The Science Society

The 1954-5 session thus came to a close, and in retrospect we can feel that it has been quite a good one. There has always been a good number of speakers from the floor, and speakers come from all parts of the School. Closed meetings have an average attendance of about 50 (not too good from a membership of 100) and open ones up to 120.

On studying the Calendar of Events at the beginning of this to it was discovered that only three evenings had been allotted to Society. But after some adjustment this number was increased five.

At the first of these meetings three lectures were given by members of Queen's. Netherwood gave an interesting talk on "Polarized Light and its Uses". His lecture was illustrated by many well-conducted experiments. "The History of Navigation" was the title of Bryce's talk. He told us about the methods used in calculating the latitude and longitude from the earliest time. The last lecture, entitled "Diseases", was given by D. G. Barton. He said that diseases were caused by either Bacteria, Viruses or Protozoa. After explaining a little about each, he showed us some photographs of the different kinds.

The next meeting was also a House meeting, at which members of Temple gave lectures. Lamb gave the first of these on "Radar". He explained, very simply, the workings of a radar set and then was shocked to find his allotted time had run short. The next lecture, given by Johnson, was called "The New Philosophy Casts All in Doubt". This informed us that poets do take an interest in the scientific world around them, and they mention scientific discoveries in their works. The last lecture was entitled "Animal Language" and was given by Staines. First he explained what he meant by Animal Language and then gave a few examples of this. He ended by playing some records of animal noises.

The next meeting was an extra meeting. It also took the form of a House meeting but the lecturers were from varying Houses. Portlock, from the Rise, talked first on "The Development and Trends in Modern Aircraft Design". Starting with the jet engine, he described its working and advantages. He then mentioned the main differences in design between British and American aircraft. He finished his lecture by showing some pictures of modern 'planes. The second (and last) lecture, called "The Development of a Formula I Grand Prix Car", was given by Clemons and Bell of School House. Unfortunately, half-way through this talk the lights of the School fused, which put a stop to the proceedings.