Evening star., 1934-12-14
S16,0D0,ODO GRANT
TO SCIENCE URGED
Appropriation Is Proposed
to Roosevelt by His
Advisory Board.
(Continued From First Page.)

tCONlluueO cTUHl rHcL TdsCC
cleansing streams, lakes and beaches
of pollution. Two lines of attack are
urged-a survey to disclose important
centers not now properly protected
and research to develop improved
methods of dealing with pollutions.
No estimate is given of the cost.
Studies of fog dissipation. "A
method has been developed and tested
during the past two years." the re-
port states, which is successful in dis
sipating fogs created artificially in the
laboratory, and gives promise OF being
capable Of development to produce
clear patches or holes a few thousand
feet square in areas of natural fog"
This would make possible the sending
of beacon lights above fog for the guild
ance Of airplanes and opening landing
lanes An initial $4,000 project is
proposed to test out the method under
actual conditions, with further devel-
opment if it appears practical.
Development of low temperature re-
search, the significance of which is
stressed as follows: BY the principles
of physical chemistry it is known that
calculations of the yield and the rate
of reaction in chemical processes re-
quires knowledge of the specific heats
of reacting substances through the en-
tire range of temperatures upward
from absolute zero. This knowledge Is
of practical value in determining the
most advantageous conditions Of oper-
alton in various industrial chemical
processes, such as fixation of atmos-
pheric nitrogen and the cracking and
hydrogenation of hydrocarbons. Un-
til recently the only places in the world
where such work could be done were
Leyden and Berlin" 1t is proposed
that the Government make grants
to laboratories which already have
made beginning in this line-to the
extent Of about 100000 for the first
year and a diminishing amount there
after for the six years.
Heavy Hydrogen Study.
Study of heavy hydrogen and its
compounds. This, it SO happens, was
discovered in connection with the low
temperature work of the Bureau of
Standards and is Of such far-reaching
Importance that it is proposed the
Government spend 100000 year for
six years investigating its potentiali-
ties 1T opens up the possibility" the
committee informs President Roose-
welt, "of forming an entire new group
of hundreds of thousands or organic
chemicals with properties differing
somewhat from those now known. 1t
is practically certain to yield chemical
compounds with valuable new proper
ties. particularly in the field of drugs,
medicines and dyes" The discovery,
made comparatively by DR.. F. G.
Brickwedde of the Bureau of Stand
ards and Prof. Ury of Columbia
University. is described as an "Ameri-
con scoop" and one of the greatest
of all American contributions to natu-
raj science, with the implied duty Of
the American Government to push its
implications to the utmost.
Long distance transmission Of elec-
trio power, Of special significance in
view OF the various electrification pro-
grams now contemplated or in
progress, such as the Tennessee Valley
Authority. 1t is proposed that the
Government spend several hundred
thousand dollars" on this project, ex-
planned as follows: Present methods
OF transmitting electric power are
limited by practical reasons of efi-
cheney, complexity and cost to about
250 miles, but it is rare that great
resources of water or fuel power are
within $50 miles of regions of large
power consumption. There has re-
Gently been suggested radically new
scheme for electric power transmits
sion, involving the use of electrostatic
generators and motors operating in a
vacuum with direct current at about
100000 volts and with power trans
mission along a rod running through
an evacuated, grounded iron pipe line
OF special design II successful this
system should be cheaper to install
than present systems and should be
capable of transmitting power to un-
limited distances without appreciable
loss. Preliminary laboratory tests have
been highly encouraging"
Refrigeration Studies.
Determination of the r,r,ys;oay 49,.