-out and it is obvious that the author meant for his book to be used only to obtain a working knowledge of the subject.

There are only a few misprints (I counted six). The format of the book is simple. Questions are asked. Their answers are provided with page references. If the correct answer has been obtained the student is praised, given more examples, more theory, and then a problem on the recent work. If the wrong answer has been chosen, possible reasons for this choice are given pointing out the incorrect reason-ing, and then a reference given to a page where a review should be undertaken. In some cases picking the wrong answers leads to additional useful information.

A student who successfully completes this book will have no difficulty with books such as those by Sears and Zemansky or Halliday and Resnick. Scalar and vector products are discussed and a slight introduction to scalar and vector fields is given.

My only quarrel is with the price. Perhaps if the idea catches on future printings will be less expensive,

JOHN L . HUBISZ St. Francis Xavier University

Atomic and Nuclear Physics. By H. D. BUSH. Iliffe Books Ltd., London (Prentice-Hall) . Pp. 218 + 9.

THIS BOOK is designed as one in a series on nuclear engineering. Judging from the proposed titles, this book should establish the principles necessary to under-take the others in the series. The contents indicate a logical breakdown of the


subject into: overall structure of the atom, internal structure of atom, the nucleus, nuclear structure; radioactivity, induced nuclear reactions, fission and fusion; neutron physics and the interaction of charged particles and electromagnetic radiation with matter. When possible the theoretical material is linked up with reactor technology and, in fact, the particular characteristics studied are those relevant to reactor engineering.

A third year student can easily read this book in a short time and review many important definitions and topics. However for these students (physics majors) this book would only serve as supplementary reading and a source of interesting calculations. There are no problems offered but the mathematical level of the text (differential equations) does yield some practice with physical problems.


Man and His Physical Universe. (Second edition.) By RICHARD WISTAR. John Wiley and Sons. Pp. 376 + xi. $7.95.

THE AUTHOR has certainly fulfilled his wish to produce an interesting textbook. In fact this reviewer suggests that it be added to reading lists in all science courses and perhaps also to high school reading lists to enable students before coming to university to decide whether or not they wish to major in science.

Many situations f rom our daily lives that we t a i e for granted are utilized to illustrate the seemingly abstract laws of physics. The author talks of the weather, music, ignition system of the car, the cloud chamber, the electron microscope, the solar system, volcanoes and pterosaurs. At the same time the topics are the gas laws, wave motion, electricty and magnetism, radioactivity, wave nature of electrons, astronomy, geology and the history of the earth.

An excerpt from the text will illustrate the clear simple language of the author. Figure 1-22 is a lovely photograph of a mountain mirrored in a lake. I quote: "Figure 1-22 shows a cloud over Mt. Assiniboin; if we were on top of the moun-tain we would find the wind blowing hard, but the cloud remains stationary. As moist air rises up the side of the mountain its pressure drops, and it is cooled by expansion (page 23) . When it is cooled below the dew point, the moisture condenses into droplets which form the cloud. The process of condensation releases heat (page 26) and the cloud is also warmed by the sun. The drops are carried a few miles through the cloud and eventually evaporate again. Thus, the cloud hangs over the peak, yet it is composed of a constantly changing population of drops that are forming at one edge and evaporating at the other."

The level of mathematics could have been raised and made a bit more systematic; however, this is a minor point. The text is fortified with excellent diagrams and very beautiful photographs illustrating the points under discussion. Each chapter ends with a summary and a number of problems (both qualitative and quantitative).


Heat, Thermodynamics Brace & World Inc.,

and Statistical Physics By FRANZO H. CRAWFORD. Harcourt New York. Pp. 700. $11.00.

THIS BOOK is the third of a kind which I have come across in eighteen months: a unified treatment of thermal physics, macroscopic and microscopic. As in the recent works of King and Morse, the general composition is similar to the treat-ment first attempted by F. W. Sears some thirteen years ago, though of course it is much more up-to-date, and the balance has shifted further towards the statisti-cal viewpoint. The book falls into three parts. A treatment of systems and para-meters, of the laws of thermodynamics, of the general methods, and of the

BOOKS 4 3

application of thermodynamics, is followed by a brief section on kinetic theory. TTie author concludes with several chapters on statistical mechanics.

The first part, classical thermodynamics, follows the pattern brilliantly set by Zemansky in 1937. The treatment is careful, if at times just a bit pedantic, and, I think, intended for unsophisticated readers. The kinetic theory part is rather brief, and bears little resemblance to the usual arguments based on die kinematics and dynamics of mass points. The underemphasis is the result of approaching the speed distribution of gas molecules through the requirement of maximizing entropy. While some quasi-intuitive insights may be lost by the radical excision of the particle-flux point of view, time is saved, and the reader develops skills in more abstract statistical thinking. This will stand him in good stead, for the concluding three chapters (200 pages) of the book are a full treatment of classical and quantum statistical mechanics—full that is for a work of mixed objectives. (A treatment of Gibbs ensembles is included, for instance.) This third part appeals, I would say, to advanced undergraduates who have had a good grounding in quantum mechanics elsewhere.

The basic idea of combining the three elements of this book into one treatment, and of presenting them in one lecture course is eminently sound. If I have some reservations about this book it is because I doubt that the early elementary and later advanced chapters are likely to be equally appreciated by the same student in the same year. It is almost as if this material should be taught in two academic years.

There is a useful selection of problems for each chapter, but no solutions are given. Diagrams are large and clear, but without captions, a lack which I found occasionally annoying. The index is marvellously detailed, general bibliographies and detailed references to important papers are given in abundance. Althogether, the book is a very welcome addition to the field of texts in modern thermodynamics.

WALTER HITSCHFELD McGill University

The Shock Tube in High Temperature Chemical Physics. By A. G. GAYDON and I. R. HURLE. Chapman and Hall London, Reinhold Inc. New York. Pp. 308.

3 £ 5s.

THE SIMPLE SHOCK TUBE, which was primarily developed as an aerodynamic research tool, has found its way into many different research laboratories since the second World War because controllable high temperatures in the 2000°-20,000° K range can easily be established in it for milliseconds. The wide applica-tions of shock tube techniques in physical and chemical research has produced a growing need for monographs on the principles, methods and applications of shock tubes and shock waves for research in high temperature chemical physics. Many of the monographs which have been written so far have been oriented towards aerodynamics, engineering or theoretical fluid dynamics. At last an authoritative, readable and most useful monograph for the chemical physicist has appeared. It has been written by two authors with long and distinguished experience in the use of shock tubes in molecular physics. The authors are to be complimented on the careful and discriminating selection of material in the book, for its orderly arrangement, and for clear writing throughout.

After an historical introduction in Chapter I, the basic aerothermodynamics of shock waves for ideal gases is developed in an unusually clear and useable way in Chapter 2. Real gas effects are discussed with some illuminating numerical examples of calculation of them in Chapter 3. Practical aspects of shock wave propagation in tubes (effects of the viscous boundary layer, aerodynamics of finite time of diaphragm opening etc.) are reviewed in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 includes a particularly valuable critical review of the criteria for design of shock tubes and hazards associated with their operation. Chapters 6, 7 and 8 outline


specific techniques of measurement of shock speeds, pressures, densities and temperatures. Chapter 9 discusses the effects of relaxation processes on propaga-tion. Chapter 10 discusses shock tube spectroscopy and Chapter 11 outlines chemical studies in shock tubes. Shock-ignited detonations are reviewed in Chapter 12.

The book is to be highly praised and its authors congratulated for the unusual clarity and precision of their writing. The absence of obscure mathematics (which quite often unnecessarily fills other monographs) is refreshing. Where quanti-tative discussion is given (e.g. Chapters 2 and 3) , the steps involved are clear and the physical picture is kept firmly in mind. A pattern of clear physical insight permeates the whole book.

The book cannot be recommended too highly to potential users of shock tubes in physics and chemistry laboratories, particularly for shock waves of moderate strength. A brief discussion of strong shock waves is included, but quite rightly most emphasis is given to those shock waves in which interesting molecular phenomena occur. The book will undoubtedly become an authoritative reference and remain so for years.

R . W . NICHOLLS University of Western Ontario

The Identifications of Molecular Spectra (3rd Edition). By R. W. B. PEARSE and A. G. GAYDON. Chapman and Hall London. Pp. 437. ( £ 6 ) .

UNAMBIGUOUS IDENTIFICATION of spectroscopic features is the first practical require-ment to confront the user of spectroscopic methods in research. Suprisingly, this is often considered to be a sufficiently simple problem that relatively little system-atically organized reference material is available in the literature to aid in definitive identifications. The spectra which are reproduced in research papers are seldom comprehensive enough to be useful in identifications. There is thus a continuing need (and not just by professional spectroscopists) for atlases and other identificational aids, particularly in molecular spectroscopy.

The distinguished authors of this classic work recognized the need when they produced the first edition in 1941. It is a unique and much relied upon publication which has become a standard work in laboratories and libraries around the world. The second edition, issued in 1950, and the present third edition all have a similar easily useable format: Introduction, Table of persistent band heads (10.000A-2000A), Individual Band Systems (the body of the book), Practical procedure and precautions, Plates of common molecular spectra, Appendix (list of persistent atomic lines—conversion of wavelengths in air to wavelengths in vacuo) and indexes.

The entries for individual band systems are arranged alphabetically by molecule. Vibrational assignments of bands of each system are made in lists of bands in order of decreasing wavelengths. Comments on Occurrence, Appearance, Transi-tion Assignment and Important References accompany the listings for each system.

A discriminating and tedious literature search has been required to make this edition up-to-date yet not overwhelmingly cumbersome to use. Data on 84 molecules appears for the first time. Extensions are made to the listings for 135 other molecules. 350 new entries are made to the table of persistent band heads. This table on its own has many uses in spectral identifications. The 12 plates of common and important molecular spectra are unchanged from the second edition. They are used a great deal in many laboratories.

This volume will remain as a standard work for years and the authors have done a service to spectroscopic workers in producing the new edition.

R . W . NICHOLLS University of Western Ontario

A Selection of Wiley and Interscience Books for Lab, Library, Desk and Study

CASPERS: THEORY O F SPIN RELAXATION. Volume VI in the Interscience Monographs in Statistical Physics and Thermodynamics. 1964. 160 pages. $9.75.

BEVENSEE: ELECTROMAGNETIC SLOW WAVE SYSTEMS. 1964. 464 pages. $17.50.

DeBENEDETTI : NUCLEAR INTERACTIONS. 1964. 636 pages. $16.00. McDANIEL: COLLISION PHENOMENA IN IONIZED GASES. 1964. 775

pages. $17.50. SWETS: SIGNAL DETECTION AND RECOGNITION BY HUMAN OBSER-

VERS. Contemporary Readings. 1964. 702 pages. $17.50. RIPLEY: THE ELEMENTS AND STRUCTURE OF THE PHYSICAL

SCIENCES. 1964. 584 pages. $8.95. BAUMRIN: PHILOSOPHY O F SCIENCE: T H E DELAWARE SEMINAR. Vol.

I: 1961-1962. An Interscience Book. 1963. 370 pages. $9.75. Vol. II: 1962-1963. An Interscience Book. 1963. 551 pages. $14.50.

KOCHIN-KIBEL-ROZE: THEORETICAL HYDROMECHANICS. Translated from the fifth Russian Edition by D. Boyanovitch. An Interscience Book. 1964. Approx. 600 pages. $20.00.

EYRING-HENDERSON-STOVER-EYRING : STATISTICAL MECHANICS AND DYNAMICS. 1964. Approx. 500 pages. Prob. $15.00.

NEWHOUSE: APPLIED SUPERCONDUCTIVITY. 1964. Approx. 296 pages. Prob. $8.50.

PRIGOGINE: ADVANCES IN CHEMICAL PHYSICS. Volume 6. An Inter-science Book. 1964. Approx. 450 pages. Prob. $16.50.

DUCHESNE: THE STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES O F BIOMOLECULES AND BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS. Volume 7 in the Interscience series, Advances in Chemical Physics. 1964. Approx. 850 pages. Prob. $26.50.

MEE: THE PHYSICS O F MAGNETIC RECORDING. Volume 2 in the Series of Monographs on Selected Topics in Solid State Physics. A North-Holland (Interscience) Book. 1964. 270 pages. $9.75.

RUNCORN: PHYSICS IN THE SIXTIES. Science Edition. $1.45. MENZEL-BHATNAGAR-SEN: STELLAR INTERIORS. A Volume in the Inter-

national Astrophysics Series. 1964. 317 pages. $12.50. SNEDDON-HILL PROGRESS IN SOLID MECHANICS. Vol. III. A North-

Holland (Interscience) Book. 1963. 258 pages. $10.50. Vol. IV. A North-Holland (Interscience) Book. 1963. 198 pages. $10.00.

GIBSON-BURGESS-AIGRAIN : PROGRESS IN SEMICONDUCTORS. Volume VII. 1964. 238 pages. $11.00.

Order from your bookstore or

JOHN WILEY & SONS, Inc. 605 Third Avenu* N e w York, N.Y., 100J6

RESEARCH IN PHYSICS

PLASMAS Interaction of plasmas with electromagnetic and magnetic fields including simulation of geophysical and space phenomena, re-entry physics, microwave and quantum electronics (lasers) and plasma diagnostics.

SOLID STATE Properties of highly compensated semiconductors and near-insulators, photon interactions with solids, thin films, luminescence processes.

RADIATION DETECTION Semiconductor nuclear particle detection, optical detection, infrared detection, cryogenics.

COMMUNICATIONS Systems analysis, antenna design, millimetre waves, solid state circuitry, satellite telemetry. rci

SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES Analysis of field-effect and other new devices, varactors and transistors at very high current densities, development of advanced types of transistors and diodes, circuit ap-plications.

Applications are invited from physicists and engineering phy-sicists who are interested in a career in pure or applied research.

RCA VICTOR COMPANY, LTD. RESEARCH LABORATORIES

DR. J. R. WHITEHEAD, Director of Research 1001 Lenoir Street

Montreal 30, Quebec

This spectrum is indicative of the quality of our work. We require another physicist for further experimental and theoretical studies. If this is your interest. . . please call us.

' 1 • 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i

C O B A L T 57 L I T H I U M D R I F T S I L I C O N

CONVERSION ELECTRONS DIFFUSED W I N D O W AND G A M M A SPECTRUM W I N D O W THICKNESS 0 . 2 MICRON

3000

2000

_ AREA - 50MM1 P i l l <5FH DEPTH - 3MM PULSER

BIAS-400 VOLTS «Il TEMP. 200-K 1

- TIME CONSTANTS- 1.0»*M , T

1000 900 800 700 600 500

T + l K 121-9 114-2 kev

7 k e v A K

f L /T 1286

- / I 1 1 n >- / 1 7 1 i l 1_ 2 9 ' / 1 fl - D / i l l \

• i 2-7 kev

400

300

- o / l l /

o • \ 1 T-J U s i w / 1 / 1 r

200

® 1 u 1 I s t I 1 J - D / 1 / 136

•v 2 i l i

kev

\ y ** JL

•

100 90 80 70 60 50 1 1

-

<0 -

30 -

20 -

10 , i . f . i , r . Ii i . 16 0 180 200 220 240 260 280

CHANNEL NUMBER

Ce spectre illustre bien le soin apporté à nos travaux. Nous sommes à la recherche d'un autre physicien pour poursuivre nos recherches expéri-mentales et théoriques. Si vous êtes intéressé . . . téléphonez-nous.

Appelez Dr. S. Wagner 728-4527

fit simtec ltd. ^ ^ 3400 Metropolitan Blvd. E ast

Montreal 38, Canada

CANADIAN OPPORTUNITY

for

SOLID-STATE RESEARCH

CTS of Caflada invites inquiries, in strict confidence, from solid-state physicists, chemists, and electronic engineers who wish to conduct basic research in semiconductor and thin film physics or who wish to engage in the development of devices, miniature circuit components, semiconductor and electro-optical devices.

This is an Unusual opportunity to join a newly organized Research Laboratory and to conduct your own research or development program in a stimulating scientific envir-onment in which excellent support is provided, both in facilities and in technical personnel.

CTS of Canada is a well established (1924), stable, profit-able firm manufacturing electronic components. The Streetsville location combines the advantages of quiet suburban living with the easy availability of many cultural and social activities in nearby Toronto.

Contact Dr. W. F. J. Hare,

Director of Research, CTS of Canada, Ltd., Streetsville, Ontario.

TAylor 6-1141

€ T S @g C a n a d a . L t d . S I K I l i l W I U E . O N T A R I O . C A N A D A

VEECO'S MODULAR 775 SERIES

HIGH VACUUM STATIONS AND EVAPORATORS

VE-775

High Vacuum

Evaporator

IT'S MODULAR permits easy addition of optional equip-ment, power supplies, feedthroughs, baseplates, controls, bell jars, feedthrough collars, and other accessories. The basic Electro-Manual High Vacuum Station can be easily converted in the field to an Electro-Manual Evaporator, to a key-controlled truly auto-matic High Vacuum Station or High Vacuum Evaporator . . . as your requirements change.

FINGER-TOUCH EASE WITH FAIL-SAFE PROTECTION .. .operator-conven-ience...here is manual push-button control which enables the operator to sequence valve operat ion by i l luminated panelettes on the vacuum sche-mat ic panel. Simple, direct, protected.

HIGHEST PORT PUMP SPEED.. . i s achieved by the new VEECO EP-775, 2000 liter per second di f fus ion pump, which provides a 400 liter per second pump speed measured at the baseplate port.

R A D I O N I C S LTD. 8230 Mayrand Street Montreal 9, Quebec

Phone: REgent 9-5517

V A C U U M - E L E C T R O N I C S CORF. Terminal Drive s t /

Plainview, L.I., New York (l/eCCO) Phone: OVerbrook 1-8300 V ^

IMEW ULTRA-STABLE INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE FEMTOAMPERES V i c t o r e e n d y n a m i c capac i to r e l ec t r ome te r is an u l ra -p rec ise t r ans i s -t o r i z e d m e a s u r i n g i n s t r u m e n t of g rea t s t a b i l i t y and u l t i m a t e s e n s i t i v i t y . A t abou t V3 of f u l l - s ca le , t h e F e m t o m e t e r measu res cu r ren t s of less t h a n 1 f e m t o a m p (10 1 5 a m p . ) , charges of less t h a n 1 f e m t o c o u l o m b ( 1 0 - 1 5 C) , a n d vo l tages f r o m u l t r a - h i g h - i m p e d a n c e sources . 11 T h i s r e m a r k a b l e c a p a b i l i t y m a k e s the F e m t o m e t e r t h e idea l m e a s u r i n g i n s t r u m e n t in nuc lear s tud ies i n v o l v i n g ion c u r r e n t ; . . . i n e lec t ron ics f o r m e a s u r i n g t r ans i s to r base or t u b e g r i d c u r j e n t s , a n d con tac t

CONDENSED SPECIFICATIONS Ranges: 3 m i l l i v o l t s to 30 v o l t s , 3 x 1 0 - 1 6 . . . 3 x l O - 7 amp; ; . Power Requirements: 115-230v, 50-60 c p s ; or 4 " D " f l a s h l i g h t ba t t e r i es . S w i t c h e s i t se l l on to ba t te ry it AC fa i l s . ( N o ba t te r i es needed lor AC-Dnly o p e r a t i o n . ) Input Connector: A d a p t o r s f u r n i s h e d to f i t s td . M I L type cannec to rs . Accuracy: 2 % or be t t e r on pane l me te r or p o t e n t i o m e t e r recorder r e a d o u t ; o rde r of 0 . 2 5 % w i t h c a l i b r a t e d capac i to r and rate of charge m e a s u r e m e n t w i t h e x t e r n a l p o t e n t i o m e t e r .

p o t e n t i a l s . . . in c h e m i s t r y fo r pH a n d c h r o m a t o g r a p h y . . . in phys i cs f o r se r ious research a p p l i c a t i o n s . 11 A l l t h e most des i r ed d e l u x e f e a t u r e s — u n i t i z e d p l u g - i n p r e a m p l i f i e r fo r r emo te o p e r a t i o n , m u l t i p l e sw i t ch - se l ec ted i n p u t res is to rs , b u i l t - i n r emo te s h o r t i n g s w i t c h , e tc . — a r e y o u r s at t he a t t r a c t i v e base p r i ce . ' ] V i c t o r e e n r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s w i l l be d e m o n s t r a t i n g t h e F e m t o m e t e r t h r o u g h o u t t he c o u n t r y t h i s m o n t h . W r i t e us on y o u r p ro fess iona l l e t t e rhead for a d e m o n s t r a t i o n a t y o u r c o n v e n i e n c e .

WORLD S FIRST NUCLEAR COMPANY

VICTOREEN THE VICTOREEN INSTRUMENT COMPANY 5806 HOUGH AVE. . CLEVELAND 3. OHIO

rr7 C T O R E E y V I C T O R E E N

Represented in Canada by; R A D I O N I C S LTD. - Mont rea l -8230 Mayrand St.; Toronto-4938 Yonge St., Wi l lowda le

Volume 20 No, 3 . Summer 1964Et é fileradiation mete witr interh criminatio- instrumen i a nn t changeable sc in singl, probe. e NE 100 B 1 Transcint, a linea meter witr h the sam

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