The second great growth phase of industrial science has been and now is in applications of physics and electronics. We are all familiar with the development of atomic energy and electronic devices such as radar during the Second World War. I might point out that these were straightforward applications of scientific principles which were developed before the war. It is difficult to realize just how fast our country is changing as a result of electronic devices alone. Whole new industries employing hundreds of thousands of people have shot up in the past 15 years.
Television is a good example.
This has had a great impact on each of our lives. Semiconductors have made possible the production of miniaturized equipment for the military and are starting to be used in home equipment such as radios and televisions. Some of the new concepts using semiconductors should permit Hi-Fi equipment to be shrunken to the size of a match book and this will also provide much greater reliability. Revolutionary developments of this type should make it possible to develop home recorders for television. Automation - less workers in plants, greater efficiency.