Evening star., 1936-01-01
Science
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Continued From First Page)
choneuro equilibrium reflex" and the
reflex associations of the emotions.
The nerve cell exhaustion, he said,
first manifests itself in increased ir-
ritability and emotional intensity, but
the individual maintains self-control
A further exhaustion brings about
the complex of conditions known as
neurasthenia, in which the victim
suffers from all sorts of irrational
fears, imagined illnesses and feeling
of inability to cope with life.
The third stage is more or less pro-
found melancholy. AS the depletion
process continues this gives way to
mania, with those mechanisms OF the
nervous system responsible for fnhibi-
ton of impulses broken down alto
gether. The fifth and last stage Is
complete exhaustion.
Drug Administered First.
Under his treatment, DR.. Cowles
said, the victim passes back through
each of these stages to normality.
First he administers drug which
tends to stabilize the emotions, to
balance the cell metabolism and to
increase the patients desire for food.
Following this there Is daily dosage
with a tonic and a laxative. All
this is accompanied with psyche
logical treatment.
The report, said DR.. Cowles, "is
based on 1000 cases Of the psy-
choneuroses and their complete re-
covery in three months" When the
condition has actually progressed to
the point of insanity the problem
becomes more complicated.
In all the years heretofore" said
DR.. Cowles, insanity has never In
creased more than 10 per cent in
each 10 years. Within the past 10
years it has increased 20 per cent.
Is not this alarming increase due
logically to the lessening vitality Of
the people brought about by the sense
of insecurity with respect to their
position and their place in life. This
sense Of insecurity produces Sleep
lessness, irritability and a disgust for
food. All this is evidence Of lessen
ing energy of the central nervous sys-
tenn. This, with its consequent lessen
ing of emotional control, produces
distorted ideas. Once the distorted
ideas begin there Is established the
vicious circle of emotional excitement
and mental maladjustment."
Enunciates New Principle.
His experiences with the 1000 cases
considered, DR.. Cowles stressed, leads
him to promulgate the new principle
in psychiatry that, both mentally and
physically, inhibition varies directly
with the energy content Of the nerve
cells, even to exhaustion and dissolu-
ton.
A maximum speed of TOO miles an
hour. a motor" with a capacity Of
200 horsepower per pound Of its own
weight. a maximum heighth of about
a mile and half.
Such is the present, status Of the
rocket being devised by Prof. Robert
H. Goddard of Clark University for
exploration of the upper atmosphere.
This is the celebrated moon rocket"
of a decade ago. DR.. Goddard has been
working on it since 1920 and has
given most Of his attention to it for
the past five years at special station
in Roswell, N. Mex, for which he has
received grants from the Guggenheim
Foundation and the Carnegie Insti-
tuition of Washington.
The inventor described the progress
of his work before section meeting
of the association. An eventual trip
to the moon or some other planet
never has been part Of his project.
He is trying to perfect an instrument
which will penetrate successfully the
outermost fringes of the earth's
atmosphere, from 60 to 100 miles
above the surface, carrying automatic
recording instruments.
Faces Engineering Problem.
Fantastic as is the idea at present,
the progress reported by DR.. Goddard
today represents the nearest approach
to an interplanetary ship. From the
first, he said, he has been confronted
with an engineering problem involving
three main steps. The first was the
construction Of rocket motor
simply combustion chamber capable
Of utilizing some such explosive fluid
as hydrogen or liquid oxygen with
which to produce explosions which
will kick back" against the rocket
itself much as gun kicks back
against the shoulder Of the man who
fires it. This kick back is independent
Of the medium in which the explosion
takes place-dense atmosphere or
empty space. It is the only means
Of propulsion not based on the prin-
ciple Of pushing against something
outside, such as earth, water or air.
theoretically this should be q very
efficient mode Of propulsion, but great
practical difficulties stand in the way.
One Of the greatest Of these is the
necessary weight Of the chamber con-
tanning the fuel. Such q chamber
must be extremely light and durable.
The best yet achieved, DR.. Goddard.
reported, was motor giving q Jet
horsepower Of zoe per pound Of
chamber.
The second problem is that Of
keeping the rocket in vertical course
by means Of an automatic stahilizer.
Prof. Goddard now has made one,
working on the principle Of the gyro-
scope, which operates successfully.
The deviation from the vertical Is
exactly the same on both sides up
TO the greatest height obtained. $500
feet. 4
The third problem will b co6