The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-08-26
Scientis t Praises
Soviet Viewpoint
ON Higher Physics

Soviet scientists are quite right
in their skeptical attitude toward
the mystical element in the theo-
rizing of men like Jeans, Edding-
ton and Millikan, who argue that
the universe is running down to a
heat-death or perhaps is being re-
juvenated by an influx of cosmic
rays.
Such is the opinion of an Amer
lean scientist of considerable stand
ing, Professor Abraham Press, who
is now visiting the Soviet Union.
He is widely known in his special
field of mathematical physics, has
made pioneer contributions to cleo
trical theory, and is a member of
numerous learned societies. He
taught electrical engineering at
the Universities of Oklahoma and
California, and served as a visiting
professor of physics for the Rookie
Teller Foundation.
Professor Press has lately pub
lished two papers dealing especially
with the mystical-tinged modern
physics, one in the philosophical
Magazine" of London, and the other
in the June issue of the Soviet
Journal of Physics" published at
Kharkov. To layman these papers
look like lot of harmless, if alb
struse, exercises in higher mathe-
MATES, but they contain some vital
jolts to the pretensions of the
school Of thought which banks on
entropy, uncertainty and rejuve-
nation.
Just before leaving the Red Capt.
tai the other day for the Crimea,
where he will discuss with Acade-
mician Joffe and others various
problems affecting science and in
dustry in this country, Professor
Press talked with a Moscow Daily
News reporter. He is a stocky fig
ure, very agreeable in manner,
without tn least offishness, has a
keen sense of humor and can talk
in simple terms.
Likes Critical Attitude
IL have been at work for 10
years." said Professor Press, "co-
ordinating the ideas of Einstein,
Baltzmann, Franck and Lorentz,
with the classical concepts and
theories of Newton, Carnot, Clerk
Maxwell and Willard Gibbs. be-
lieve that so-called modern physi-
cists and their popularizing expo
nents like Eddington, Jeans, Mil
likan and others, have introduced
wholly unnecessary and unwarrant-
ed mysticism into the older work.
Thus they have stultified science
and surrendered the citadel of ra-
tional knowledge to a horde of
self-inspired crystal-gazers and
idealistic conjurors. 1t lis a great
satisfaction to me that the Soviet
men of science refuse to join in
this capitulation of the human
intellect.
Indeed one of the chief things
that has drawn me to the Soviet
Union is the critical attitude taken
by its keenest minds, which are
keeping full pace with the modern
and extra-modern developments
in scientific regeneration but de-
cline to follow any mystical will
of-the-wisps. l refer to such men
here as Frenkel and others. 1t is
ridiculous that mathematics should
be used to make reason commit
harakari. l use mathematics to
serve reason, as in my Journal of
Physics article, exposing the fall
lacy of entropy in the sense that
the universe is running hopelessly
and chaotically down HILL"
AS far back as, 1903, Professor
Press made major contribution
to electrotechnics in the discovery
and formulation of magnetic iron
losses in electric motors, and two
years late helped to clear up COM
mutator theory. He then made
series of studies of parasitic copper
losses in conductors and motors.
He also made the first calcula-
lions for extra high frequencies
met in radio transformers, and
was an absolute pioneer in this
field.