The Permanent Secretary of the American Association, Elected at the Recent MeetingSource: The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Mar., 1937), pp. 286-288Published by: American Association for the Advancement of ScienceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/16188 .

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286 THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY

principle of causality, and are pointinig to a similarity between certain princi- ples underlying quantum physics and fundamental phenomena in psychology and biology. This new point of view, called the principle of complementar- ity, dispels the contradictions which arise in the field of atomic phenomena, and throws light on fundamental ques- tions of psychology and biology.

Born in Copenhagen in 1885, Profes- sor Bohr received his Ph.D. in 1911 at the University of Copenhagen, where he

has been since 1916 professor of theo- retical physics. He was lecturer at Copenhagen in 1913 and at the Univer- sity of Manchester from 1914 to 1916. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1922; a year earlier he received the Hughes Medal of the Royal Society, London, and was elected a member in 1926. Professor Bohr was made a for- eign associate of the National Academy of Sciences in 1925 and is a member of many other national academies.

H. S.

THE PERMANENT SECRETARY OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION, ELECTED AT THE RECENT MEETING

THE Amierican Association for the Ad- vancement of Science has elected as its permanent secretary a distinguished mathematician and astronomer, Dr. F. R. Moulton. It is understood that he will reside in Washington after May 1 and devote his entire time to the work of the association. Dr. Moulton has been long interested in the association, having been a vice-president for astronomy and a member of the executive committee. He has been president of Sigma Xi and a member of the executive council; he is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, having been elected at the agre of thirty-eight, the American Philosoph- ical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as of the Astronomical Society of America, the American Mathematical Society and other American and foreign societies.

Moulton was born at LeRoy, Michigan, in 1872. Shortly after his graduation from Albion College in 1894, he went to the then very youthful University of Chicago and received his doctor's degree, summna curn laude, in 1899, his work being in the field of mathematical astron- omy. For nearly thirty years thereafter he was a member of the faculty of the University of Chicago, serving through the various ranks to a professorship in 1912. There he had as his associates the distinguished scientific men brought to

Chicago by President Harper who in- cluded Michelson, Millikan, Moore, Stieg- litz, Chamberlin, Whitman, Williston, HIektoen, Jordan, Donaldson, Loeb, Coul- ter and Dewey.

In addition to many contributions of a purely mathematical character, Moulton explored, in cooperation with his stu- dents, the method of periodic solutions of the differential equations of mechanics -a method which was originated by the American astronomer George W. Hill in his theory of the motion of the mioon. Hill's method of treating this particular problem was appreciated by the French mathematician, Henri Poincare, who, bringing to the problem an unrivaled mastery of modern mathematical analy- sis, generalized and extended Hill 's method to a wide class of problems in mechanics. Moulton 's work in this field culminated in his classification of the periodic orbits, in the problem of tlhree bodies and in the demonstration of the existence of certain limiting orbits which he called orbits of collision and ejection. His work in this field, together with the work of some of his students, will be found in a large volume, "Periodic Or- bits," published by the Carnegie Insti- tution of Washington (1920).

But the work for which Moulton is most widely known is his development, in collaboration with the late Professor

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THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE 287

I)R. F. R. IOULTON

T. C. Clhamberlin, of a thleory of the origini of the solar system,i of planets anid their satellites a theory that is kinowii as the planetesinmal hypothesis. Accord- ing, to thiis lhypothesis the origili of the sun's famill- of planets is to be fonuled in the cireum:lstaniees attending a close ap- proaclh to th,e sun of some star a bi- pareital tlheory, as Chamberlin. called it, in contrast withl the niebular hypothesis of Laplace, which sought the origini of the planets in the contraction of thle SUll

due to loss of hieat aiid a conise(lnent ex- cessiv-e rate of rotationi a purely imono- l)arental theory.

In 1918 Moulton was appointed major in the army anid placed in eharge of the ballistics sectioii in the Ordnainee De- I)artment at Washinlgton. Here he qulickly founid thacit the theory of the tra- jectories of proJectiles as developed and tise(l by the armnies of Europe was un- satisfactory to an astronomer, wllo was acecustonme(d to inmiuch better mietlhods in tracing ouit the patlhs of the plaiiets in their flight abouit thie siun. After all, a projectile is something- like a little planet and in introdtucingo- astroiiomical mneth- o0(s into the theory of the motions of projectiles lie was not departing very far

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288 THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY

from his chosen field of celestial mechan- ics. After he had retired from the army with the rank of lieutenant-colonel and returned to the University of Chicago, a number of officers from both the army and the navy were sent to the university for several years to be trained by him in the theory of ballistics. Finally (1926) he published his work in this field in a volume entitled "New Methods in Ex- terior Ballistics. "

In 1927 Moulton resigned his profes- sorship and became a director of a large public utility corporation. Notwitl- standing his duties in this new field he has found time to write a new text-book on astronomy (1929), a volume on differ- ential equations (1931) and a popular work on astronomy under the title " Con-

sider the Heavens " (1936). He is now contributing to and editing a book on the physical and biolo(gical sciences, and lhe gives weekly broadcasts on all the Colum- bia network except the northeastern sta- tions.

From 1873 to 1937-a period of sixty- four years-the American Association had (apart from a short interregnuni) but four permanent secretaries-Put- nam, Howard, Livingston and. Ward. They are all biologists. It is appropriate that they should be followed by a worker in the physical sciences distinguished for his contributions to mathematics, celes- tial mechanics and mathematical plhysics, with wide interests coverino the wlhole field of science and organization for the advancement and diffusion of science.

A NEW INTERNATIONAL RADIO SERVICE FOR BROADCASTING COSMIC DATA

A NEW scientific journial, one that is issued by radio rather than with paper and ink, was inaugurated in Boston on February 1 wlhen World Wide Broad- casting Foundation's short-wiave station, WlXAL, began daily broadcasts of cos- mic data and scientific news. The sta- tion in this activity cooperates with the Union Radio Scientifique International, familiarly know^n in scientific circles by its initials URSI, and Science Service, the institution for the popularization of science. Each afternoon WlXAL will announce in plain English technical data on observations of sunspots, solar radiation, magnetism, ionized layer heights and other phenomena that have been observed in far corners of the world during the same day. The primary pur- pose of these broadcasts is to make such infornmation available internationally and to interest scientifically inclined lay- men in the makiilg of observations.

For nearly seven years Science Ser- vice, in cooperation with the American Section of the Union Radio Scientifique International, has collected and dis- tributed daily information about these fundamental incomistants of nature. The

Army Radio Net has brought some of this information to Washington, and the Navy has lent its valuable cooperation in the broadcasting of the daily cosnmic data messages in interniationial Morse code.

Through arrangements effected by Walter S. Lemmon, radio engineer, who is founder and president of the World Wide Broadcasting Foundation, the facilities of educational short-wave sta- tion WlXAL are made available for the extension of the ursigram service in co- operation with Science Service. This station, licensed for international broad- casting on four frequencies, now oper- ates on 20,000 watts and is lheard with good volume in almost all parts of the world. The broadcasts of cosmic data aind scientific news should, tlherefore, be available to listeners anywlhere who are suitably equipped with standard all- wave receivers. Mr. Lemmon stated this new radio service "will aid world wide cooperation in scientific observation and make more effective the correlation of cosmic causes and cosmic effects."

The Foundation is "dedicated to en-

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