JANUARY 22, 1943SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS 7~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ANNOUNCINGan outstanding textbook series

for flight preparatory training courses

FLIGHT PREPA-RATIONTRAINING SERIES

Published under the Supervision of the Training Division,Bureau of Aeronautics, U. S. Navy

ERE is a distinctive series of twelve short texts which has been prepared to meet the specialneeds of intensified training courses for pilots in war time. Under war conditions the need

for a thorough understanding of basic science and navigation by pilots has become acute, whilethe time available for study has been reduced to a minimum. These texts, therefore, embodyenough theory and background to provide the student with an intelligent understanding of sci-ence and navigational principles, but omit all duplicating and non-essential matter.

The twelve books range from 100 to 300 pages each. There are five basic, pocket-size texts,entitled:

MATHEMATICS FOR PILOTSPHYSICS MANUAL FOR PILOTS

PRINCIPLES OF FLYINGOPERATION OF AIRCRAFT ENGINES

AEROLOGY FOR PILOTSand seven volumes in larger format on AIR NAVIGATION, including:PART 1. INTRODUCTION TO EARTHPART II. INTRODUCTION TO NAVIGATIONPART ILL DEAD RECKONING AND LINES OF POSITIONPART IV. NAVIGATION INSTRUMENTSPART V. RELATIVE MOVEMENTPART VL CONTACT FLYINGPART VII. NAUTICAL ASTRONOMY AND CELESTIAL

NAVIGATIONIn the U.S. Navy's Aviation Training Program this Series of books constitutes the intensified,three-month flight preparatory Ground School course. As such, the Series as a whole repre-sents what is probably the first carefully planned and thoroughly integrated set of texts that hasbeen available for the complete pre-flight course based on Service standards. At the same time,the Series should be ideal for a full year high school course at the eleventh or twelfth grade level,or for more intensified courses at the intermediate or college level.

Write for further information

McGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY, INC.330 West 42nd Street, New York, N. Y.

JANUARY 22, 1943 SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS 7

Aldwych House, London, W.C.2

SCIENCE-SUPPLEMENT VOL. 97, No. 2508

SCIENCE NEWSScience Service, Washington, D. C.

LOESS AND THE FARM LANDS OFTHE UNITED STATES

SOME of the best farm lands in America are the productof unimaginably violent dust storms-dry, gray blizzardsthat howled off the edges of the vast glacial sheets of thePleistocene Ice Age. They are the wind-deposited soilsknown technically as loess, that are found over widestretches of the Midwest and also (though more thinlydeposited) in parts of the East.Wind has long been credited with the creation of the

b6ess, but there have been many things about this soil typethat have puzzled geologists. New light is thrown on theproblem by Professor William H. Hobbs, of the Univer-sity of Michigan, as a result of long studies around theice sheet that covers Greenland-one of the two places onearth where Ice Age conditions still persist.During Greenland's short but often surprisingly warm

summers there is very rapid melting around, and justwithin, the glacial margins. Heavy floods of water, tur-bid with suspended mud and sand, pour out, frequentlyfloating off blocks of ice with boulders embedded in them.These eventually become stranded and melt, droppingtheir boulder loads at considerable distances from theedge of the main ice mass. Geologists know all this soliddischarge from under the glacier edge by the vivid nameof "outwash."When the long winter sets in, bitterly cold winds, at

velocities of a hundred miles an hour and more, pour downoff the interior of the ice sheet. The outwash is soondried out, and the lighter particles blow outward in greatclouds. Sandstorms at lower levels, dust storms at alllevels, rule the season. Except for temperature, condi-tions are not unlike those encountered in the Libyan des-ert. Exposed stone surfaces are sand-blasted in almostexactly the same manner in both regions.The outward-blowing dust is halted only by vegetation

and does not, therefore, settle permanently upon the out-wash plain itself. Around the outwash area it builds upa heavy deposit of the loess, which is thickest about therim of that area and thins out the other ways. Thus itcomes about that in the upper Mississippi Valley theloess has been deposited peripheral to the areas occupiedby the last ice sheet, but with an intervening area wher-ever there has been outwash deposited. This distributionof the loess has long been recognized by glacialists, buthas never before been explained owing to the.failure totake account of the so-called glacial anticyclone over con-tinental glaciers.

Professor Hobbs has found abundant evidence of thesame state of affairs in the abundance of wind-sculpturedboulders, in the inland sand dunes of Nebraska, and inthe distribution of the Midwestern loess which coverswhole Corn-Belt counties and piles up in hills as much as300 feet high along the banks of the Missouri.

FLUID COAL"PFLUID" coal, a pulverized form of coal which, when

mixed with air, can be made to flow through standard

pipes a quarter of a mile long, is being studied by fuelengineers at Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, as apossible substitute for fuel oil in industrial heatingprocesses.

Preliminary work on the application of this finelyground coal to industrial furnaces-which application ifwidely adopted may have great effect in alleviating short-ages of fuel oil-has demonstrated that the fuel is en-tirely suitable for use in many types and sizes of forgingfurnaces, that it has advantages of fluidity similar tothose of oil and gas, and that it gives flames of highemissivity which provide maximum heat transfer by radia-tion.Of particular importance is the fact that for most sec-

tions of the country this material would be more economi-cal for applicable industrial processes than the fuels nowbeing used.

Investigations in the uses of pulverized coal have beenin progress at the Columbus industrial research laboratoryfor several years and are now being intensified under anenlarged research program supported by the bituminouscoal industry. Emphasis is being placed upon the appli-cation of the finely pulverized coal to forging, heat-treat-ing and other metallurgical furnaces, which now consumegreat quantities of oil and gas in the war industries."Fluid" coal is produced by grinding coal to dustlike

fineness in specially designed mills. A stream of air en-tering the mill picks up the fine particles and deliversthem to collectors. The material when not impacted willflow through your fingers and pour somewhat in the man-ner of a liquid. When mixed with air it demonstratesfluid-like properties, will flow through pipes, and sprayout of jets.That the substitution of pulverized coal for oil and gas

in some metallurgical processes is entirely practical isverified by the fact that a number of plants have beenusing pulverized coal for steel-heating furnaces for manyyears. In fact, in 1920-in the days before oil and gasbecame cheap-there were 690 known pulverized coal fur-naces in operation in this country. The developmentretrogressed, however, with the discovery of vast newsources of oil and gas and the sharp reductions in thecosts of these fuels.The investigations indicate that there is great possi-

bility of extending the use of pulverized coal to hithertounexplored fields. It has been tried in the radiant-tubefurnace, which is used in heat-treating, annealing, andenameling, with promising results. The successful appli-cation of pulverized coal to this type of furnace wouldremove the principal disadvantage of coal in refined metal-lurgical work, namely, the fly ash, cinder and sulphur,since combustion takes place inside alloy-steel tubes lin-ing the walls of the furnace.

Finely pulverized coal ignited in air burns rapidly, re-leasing great quantities of energy. A part of the Battelleinvestigation of this fuel, but one having less immediateapplication in industry, is the study of a direct means toharness this energy.

8

SCIENCE-SUPPLEMENT

THE CHEMISTRY OF THE HIGHPOLYMERS

DR. H. MARK, professor of organic chemistry at the Poly-technic Institute of Brooklyn, speaking before the NorthCarolina State College chapter of the Society of SigmaXi, stated that the difference between a springy rubber-like substance and a hard plastic or a tough fiber, eithersynthetic or natural, lies in the tendency for the mole-cules of these substances either to contract or to formcrystals.The more crystallization in its structure the more the

substance becomes a typical fiber, such as nylon, silk, cot-ton or rayon. If the mutual attraction between the chain-like molecules of a given material is low, then it will showmainly the properties of an elastomer such as rubber,Buna S, Neoprene, Hyear, butyl rubber, etc. This is alsotrue if the molecules do not fit well into a regular three-dimensional lattice structure. In between these extremes,the substance will show the properties of a plastic, suchas hard rubber, methaerylate (lueite), vinylite, poly-styrene or ethyl cellulose. Present experimental knowl-edge shows that all these substances have about the samefundamental structure, but it is their ability to crystallizethat gives them different properties.

All types of what the chemist calls "high polymers,"whether they be rubbers, plastice or fibers, have the samehigh order of polymerization, that is, their molecules arecomposed of about 2,000 or more atoms. "Polymeriza-tion" is the name that the chemist gives to the processof making big molecules out of little ones. Either bynatural processes or by the skill of the chemist's rqae-tions, simpler materials are built up into more complexones to form our most useful rubbers, plastics and fibers.These are molecules in which the atoms are visualized asbeing in a long chain."During the past fifteen years," Dr. Mark said, "a

new branch of organic chemistry has been started andgradually developed. This is the chemistry of the highpolymers. The natural products belonging to this classof substances, for example, cellulose, starch, proteins,chitin, rubber, etc., have been known for a long time, butit was only recently that successful attempts were madeto elucidate their molecular structure and to realize theircommon fundamental building principle. Synthetic prod-ucts of resinous character built up from small molecules,such as formaldehyde, ethylene oxide, vinychloride andstyrene, have also been known for some time, but againtheir molecular structure and their fundamental relation-ship with the natural high polymers were not known untilabout ten or fifteen years ago."

ITEMS

COLCHICUM, the plant that produces colehicine, is notimmune to the effects of its own drug, is indicated byexperiments by Dr. Ivor Cornman, of the University ofMichigan. Since colehicine produces the sudden evolu-tionary changes in plants that have made it famous inrecent years by a partial checking of cell division, givingnew cells two or more times the normal number ofheredity-bearing chromosomes, Dr. Cornman made his

tests simply on cell division in root tips of two speciesof Colchicum. Weak colchicine solutions had no effect,but when the strength was stepped up to 2.5, 5 and 10 percent. the cell-division process was seen first to be hindered,then blocked altogether. Since there is always colehicinein the tissues of Colchicum, the question naturally arises,how can cell division go on at all? Why doesn 't the plantmake itself extinct with its own poison? Dr. Cornmandoesn 't undertake to answer. He merely remarks thatthe immunity must be found somewhere else than in theplant 's mechanism of cell division. Details of the re-search are reported in the Botanical Gazette.

How cattle and sheep are aided by bacteria in digest-ing the crude fiber of the grass and fodder they eat hasbeen demonstrated by a new technique devised by F.Baker, of the Guilford County Technical College, England.Mr. Baker 's method is described in a statement from theScience Committee of the British Council. Partially di-gested materials are removed from the animals' digestivetracts either in the slaughter house or from specially pre-pared surgical openings in living specimens. Under thepolarizing microscope, differences in light directionthrough the materials indicate digested and undigestedparts. The role of the bacteria is indicated when iodineis added. Where the bacteria are active, purple spotsshow the presence of starch-like substances, formed withinthe bacterial cells out of the cellulosic materials in thecrude fiber. Apparently it is this bacterial starch thatactually furnishes the nutrition to the animals.

COLOR changes in the test tube will enable chemists tomeasure amounts of the silver-white metal, palladium, insolutions as dilute as 1 in 300,000,000 parts. The methodwas developed by Dr. John H. Yoe and co-workers at theUniversity of Virginia. This is the first procedure to bediscovered which will detect such minute traces of themetal. It will be useful in analysing and studying theplatinum group of metals and their alloys. Palladium isused in dentistry, jewelry and to speed certain chemicalreactions. A new color method for detecting traces ofiron as small as one part in 75,000,000 was also discov-ered. Analysis by weighing, rather than a color change,is the final step in a procedure to test tungsten ores andsteels, an important metal in war production. These in-vestigations were part of a research program being con-ducted by Dr. Yoe and his associates to discover new andmore sensitive organic analytical solutions for detectingand determining amounts of chemical elements and theircompounds. Such studies have important applicationsnot only in chemistry, but also in medicine and biology.

EXPERIMENTS performed by Professor E. H. Hughesand R. L. Squibb, of the University of California Collegeof Agriculture, indicate that pigs as well as people needvitamins. The newest need on the porcine diet list ispyridoxine, member of the vitamin B complex also knownas B,. Lack of this compound caused a number of dis-tressing (and costly) symptoms, including loss of appe-tite, poor growth, fits and anemia. Normal health wasrestored by daily doses of a mere pinhead quantity ofpyridoxine-five milligrams per hundred pounds of pig.

JANUARY 22, 1943 9

10 SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS VOL. 97, No. 2508

HIGH VACUUM GAUGES* For Quick, Accurate Measurements* For Laboratory or Plant Applications

These are widely applicable gauges, for accuratemeasurements in all high vacuum applicationswithin the micron and 5 mm. ranges. More than1000 are in use, by Industry and in physics, or-ganic and physical chemistry laboratories, fortaking quantitative readings in rapid succession,without the aid of any assisting gauge, refer-ence vacuum, batteries or electrical connections.Single readings are taken in a few seconds, suc-cessive readings in about 15 seconds.Used to advantage in organic distillation underhigher vacuum, for which ordinary closed endmanometers are not adequate; in drying bloodplasma and biologicals from the frozen state; fortesting efficiency of vacuum apparatus; for foodand chemical processing operations, etc.Two models, both lightweight, compact, rugged... for portable use or permanent mounting ...with range from 0 to 5000 microns and 0 to 700microns. Write for new Bulletin 42-G withcomplete description, specifications, prices, appli-cations, etc.

F. J. STOKES MACHINE COMPANY5958 Tabor Road Olney P. 0. Philadelphia, Pa.

A

eS

. . Spectroscopically Pure

. . Easily removed from bulbwithout contaminationScientific uses for Linde rare gases include-1. The study of electrical discharges.2. Work with rectifying and stroboscopic devices.3. Metallurgical research.4. Work with inert atmospheres, where heat con.duction must be increased or decreased.Many standard mixtures are available. Special

mixtures for experimental purposes can be suppliedupon request.

The word "Linde" is a trade-mark of

School administrators in all the states from Maine toCalifornia inclusive are requesting that we recommendteachers to them for their teaching staffs. We are in-terested In further registration of teachers, both ex-perienced and inexperienced, who have In mind continuedadvancement In the teaching field.

AMERICAN COLLEGE BUREAU28 E. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, Ill.

l&

I

LaMOTTE HEMOGLOBINOMETERThis outfit was developed to estimate the hemo-globin in terms of grams per 100 nil. of blood.The blood sample is treated with hydrochloric acidwhich converts the hemoglobin into acid hematin,and this is compared with the known color stand-ards. The result is read off directly. Outfitincludes comparator case with all necessary equip-ment and complete instructions. Price $10.00f.o.b. Towson, Md.

LaMotte Chemical Products Co.Dept. "H" Towson, Baltimore, Md.

THE SCIENCE PRESS PRINTING CO.PRINTERS OF

SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL JOURNALS.MONOGRAPHS AND BOOKS

Correspondence InvitedLANCASTER. PENNSYLVANIAI

am

10 SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS Vow. 97, No. 2508

JANUARY 22, 1943 SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS

NEW WILEY BOOKS

DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONSBy H. W. REDDICK, Professor and Head of theDepartment of Mathematics, Cooper Union Insti-tute of Technology.

A textbook covering methods of solving ordinarydifferential equations, and problems in appliedmathematics involving ordinary differential equa-tions. Partial differential equations are not dis-cussed. The theoretical treatment, and thehundred illustrative examples, are set forth asclearly as possible. Over six hundred problems,with answers, are given. The book is suitablefor use by students in both liberal arts and en-gineering colleges. Ready in February.

Approx. 232 pages; 5j by 81;Probable price, $2.50

ORGANIC CHEMISTRYAn Advanced Treatise

HENRY GILMAN, Professor of Organic Chem-istry, Iowa State College, Editor-in-Chief.A revised edition of one of the most importanttreatises ever to be published in its field. Thebook was phenomenally successful in its first edi-tion. The material has been expanded andbrought up to date, with new chapters on thereactions of aliphatic hydrocarbons, syntheticpolymers, catalytic hydrogenation and hydro-genolysis, organic. sulfur compounds, aliphaticfluorides, the chemistry of the porphyrins, chlo-rophyll, and the redistribution reaction. Thecontent is presented with a directness and claritythat make it unusually acceptable for use withadvanced students. In two volumes. Publishedin January.

Second Edition: 2096 pages; 6 by 9;$7.50 per volume

INDUSTRIAL RADIOLOGYBy ANCEL ST. JOHN and HERBERT R.ISENBURGER.

A revised edition giving an up-to-date account ofthe nature and properties of X-rays, their pro-duction, detection and how to record them, in-stallation of equipment for industrial radiog-raphy, and the technique of conducting and

interpreting radiographic examinations. Forstudents of applied physics, -this book offersauthoritative information. It constitutes a com-plete treatise on the use of radiant energy fornondestructive testing. Ready in February.

Second Edition: Approx. 226 pages;6 by 9; Probable price, $3.50

OUTLINES OF PHYSICALCHEMISTRY

By the late FREDERICK GETMAN. SeventhEdition by FARRINGTON DANIELS, Professorof Chemistry, University of Wisconsin.

One of the leading textbooks in physical chem-istry, "Getman and Daniels" has been popularfor many years because of its unified presenta-tion, its ample illustrations, its large selection ofgraded problems, and its regular revision to keepthe material up to date. This seventh editionoffers a somewhat more advanced treatment inthe first part of the book than did the precedingedition. There is also new and important ma-terial on behavior of gases, phase diagrams, kin-etics of chemical reactions, thermodynamics, solu-tions, fractional distillation, theory of electrolytes,and other subjects. Many new problems andworked-out examples are included.

Seventh Edition: Approx. 662 pages;6 by 9; Probable price, $3.75

FUNDAMENTALS OF SOILSCIENCE

By 0. E. MILLAR, Professor of Soil Science, andL. M. TURK, Associate Professor and ResearchAssociate in Soils; both at Michigan StateCollege.

A simple discussion of the fundamental principlesof soil science, with world-wide applications. Therelations of soil science to other agricultural fieldsand to society in general are brought out. Tabu-lar data is reduced to a minimum. The varioussections of each chapter constitute the objectivesto be attained by the study of that chapter; ques-tions are given which point up the discussion andaid the student in review. For the first course inBoils.

Approx. 462 pages; 6 by 9; Probable price, $3.50

JOHN WILEY & SONS, Inc., 440-4th AVE., NEW YORK

11

0

v 1, 1

11 SCEC-DERIEET VO.9,N.20

Instr numents in [Far

In nearly every phase of our war effortSpencer optical instruments are in active dailyservice from safeguarding the health of ourarmed forces to controlling, checking andspeeding up production of airplanes, engines,tanks, guns, ammunition, chemicals.

Spencer No. 13 Micro-scopes are used exten-sively in Army andNavy medical units.

Spencer Refractom-eters are used to de-termine the refractiveindex of liquids, plas-tics and transparentsolids in defense pro-duction and to main-tain proper standardsfor foods.

Spencer Colorimetersare used in the analysisof chemicals when coloris an index of concen-tration.

Spencer StereoscopicMicroscopes are usedto reveal flaws in met-als and to examinesmall parts. Many areused in aircraft plants.

Spencer Delinea-scopes are now beingused in military andindustrial training.

Spencer PolarizingMicroscopes are usedto test chemicals usedin explosives.Spencer Microtomesare used in cuttingcross-sections of de-fense materials to de-termine quality of ma-terials and for thepreparation of tissuesfor microscopic exami-nation by the nationalhealth services.

Spencer Haemacy-tometers are used byArmy and Navy phy-sicians to determine theblood condition of menin the services.

Optical instruments are so vital to war andpublic health that the nation's needs absorbpractically all of Spencer's greatly increased

production.

Spencer LENS COMPANYBUFFALO, NEW YORK

SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT DIVISION OFAMERICAN OPTICAL COMPANY

J EI'-hh

M.i

VOL. 97, No. 25081L2 SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS