The University of Utah Seventy-fifth Annual Commencement, 1944, Address by Harvey Fletcher, Ph.D., D.S.

The University of Utah Seventy-fifth Annual Commencement, 1944. Address to the Graduating Class, "Scientific Progress and Civic Responsibility" by Harvey Fletcher, Ph.D., D.S., Directory of Physical Research, Bell Telephone Laboratories, New York City. Kingsbury Hall. Tuesday, June Sixth.

,r~--•--- ■ --•a-tt-lUt- tl lt-l ■-n- ■--Rl-ttll-11-11t-U- ■e-n- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ n -.... II I II I I I t..ct(!)7t Tbe University of Utah lI Seventy-fifth Annual j Commencement 1944 Address to the Graduating Class ''Scientific Progrm and Civic Refponsibility" by HARVEY FLETCHER, Ph.D .. D.S. I i Address to the Graduating Class BY HARVEY FLETCHER Commencement - University of Utah June 6, 1944 Mr. President, Members of the Graduating Class, Ladies and Gentlemen: q IRST let me congratulate you upon having a winning basketball team - first among all the college teams of America! I was in Madison Square Garden in New York City when your team defeated Dartmouth in the final intercollegiate game and I can tell you it was a thrilling event. At the start of the game my interest was divided, as our son is attending Dartmouth, but this did not last long for I soon found myself yelling "Come on Utah." Although I have lived away from this state during the past 28 years, my loyalties are still fastened very strongly here. Let me congratulate you on another point. Professor Thorndike of Columbia University has shown, through rather exhaustive statistical and psychological studies, that in the present generation more superior men per 1000 of the population were born in Utah than in any other state. So Utah men have the brains as well as the brawn. After the compliment to the men I should say something about the women. It is common reputation abroad that Utah has the finest looking girls in the whole world. What I see before me is evidence of this and I mean it sincerely. Also, there is no doubt that you have brains and brawn equal to your brothers here or else all that we know of heredity and environment would be violated, but unfortunately there is no objective data to prove it. · As announced, I will talk to you a short time on the subject, "Scientific Progress and Civic Responsibility." As you all know, the progress of science has been amazing during the last two or three decades. Physics now is a rather different subject than it was when I left the schoolroom some 28 years 'ago. Chemistry, the biological and medical sciences, have also kept pace with the development of physics. This increased scientific activity has been greatly accelerated by the mobilization of scientists for the 4 war effort. As examples of the results of medical scientific progress I cite the following: Your chance of living to be 100 years old is now about one in 3000. At birth the life expectancy in ancient Rome was only 25 years. In America in 1850 it was only 40 years. In 1900 it was raised to 47 years; in 1930 to 60 years, and now it is about 64 years. In the decade from 1930 to 1940 the population increase in the group over 65 years of age was 35 percent, or five times as many. If I were living 100 years ago, at my age I would be a lonesome old man, but now I have over 13 million associates · in this country who are older than I. If the same gains are made in the next 40 years as were made in the last 40 years then Americans will live on the average 78 years and centenarians will be as common as politicians. Diseases, such as smallpox, bubonic plague, yellow and typhoid fever, and diphtheria, which used to lay low whole sections of the population, are now practically eliminated. There has been a steady decline in the mortality of childhood diseases, such as measles, whooping cough and scarlet fever. There still remain three great enemies to a longer expectancy of life. They are a challenge to the scientific progress of your day. These enemies are, heart disease, cancer and accidents. During the year 1942, the first year that this country was at war, eight Americans were killed by accident for every soldier or sailor killed in action. For every soldier or sailor wounded, missing or taken prisoner, there were 200 civilians injured in accidents - a total of 9 million casualties with 300,000 of them permanent disabilities. And yet when we have conquered these three enemies and given the world that which the Atlantic Charter promises, namely, freedom from want, another problem arises - the problem of too many people in the world. The population of the world is 2 billions and it is growing such that it doubles every century. In the wholesome environment of this state the population increase is more than seven times that of the world as a whole. I mean that owing to the excess of birth rate over death rate, this would be the increase if all who were born here should stay and nobody else come in. Already in certain parts of the world they are having difficulty in raising enough foods to support life. So when we conquer the three enemies mentioned above, or even bring the wholesome conditions you are now enjoying here to the rest of the world, there will be a serious population problem. Your generation and succeeding generations must face and solve this problem. The biologist has and will continue to search for the secret of life. In my opinion, he is doomed to disappointment for a long 5 time to come, but in this quest he has found in the past and will continue in the future to find many important relations which can be put to a useful purpose. The study of molds and yeast may well revolutionize the world food situation. Recent researches have shown that molasses, ammonia gas, water, air and yeast, mixed together in large tanks where the yeast can grow rapidly, produce an edible material rich in proteins and vitamins. Flavors can now be synthesized by the chemists and if they are added to the mixture described above, a food may be produced which some day may give keen competition to our cattle raisers. It also suggests at least one of the possibilities of solving the food shortage due to over-population. Let me cite just one of the spectacular developments in chemistry and medicine, namely, that of penicillin. It is a product of fermentation and in its pure crystalline form is now the most powerful drug known for combating bacterial and infectious diseases. Due to its importance in this war large groups of scientists, engineers and manufacturers have cooperated in developing processes and building plants to produce this drug. In spite of the many millions spent upon this project only experimental quantities were produced until last year, when in June 0.4 pounds, July 0.7 pounds, August 0.8 pounds, September 1.7, October 2.8 pounds, November 4.8 and December 9.1 pounds of this important material were produced. In spite of this seemingly rapid development it now costs a:bout $10,000 per pound. Up to the present chemists have not found its structure. When they do, and I think that will be soon, then it can be synthesized and the cost brought down to a reasonable figure. There is no doubt that it will become one of the most useful drugs yet known in combating diseases. In the field of physics let me cite one fundamental principle which I was fortunate to have a small part in establishing, which has revolutionized science and industry and also our ways of living. It was during the years 1910 and 1911 that I worked with Professor Millikan on the determination of the electrical charge of an atom of electricity, called the electron. For the first time a single electron was isolated and measured. J. J. Thomson and others made clever experiments involving groups of electrons and from the results, obtained the approximate value of the charge of the electron. However, electrical engineers in 1910 were still talking about an electric current as a strain in the ether. I remember very well a visit at that time from the great Dr. Steinmetz, the so-.called electrical wizard from the General Electric Company. He came to the Ryerson Physical Laboratories to see our experiments for himself, and to discuss their implications. He came expecting to show us where we had made 6 a wrong interpretation, but went away convinced of the reality that an electric current is composed of a swarm of tiny electrical particles called electrons, each one having the same mass and carrying the same electrical charge. When this concept was generally accepted by scientists and engineers, they began to invent devices for controlling the movements of these elementary particles of electricity. It was shortly after this, principally through the efforts of Dr. Arnold of Bell Telephone Laboratories and Dr. Langmuir of the General Electric Company, that the electronic valve, or vacuum tube, was developed. Its use has simply revolutionized the whole industrial world. Three of our greatest industries sprang from this development: radio broadcasting, sound pictures and long distance telephony. A fourth great industry is ready to spring into being as soon as the war ends, namely, television. These little electronic tubes, which you see in your radio set, do not look very impressive, yet they take a feeble imperceptible radio signal and multiply it more than a billion times. A large variety of tubes are now available, some small enough to go inside a thimble and others taller than a man. With their aid we can lift tons of steel by the simple flexing of a finger, talk to people in Australia, or have the door through which we desire to pass open and close automatically. An electronic eye levels the elevator to the floor desired by simply pushing a button. Electronic tulbes sort oranges, fill bottles, dry paint, pasteurize milk, dedydrate eggs, copy maps, aid the hard of hearing, reveal hidden weapons on .suspects, guard operators against accidents, and I could go on enumerating hundreds of things these little servants are doing in •our daily life. In the last war there was hardly a single electronic device used, although it was during the War, in 1915, that engineers of the Bell Telephone System sent the first telephone communication from the Arlington Tower in Washington to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. At that time there were at most a few hundred tubes available. They were numbered and carefully guarded. As a contrast to this, we find that in the present war there is hardly a single implement of warfare which does not depend upon the electronic tube. Now there are more electronic tubes made each year in this ·country than there are people in it. Many of the guns are directed by electronic devices. The operation of bombers is wholly dependent upon electronic devices. These devices are used in communication, navigation, and in the computers and apparatus for dropping the bombs. They are used in devices for locating airplanes and ships, for determining the depth of the water and height of the sky. The electron microscope has recently been perfected to such a state that sharp images of metals or other surfaces can be viewed 7 under magnification as high as 30,000 diameters. In some designs the electron miscroscope allows us to see the larger molecules. The viruses in the biological field, which have always eluded even the best microscopes heretofore, are now taking shape when viewed with the electron microscope. This was dramatically set forth at our January meeting of the American Physical Society, when Dr. Shwartzman displayed a picture on the screen and then informed his audience that it was the first micrograph ever made of the virus which is responsible for one type of meningitis. And there are countless other devices, with many of which you are familiar. This has become the Age of Electronic Devices. While this industrial development has been going on, all of the sciences without exception have been and are now using electronic devices as experimental tools for research investigations. For example, in the field of astronomy the electronic tube associated with other devices has made it possible to measure time intervals ten times more accurately than was possible before World War I. It has enabled the physiologist to measure accurately electrical impulses and voltages associated with our thinking or with any muscular movements. It has enabled the physicist to construct powerful devices for smashing atoms. By examining the fragments of smashed a toms, their structure can be determined. In this way great strides have been possible in recent years. Professor Lawrence of the University of California invented the cychotron which has been developed into one of the most powerful atom smashers in the world. Models of this are now found in most of the large university laboratories. In this device either electrons or nuclei of atoms are whirled in a magnetic field, their speed increasing with every transit until they attain enormous speeds. They are then hurled at atoms and when a direct hit is made the atom is broken into fragments. Another machine, operating on a somewhat different principle but still using whirling charged particles in a magnetic field was recently invented by Professor Kerst of the University of Illinois. It is called the Betatron. The latest model built by the General Electric Company is said to create vel<0cities as high as that created if the charged particles were placed in a field of 100 million volts. These machines will not only have value for scientific study, but will have many therapeutic uses and also radiographic uses for testing thick specimens of steel or other metals to determine imperfections. Using these atom smashers, all the elements have been made radioactive, that is, they act like radium and throw off electrical particles spontaneously. This has opened up new fields, because minute quantities of any radioactive element can be detected by its electrical effect; consequent- 8 ly they can be used as tracers in many biological experiments as well as in physical experiments. For example, if one swallows some water containing a radioactive salt, then in just a few seconds an electrical instrument placed at the finger tips indicates that the salt has been absorbed in the blood and transported to that point. The ancient problem of transmutation, that is, of making one element change into another one, has been solved. It has been found that there are enormous energies locked up in the nuclei of the atoms and the possibility of unlocking some of this energy, particularly in the heavier atoms, looks very promising. It is estimated that a pound of matter has enough energy stored within it to furnish ten thousand kilowatts of power throughout a normal man's lifetime. It is also estimated that if this energy can be released suddenly, like an explosive, a handful of matter would produce a hole in the earth 1/2 mile deep and 1 mile wide. There is no doubt that as science progresses further, means will be found for tapping this vast storage of energy. Thus we see that a recognition of the fundamental truth, that electric currents are composed of swarms of electrons which may 'be detached from matter, has led to the development of devices that have profoundly modified our ways of living and given us powerful tools for scientific research. Many people are worrying about our natural resources giving out, particularly our oil and gasoline. Probably some day they will, but just recently the Gulf Research Laboratory discovered oil fie1ds in Arabia. By means of scientific instruments - electr,onic devices again - the amount of oil under. the surface was explored and estimated to be equal to that known to exist in the rest of the world. Due to the scientific progress which has been made and to the turning of its results to practical ends, there is now available in our homes and factories 13.5 horsepower per individual. This power is brought under our control by simply pushing a button, operating a throttle, or closing a switch. This is equivalent to having 100 slaves at the command of each man, woman and child in our country. Great Britain has less than half of this amount of available power, Germany about the same as Great Britain, France about one-third, Japan about one-eighth, Russia about one-fifteenth, and China one-twenty-seventh of this power availa;ble per individual in the United States. There is no doubt that as science progresses this available useful power will be multiplied many times. Will it be used for our destruction, or for raising our standard of living? From what I have said I think it is clear that, whether you like it or not, you are entering a world where scientific achieve- 9 ments are rapidly expanding and are having ·a profound influence upon both individuals and society as a whole. Some have been so rash as to say that this scientific progress was the cause of the present war; others have said, in the dark days of 1933-1934, that it caused the depression. They were saying, "Call a halt to science and let morals catch up." Nothing could be further from the truth than either of these statements. Our present high standard of living, equivalent to 100 servants per individual, was brought about by utilizing the achievements of science. Wages, in terms of goods which they will produce, are now seven times what they were a hundred years ago. There are only two ways to get materials for the desired abundant life: one is to steal, plunder and take from someone who has them; and the other is to increase the production per man. This seems very clear and simple when put in this way and yet when applied to the complex situations in life, you will find many advocating a decrease in production, rather than an increase; and there are always those who will try the first method, some trying to keep their stealing within the law and others disregarding the law. The war was not caused by the pressure of population, as some have said; nor was it caused by the desire to get access to raw materials, as some others have suggested; neither was it . caused by science and technology making available powerful instruments for waging a war; but it was caused by the evil designs of men trying to get materials for the abundant life by the stealing process. By their conniving they led to a fanciful sublimation of these evil purposes into a cause supposedly noble and worthy of support. The intense selfishness of these men will bring destruction to themselves as well as to many innocent victims. Until this kind of selfishness can be uprooted from the hearts of a majority of men and women we shall always have wars, regardless of the material adv,ancement of the world. There will probably never be a time in your life when you will have a more intense desire to serve mankind than on your graduating day. Keep these ideals always, I beg of you. If joy and satisfaction in living are your goal, this kind of selfishness can have no part in your life's work. A desire for self-expression to do important work, to count on the world affairs may be considered a form of selfishness and as such is not only commendable but is a mainspring of human action. Intelligent self-interest is perhaps the most necessary component of the good life but to be effective it must be far seeing. As we all know, a large part of life's activities must be expended in obtaining food, clothing and shelter. The foolish man extracts his money for these necessities of life by scattering pain, sorrow and strife. Whether his activities are within or without the law makes little difference 10 to him. Such a man frequently pays 100 times over in pain and sorrow for one fleeting pleasure. The wise man chooses those activities in life which enable him to scatter joy and happiness to all whom he daily contacts, and at the same time receives enough money from his activities to provide for the necessities of life. Dav,id Starr Jordan once said, "Success is doing what you want to do and being paid for it." What you want to do should be guided by the highest idealism. You are in the midst of this accelerating progress of science which will continue to give an ever-increasing amount of mechanical power for your use. There, fore, it becomes increasingly important that each of you, as a part of this service to mankind, take a vital interest in civic affairs. See to it that your public servants do not retard this increasing amount of mechanical power, but rather direct it into useful channels for producing fuller and richer lives for all. There are tremendous political problems facing us now and you should know what they are. Discuss them with your friends and do some hard thinking of your own. It is surprising what a tremendous influence a few hard thinkers have on the many who only want to be told. Here are some provocative questions, taken from the magazine, Time, which need immediate answers. Do you want Germany divided into dozens of little states, as she was before Bismarck's time? Do you want to see pieces of Germany given to her neighbors as was done to ancient Poland? If so, do you want the Germans "evacuated" from East Prussia to make room for Russian and Polish colonists ? If Germans are allowed to stay where they are, do you want them treated like a conquered people or like equal citizens? Do you want Germans to rebuild the cities German armies have destroyed? If NONE of these make sense to you, then what SHOULD be done with Germany? Perhaps we must first find a solution for the problems of Europe as a whole. Problems like these: Are Europe's 18 nations to stay economically isolated from each other as they were between the last war and this one? Are their jigsaw borders and dashing interests to keep them in a state of more or less continuous war - declared or undeclared? 11 And what about the social revolution and the class war by which all Europe was torn, all through the thirties? In which direction should America throw the weight of her influence - or can we afford not to exert our influence at all? AND FINALLY - how great a part are you willing that American leaders, American boys, and American dollars should play in building a new democratic Europe that can live in peace? And here are some live issues on the domestic front: Longer term for President while prohibiting re-election. Reversion to the selection of senators by state legislators. · Concurrence of House of (people's) Representatives in treaty making. Abolition of seniority rule for chairmanship of congressional committee. Then there is the great problem of the relationship between Management and Labor. Some have predicted that the present trend is leading to a civil war. If it comes, it will again be due to the basic selfishness of men. Do some straight hard thinking about this problem and let your conclusions be known to others. If there is a sufficient number to emulate your example, this impending tragedy can be avoided. What I have been trying to say is, that regardless of your profession or activity in life, you must give attention to these civic and political affairs, or all the fine things which science promises will be wasted and used for our destruction rather than for our improvement. It has been pointed out that you are known to have the brains and \he brawn and I am sure you are not lacking in moral courage or spiritual buoyancy, so you will face these problems unafraid and with the assurance you have the capabilities to solve them. Members of this 1944 graduating class, the world is expecting great things of you. Do not disappoint them.