Evening star., 1952-02-13
Europe Birth Rate Spurts
Outside Of Iron Curtain
Population Neurly Tripled
Since Stort Of Century
By Thomas R. Henry

The population Of Europe outside the
Iron Curtain countries Is increasing at
. rate Of about three million year.
Since the start Of this century there
have been more than so million immi-
grants yet the populations of the Euro
pean countries themselves have nearly
tripled In the same time.
Even so, the continent Is closer to q
stabilized population than any other
part Of the world and conceivably can
become self-supporting.
Such are the conclusions Of Robert C.
Cook. editor Of the Journal of Heredity.
In bulletin issued by the Population
Reference Bureau. Further immigration.
he insists, offers no hope. The numbers
almost Immediately would be replaced.
One index Of overpopulation, DR..
Cook points out. is the amount of arabic
land per person. It is estimated that
at least two and half acres are re-
quired to support one individual in the
United States. Europe, with a more
intensive agriculture. probably can make
one acre suffice and maintain about the
present standard Of living, which differs
greatly from country to country. But
on the basis Of one acre per person
the United Kingdom has an overpopu-
lation of more than IS million. Other
countries are listed as follows in over
population: Austria, 81 million. Bel
gium, million; Germany, IA million:
Greece, "a million; Italy, 93 million;
Netherlands. IL million; Portugal. FL
million
Millions Too Many People.
This, however is crude measure, DR..
Cook says, for land shortage can be
offset IN many ways-such as by CO.
lonial empires or sale of manufactured
goods for food products. When all
is taken into consideration, however,
he believes that the present overpopu-
lation of Europe is at least 80 million
and possibly depending on what is con-
sidered minimum safe standard of
l1ving-two or three times that number.
AT the current rate of natural in
crease" DR.. Cook declares, "Europe's
population would total approximately
426 million in 10 years. Even though
the recent decline in birth rates should
continue, the total would hardly be less
than AIS million in 1860
To-day the population of the New
World presses increasingly on the re-
sources of the New World. Yet the
drain on these resources to feed Europe
and parts of Asia increases with each
year."
writing machine" which operates
at nearly three-fourths the speed of
light. has been developed at the National
Bureau of Standards.
1t records automatically on q photo
graphic film events which happen in
less than millionth of a second, such
as the surges on electrical transmission
lines which occur during lightning
storms.
: Fluctuations Tell Story.
The moving finger of an electron
beam moves across the film with speed
of about $50 million feet a second and
is pictured as fluctuating line whose
fluctuations tell the story Of what Is
happening.
The technique, according to q Bureau
OF Standards announcement was de-
veloped by Dr. j. H. Park as part of a
general program of basic instrumental.
tion sponsored by the Office of Naval
Research, the Office of Air Research
and the Atomic Energy Commission.
Speed achieved is about eightfold what
has been possible In the past.
Necessarily, use of the new technique
is restricted to highly specialized prob
lens connected with events in minute
time intervals, but for such events it
provides permanent record which can
De studied at random. It also NAV
liyy
OF slower events.
Among the uses to which the in
strument can be put. according to the
bureau announcement, Is the study of
insulation breakdowns due to lightning
discharge, which are a frequent cause
OF failure of electrical equipment. Thus.
says the statement, "for DEVELOPMENT
OF insulation designs as well as for
routine tests of high-voltage components
most manufacturers of such equipment
now maintain surge generators that en-
able them to produce in the laboratory
electrical Surges having the same volt
age and current magnitudes as those
occurring on transmission lines as a
result of natural lightning. During a
thunderstorm an electrical system may
experience SurgeS rising to a million
volts in less than millionth of 4
second
This. it is affirmed, is precisely the
sort of phenomenon for which the new
device is intended. It also should prove
valuable IN study Of the interior of the
atom.
With a few changes in design, It Is
claimed, the device could write" at n
speed at least equal to that of light.