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Speech Backup Chronological Files
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Backup Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13746
Folder ID Number:
13746-005
Folder Title:
American Association for the Advancement of Science 2/15/91 [OA 6855] [1]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
26
21
2
6
AG5
.525
WH
THE
FIRST
OF
EVERYTHING
A Compendium of
Important, Eventful, and Just-Plain-Fun Facts
About All Kinds of Firsts
DENNIS SANDERS
Research coordinated by
LEONARD LOVALLO
DELACORTE PRESS/NEW YORK
SINGING IN THE SHOWER:
Firsts Found in the
Smallest Room of Your House
ASPIRIN
Acetylsalicylic acid was produced for the first time in 1899 by Ger-
man chemists Felix Hoffman and Hermann Dreser, who manufac-
tured the pain killer and fever reducer from coal tar. In 1905, aspirin
was marketed for the first time by Bayer Aspirin, and soon became
the largest selling over-the-counter, nonprescription drug in the
world.
KLEENEX
The Kimberly-Clark Company manufactured the world's first dis-
posable handkerchief in 1924 under the name Celluwipes. The prod-
uct was later renamed Kleenex 'Kerchiefs, and eventually shortened
to Kleenex.
THE FLUSH TOILET
English poet John Harrington invented a practical flushing water
closet in 1595, but the device made no inroads against the common
chamber pot. In 1775 Alexander Cummings, an English inventor,
received the first patent for a flush toilet, and in 1778 Joseph
Brahama, age thirty, invented the valve and syphon-type flushing
12
EVERYDAY FIRSTS
R:
mechanism which became the model for all future toilets. However,
the chamber pot remained firmly entrenched until the end of the
nineteenth century, when the rich began discovering the joys of
indoor bathroom plumbing.
THE TOOTHBRUSH
ouse
The toothbrush is said to have been invented in China in 1498,
though they didn't become commonplace in Europe until the seven-
teenth century. The first nylon bristle brush was marketed in the
United States in 1938 as Dr. West's Miracle Tuft Toothbrush. The
bristles were made of Du Pont nylon. Squibb manufactured the first
electric toothbrush in 1961.
BAND-AIDS
e in 1899 by Ger-
Johnson & Johnson of New Brunswick, New Jersey, introduced the
er, who manufac-
Band-Aid-essentially unchanged today-in 1920.
r. In 1905, aspirin
and soon became
tion drug in the
ALKA-SELTZER
In 1931 Miles Laboratories of Elkhart, Indiana, introduced a tablet
(containing sodium bicarbonate, monocalcium phosphate, aspirin,
and citric acid), which fizzled in water. The product, Alka-Seltzer,
would sell in excess of 2.5 billion tablets a year by the 1970's.
: world's first dis-
uwipes. The prod-
entually shortened
MERTHIOLATE
Eli Lilly Company introduced tincture of Merthiolate for cuts and
scratches in 1930, though the product was not successful until Lilly
added dye to make it stain the skin and alcohol to make it sting.
cal flushing water
ainst the common
THE SAFETY RAZOR
English inventor,
i in 1778 Joseph
King Camp Gillette patented the safety razor in 1901, and started
hon-type flushing
his Gillette Safety Razor Company in Boston the same year. The new
13
DENNIS SANDERS
razors went on sale in 1903, when a grand total of 51 razors and 168
blades were sold.
MOUTHWASH
The Lambert Pharmaceutical Company of St. Louis introduced
Listerine (named after Dr. Joseph Lister, discoverer of antiseptic
surgical procedures) in 1880. However, the "it-kills-germs-by-the-
millions-on-contact" slogan wouldn't make Listerine a household
word until a massive marketing and advertising campaign was
started in 1922.
KOTEX
During World War I, German-American chemist Ernst Mahler,
thirty-one, developed a wood-cellulose substitute for cotton, called
cellucotton, which helped alleviate a critical shortage of bandages
when introduced in 1918. The Kimberly-Clark Company of Neenah,
Wisconsin, which manufactured cellucotton bandages, learned that
Red Cross nurses at military hospitals were using the bandages as
sanitary napkins, and decided they were onto a good thing. In 1921
they introduced their modified cellucotton bandage as the world's
first commercial sanitary napkin under the name "Kotex."
14
of 51 razors and 168
WHAT'S COOKING?
Kitcheny Firsts
t. Louis introduced
coverer of antiseptic
t-kills-germs-by-the-
isterine a household
ising campaign was
emist Ernst Mahler,
GAS STOVE
ite for cotton, called
hortage of bandages
James Sharp, a gas company executive in Northampton, England,
Company of Neenah,
designed and built the first practical gas stove for his own kitchen
andages, learned that
in 1826, and started manufacturing the stoves commercially in 1836.
sing the bandages as
1 good thing. In 1921
ndage as the world's
ELECTRIC OVEN
me "Kotex."
The first known electric oven was installed by an unknown inventor
in a Swiss hotel in 1889, and by 1891 the Carpenter Electric Heating
Manufacturing Company of St. Paul, Minnesota, offered the first
electric ovens for sale. However, during the "gaslight" era, electricity
was an expensive power source, and electric ovens and stoves did not
become popular with the public until the cheap electricity era of the
1930's.
POP-UP TOASTER
Charles Strite, an American inventor, patented the first pop-up elec-
tric toaster in 1918; the famous Toastmaster was first marketed by
the Elgin Illinois Company of McGraw Electric in 1930.
15
DENNIS SANDERS
REFRIGERATOR
ALUMII
The first commercial home refrigerator was the Domelre, manufac-
Henry A
tured in Chicago in 1913, which retailed for a costly nine hundred
1890, wh
dollars. The first Kelvinator was made in 1918, and the first Frigi-
daire in 1919. Early refrigeration was not a runaway success with
homemakers, and annual sales didn't exceed ten thousand units until
TEFLOI
1920. General Electric's famous "monitor" top refrigerator (the first
with a hermetically sealed compressor) went on the market in 1927
Roy J. P1
and soon became the most successful model sold.
lene, or :
soon beir
BLENDER
TUPPEI
The blender was invented by Fred Waring, well-known band leader
of the thirties and forties, in 1936, and revolutionized food prepara-
Earl W.
tion and bartending.
pany to n
in 1945.
DISHWASHER
TIN CA
Invented by Mrs. W.A. Cochran, a Shelbyville, Indiana, housewife,
1879-89.
The tin C
the hand
and solde
WASHING MACHINE
introduce
the first
The Hurley Machine Company of Chicago introduced the "Thor"
opened W
-the first self-contained electric clothes washer-in 1907.
ALUMIN
MICROWAVE OVEN
Americar
Microwave cooking was accidentally discovered by Percy Le Baron
in 1960;
Spencer of the Raytheon Company, who found that microwave sig-
burgh in
nals melted a candy bar in his pocket; Raytheon developed Spencer's
ary, 1963
discovery into a commercial microwave oven which they marketed
cans.
in 1947. The first compact microwave oven was introduced by
Amana in 1967.
16
EVERYDAY FIRSTS
ALUMINUM SAUCEPAN
e Domelre, manufac-
Henry Avery of Cleveland produced the first aluminum saucepan in
costly nine hundred
1890, which Mrs. Avery used until 1933.
8, and the first Frigi-
unaway success with
1 thousand units until
TEFLON
refrigerator (the first
n the market in 1927
Roy J. Plunkett, a Du Pont chemist, discovered polytetrafluoroethy-
old.
lene, or Teflon, by accident in 1938, and the nonstick surface was
soon being used for cooking utensils as well as industrial wiring.
TUPPERWARE
I-known band leader
onized food prepara-
Earl W. Tupper, a former Du Pont chemist, started his own com-
pany to manufacture airtight plastic kitchen storage bowls and boxes
in 1945.
TIN CANS
, Indiana, housewife,
The tin can was patented in 1810 by Peter Duran of England, but
the handmade cans were expensive (one tinsmith could cut, mold,
and solder only about sixty cans a day); machine-stamped cans were
introduced in 1847. In 1865 tins were made of thinner steel, allowing
the first can opener to be made-prior to that, tin cans had been
roduced the "Thor"
opened with a hammer and chisel.
er-in 1907.
ALUMINUM AND TAB-TOP CANS
American manufacturers introduced aluminum cans for soft drinks
1 by Percy Le Baron
in 1960; the tab-top can, sponsored by Alcoa, was tested in Pitts-
that microwave sig-
burgh in 1962, and introduced on Schlitz beer nationally in Febru-
developed Spencer's
ary, 1963. By 1970, 90 percent of all beer was being sold in tab-top
which they marketed
cans.
was introduced by
17
BETTER MOUSETRAPS:
Revolutionary Inventions and Discoveries
THE TELESCOPE
Man's concept of the universe was revolutionized in 1609 when
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Italian astronomer, built the first re-
fracting telescope, after having heard a description of a "magnifying
tube" invented by a Dutch spectacle maker, Hans Lippershey, in
1608. The first reflecting telescope, which focuses the image on a
mirror, rather than passing it through lenses directly to the viewer,
was built in 1672 by Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727).
THE MICROSCOPE
The man generally credited with inventing the microscope is Za-
charias Janssen, a Dutch spectacle maker who discovered com-
pound, or multiple lens magnification, ca. 1590.
Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei also claimed to have invented
the microscope in 1610. His microscope was developed as an out-
growth of his telescope experiments (both instruments use com-
pound lenses), and it's not known if the Italian knew of Janssen's
invention. However, there may have been an indirect connection
ewardesses began service
with Janssen's and Galileo's microscopes by way of the "magnifying
tendants (as they are now
e that most-but not all-
tube" built in 1608 by Dutchman Hans Lippershey. Galileo did
THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE, INC.
know of the Lippershey tube, and Lippershey and Janssen, being
47
DENNIS SANDERS
countrymen, contemporaries, and spectacle makers, may well have
been aware of each other's work.
THE LOOM
The simplest loom is not much more than a frame used to hold
threads while being woven together, and it's been in use since about
4400 B.C. The automatic fly shuttle, which greatly speeded up the
weaving process, was invented in 1733 by John Kay of England, and
in 1785 Edmund Cartwright patented the first practical power loom.
The first Jacquard loom was perfected in 1804; the Jacquard process,
which makes use of punched paper patterns which are "read" by the
loom to automatically weave complicated designs, had far-reaching
implications for the eventual development of the computer punch
card.
Frazenzo
THE COTTON GIN
12-18-67 67
Sainz
Eli Whitney (1765-1825), a twenty-seven-year-old Yale graduate,
invented the cotton gin in 1792 while visiting Mulberry Grove Plan-
2:30 12-18.
tation on the Savannah River, Georgia. Whitney had noticed the
difficulty with which seeds were separated from short-staple cotton
bolls, and built a simple turning cylinder device with saw teeth made
from bird cage wire which caught the seeds as the cotton fibers were
pulled through by the rotating teeth. The Whitney device enabled
one slave laborer to clean as much as fifty pounds of cotton a day,
as opposed to the one pound which had been average with manual
cleaning. In the decade after Whitney's gin was invented the agricul-
tural economy of the United States had radically changed, with the
140,000 pounds of cotton produced in 1792 increasing to a staggering
35 million pounds by 1800.
THE STEAM ENGINE
The first crude steam engine was invented in 1698 by Thomas Savery,
an English engineer. Called the "miner's friend," it was used to pump
water from coal mines. In 1705 Thomas Newcomen, an English
blacksmith, built the first steam engine with a piston driven by
48
S
INVENTIVE, EXPLOSIVE, AND DEADLY FIRSTS
le makers, may well have
condensed steam. James Watt of Scotland, usually credited with the
"invention" of the steam engine, built his famous machine in 1765.
Watt's steam engine greatly improved the efficiency of the Newco-
men model by adding a condenser chamber.
in a frame used to hold
THE SEWING MACHINE
S been in use since about
1 greatly speeded up the
The first sewing machine was built in 1829 by Barthelemy Thim-
ohn Kay of England, and
monier, a tailor in the town of Amplepuis in the Rhone district of
rst practical power loom.
France. Though built for his own use, Thimmonier received an order
04; the Jacquard process,
for eighty of his machines from a Paris uniform factory two years
which are "read" by the
later, and the inventor himself was hired by the company. Unfortu-
lesigns, had far-reaching
nately, the other employees felt their livelihood was threatened by
of the computer punch
the mechanization of hand sewing, and an "anti-sewing-machine
mob" destroyed all but one of the machines, which was saved by
Thimmonier. In 1845 the ill-starred Thimmonier got backing from
a businessman, went into production, and once again had his sewing
machines destroyed by an angry mob. The French sewing-machine
business somehow never seemed to get off the ground.
ear-old Yale graduate,
The first sewing machine built for home use was the famous Singer
; Mulberry Grove Plan-
model, invented by Isaac Singer in 1850 and patented and manufac-
hitney had noticed the
tured in 1851 at a Boston factory. Later Singer had to pay royalties
rom short-staple cotton
to Elias Howe of Spencer, Massachusetts, who had patented his own
ice with saw teeth made
machine in 1846, which was used by tailors in the United States and
S the cotton fibers were
Britain. But the Singer model went on to become the first common
Vhitney device enabled
labor-saving machine in the average American household.
ounds of cotton a day,
n average with manual
as invented the agricul-
THE ELEVATOR
cally changed, with the
creasing to a staggering
Pulley-and-weight mechanisms have been in use for a long time for
lifting freight and sometimes people (Louis XV had a "lift" to carry
him upstairs from his suite at Versailles to that of his mistress, in
1743). But the revolution in the urban landscape wrought by the
elevator began in 1852 in Yonkers, New York, where Elisha Graves
Otis, then aged forty-one, invented the safety elevator, which had
,98 by Thomas Savery,
teeth and ratchets to prevent the platform from falling should the
it was used to pump
rope break. Otis himself dramatically demonstrated this in 1853 at
ewcomen, an English
the Crystal Palace exhibition when, before a dubious crowd, he had
h a piston driven by
himself hoisted above the floor, then deliberately cut the ropes. The
49
DENNIS SANDERS
audience gasped and screamed, but Otis's gears held, and the proud
white ph
inventor stepped safely to the ground, taking a bow.
screen th
The Otis elevator was soon in production. The first to be installed
image. T
in a hotel went to the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York, in 1859; the
a final C
first in a commercial business went into the famous cast iron Hag-
Louis D
wout Department Store at Broadway and Broome Street (still stand-
graphic
ing) in 1857. The Hagwout elevator was the first to have a completely
color sep
enclosed passenger car.
ferring t
Color
some of
BESSEMER STEEL CONVERTER
it wasn't
cess that
In 1856 Henry Bessemer, a British engineer, patented his converter,
which made the production of high quality, low-cost steel possible
by decarbonizing pig iron with a blast of cold air. The Bessemer
THE O
process would make steel widely available for construction; cheap
steel, when combined with the Otis elevator, would father the mod-
Man ha
ern skyscraper.
boat hul
as by the
in 1859
THE PHOTO CAMERA
named I
at what
In the eighteenth century scientists discovered that silver salts dark-
oil-beari
ened under light; in 1802 Thomas Wedgwood, the physician son of
and was
the famous potter, Josiah, took the world's first photograph when he
used ma
spread moist silver nitrate on a piece of paper, then projected an
mercial
image onto the sheet. The image "took," but Wedgwood had no way
Pennsyl
to fix the "image" and it soon faded. The first permanent photo was
(Kerose
made in 1822, when J. N. Niepce and his seventeen-year-old cousin,
of Newt
Claude, discovered a method of producing fixed images on glass
liquid "
treated with bitumen.
a paten
Though cameras had been commercially available since 1839
product
when the french firm of Alphonse Giroux offered a large box camera
were du
for sale for four hundred francs, photography remained largely in the
tion by
hands of professionals until 1895 when the first pocket camera devel-
oped by George Eastman was introduced by the Eastman Kodak
Company of Rochester, New York. The even more successful
THE E
Brownie camera was introduced in 1900, at a price of one dollar,
putting photography in the grasp of amateurs for the first time.
The firs
The first color photograph was made in 1861 by Scotch physicist
first tim
James Maxwell, who developed a technique of taking black-and-
constru
50
ERS
INVENTIVE, EXPLOSIVE, AND DEADLY FIRSTS
's gears held, and the proud
white photos through three color filters, then projecting them on a
aking a bow.
screen through the same filters (red, blue, and green) to give a color
ion. The first to be installed
image. This early experiment in the three-color process didn't give
el, New York, in 1859; the
a final color print-only a "slide projection." In 1868, however,
the famous cast iron Hag-
Louis Ducos de Hauron of France made the first true color photo-
Broome Street (still stand-
graphic print-of his home village of Agen-by taking the three-
ie first to have a completely
color separation process of Maxwell and devising a method of trans-
ferring the three screens to one print in three dye steps.
Color photography remained complicated and difficult (though
some of the early images that have survived are quite beautiful), and
it wasn't until 1935 with the development of the Kodachrome pro-
cess that color photography became readily available to the public.
er, patented his converter,
ty, low-cost steel possible
f cold air. The Bessemer
THE OIL WELL
e for construction; cheap
)r, would father the mod-
Man has been using petroleum for thousands of years for coating
boat hulls, cementing bricks, occasionally as a flaming weapon, or,
as by the American Indians, for body paint. But the oil age was born
in 1859 when an unemployed forty-year-old railroad conductor
named Edwin L. Drake successfully drilled the world's first oil well
at what is now Titusville, Pennsylvania. The seventy-foot well hit
red that silver salts dark-
oil-bearing shale using salt-well drilling equipment on August 28,
od, the physician son of
and was soon producing two thousand barrels a day. The oil was
irst photograph when he
used mainly in the production of kerosene for lamps. The first com-
aper, then projected an
Wedgwood had no way
mercial oil refinery was opened in June, 1860, at Oil Creek valley in
Pennsylvania, where only kerosene was extracted from the crude oil.
st permanent photo was
(Kerosene was first extracted from oil in 1855 by Abraham Gesner
/enteen-year-old cousin,
of Newtown Creek, now part of Queens, New York, who named the
; fixed images on glass
liquid "Keros," after the Greek word for wax, and promoted it as
y available since 1839
a patented medicine!) At the Oil Creek valley refinery the by-
products of the kerosene refining, including gasoline, had no use and
ered a large box camera
remained largely in the
were dumped into Oil Creek, creating the first environmental pollu-
tion by the oil industry.
st pocket camera devel-
y the Eastman Kodak
even more successful
THE ELECTRIC LIGHT
a price of one dollar,
S for the first time.
The first practical incandescent light bulb was demonstrated for the
61 by Scotch physicist
first time on December 20, 1879, by Thomas Alva Edison, who had
of taking black-and-
constructed the bulb with a carbonized cotton filament after thirteen
51
DENNIS SANDERS
months of experiments at his Menlo Park, New Jersey, laboratories;
the cotton filament bulb was first built by Edison on October 21 of
that year. A year earlier, however, British inventor and chemist
Joseph Swan had demonstrated his carbon filament bulb to the New-
castle-on-Tyne Chemical Society (December 18, 1878). But the Swan
bulb was not completely successful, and though he later perfected the
bulb and went into production in 1881, the slightly "younger" but
workable Edison bulb overtook the Swan design, and the modern
electric industry developed from the Edison Company.
THE NUCLEAR REACTOR
The world's first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear reaction was
achieved on December 2, 1942, at Stagg Field, University of Chi-
cago, by a team headed by Enrico Fermi, Edward Teller, and Leo
Szilard; their work led directly to the Manhattan Project in Los
Alamos, New Mexico, which produced the first atomic bomb. After
World War II, the application of atomic reactions to produce some-
thing other than destructive energy led to the first reactor, built in
1951 by the Atomic Energy Commission. Peaceful atomic energy
remained largely experimental until 1956, when the first full-scale
atomic-powered electric turbine went into operation at Calder Hall
in England (August 20) and began supplying power to the British
electric system on October 17 of the same year.
The first commercial nuclear reactor (that is, privately built and
operated for energy production) was opened in 1963 by New Jersey
Power and Light at Oyster Creek, New Jersey; the first serious
nuclear reactor accident occured on March 28, 1979, when the Three
Mile Island reactor in Pennsylvania suffered a series of systems
breakdowns causing the contamination of the central core room, a
shutdown of the plant, the release of radioactive gas into the atmo-
sphere (intentionally, to lower radiation levels in the reactor room),
and the evacuation of area residents.
RADAR
The first practical radar device was developed by Rudolph Kuhnold,
Signals Research Chief of the German Navy, and demonstrated at
52
S
INVENTIVE, EXPLOSIVE, AND DEADLY FIRSTS
New Jersey, laboratories;
Kiel Harbor on March 20, 1934. Kuhnold bounced signals from his
Edison on October 21 of
seven-hundred-watt transmitter from a battleship anchored six hun-
sh inventor and chemist
dred yards away; this and subsequent tests were so successful that
filament bulb to the New-
the German Government appropriated money to develop the device,
r 18, 1878). But the Swan
which has had a dramatic impact on warfare, auto traffic, and even
ugh he later perfected the
geologic research and other scientific applications.
e slightly "younger" but
design, and the modern
on Company.
THE COMPUTER
The first known mechanical computing device-or computer-is
none other than the abacus, which was in use in China as early as
(and probably earlier than) the sixth century B.C., and in Greece and
1g nuclear reaction was
Rome of ancient days. This most basic computer is still in use in parts
Field, University of Chi-
of the Orient.
Edward Teller, and Leo
The first complex, modern computer was conceived, designed, and
anhattan Project in Los
partially built by Charles Babbage (1792-1871), a British mathemati-
first atomic bomb. After
cian, who began building his computer in 1822. The Babbage ma-
actions to produce some-
chine (which was never completed because the sheer complexity of
the first reactor, built in
its moving parts was beyond the technology of the day) utilized many
Peaceful atomic energy
features and principles of the modern comput er, including the punch
when the first full-scale
card, borrowed from the famous Jacquard loom punch cards of 1804.
operation at Calder Hall
Babbage's first concept, the "analytical engine," was put forth in
ing power to the British
1822; the second and more complex, the "difference engine," was
year.
designed in 1833 and, had it been finished with sufficient technical
at is, privately built and
accuracy, would have worked as well as early digital computers of
1 in 1963 by New Jersey
the twentieth century.
Jersey; the first serious
The first electronic computer (actually a tabulating machine) was
28, 1979, when the Three
built by Dr. Herman Hollerith for the U.S. Census Bureau in 1889
red a series of systems
for the 1890 census. The Hollerith machine made use of punch cards
the central core room, a
with eighty columns, which became part of the IBM system, and the
ctive gas into the atmo-
card today bears Hollerith's name.
els in the reactor room),
The first digital computer was the Mark I, completed in 1944 by
Professor Howard Aiken of Harvard. The Mark I used both elec-
tronic and mechanical parts for operation. The first electronic com-
puter was the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer
(ENIAC), completed in 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania.
ENIAC, which contained some eighteen thousand vacuum tubes and
d by Rudolph Kuhnold,
diodes, weighed thirty tons, and was used by the U.S. Army to solve
y, and demonstrated at
artillery problems.
53
DENNIS SANDERS
The modern computer industry began in 1951 with the introduc-
tion of UNIVAC, the first mass-produced computer available to
private enterprise.
THE LASER
The first laser was built in 1960 by Theodore Maiman of the Hughes
Research Laboratory, Malibu, California, based on work patented by
physicists Charles Townes and Arthur Schwarlow. The term laser
(light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) was first
coined by R. Gordon Gould of Columbia University in 1957, but
Gould's leftist political activities in the 1940's caused his work on
lasers to be hampered by the Defense Department and research
agencies.
The first laser used a ruby rod surrounded by a flash tube to agitate
chromium atoms in the ruby's lattice crystal to an excited state,
TH
producing pulses of red light with coherent waves.
The laser, thought of by the public as a twenty-first-century tool,
At
has found numerous applications in holography, surgery, physics,
the
and even astronomy.
igr
(14
orl
the
Ke
pla
EV
In
cul
tio
de
ch
rach
cal
the
the
54
S
n 1951 with the introduc-
ed computer available to
CONCEPTUAL FIRSTS:
Five Ideas That Revolutionized Thinking
re Maiman of the Hughes
ased on work patented by
hwarlow. The term laser
in of radiation) was first
1 University in 1957, but
940's caused his work on
Department and research
d by a flash tube to agitate
/stal to an excited state,
THE HELIOCENTRIC SYSTEM
nt waves.
twenty-first-century tool,
Aristarchus of Alexandria, in the middle of the third century B.C.,
graphy, surgery, physics,
theorized that the Earth moved around the Sun, but his idea was
ignored until revived by Copernicus in 1530. Though Copernicus
(1473-1543) made errors, like assuming that planets have circular
orbits, his destruction of the concept that the Earth is the center of
the universe had a profound effect on later scientists like Newton and
Kepler, and deflated traditional theological theories about man's
place in things.
EVOLUTION
In 1859 Charles Darwin published Origin of Species, the mammoth
culmination of years of travel and research, which led to his formula-
tion of his theory of organic evolution. His ideas, such as the slow
development of new and varied species through an interaction of
chance and environmental adaptation, was heresy to theologians, but
radically changed man's understanding of how he came to be. Ironi-
cally, Alfred R. Wallace of England developed an almost identical
theory of evolution independently, at the same time as Darwin, and
they jointly published their preliminary papers in 1858.
55
DENNIS SANDERS
PSYCHOLOGY
Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher, was the first to say that dreams
are not supernatural encounters but journeys into a personal world,
in the fifth century B.C. But this concept was not to come to fruition
until Sigmund Freud developed his theories of dreams, the sub-
conscious, and sexuality beginning with his papers On the Psychical
Mechanism of Hysterical Phenomena and Studies in Hysteria (writ-
ten with early colleague Joseph Breuer) in 1893 and 1895. By 1900
Freud had written his Interpretation of Dreams, and within a few
years men, women, and children were talking in terms of their egos,
repression, Oedipal conflicts, and the subconscious.
THE DIVISIBILITY OF THE ATOM
From the time of Democritus in 330 B.C., the atom had been consid-
ered the smallest particle of matter (the word is Greek for indivisible
or indestructible) until 1897 when Joseph John Thompson, a British
physicist, put forth a model of the atom with nucleus orbited by
electrons. The discovery that the atom was itself made up of smaller,
moving particles revolutionized scientific thinking about the nature
of matter-it suddenly had positive, negative, and neutral charges—
and physicists are still discovering more and more obscure and curi-
ous subatomic particles every decade.
RELATIVITY
Albert Einstein revolutionized physics in 1905 with the introduction
of his special theory of relativity, which made time the fourth dimen-
sion. One of the many aspects of the theory is that mass and energy
are equivalent, a basic concept leading to the development of nuclear
fission and the atomic bomb. The bomb demonstrated most impres-
sively the divisibility of the atom (see above). However, it may some-
day render the concepts of psychology, evolution, and the heliocen-
tric system irrelevant, since there may be no one left to
psychoanalyze, nothing to evolve, and nothing left to revolve around
the sun but radioactive dust.
56
SPEAK UP:
Communications Milestones
DOT-DOT-DASH-DOT
On May 24, 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse, a successful painter-turned-
inventor, transmitted the famous first message, "What hath God
wrought" from the U.S. Capitol in Washington to his assistant,
Alfred Vail, at the Mount Clare station of the B. & O. Railroad in
Baltimore, the first long-distance telegraph message.
Morse had begun developing his apparatus in 1832, while a profes-
sor of art at New York University, and had given the first public
demonstration in 1837, the year he took out a patent on the tele-
graph. The same year Vail devised the Morse code to replace the
cumbersome numbered system he and Morse had used up to that
time.
Prior to Morse, British inventor Francis Ronald had devised an
electric telegraph in 1822, which failed to get off the ground due to
lack of Government interest. And two other British inventors,
Charles Wheatstone and William Fothergill Cooke, patented their
telegraph in 1837, the same year Morse gave his first demonstration.
In 1831 Joseph Henry demonstrated an electromagnetic telegraph in
Albany, New York, but failed to patent or promote the device, thus
losing out to Morse-who made a fortune from his telegraph.
Wheatstone and Cooke were more fortunate-the British telegraph
system grew out of their patented invention, which they sold for a
whopping £168,000 in 1846.
58
INVENTIVE, EXPLOSIVE, AND DEADLY FIRSTS
UNDER THE OCEAN AND THROUGH THE WOODS
Cable service from New York to Chicago began in 1848. The English
ilestones
Channel cable was completed in 1850; the transamerican cable from
New York to San Francisco was completed (despite Indians' objec-
tions) in 1861, putting the Pony Express out of business; and a major
communications first came in 1866 when Cyrus W. Field completed
the first transatlantic cable, allowing instantaneous communication
between two continents for the first time.
ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR WATSON
On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell spoke the first sentence
to be transmitted over wire at 5 Exeter Place, Boston, when he said,
"Mr. Watson, come here, I want you." The first practical telephone
was an improved version of the machine built in 1875, when Bell
discovered by accident that a telegraph transmitter using harmonic
frequencies in matching receivers could transmit matching sounds
successful painter-turned-
(June 2, 1875). Bell was only twenty-nine at the time he called
iessage, "What hath God
Thomas Watson, who was twenty-two.
ashington to his assistant,
of the B. & O. Railroad in
oh message.
THE NEXT BEST THING TO BEING THERE
tus in 1832, while a profes-
had given the first public
The first long-distance phone call was placed in October, 1876, when
out a patent on the tele-
Boston lawyer Gardiner Hubbard, future father-in-law of Bell and
Morse code to replace the
an early promoter of the phone, took two of young Bell's telephones,
forse had used up to that
hooked them up to a telegraph wire running from Boston to the
Cambridge Observatory across the Charles River, and spoke to
is Ronald had devised an
Thomas Watson for over three hours.
get off the ground due to
other British inventors,
gill Cooke, patented their
HELLO, CENTRAL
ive his first demonstration.
ectromagnetic telegraph in
The first telephone was sold by Bell in May, 1877, to the Cambridge
r promote the device, thus
Board of Waterworks. By August there were eight hundred in ser-
tune from his telegraph.
vice. The first switchboard was installed in the offices of the Holmes
ate-the British telegraph
Burglar Alarm Company of Boston, at 342 Washington Street, who
ion, which they sold for a
used their existing burglar alarm lines from a client's premises as
phone lines during the day and burglar alarms at night. Bell loaned
59
DENNIS SANDERS
twelve of his phones to Holmes, and Holmes in turn didn't charge
clients for the phone service.
The first commercial phone exchange was opened in New Haven,
Connecticut, by the District Telephone Company on January 28,
1878, with twenty-one customers subscribing to the service. The first
telephone operator was George W. Coy, who answered calls with
shouts of "Ahoy!"
SORRY, WRONG NUMBER
The first telephone in a private home was installed on April 4, 1877,
in Somerville, Massachusetts, in the home of Charles Williams, Jr.,
at the corner of Arlington and William streets. Mr. Williams was
also the first to manufacture Bell phones commercially. Since the first
coreless
phone exchange had yet to be installed, Williams had to have a line
run to his office in Boston so there would be someplace to call.
THAT WILL BE FIVE CENTS, PLEASE, FOR THE
NEXT
William Gray, an inventor from Hartford, Connecticut, installed the
first coin pay phone in the Hartford Bank in 1889 and began wide-
spread installation in 1891. The cost of a call was a nickel, making
a pay call one of the most stationary prices of modern times.
DIAL "U" FOR UNDERTAKER
The first automatic telephone, the precursor of today's dials and
touchtones, utilized three keys which were depressed to register the
number through a mechanical, operatorless central switchboard. It
was patented in March, 1889, and went into service at La Porte,
Indiana, on November 3, 1892. The inventor was Almon Strowger,
an undertaker in Kansas City, who was moved to create the device
because he was convinced that one of Kansas City's operators, who
happened to be the wife of one of his chief rivals in the funeral
business, was diverting calls for undertakers to her husband's estab-
lishment.
60
RS
INVENTIVE, EXPLOSIVE, AND DEADLY FIRSTS
Imes in turn didn't charge
THEY TOLD MARCONI WIRELESS WAS A PHONY
vas opened in New Haven,
Wireless telegraphy was developed between 1894 and September,
Company on January 28,
1895, by Guglielmo Marconi at his family's country house, the Villa
ing to the service. The first
Grifone, at Pontecchio near Bologna. Marconi, whose mother was
who answered calls with
British, took his device to Britain, where he demonstrated how elec-
tronic signals could be transmitted through the air, over hills, and
around obstacles-privately in September, 1896, on Salisbury Plain
and publicly on December 12 at Toynbee Hall in London.
Ironically, the wireless, which has made Marconi famous, was
apparently demonstrated first by an American, Mahlon Loomis of
installed on April 4, 1877,
Washington, in 1866. Unfortunately, Loomis was a bit ahead of his
e of Charles Williams, Jr.,
time, and that, in combination with financial setbacks, prevented his
streets. Mr. Williams was
wireless from getting off the ground.
ommercially. Since the first
Marconi was more fortunate, and formed the Wireless Telegraph
Villiams had to have a line
Company Limited in July, 1897, for the manufacture and sale of his
Id be someplace to call.
equipment. Though wireless telegraphy would find many applica-
tions (the Titanic used wireless to signal that she was going down
in 1912), Marconi's invention would be even more important than
EASE, FOR THE
the beginning of radio.
, Connecticut, installed the
LOOK, MA, NO WIRES!
k in 1889 and began wide-
1 call was a nickel, making
The first transatlantic wireless message was sent from Poldhu, Corn-
ices of modern times.
wall, on December 12, 1901, and received in Newfoundland by
Marconi, using a wired kite as a receiving antenna. The message
received consisted of the letter S.
ursor of today's dials and
YOU SOUND LIKE YOU'RE JUST NEXT DOOR
re depressed to register the
ess central switchboard. It
Transcontinental phone service began January 25, 1915, when Alex-
t into service at La Porte,
ander Graham Bell in New York called Thomas Watson in San
ntor was Almon Strowger,
Francisco and repeated their famous message of 1876. The call took
moved to create the device
twenty-three minutes to get through, and cost $20.70. (Presumably
insas City's operators, who
Mr. Bell put it on his expense account at Bell Telephone, but that's
chief rivals in the funeral
what a paying customer would have forked out.)
ters to her husband's estab-
61
DENNIS SANDERS
LET YOUR FINGERS DO THE WALKING
The first true dial phones were introduced November 8, 1919, in
Norfolk, Virginia. Dial mechanisms had been available earlier, but
A.T. & T. hadn't been interested until a potential operators' strike
threatened to stop phone service.
PLEASE DEPOSIT SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS FOR
THE FIRST THREE MINUTES
Intercontinental long-distance service began January 7, 1927, be-
tween New York and London.
AFGHANISTAN? I WAS TRYING TO DIAL ARKANSAS
The first direct-dial long-distance service began on October 10, 1951.
LONG, LONG DISTANCE
A.T. & T. launched Telstar, the first private communications satel-
lite, on July 10, 1962, to relay television programs globally. On April
6, 1965, the Communications Satellite Corporation (Comsat)
launched Early Bird, the first of a projected network of commercial
satellites designed to provide almost unlimited global telephone and
telegraph communications.
62
WAY
OVERDRIVE:
ennsylvania Turnpike,
ie wide, almost flat bed
= divided highway fea-
The Automobile from
ffic, and access limited
Pressure Cooker to Edsel
proposed a highway-
th and South America,
es. Except for a section
olombia, the highway
: impassable except in
al jungles, 15,000-foot
1690
Denis Papin (1647-1712), French physicist and inventor of
the pressure cooker ("steam digester"), proposed a road vehicle
driven by piston engine.
1769 Nicholas Joseph Cugnot (1725-1804) took the first ride in
a self-propelled, steam-driven vehicle of his own invention. The vehi-
:ral Aid Highway Act,
cle, which attained a speed of about 2½ mph, also resulted in the first
interstate freeway sys-
auto accident. Cugnot knocked down a wall in Paris, where the
e project was budgeted
experiment took place.
for by Uncle Sam. The
ough 38,000 miles were
1801
Englishman Richard Trevithick (1771-1833) invented and
the budget. The inter-
built the first successful steam vehicle, which he test ran-at a speed
bsidy since the building
somewhere between 4 and 9 mph-in Cambourne, Cornwall.
1 ironically contributed
When the first model went up in flames, a veritable auto-da-fé,
siness.
Trevithick rebuilt his vehicle, which in 1803 made the first cross-city
trip, from Leather Lane to Paddington, London, by way of Oxford
Street.
1805
Isaac de Rivaz built the first vehicle powered by an internal-
combustion engine, which, unfortunately, only made it a few yards.
Since this was the first internal-combustion auto, it was also the first
to pollute the air with carbon monoxide.
1829 Goldsworth Guerney made the first long-distance auto jour-
ney, from London to Bath, in his eighteen-seater, six-wheeled steam
75
DENNIS SANDERS
coach. The size of Guerney's vehicle should also qualify him as the
first bus driver, and the trip as the first bus tour. The distance
traveled was about eighty miles.
1831 . The world's first scheduled "bus" service operated for a few
months between Gloucester and Cheltenham, England, using three
Guerney steam carriages.
1860 . Belgian-born inventor Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir (1822-
1910) built the world's first successful internal-combustion-engine
vehicle-a "gas carriage"-using an engine he first constructed the
previous year. By 1863 a second Lenoir vehicle traveled from Paris
to Vincennes, a distance of six miles, in three hours-giving an
average speed of one-half mile per hour.
1864 . The first auto export in history: Lenoir sold one of his
internal-combustion-powered carriages to Czar Alexander II of
Russia.
1865 . Karl Benz of Germany (1844-1929) designed and built a
three-wheeled gas-driven vehicle, the first to be designed and built as
a motor vehicle, rather than converted from a carriage. The Benz had
its first test runs in 1886.
1888 . John Dunlop (1840-1921) "invented" the pneumatic tire
(or, rather, tyre), marking the beginning of the modern tire industry.
Curiously, another Scotsman, R. W. Thomson, took out a patent on
pneumatic tyres in 1845. But Dunlop got all the credit.
1891 . French inventor Ferdinand Forest built the first four-cylin-
der gas engine with mechanical valve operation; a few years later he
built the first six-cylinder engine. Ironically, Forest's inventions—
which became the standard for millions of automobiles-were first
used in boats, and he failed to be recognized for his contribution
when they were later used in automobiles.
1893 . Brothers Charles Edgar and James Frank Duryea (1861-
1938, 1869-1967) built the first "motor buggy" in Springfield, Mas-
sachusetts. Other motor vehicles had been built in the United States
before the Duryeas', but theirs is recognized as the first practicable
automobile built in the United States.
76
INVENTIVE, EXPLOSIVE, AND DEADLY FIRSTS
also qualify him as the
1894
Henry G. Morris and Pedro Salom open the first automobile
ous tour. The distance
factory in the United States in Philadelphia. The product: the Elec-
trobat.
rvice operated for a few
1896
Henry Ford (1863-1947), Ransom Eli Olds (1864-1950), C.
1, England, using three
B. King, and Alexander Winton-all major pioneers in the Ameri-
can auto industry-built and tested their first models. In France,
Léon Bollée offered his voiturette (little car), the first with pneumatic
Étienne Lenoir (1822-
tires a standard feature.
rnal-combustion-engine
he first constructed the
icle traveled from Paris
1899
Ransom Eli Olds began production of the first Oldsmobiles.
hree hours-giving an
1901
Cannstatt-Daimler of Germany introduced the first Mer-
cedes, named after the teen-aged daughter of Emil Jellinek, one of
Lenoir sold one of his
Daimler's first customers.
Czar Alexander II of
1902
Dr. Lehwess Panhard made the first attempt to drive around
the world, but his auto caravan Passe Partout didn't get past Ninji,
1) designed and built a
Novgorod, Russia.
be designed and built as
carriage. The Benz had
1903 Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company in Detroit,
Michigan. The same year, H.M. Leland founded the Cadillac Motor
Car Company in the same city.
ed" the pneumatic tire
e modern tire industry.
1906 Sir (Frederick) Henry Royce (1863-1933) of England, who
on, took out a patent on
built his first Royce car in 1904, organized an auto manufacturing
II the credit.
business with C. S. Rolls, and the first Rolls-Royce was born.
uilt the first four-cylin-
on; a few years later he
1908 William C. Durant (1861-1947) founded General Motors
, Forest's inventions—
Company, and Henry Ford produced the first Model T Ford, per-
automobiles-were first
haps the most famous single model car ever built. The first year, eight
ed for his contribution
thousand Model T's were built.
1909 In France, De Dion Bouton produced the first important
Frank Duryea (1861-
production-line auto with a V-8 engine.
y" in Springfield, Mas-
ilt in the United States
1911
Ford opened its first overseas factory at Trafford Park, Man-
as the first practicable
chester, England. The same year Cadillac was the first manufacturer
to feature electric lights and starters on their models.
77
DENNIS SANDERS
WATERMEM
UP
COUNTRY
HENRY FORD AND HI FIRST CAR.
I
For Ford and country: Sitting at the helm of his first car, complete with Stars
and Stripes superimposed, this early public relations photograph of Henry Ford
1
in retrospect makes a point about the impact of Detroit on the American Way
of Life.
THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE, INC.
1
I
S
C
1913 . Henry Ford used conveyor belts in his assembly lines for the
F
first time, but only for assembly of the magneto. In 1914 Ford
g
78
INVENTIVE, EXPLOSIVE, AND DEADLY FIRSTS
produced the first cars completely assembled on conveyor belts,
reducing the time required to build a car from twelve and one-half
hours to one and one-half hours, revolutionizing American industry.
1915 Because sales had surpassed annual target figures, Ford
Motor Company offered the first rebate-fifty dollars-to anyone
who purchased a Model T.
1918 For the first time, car registrations in the United States
exceeded 5 million.
1922 In the United States, Trico introduced the electric wind-
shield wiper.
1924
Walter P. Chrysler (1875-1940) produced the first Chry-
slers.
1934
The Chrysler Corporation produced the first Airflow cars-
streamlined vehicles that were to have a revolutionary impact on
auto design. Airflow also featured the first overdrive transmis-
sions.
1936
The Nazi Government financed the development and manu-
facture of the first Volkswagens, the design of which remained virtu-
ally unchanged to the 1970's.
1939
The Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company produced the
first Lincoln Continental and Mercury models.
1948
Rover of Great Britain introduced the first four-wheel-drive
Land-Rovers.
complete with Stars
hotograph of Henry Ford
1950
on the American Way
Rover pioneered the first gas-turbine engine car.
BETTMANN ARCHIVE, INC.
1956
Ford Motor stock sold to the public for the first time since
Henry Ford bought out all Ford shareholders in 1917. In the 1917
stock buy-back, Henry Ford paid 105 million dollars to buy out
other shareholders, which gave a return of 12 million dollars on an
investment of five thousand dollars in Ford stock made in 1908.
assembly lines for the
From 1917 to 1956 the Ford family retained full control of the
In 1914 Ford
giant business.
79
DENNIS SANDERS
The Ford Foundation, which offered the stock for sale in 1956,
netted some 643 million dollars from the transaction, 500 million
dollars of which it gave away within the next eighteen months.
1957 Ford produced the first Edsel-Detroit's first major flop.
80
FAR OUT:
Astronomical Firsts
WHICH WAY TO POLARIS, JACK?
Hipparchus, a Greek astronomer, is credited with making the first
star map in 134 B.C. after seeing a new star appear in the constellation
Scorpio. He hoped his map would make it easier for future stargazers
to spot new sky happenings.
LIGHTS OUT
The first recorded total solar eclipse occurred in China, October 22,
2137 B.C.: The two royal astronomers Hi and Ho were drunk and
neglected to frighten away the dragon that had eaten the sun, for
which negligence they were beheaded by Emperor Chung K'ang.
NOT WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE
Ancient astronomers had attempted to measure the distance of stars
by using the trigonometric method of parallax, which had given
them decent values for the distance of the sun, and for the diameter
of the Earth. However, they had no concept of the immense vastness
of space, and the minute measurements required for measuring the
parallax of stars was wa-a-ay beyond their instruments.
In 1838, three astronomers, working independently, each mea-
200
FARAWAY FIRSTS
sured with reasonable accuracy the distance of a star. They were
Friedrich Bessel of Königsberg Observatory, Germany, who gave a
distance of less than 11 light-years for 61 Cygni. Thomas Henderson,
rsts
Astronomer Royal of Scotland, gave a figure of 4.3 light-years for
Alpha Centauri; in Russia, F.G.W. von Struve announced a figure
of 27 light-years for Vega.
For the first time, man knew that space was very big, indeed.
so BIG YET so SMALL
In 1845 the third Earl of Rosse, an amateur astronomer of some
means, built the world's largest telescope on his estate in Ireland. The
earl's reflecting telescope had a seventy-two-inch metal mirror, and
was suspended between two ivy-covered stone walls. The telescope
revealed that what had appeared to be stars in other telescopes were
actually glowing spiral objects. Ross did not realize, however, that
ed with making the first
these tiny spiral objects were galaxies, each as large as or larger than
pear in the constellation
our own, each with hundreds of millions of stars.
sier for future stargazers
FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET
In 1675, Ole Roemer of Denmark noticed that satellites of Jupiter
were eclipsed by the giant planet at irregular intervals-when Jupiter
ed in China, October 22,
was closest to Earth the eclipses came too soon, and vice versa when
nd Ho were drunk and
Jupiter was at its farthest point. Roemer understood, of course, that
:
had eaten the sun, for
the light was taking longer or shorter times to reach Earth, and by
mperor Chung K'ang.
careful measurement and calculation he was able to estimate the
actual speed of light. His answer was 186,000 miles per second-an
amazingly accurate figure for 1675: The modern value is 186,282.397
m.p.s. The figure was so astonishingly high that Roemer didn't be-
lieve his own calculations.
ure the distance of stars
allax, which had given
in, and for the diameter
FIRE IN THE SKY
of the immense vastness
uired for measuring the
In A.D. 1054 Chinese and Japanese astronomers recorded the sudden
instruments.
appearance of a new, remarkably bright star in the sky. We know
dependently, each mea-
today that it was a supernova-a star that, in a one-day explosion,
201
DENNIS SANDERS
can increase in brightness up to one million times. The remnants of
the 1054 explosion are today's Crab Nebula.
GALILEO'S MANY FIRST SIGHTINGS
When Galileo turned his newly built telescope on the Italian sky in
1609 (see: "Better Mousetraps"), he saw more things for the first
time than almost any astronomer since. To wit: the mountains of the
moon; the rings of Saturn (which puzzled him); the "invisible"
Pleiades (six stars of the constellation are visible to the naked eye,
but Galileo saw forty in his telescope). In 1610 Galileo spotted three
satellites of Jupiter, and in 1611 he observed for the first time sun-
spots and stars in the Milky Way.
COME AGAIN
In 1705, English astronomer Edmund Halley realized that the com-
ets which were recorded in 1531, 1607, and 1682 were one and the
same, and predicted that it would appear again in 1758. Halley died
in 1742, but his prediction came true on Christmas Day of 1758, and
the heavenly wanderer was duly named after him. Halley's comet
last appeared in 1910, and it's due again in 1986.
VENICE ON MARS
In 1659 the Dutch astronomer-physicist Christian Huygens noticed
that the planet Mars had markings on its surface. In 1877 Italian
astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli discovered narrow, regular lines
crossing the Martian desert, and named the markings canali. The
public-and some astronomers-soon came up with all sorts of fan-
ciful ideas about the origins of these "structures," though Schiapa-
relli himself never suggested that they were anything other than
natural features. We now know there are no canals on the red planet,
and the "canals" are structural features of the planet's crust.
202
FARAWAY FIRSTS
times. The remnants of
SPACE ROCKS
1.
The first sighting of an asteroid came when Sicilian astronomer
Giuseppe Pazzi discovered a 623-mile-diameter asteroid, which was
S
named Ceres, on January 1, 1801. There are now estimated to be
forty thousand asteroids in the great belt between Mars and Jupiter.
be on the Italian sky in
ore things for the first
it: the mountains of the
THE FIRST PLANET TO BE "DISCOVERED"
him); the "invisible"
sible to the naked eye,
Until 1781 the solar system consisted of six planets: Mercury, Venus,
0 Galileo spotted three
Earth, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter. In that year William Herschel, a
for the first time sun-
young musician who studied the heavens through a telescope in his
spare time, was enjoying his nightly "review of the heavens" when
he noticed a strange disc. Herschel thought it was a comet, but when
he showed the disc to other astronomers, they realized the amateur
had discovered the first new planet in man's history. The planet, 1.7
billion miles from Earth, was named Uranus. George III gave
realized that the com-
Herschel a pension as a reward, and he settled down to a lifetime of
1682 were one and the
stargazing. Among other things, Herschel was also the first to show
n in 1758. Halley died
the arrangement of stars in the Milky Way.
tmas Day of 1758, and
r him. Halley's comet
1986.
IT'S GOT TO BE THERE SOMEWHERE
Once Uranus was discovered, it was studied closely, and astronomers
noticed certain irregularities in its orbit. In 1834, the Reverend
stian Huygens noticed
T.J. Hussey, an astronomer and the rector of Hayes, Kent, theorized
rface. In 1877 Italian
that the presence of yet another planet was causing the irregularities.
Astronomers then worked out theoretically where the distant, "in-
narrow, regular lines
visible" planet should be, and on August 4, 1846, Professor James
markings canali. The
p with all sorts of fan-
Challis picked up the planet through a telescope. The new planet was
named Neptune.
res," though Schiapa-
anything other than
nals on the red planet,
WHITE DWARF-THE DARK COMPANION
e planet's crust.
In 1834 Bessel, one of the first to measure star distances with accu-
racy, noticed that Sirius, the Dog Star, had irregular motion which
could only be accounted for by an unseen body. In the case of Sirius,
a large star, the "dark companion" (as it became known) would have
203
DENNIS SANDERS
to be at least as massive as our own sun to exert such a strong
gravitational force on Sirius.
In 1862 Alvan Clark, an American astronomer testing a new
telescope, became the first to see Sirius's dim companion star. The
new star, Sirius B, nicknamed the Pup, turned out to be the first in
a series of unusual kinds of stars that astronomers were to discover
in the next century. Sirius B is a very small, dim, but massive star.
Only 24,000 miles in diameter (smaller than Jupiter, Saturn, or
Uranus), it has as much mass as our sun-867,000 miles in diameter.
A matchbox full of Sirius matter would weigh fifty tons on earth.
This type of star, known as a white dwarf, results when a medium-
size star, like our sun, evolves through a red giant stage, burning up
its fuel, leaving a cold, dense, dying core.
FAST AND HEAVY
In 1939 J. Robert Oppenheimer (who also did important work on the
first atom bomb) demonstrated mathematically how a star somewhat
larger than our sun could, under certain conditions, implode, that is,
suddenly collapse into a superdense body, smaller and denser than
a white dwarf. Such a body would be only about ten miles across,
and a cubic inch would weigh 10 billion tons. The atoms in the body
would be so compressed that most of the atomic matter would have
been thrown off, leaving only neutrons tightly packed together.
In 1967 the first of these neutron stars was discovered at Cam-
bridge, University when Jocelyn Bell, a graduate student, detected
weak but very precise radio signals coming from a spot in space. The
signals were flicking on and off at intervals of 1.33730113 seconds.
When Bell presented her discovery to Anthony Hewish, head of the
team, it was at first thought that an intelligence might be sending the
signals. However, the signals continued at the same precise intervals
for months, and the astronomers realized that they had discovered
a neutron star. The small, dense body, with an intense magnetic field,
was rotating extremely fast (imagine a sphere ten miles in diameter
rotating once every 1.3 seconds!), and with each rotation a radio
signal created by the magnetic field was being thrown our way. These
pulsing radio sources were dubbed pulsars, and others were soon
found. The fastest known is the pulsar in the Crab Nebula, which
signals thirty-three times a second. It is also the first (and so far,
204
FARAWAY FIRSTS
to exert such a strong
only) visible pulsar, discovered by astronomers at Seward Observa-
tory in Arizona in 1969. The object, named NP0532, is the remnant
tronomer testing a new
of the star which exploded creating the Crab Nebula, which was
im companion star. The
visible on Earth as the supernova of A.D. 1054.
ned out to be the first in
nomers were to discover
I, dim, but massive star.
han Jupiter, Saturn, or
BLACK HOLES
57,000 miles in diameter.
eigh fifty tons on earth.
In 1939, when Oppenheimer did his mathematical work on neutron
results when a medium-
stars, he theorized an even more bizarre object, which would be
giant stage, burning up
created if a very large star-one fifty times the size of the sun-
imploded. The mass of the star would be so great in an implosion that
its gravitational pull would collapse it, not into a neutron star, but
into a black hole. The black hole, which would be no more than forty
miles across, would exert such tremendous gravitational pull that not
even light could escape-hence its invisibility. Even more provoca-
tive, a black hole would literally pull matter into nothingness-a
1 important work on the
concept new to astronomers-and it has been theorized that black
lly how a star somewhat
holes are actually holes in our universe where matter leaks into other
ditions, implode, that is,
universes, which possibly run in reverse to ours.
maller and denser than
The first black hole was detected in 1972 in the binary star X-ray
about ten miles across,
source, Cygnus X-1. The source is a massive, radiating star with a
The atoms in the body
black hole companion which has a mass about ten times that of the
mic matter would have
sun, but a diameter of only 3.67 miles.
tly packed together.
as discovered at Cam-
duate student, detected
FARTHEST OUT: QUASARS
om a spot in space. The
of 1.33730113 seconds.
In 1963 Maarten Schmidt, a Dutch astronomer working at Mount
ny Hewish, head of the
Palomar in California, was looking for a star in the Milky Way which
ce might be sending the
was believed to be a source of unusual radio signals. He found an
e same precise intervals
object in the sky, but it turned out not to be a star at all, but
at they had discovered
something quite different. First of all, it was very far away-about
1 intense magnetic field,
1 billion light-years, the most distant thing seen up to that time.
e ten miles in diameter
each rotation a radio
Second, it was very bright-as bright as two hundred Milky Way
thrown our way. These
galaxies put together (there are 100 billion stars in the Milky Way).
and others were soon
Third, it was moving away from us very fast-almost at the speed
of light.
e Crab Nebula, which
Dubbed quasi-stellar radio source, or quasar 3C273, Schmidt's
0 the first (and so far,
finding was only the first of many. Astronomers have now found
205
DENNIS SANDERS
more than two hundred quasars, and they are the most distant (and
therefore, the oldest observable) objects in space. The most distant
quasar was discovered in 1974, and is receding from the center of the
universe at 95.5 percent of the speed of light.
206
RS
y are the most distant (and
in space. The most distant
GIANT LEAPS:
eding from the center of the
light.
Firsts from Blastoff to Man on the Moon
One of the most astonishing feats in man's history is the landing of
man on the moon sixty-six years after the Wright brothers' first
flight, and just forty-three years after the first fuel-propelled rocket
flight. Here are some milestone firsts along the way.
BLASTOFF
Dr. Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945) of the United States developed
and tested the first liquid fueled rocket. Goddard's work was done
primarily without outside help, and with limited funding. (The
Smithsonian Institution gave him a five-thousand dollar grant.) The
first test of Goddard's rocket was made in November, 1923, when
a liquid fuel missile was given a static test-that is, fired while
attached to a holding platform. Though the static test was successful,
Goddard spent three years modifying his apparatus before conduct-
ing the first rocket free-flight, on March 16, 1926, in a field near
Auburn, Massachusetts. The three-foot rocket was ignited by God-
dard himself, using a blowtorch attached to a long pole. The rocket
attained a height of 184 feet and a speed of 60 m.p.h. Goddard, who
was accompanied only by his wife Estha and two assistants at this
historic moment, decided not to publish or announce his success
since his earlier work on rockets had been ridiculed severely in many
newspapers.
In less than half a century, Goddard's modest rocket had given
207
DENNIS SANDERS
birth to the giant Saturn V, over 100 times as high as the first model,
and the five thousand dollar Smithsonian grant had grown to a
50-billion-dollar United States Government space program invest-
ment.
SOVIET SURPRISE
On September 4, 1957, the world was stunned by the announcement
that Russia had launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to
orbit the earth. Sputnik, weighing a modest 184.3 pounds and mea-
suring only 22.8 inches in diameter, gave the USSR the world lead
in space and rocketry technology until the mid-sixties.
A lagging United States managed to get its first satellite, Explorer
1, into orbit on January 31, 1958. Explorer, a featherweight 18.2
pounds, carried instruments designed by Dr. James Van Allen. The
instruments detected for the first time the intense belts of radiation
which surround the earth. They were named the Van Allen belts in
the good doctor's honor.
BUT IS THERE LIFE ON MARS?
The precocious Russians chalked up another first on November 3,
1957, when they launched Sputnik 2, carrying a female dog named
Laika. Laika was the first living thing from earth to be shot into space
-except for a possible germ or two on Sputnik 1. Laika also became
the first space-race victim when she died in her 1,100-pound capsule
on the sixth day, due to a faulty temperature control mechanism.
Sputnik 2 continued to orbit the earth for 162 days; it burned up on
reentering the Earth's atmosphere.
FREE AT LAST
A major first in the journey to the moon came on January 2, 1959,
when Russia launched Lunik 1, the first object to break away from
the gravitational pull of the Earth. Lunik passed within 4,000 miles
of the moon before moving on to fall into orbit around the sun-
making it the first artificial planet.
208
S
FARAWAY FIRSTS
as high as the first model,
THE MAN IN THE MOON GETS A PIE IN THE FACE
n grant had grown to a
nt space program invest-
Humankind's first contact with the moon was less than dignified.
The Soviet's Lunik 2, the first man-made earthly object to touch
another heavenly body, smashed into the moon's surface on Septem-
ber 13, 1959. Since the satellite's instruments were destroyed in the
crash, no data were relayed back to Earth to record man's first
physical contact with the moon.
ned by the announcement
first artificial satellite to
st 184.3 pounds and mea-
THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
the USSR the world lead
e mid-sixties.
The first satellite to orbit the moon was Luna 3, launched by Russia
its first satellite, Explorer
on October 4, 1959. The satellite carried a single photographic cam-
rer, a featherweight 18.2
era (with self-contained film processing equipment), which transmit-
)r. James Van Allen. The
ted photos back to Earth. A gyroscopic system kept the camera lens
intense belts of radiation
oriented continuously toward the moon. After a year of orbiting,
ed the Van Allen belts in
Luna had sent enough pictures back to Earth to enable Russian
scientists to publish an atlas of the heretofore unseen dark side of the
moon.
STRELKA AND BELKA, COME HOME
her first on November 3,
ying a female dog named
A major step in the space race was taken with Russia's Sputnik 5,
earth to be shot into space
launched August 19, 1960: For the first time, a live payload-in this
tnik 1. Laika also became
case consisting of two dogs named Strelka and Belka-was recovered
her 1, 100-pound capsule
after orbiting the Earth for twenty-four hours. The animals returned
ture control mechanism.
safely to Earth via an ejection mechanism which pulled them from
162 days; it burned up on
the capsule as it reentered the atmosphere and lowered them by
parachute to a soft landing on the ground. The Russians continued
to pioneer dry-ground landings, while the United States concen-
trated on ocean landings.
ame on January 2, 1959,
SPACED OUT
ject to break away from
assed within 4,000 miles
On April 12, 1960, the Soviets launched Vostok 1, a 71/2-foot, 10,416-
orbit around the sun-
pound spherical capsule which contained Yuri Gagarin, a twenty-
seven-year-old cosmonaut, the first human being to enter space and
to orbit the earth. The capsule orbited the earth one time, in 89.34
209
DENNIS SANDERS
seconds, and the total flight lasted only 108 minutes from takeoff at
9:07 A.M. in Tyura Tam, Kazakhstan, to touchdown at 10:55 A.M.
near Smelkova, Saratov, USSR.
Gagarin became an overnight celebrity, but his fame was over-
shadowed by persistent rumors penetrating the cloud of secrecy
around the Russian space program. The rumors were to the effect
that Gagarin had not in fact been first man in space and that fellow
cosmonaut Serge Ilyushin had made a three-orbit space flight three
days earlier than Gagarin, but had been hospitalized immediately
after landing. The rumors were never proven or disproven.
Gagarin died seven years later in a plane crash, at age thirty-four.
OUR BOYS IN SPACE
In 1958 NASA, or the National Space and Aeronautics Administra-
tion, selected seven men to be the United States' first space travelers.
The chosen few-all married men-were picked from 508 volunteers
and candidates from military and civilian test pilots. They were: M.
Scott Carpenter; Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr.; John H. Glenn, Jr.;
Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom; Walter M. Schirra, Jr.; Alan B. Shepard,
Jr.; and Donald K. Slayton.
UNCLE SAM KEEPS UP
The first American in space-a year after Gagarin-was Alan B.
Shepard, Jr., who was launched from Cape Canaveral on May 5,
1961. Shepard's flight, which arched into space and back again with-
out achieving orbit, reached an altitude of 114 miles and a speed of
5,181 mph.
S
THE QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE
On June 16, 1963, the Soviets launched their Vostok 6 carrying
Valentina Tereshkova, a former textile worker, in a forty-eight-orbit
flight. The first woman in space later married fellow cosmonaut
Andrian Nicolavev, making them the first spacemates.
210
RS
FARAWAY FIRSTS
08 minutes from takeoff at
THREE'S A CROWD, COMRADE
touchdown at 10:55 A.M.
The Russians also took honors for being the first to put more than
y, but his fame was over-
one man at a time into space. On October 12, 1964, they launched
ting the cloud of secrecy
Voskhod 1, carrying three men: Vladimir Komarov; Boris Yegorov
rumors were to the effect
(an Air Force doctor); and Konstantin Feoktiskov, a civilian scien-
in in space and that fellow
tist. The last two were the first doctor and the first civilian in space,
ree-orbit space flight three
respectively. Their flight was also the first with a pressurized cabin,
hospitalized immediately
enabling the three men to forego pressurized space suits and helmets.
oven or disproven.
e crash, at age thirty-four.
ON RYE WITH EXTRA MUSTARD
American astronaut John Young, who made the first multimanned
U.S. flight with Gus Grissom starting March 23, 1965, was the first
I
Aeronautics Administra-
man to eat a corned beef sandwich in space. Young smuggled the
States' first space travelers.
sandwich on board to supplement the usual fare of dehydrated foods.
icked from 508 volunteers
However, stray crumbs posed a threat to the capsule's complex
test pilots. They were: M.
machinery, and Young was reprimanded by NASA officials for his
Jr.; John H. Glenn, Jr.;
celestial cravings.
ΓΓa, Jr.; Alan B. Shepard,
SHOOTING THE MOON
On January 31, 1966, Russia launched Lunik 9, weighing 3,490
pounds, which approached within fifty miles of the lunar surface and
r Gagarin-was Alan B.
released a spherical landing capsule. The capsule then made the first
pe Canaveral on May 5,
soft-landing on the moon.
pace and back again with-
On touchdown in the Ocean of Storms (February 9), the Lunik 9
114 miles and a speed of
landing capsule opened four petal-like panels to expose a camera
lens, which then took three panoramic photo views of the lunar
surface and transmitted them back to Earth-man's first close look
at his nearest neighbor in space.
their Vostok 6 carrying
RIVER OF NO RETURN
ker, in a forty-eight-orbit
arried fellow cosmonaut
The first man to die in space was Russian cosmonaut Vladimir
spacemates.
Komarov. His Soyuz 2 satellite was launched from Tyura Tam,
USSR, on April 23, 1967, on a scheduled twenty-five-hour, eighteen-
orbit flight. Komarov died when the parachute straps lowering the
211
DENNIS SANDERS
capsule to earth "became twisted and the craft descended at a great
EA
speed." Western scientists have questioned the story, however, be-
cause Russian capsules have a device which ejects cosmonauts from
Ap
their capsules as they reenter the atmosphere. Komarov did not eject
off
possibly because of equipment failure, or because the capsule over-
19
heated on entering the atmosphere.
po
The first official statement after Komarov's flight was "Komarov
No
is in good health and feeling well." The death was not announced
E.
until twelve hours after the crash-landing.
C
The first American astronauts to die were Virgil Grissom, Roger
an
Chaffee, and Ed White-on January 27, 1967, when their capsule
th
was swept by fire during a routine on-the-ground test. The fire,
fir
thought to have originated from a faulty electrical cable, swept
th
through the sealed capsule so quickly that the astronauts couldn't
activate escape mechanisms. A subsequent investigation cited "113
significant engineering orders" that had been improperly carried out
N
in the building of the capsule. The tragedy resulted in considerable
redesign and reengineering work on the Apollo capsule.
T
A
S(
a
GREEN CHEESE IT AIN'T
The first firsthand look at the moon came on the Apollo 8 expedition,
F
launched by the United States in December, 1968, with Frank Bor-
man, James Lovell, Jr., and Bill Anders on board. Among the high-
lights of man's first orbit of the moon were the crew's reading of the
opening verses of Genesis, "In the beginning, God created the Heav-
S
ens and the Earth.
and Borman's description of the moon's
surface: "Looks just like plaster of Paris."
so NEAR YET so FAR
On the Apollo 10 expedition Tom Stafford, John Young, and Eugene
Cernan came within miles of immortality: It was their job to give the
lunar landing module a dry run for the later moon landing. With the
command module in orbit, Young and Cernan took the lunar lander
to within eight miles of the lunar surface-the first close pass for the
landing vehicle-and then returned to the command module for
docking and flight back to Earth.
212
RS
FARAWAY FIRSTS
craft descended at a great
EAT YOUR HEART OUT, JULES VERNE
ed the story, however, be-
ch ejects cosmonauts from
Apollo 11, the U.S. mission destined to land on the moon, blasted
ere. Komarov did not eject
off from Cape Kennedy at 9:32 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, July 16,
because the capsule over-
1969. The Saturn V rocket stood 363 feet tall, weighed 6,000,000
pounds, and developed a 7,600,000-pound thrust. On board were
ov's flight was "Komarov
Neil Armstrong, thirty-eight, commander of the expedition, Edwin
death was not announced
E. "Buzz" Aldrin, the lunar module pilot, and Colonel Michael
;.
Collins of the U.S. Air Force. The expedition went without a hitch,
ere Virgil Grissom, Roger
and the lunar module with Armstrong and Aldrin touched down on
1967, when their capsule
the moon at 20.17 hours 42 seconds, G.M.T., July 20, 1969. Aldrin's
he-ground test. The fire,
first words after touchdown-the first by man from another body in
ty electrical cable, swept
the solar system-were, "Tranquility Base: the Eagle has landed."
it the astronauts couldn't
t investigation cited "113
en improperly carried out
NO PIE IN THE SKY
y resulted in considerable
tpollo capsule.
The first meal eaten on the moon-consumed by Armstrong and
Aldrin before their historic moonwalk-consisted of four bacon
squares, three sugar cookies, peaches, pineapple-grapefruit drink,
and coffee.
n the Apollo 8 expedition,
r, 1968, with Frank Bor-
PUT YOUR LITTLE FOOT
board. Among the high-
the crew's reading of the
At 2:56 hours, 15 seconds, G.M.T., July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong
g, God created the Heav-
became the first human to set foot on another world when he de-
lescription of the moon's
scended from the lunar landing module. His words were "I'm at the
foot of the ladder. The LM [lunar module] footpads are only de-
pressed in the surface about two inches, though the surface appears
to be very, very fine grained as you get close to it, like powder. Okay.
I'm going to step off the LM now. (Pause) That's one small step for
[a] man, one giant leap for mankind. The surface is fine and powdery.
I can kick it loosely with my toe."
John Young, and Eugene
t was their job to give the
moon landing. With the
DO YOU MIND IF I TAKE THIS CALL?
ian took the lunar lander
he first close pass for the
President Richard M. Nixon placed the first phone call to the moon,
e command module for
on July 21, when he spoke to Armstrong and Aldrin in their lunar
module parked on the moon's surface. Said Nixon, "Neil and Buzz,
213
DENNIS SANDERS
Do you mind if I tape this call? President Richard M. Nixon places the first
phone call to the moon, July 21, 1969, when he spoke to Neil Armstrong and
Buzz Aldrin, 240,000 miles away.
THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE, INC.
I'm talking to you from the Oval Room of the White House, and this
certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made."
Like most of Nixon's phone calls, this one was both tape recorded
and widely disseminated among the public. However, it was one
taped call he wasn't later to regret. Nixon summed up his feelings
about the moon landing by saying, "This is the greatest work in the
history of the world since its creation."
214
FROM ATOM TO ADAM:
The First 15 Billion Years of the Universe
THE COSMIC EGG: THE FIRST THING EVER
More than 15.5 billion years ago the universe as we know it did not
exist. All matter, or so most astronomers believe, was compressed
together into a superdense core at the center of an empty universe.
This core is known as the Cosmic Egg. Science has yet to propose
a Cosmic Chicken.
THE FIRST EVENT, EVER
And it was a big one. The Cosmic Egg exploded, hurling the com-
pressed matter out into the emptiness of space. This "Big Bang"
signaled the start of the universe as we know it, about 15.5 billion
years ago.
A STAR IS BORN
lirigible to fly around the
About 12 billion years ago matter from the Big Bang began to
Building, the world's first
condense into clusters of hundreds of billions of stars-the first
1,000 feet in height. The
ible docking, but the idea
galaxies. A galaxy is usually a flat spiral with dense concentrations
cking above the canyons
of stars near the center of the spiral, thinning out along the arms. The
he period, showing New
whole thing rotates as it hurtles through space, and astronomers
IE BETTMANN ARCHIVE, INC.
estimate there are hundreds of billions of them out there.
345
DENNIS SANDERS
Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is 100,000 light-years across,
30,000 light-years thick at the center, and is moving at 170 miles per
second.
TERRA FIRMA
About 10 billion years ago our sun had a star companion (or, some
theories go, a nebula companion), which was finally pulled apart 5½
or 6 billion years back by the tidal forces between the two objects.
The remnants of this destroyed companion began collecting into the
first planets about 5 billion years ago.
HOT ROCKS
When the earth was first formed it was about one thousand times
larger and five hundred times heavier than the planet we know. The
earth spent the first half billion years or so of its existence cooling
down and settling in. The heavier elements (iron, nickel, cobalt)
settled to the earth's core, while the lighter elements (hydrogen and
helium) moved up into the atmosphere, with large amounts escaping
the planet's gravity altogether. By 4.5 billion years ago the molten
planet had cooled down enough for the first basaltic rocks to form,
making a crust on the planet.
WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE
The molten, volcanic conditions in the primordial earth created huge
amounts of water vapor which, along with poisonous methane and
ammonia, made up the atmosphere. When the crust cooled suffi-
ciently about 4 billion years ago, the water vapor began condensing,
forming the first oceans, which cover 71.43 percent of the surface.
OUT OF THE PRIMORDIAL OOZE
In 1979 a rock from Australia was found to have wavelike layers that
are believed to be the fossils of threadlike bacteria that were alive 3.5
billion years ago in the ocean of the Precambrian era. The bacteria
346
FIRST THINGS LAST
,000 light-years across,
represent a fairly complex state of evolution, and indicate that the
noving at 170 miles per
formation of organic molecules by the interaction of the oceans and
atmosphere, which evolved into the first life, began soon after oceans
were formed.
THE FIRST LAND ANIMAL
r companion (or, some
finally pulled apart 5½
The scorpion (like spiders, an arachnid, and part of the phylum
tween the two objects.
Arthropoda, which includes true insects and crustaceans) evolved
egan collecting into the
during the Silurian period, 405-425 million years ago; it was possibly
the first animal to live on land and to take oxygen directly from the
atmosphere. Amphibians had yet to evolve.
WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH
it one thousand times
= planet we know. The
During the Jurassic period, 150 million years ago, small animals
f its existence cooling
evolved that gave birth to live young and nourished them with
(iron, nickel, cobalt)
secretions from the female's skin. Reptiles, especially dinosaurs,
ements (hydrogen and
dominated the animal world at the time, and these first mammals
arge amounts escaping
remained relatively inconspicuous for millions of years.
years ago the molten
asaltic rocks to form,
VERY HANDY
Fifty to sixty million years ago, the first primates-small lemurs and
tarsiers-evolved. The arboreal, nocturnal mammals developed bin-
ocular stereoscopic vision and five-fingered hands to cope with their
ial earth created huge
environment. Their great-great grandchild, Homo sapiens, would
isonous methane and
eventually rule the earth.
ie crust cooled suffi-
or began condensing,
ercent of the surface.
PLANET OF THE APES
Thirty million years ago the first apes began to evolve from their
primate ancestor, the monkey. The apes, who would eventually
evolve into the modern gibbon, orangutan, chimpanzee, gorilla, and
: wavelike layers that
man, developed brachiation-locomotion by overarm swinging, a
ia that were alive 3.5
high ratio of brain volume to spinal cord volume, and complex social
an era. The bacteria
and child-rearing behavior.
347
VOLUME 16
Jefferson to Latin
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA
AMERICANA
INTERNATIONAL EDITION
COMPLETE IN THIRTY VOLUMES
FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1829
GROLIER INCORPORATED
International Headquarters: Danbury, Connecticut 06816
since its destruction by an earthquake in 1933.
Its port is at Mandrakion.
Ancient Kos is mentioned in the Iliad as an
ally of the Greeks. It was settled by Dorian
Greeks from the northern Peloponnesus and be-
came the birthplace of Ptolemy II (Ptolemy Phil-
adelphus), the poet Theocritus, the painter Apel-
les, and the physician Hippocrates, who founded
a school of medicine there. It was occupied by
Alexander the Great in 336 B.C. and in the ensu-
ing centuries was controlled by Persians, Greeks,
Egyptians, and Romans. It was captured by the
Ottoman Turks in 1523, occupied by Italy in
1912, and was ceded to Italy by the Treaty of
Lausanne in 1924 and then to Greece by the
treaty of peace with Italy in 1947. Population:
(1971) of the island, 17,939; of the city, 7,828.
KOSCIUSKO, Mount, kos-ē-us'kō, a mountain in
southeastern New South Wales, Australia. It is
located in the Snowy Mountains of the Australian
Alps and, with an altitude of 7,305 feet (2,228
meters), is Australia's highest peak. It is snow-
covered from May to September and bears evi-
dence of Ice Age glaciation. The Snowy, Mur-
ray, and other rivers that form important units in
the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme
are fed by its snows.
BBC HULTON PICTURE
The mountain was named by Sir Paul Strzel-
General Kościuszko figured prominently in both the
ecki in 1840 after the Polish patriot Tadeusz
ican and the Polish struggles for independence.
Kościuszko. It rises in Kosciusko National Park,
a preserve of about 2,070 square miles (5,370 sq
km), and is a major ski resort during the
at Raclawice, leading an army that include
winter.
peasants wielding pikes and scythes. But in
tober the Polish army was beaten at Macie
KOŚCIUSZKO, kôsh-choosh'ko, Tadeusz Andrzej
wice, where Kościuszko was wounded and takes
Bonawentura (1746-1817), Polish statesman and
prisoner. The insurrection collapsed and the
soldier, who fought in the American Revolution
nal partition of Poland took place. Kościuszko
and led an uprising for national independence in
was imprisoned in Russia until 1796.
his homeland.
In 1797 he traveled to the United States and
Tadeusz (often written Thaddeus in English)
established a lasting friendship with Thomas Jet
Kościuszko was born in the Polish village of Mer-
ferson. He hastened back to Europe in 1798
eczowszczyno on Feb. 4, 1746, to a family of
where the ferment caused by the rise of Napo-
noble origin. He began his military education at
leon encouraged him to believe he could
the Warsaw Corps of Cadets and then continued
vance Poland's cause. He discovered, however
it in Germany, France, and Italy, specializing in
that a restored democratic Poland did not suit the
fortification. He returned to Poland in 1774.
goals of any European power. His proposal to
In 1776 he fled to France to escape the con-
Czar Alexander I in 1814 to establish a large Pol.
sequences of a love affair. He went on to Amer-
ish state with a liberal social order was also
ica and joined the colonists in their war for inde-
ignored. After this rebuff Kościuszko retired to
pendence from Britain. From 1778 to 1780 he
Solothurn, Switzerland, where he died on Oct.
supervised the fortification of West Point, and he
15, 1817. He was buried in Kraków's cathedral
later served under Gen. Nathanael Greene as an
alongside the Polish kings.
engineer and a cavalry officer. He ended the
Kościuszko's life spanned the entire era of
war as a brigadier general. Kościuszko's in-
18th century democratic revolutions, of which he
volvement in America's struggle for indepen-
remains an outstanding figure. It is an irony of
dence influenced his later life.
history that his ideas were ahead of their time in
He returned to Polish service in 1784 and in
his own homeland.
1792 led Polish troops against Russian forces that
PETER CZAP, JR., Amherst College
had invaded Poland to suppress the reformist
Further Reading: Gardner, Monica M., Koscius:ko
constitution of May 3, 1791. When the Russians
(1920; rev. ed., Norton 1942); Haiman. Mieceslaus. Kor
ciuszko in the American Revolution (1943: reprint, Koo
completed their occupation of Poland and forced
ciuszko Foundation 1975); id., Kosciuszko. Leader and Exile
Poland's King Stanislav II to renounce the con-
(1946; reprint, Kosciuszko Foundation 1977).
stitution, Kościuszko went into exile. An under-
ground resistance movement was formed in Po-
KOSHER, kõ'sher, in Judaism, a term that desig.
land in 1793 and Kościuszko was asked to lead it.
nates whether foods individually or in combina-
Before a tumultuous gathering in Kraków in
tion, or their mode of preparation or processing.
1794, he vowed to restore Poland's indepen-
are in accordance with biblical and rabbinical
dence. In his role as political and military head
rules. The term kosher (the Ashkenazic form of
of the Polish insurrection, he exercised virtually
Kasher) means "clean" or "proper," and the sys.
dictatorial power. To promote greater equality
tem of dietary laws is known as kashrut. Ortho-
throughout Polish society he issued the Polaniec
dox and Conservative Jews are obliged by tradi-
Proclamation on May 7. 1794, which declared the
tion to "keep kosher,' whereas Reform Jews are
serfs free. In April 1794 he routed the Russians
not. See DIETARY LAWS.
568
News & Comment
USED IN
AAAS Remarks
Can Science Education Be Saved? Feb 15,1990
Three ambitious but very different projects are testing a variety of ways to overhaul an
education system that has been getting failing grades
WISCONSIN 9TH GRADER
E. Culotta
need to know; second, illus-
Joel Marino has already de-
trate how they can learn it;
cided at age 14 that science is
third, spread the revolution
bad news, but he's pretty
around. In stage one, teams
content with the project his
of prominent scientists delin-
earth science teacher gave
eated what every high school
him last September: building
graduate should know about
a working, three-dimensional
science in a 100-page expo-
model of a mid-ocean ridge.
sition published in 1989 titled
To Joel, "This project is more
"Science for All Americans."
recreational. It's not from the
The book emphasizes con-
book, you don't have to
cepts over data and consider-
memorize stuff, and you can
ably lightens the burden of
work together. Also, it's not
facts students must know.
due tomorrow. It's not like
Oxidation and isotopes are
real science."
in; the periodic table is out.
Joel's dreary image of "real
Not every reviewer loved
science"-sitting alone
Hands on. Third graders in McFarland, Wisconsin, learn about dilution
memorizing books-will
through direct experimentation with eyedropper and colored water.
the book. "Still No Beef,"
complained an editorial in
come as no surprise to anyone who has
and the third, a project of the National
The Washington Post, saying Project 2061's
heard the litany of reports on the dismal state
Council of Teachers of Mathematics, is try-
"lofty theorists" had put off the work of
of U.S. science and math education. But the
ing to overhaul the content and style of
developing a curriculum. Of scientists' reac-
scope and ambition of current efforts to
math courses. Will these programs-or any
tions to their colleagues' work, Project 2061
attack the problem may be surprising. After
others around the country-succeed? No
director F. James Rutherford sighs, "They
7 years of gloomy warnings about the prob-
one can answer that question today. But
always want more of their own discipline in
lem, legions of teachers and scientists are
these efforts to use classrooms as laborato-
there."
together launching a reform movement the
ries for education experiments-to permit
But many educators and scientists have
likes of which hasn't been seen since Sput-
hands-on, creative, even noisy environments
endorsed both the book and the entire
nik. And scientists are playing an increas-
for "real science"-will receive their own
project as a vision of what education could
ingly important role in the revolution.
grades in the coming years, as local districts
become. "For the first time we have a total
As individuals, scientists across the nation
decide whether to jump on the reform band-
representation of what should constitute
are trying to advise and cajole their local
wagon or cling to the status quo.
science education," says Luther Williams,
school boards and the teachers of their chil-
To Joel, the folks who came up with his
head of education and human resources at
dren to teach science in a more compelling
plate boundary project deserve-well, at
the National Science Foundation. NSF has
manner. Some scientists have even taken on
least a B. While the specific project isn't part
provided more than praise; it chipped in
entire school systems-Nobel prize-winning
of a reform program, Joel's teacher, Joe
over $2 million for the project's $8.5-mil-
physicist Leon Lederman is leading an effort
Cabibbo, is a member of a revolutionary
lion second phase. IBM, the Department of
to reform science curricula and teaching
cadre of teachers and scientists involved in
Education, AAAS itself, two private founda-
throughout the city of Chicago (Science, 31
what is arguably the most ambitious of all
tions, and state and local governments made
August, p. 979). But if there is to be reform
the efforts: the AAAS's Project 2061.
substantial contributions.
on a national scale it will likely require more
Named for the year Comet Halley returns to
The Post's criticisms are being answered-
than the heroic efforts of individuals.
Earth, Project 2061's long-term goal is
slowly-by this crucial second phase, now
During the past few months, Science has
nothing less than the complete transforma-
under way at six sites around the country:
looked at three national reform programs,
tion of science, math, and social studies
Philadelphia; McFarland, Wisconsin; rural
each dedicated to heeding Joel's message,
teaching from kindergarten through 12th
Georgia; San Antonio; San Francisco; and
but each pursuing a rather different route to
grade. No part of the present system is
San Diego. This time, it's the teachers who
the grail of getting kids intellectually in-
considered sacred. Subjects, textbooks,
are in charge. Their mission: to design a new
volved in science. One is a long-range effort
grades-all are under scrutiny, and if this
type of curriculum that carefully builds an
sponsored by the American Association for
project somehow winds up flunking as a
accurate picture of the way the world works.
the Advancement of Science (AAAS is also
revolutionary movement, it will at least have
With support from scientists, they're trans-
the publisher of Science); the second, run by
earned an A for effort.
lating the concepts in "Science for All
the National Science Teachers' Association,
Project 2061 is developing its vision in
Americans" backward into simple ideas chil-
is concentrating on more immediate goals;
three stages: First, decide what students
dren can understand, reorganizing the
7 DECEMBER 1990
NEWS & COMMENT 1327
book's knowledge into a framework for
Here is a picture of a roller-coaster track:
Graphic example. A sample
imation
Sketch a graph to show the speed of the roller coaster
"led in "Floating
curricula. For example, a high school
lem from the new math standard
versus its position on the track.
understanding of organ systems might
(Source: "Reshaping School Math-
and expected to
including biology and biology as learn they
ity. Instead The of heart testing of go
begin with the simple statement:
ematics: A New Philosophy and
"Things go on inside my body that I
Framework for Curriculum," Na-
can't see." That seems obvious, but
tional Academy Press, 1990.)
B
kids need to thoroughly comprehend it
C
before they attempt to understand body
system. As Rutherford puts it, "We
G
processes, 2061 teachers say.
can't overwhelm that system; we've
E
This type of work, more conceptual
got to out think it."
than concrete, draws critics such as the
But schools can't wait years to
director of a smaller science education
improve. While members of Project
program, who extended the Post's
2061 dream of the possibilities,
complaint to stage two and told Science that
But even if 2061 were to get the seal of
other science teachers, through the Na-
2061 was too idealistic and slow. But the
approval from the scientific and education
tional Science Teachers Association (NSTA),
project was never intended to make change
communities in 1993, the project's Achilles'
have spearheaded another massive project
quickly, responds Rutherford. This is to be
heel may be the decades required by stage
called Scope, Sequence, and Coordination
a thorough and therefore slow revolution. If
three. AAAS knows the risk, and took it,
(SSC). NSF coughed up an even larger
the models are any good, AAAS expects the
because it felt that every quick fix previously
amount for this teacher-based program-
rest of the nation to join the revolution,
tried in the U.S. educational system had
$8.6 million-and the Department of Educa-
district by district, throughout the decade
eventually fallen before the multi-headed
tion awarded an additional $2.5 million
and later. But Rutherford himself concedes
monster that has parceled out authority
(Science, 31 August, p. 978). Focusing on
that 1993 will be the watershed year for the
across 50 states and 80,000 schools. Reform-
grades 7 through 12, the project is already in
project. That's when the curriculum models
ers might change any one piece of the sys-
classrooms in three sites-California, Iowa,
will be unveiled and a few vanguard districts
tem-say, by training teachers differently-
and Houston-and planning is under way in
are expected to start putting the 2061 phi-
but the other pieces, such as textbooks, stan-
two more, Puerto Rico and North Carolina.
losophy into practice. And that's when crit-
dardized tests and school boards, will drag
It works something like this: Seventh
ics will finally have something tangible to
teachers back to the status quo. So, for good
graders in Houston don't study the life and
endorse or reject.
or ill, AAAS opted to try to change the entire
physical sciences separately, but instead learn
The Reform Agenda: Emerging Consensus
It may be a time of experimentation for science education, but
Do it yourself. At the end of the school day in inner-city
many trials are testing the same hypotheses. Some common
Philadelphia; teachers gather to learn how to separate salt from
themes are emerging from the patchwork of programs:
pepper using static electricity. They're being trained to use an
Less is more. It's time for kids to stop memorizing the
elementary science kit, doing all the experiments their students
difference between a type I and type II lever and the names of
will do. A staple of the 1960s reforms, hands-on activities are
all the molecules involved in photosynthesis. One study esti-
back and better, with a new emphasis on quality-"minds-on" as
mated that students encounter more new words in a high school
well as hands-on. Teachers are to be trained more carefully and
biology book than in 2 years of instruction in a foreign language.
given the logistic support they need.
'We still live with the Victorian view of school, with minds
Two-way traffic. Kids haven't understood much of what
trained like dogs to memorize things," says Timothy Gold-
we've been telling them, in part because we haven't listened to
smith, chair of the committee that wrote a recent report on
the ideas they already have. For example, research shows that
biology education for the National Research Council. New
many youngsters don't understand the concept of temperature.
programs have kids doing more projects and less memorizing.
They think putting on a sweater keeps you warm because
Teacher power. Post-Sputnik reforms sometimes took the
sweaters always exist at a higher temperature. Listening to kids
tone of academic highbrows telling teachers what to do, and
can give teachers clues on how to change such ideas.
teachers have taken much of the blame for education's ills. But
Science for everyone. It's vital to widen the science career
the new goal is to boost teachers, not bash them, giving them
pipeline, especially to include more women and minorities.
time to learn science themselves, rather than berating them for
Reformers now also recognize a second goal: producing scientifi-
their backgrounds.
cally literate citizens. Even students who will never become
Science without walls. Sixth graders in rural Elbert County
scientists need to understand more about how the world works.
Georgia don't take science, math, social studies, or reading.
New programs are aimed at all students, not just the gifted.
Instead, they take one big course-200 minutes run by four
Matchmaker, matchmaker. Scientists and teachers come
teachers-that incorporates all four subjects. A trial balloon
from very different worlds. Elementary teachers often opted out
floated by members of Project 2061, the course illustrates the
of science as soon as they could, but they know their business-
push for integrating subjects. Real life problems rarely come
kids. Meanwhile many scientists would like to help with science
labeled. as "chemistry" or "math," educators say. How far
education, but don't know how to do it. "We're like a long-term
should such course integration go? Each program seems to have
marriage broker," says F. James Rutherford of Project 2061.
a different answer. Meanwhile, Georgia teachers are still seeking
"Our job is finding useful work and structures where both sides
a good moniker for their mega-course.
can interact."
E.C.
42
1328
SCIENCE, VOL. 250
ng -sophy Na-
School Math. and
rath sample
imation in thematic blocks. In one,
experiment. A second concern is that SSC
zations, after a period of initial jostling over
fled "Floating and Sinking," students are
teachers are being asked to do too much.
their respective roles the two programs have
expected to learn some physics, chemistry,
NSF's Williams, though clearly an overall
endorsed each other, with Project 2061
and biology as they try density experiments,
booster of SSC, nevertheless warns, "In my
staking out the long-term vision and SSC
including testing gold jewelry for authentic-
view, the greatest potential liability of the
moving ahead now. But no matter how
ity. The heart of SSC is spaced learning:
program is the preparation of the teachers."
cordial science educators seem, they've a
Instead of getting 1 year each of biology,
Indeed, several Houston life science teach-
long way to go before reaching the solidarity
physics and chemistry, youngsters study each
ers hadn't had chemistry since high school
of the math community, which is sponsor-
discipline each year so they remember what
and never took physics, but are now required
ing a third great challenge to the educational
they've learned, according to Bill Aldridge,
to teach both. NSTA officials say they've
status quo in the United States.
executive director of NSTA. Each site is to
built in teacher supports, such as summer
While science educators experiment with
produce and test course materials for NSTA
workshops and detailed training sessions.
course integration and current events, and
to distribute; Houston's "Floating and
Aldridge himself gave a workshop on
argue about what to toss out of the curricu-
Sinking" has already been sent to other sites.
"Floating and Sinking" to the Houston
lum, they watch with envy as the math
Also, students are to learn concrete ideas
teachers. "Most of them hadn't had any
community calmly describes what to teach
first, then move to abstractions. "The 7th
physics, and they didn't have any trouble
and how to teach it. Mathematicians have
grade textbooks define temperature as the
with it," he says.
already wrestled with the tough curricular
average kinetic energy of molecules. That's
Ironically, while Project 2061 is criticized
questions and are moving swiftly toward
not even true at very low temperatures and
for being too slow, SSC gets accused of
implementing reform. Last year, math cur-
means absolutely nothing to a 7th grader,"
moving too fast to make real change. Several
riculum standards for all grade levels were
says Aldridge. "In 7th grade you should be
education experts, including one involved
issued in the form of a 250-page book that
learning about temperature as it's connected
was almost universally endorsed. The sequel
to experience-the difference between heat
E. Culotta
comes next spring, when another book on
and temperature, thermal equilibrium. But
professional standards will explain how
the materials start with atoms and electrons.
teachers can reach the curriculum goals.
That's stupid," he says indignantly.
Part of the smooth progress in math seems
NSTA coordinates the program and ev-
to come from the cozy relations between
eryone involved is committed to spaced
mathematicians and math teachers. The
learning, concrete ideas, and fewer facts, but
National Council of Teachers of Mathemat-
each site has quite a bit of independence. In
ics (NCTM) developed the standards, but
Davenport, Iowa, for example, 6th graders
works closely with representatives from the
gather around a specially designed gold and
math community on the Mathematical Sci-
white commode for their science project,
ences Education Board (MSEB), an arm of
"The Royal Flush." Their task: to investi-
the National Research Council. "The de-
gate ecology and consumer choice by test-
gree to which people agree is amazing," says
ing how well various types of toilet paper
Iris Carl, who happens to be both president
disintegrate. That project is a Science/
of the teachers' group and vice-chair of the
Technology/Society (STS) project run by
education board.
the Chautauqua program of the University
Mathematicians have an easier time
of Iowa Science Education Center. Recently
reaching consensus because their field
the center hooked up with SSC and was
doesn't encompass sub-disciplines as diverse
funded this fall to develop 6th grade mate-
rials. "Traditionally kids were told, 'Learn
Human development. Philadelphia high
as those in science, Carl says. Also, almost
school student giving presentation in class
everyone, including parents, believes kids
this and you'll find it useful.' But it wasn't
taught by a Project 2061 team member.
should learn math starting on the first day of
useful. Now we turn that around," says
school. Of course, most parents think math
program director Robert Yager.
with SSC itself, told Science they worried
= multiplication tables, and popular opin-
Yet another example involves trade-ori-
that at some sites the project could become
ions can be a burden as well as a blessing,
ented high school juniors in Iowa-a class
a cosmetic reshuffling of the old curriculum.
says MSEB executive director Kenneth
one teacher referred to as the future cosme-
Aldridge counters that on his advice the
Hoffman. "Math came to replace Latin in
tologists of America-who focused on the
NSF funds are conditional on an annual
the minds of some people. It's one of those
ozone hole as a way to learn about science.
show of progress. If a center doesn't seem to
things you do because it's good for you, to
To their teacher's amazement, the students
be doing the job, NSF can simply yank it off
teach you neatness, discipline, and order."
were soon clamoring for information:
the project-and perhaps substitute a will-
Lovers of discipline are in for a bit of a
"What's an atom? What's a molecule? What
ing newcomer from a growing pool of states
surprise. The draft version of the profes-
does pH mean?" The class became the com-
eager to join the program. Also, NSTA
sional standards describes a different style of
munity ozone experts, and college-bound
officials say they expect change to snowball,
classroom. Youngsters work and talk in
students began to complain that their course
as other parts of the system accommodate
groups, explaining problems to each other.
was too dull, Yager says.
the project. In conjunction with SSC, Cali-
Calculators and computers are everywhere
If all this sounds scientifically sensible, it
fornia has already begun to use new hands-
and thinking skills and reasoning are empha-
isn't without its critics. For one thing, the
on tests so unusual that some 6th graders
sized. Kids are to spend less time laboriously
strong STS focus on current events draws
asked to take them again, says Tom Sachse,
plotting points and more time understand-
fire from Aldridge himself, who believes in
coordinator of the California site.
ing graphs-after a computer does the
principles first, applications second. But he's
While SSC and 2061 compete for funds
plotting. It sounds great, but what if the 12-
willing to support Yager in developing the
and are sponsored by very different organi-
year-olds resist engaging in "mathematical
7 DECEMBER 1990
NEWS & COMMENT 1329
discourse" and chatter about rap music in-
tional Academy of Sciences, for example, is
Snyder and other educators would prefer
stead? Be patient, counsel the math wizards.
expected to decide upon a much-expanded
to focus instead on the momentum for
"I tell people over and over: Don't expect
role for itself in science education in late
change. The president and National Gover-
it to happen overnight," says Shirley Hill,
December. A few educators who work for
nors' Association, they boast, have announced
former chair of MSEB and professor of math
existing programs fear the academy will re-
the goal of having U.S. students first in math
and education at the University of Missouri.
peat or compete with their efforts, although
and science by 2000. Privately, though, al-
"Kids are conditioned otherwise and they're
executive officer Philip Smith insists the
most no one thinks that can be done. At
not going to expect math to be fun or
institution won't invade any turf. Academy
least, those involved plaintively conclude,
relevant all of a sudden. It's a process." The
officials are still plotting their strategy and
the goal is on the national agenda. The
best math teachers already run classrooms
Smith defers any detailed revelations until
unspoken question: How long will our eas-
like those in the standards, says Carl.
later this month. But he says they're consid-
ily distracted society keep it there? Back in
For reform to spread, educators say it's
ering a two-pronged approach, to provide
Wisconsin, Joel Marino had the persever-
important that all these projects-and many
immediate relief as well as long-term vision.
ance to complete his model of a mid-ocean
smaller ones not mentioned here-work
And he hints that the academy may tackle
ridge with chicken wire, blue plastic, kitty
together, or at least pull in the same direc-
undergraduate instruction, an arena where
litter, and a mysterious red substance that
tion. "No one will succeed in isolation," says
other educators say they'd especially wel-
quickly developed fruit flies. If the educa-
Williams. But while there's much agreement
come the academy's clout.
tion experts succeed equally well with their
on what teachers should strive for, each
For the moment, all sides tend to
own models, then Joel-or at least his
program has a slightly different vision of the
downplay whatever differences may exist.
younger siblings-may one day admit that
future. It's not exactly clear, for example,
"It doesn't hurt at all to have different
science and recreation can sometimes be the
how the new math standards fit with "Sci-
experiments going on simultaneously," says
same thing.
ELIZABETH CULOTTA
ence for All Americans," which includes
Susan Snyder of NSF's division of teacher
math, but less of it.
preparation and enhancement. "We'll prob-
Elizabeth Culotta is a science writer for
And new programs are coming. The Na-
ably never have one single answer."
the Milwaukee Journal.
Computer Security: NAS Sounds the Alarm
Electronic vandals, viruses, and other malignancies of the com-
However, McIlroy points out that between 1983 and 1990,
puter world are likely to grow more virulent soon, according to
the NSA ran an advisory body "outside the perimeter" of secrecy
a new report from the National Research Council. Indeed, a
called the National Computer Security Center. It set public
panel of computer security experts chaired by David Clark of the
standards and served as a clearinghouse for research. This was a
Massachusetts Institute of Technology warns that unless pre-
valuable service for the handful of companies-like his own
ventive action is taken, the economy could suffer. In a study titled
AT&T-that wanted to develop better defenses. But this year,
"Computers at Risk," the panel calls for the establishment of
the NCSC went back "behind the wire" of secrecy, McIlroy says,
an Information Security Foundation, a private nonprofit body
and it's not clear that any other office will step in to serve the
that would set standards, promote research, and review the
public. The National Institute of Standards and Technology
"trustworthiness" of computer software and hardware. It would
(NIST) might fit the bill, but the report comments that NIST
require federal support to get started, says one panel member, and
"has limited technical expertise and funds" to do the work.
after that, it could support itself with membership dues.
Congress gave it only $2.5 million for computer security pro-
"To date, we have been remarkably lucky," the report begins.
grams in 1990; when NIST attempted to double this budget for
Money has been stolen by computer-perhaps millions of
1991, the increase was axed by Congress.
dollars from credit card companies alone-and "lives have been
Meanwhile, companies are reluctant to advertise security
lost because of computer software errors." But no intruder has
problems. Their customers often aren't convinced that they're
been able to "subvert" a critical system. Yet the report warns
real. Unless they have been stung themselves, says McIlroy, they
that "there is reason to believe that our luck will soon run out."
may not want to bear the costs of improving systems. Many
The reason: Little is being done outside the government to
computer users try to get around the problem in a superficial
reduce the vulnerability of computer networks, even though the
way, using security gimmicks of one kind or another. As a result,
nation's reliance on them is growing. For example, no concerted
hundreds of products are offered for sale, but there's no objective
effort has been made to plug the many faults of personal com-
means of judging their quality. The Clark report recommends
puters, which are difficult to make secure because of the way they
several actions, in addition to creating a new foundation:
were designed. As network linkages grow, more PCs will be
Establish guidelines for "trustworthy systems" that reflect the
connected, and the weak points in systems will increase. "There's
consensus of security experts.
no doubt that things get considerably more dangerous when you
Take a series of immediate short-term actions such as creating
get unprofessionally administered machines on networks," says
emergency response teams and asking vendors to ship products
panel member M. Douglas McIlroy of AT&T Bell Laboratories.
with security systems automatically turned "on."
Most computer and software manufacturers have failed to
Create a system to monitor security breaks and to collect data
take the risks of attack seriously, responding to problems as they
on them for research.
occur in an "episodic and fragmented" fashion, says the report.
Clarify a confusing jumble of export controls and consider
And within government, computer security work is concentrated
relaxing limits on the use of the U.S. Data Encryption Standard.
in the National Security Agency, which has been constrained by
Develop and fund a comprehensive program of research on
its secrecy and its national defense mission.
computer security issues.
ELIOT MARSHALL
1330
SCIENCE, VOL. 250
EDWARD F. DENISON
****
Trends in American
Economic Growth,
1929-1982
per Steve Olson, OSTP, x (Feb. 5860 13,91; :
3pm)
1/2 of ec. growth per employed person
-OR-
LN
1/3 of ec. growth
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
Washington, D.C.
Saving and Investment Rates 18
Domestic Investment Rate in Constant
Dollars 21
Land 21
Capital and Land per Person Employed 21
Total Factor Input and Output per
Unit of Input
22
Contents
Components of Output per Unit of Input
22
Reallocation of Labor from Farming 23
Nonfarm Proprietors and Unpaid Family
Workers 23
Costs of Pollution Abatement 24
Costs of Protecting Worker Safety and
Health 24
Costs of Dishonesty and Crime 25
Effect of Weather on Farm Output 25
Work Stoppages Due to Labor Disputes 25
Length and Composition of the Year 25
Preface
XV
Fluctuations in Intensity of Demand 26
Occupancy Ratio for Dwellings 26
Selected Findings
XV
The Semiresidual 27
Economies of Scale Associated with Growth of
The Tables and Their Derivation
xvii
the National Market 27
Selected Definitions
xviii
Advances in Knowledge and Miscellaneous
Determinants 28
Concept of Potential Output
XX
Sources of Long-Term Growth
30
Definition of Potential Output xxi
Weighted Unemployment Standard Not
Used xxii
3. The Slowdown in Growth
33
Present Meaning of Potential Output
xxiii
Determinants Responsible for the Declines
in Growth Rates
33
Potential Output. Total and per Person
1. The Record of Output
Employed: Declines, 1948-73 10
and Productivity
1
1973-82 33
Potential Output per Person Employed:
Identification of Time Periods
1
Declines. 1964-73 10 1973-79 and 1973-79 10
1979-82 35
A Comparison of the 1948-73 Period with
Potential and Actual Output per Person
1973-79 and 1979-82
3
Employed in Nonresidential Business:
Growth of Potential Output in the Whole
Declines, 1948-73 to 1973-82 36
Economy 3
Potential Output per Person Employed in
Growth of Actual Output in the Whole
Nonresidential Business: Declines, 1964-73
Economy 3
to 1973-79 and 1973-79 to 1979-82 37
Growth in Nonresidential Business 6
Actual Output per Person Employed in
The Loss of Production
7
Nonresidential Business: Declines, 1964-73
to 1973-79 and 1973-79 to 1979-82 38
Three Generalizations 38
2. Determinants of Output Changes
The Decline in Growth of
since 1929
9
Residual Productivity
39
Components of the Series 40
Labor Input
9
Technological Knowledge 40
Employment 11
Managerial Knowledge and Managerial
Average Hours of Work 12
Performance 44
The Age-Sex Distribution of Hours Worked 12
Work Effort 47
The Effect on Output of Changes in Average
Misallocation of Resources 47
Hours 13
Energy Prices and Use 52
Education 15
Background Conditions and Additional
Unallocated Labor Input 16
Causes of Slowdown 56
Capital and Land
16
America's Response to the Slowdown
57
Capital in Nonresidential Business 17
Preliminary Observations 57
The Services of Dwellings 17
Government Response 58
International Assets 18
Business Reaction 61
xi
28
TWO
Determinants of Output Changes since 1929
Advances in Knowledge and Miscellaneous
To obtain such estimates, the dollar value of the
In the pa
Determinants
contribution of R&D to yearly growth is calculated
this index fr.
by multiplying the annual cost of R&D expenditures
an acceptab
Advancing knowledge of ways to produce at low
of types that, if successful. will raise measured output
made to gro
cost is the biggest and most basic reason for the
persistent long-term growth of output per unit of
per unit of input by a social rate of return on such
edge into to
input. The term "advances in knowledge" covers
R&D expenditures (estimated to be extremely high)
effects of so
that is based on sample studies (mainly, the admirable
series is far
both technological knowledge and managerial and
work of Edwin Mansfield and his collaborators).
per hour WG
organizational knowledge. It includes knowledge
Sometimes a deduction is made for estimated obso-
been identifi:
originating in this country and abroad, and knowl-
edge obtained in any way: by organized research, by
lescence on knowledge acquired from previous R&D.5
However. m
individual research workers, and by simple obser-
Unfortunately. there is no way to estimate directly
improvement
vation and experience.
the contribution of advances in knowledge derived
the followin
The term must, however, be limited in a study of
from any other source. or all other sources. to the
First. an
growth rate of output per unit of input in nonresiden-
the stable gr
the sources of growth of any output series to those
tial business.
tribution of
advances in knowledge that allow the same amount
The combined contribution of changes in all de-
pected to she
of measured output to be obtained with less input.
This limitation automatically excludes knowledge
terminants of output that were not directly measured
and most di:
applied outside the business sector. It also excludes
on an annual basis, including advances in knowledge
rose every y:
new knowledge that leads to "unmeasured" quality
and a group of miscellaneous determinants. is ob-
rate. In the i
change in the final products of the business sector.
tained by removing from the growth rate of output
growth rate:
The introduction of new and improved products for
the effects of changes in all determinants that were
1.46 percent
so measured. Table 5-1, column 12, shows an index
increases We
final sale from the business sector to consumers and
constructed in this way. From 1948 to 1973 it grew
expected fro:
government provides the buyer with a greater range
of choice or enables him to meet his needs better
at an annual rate of 1.38 percent (table 5-3).
the series pl
measure as
with the same use of resources, but it does not in
general contribute to growth as measured; rather, it
other output
improvements in the quality of goods and services." See John W.
A second
results in unmeasured quality change. Hence ad-
Kendrick, The Formation and Stocks of Total Capital (New York:
estimates fo
vances in knowledge that permit business to supply
National Bureau of Economic Research. 1976). pp. 9-10. To
households and government with final products that
obtain the contribution of R&D to growth of measured output.
appeared re:
either R&D that does not contribute to measured productivity
are different from those previously available are
edge. 54 In ori
must be excluded or, if such R&D is counted. the rate of return
excluded.
must be lowered by including it with a zero rate of return.
rates of out
Organized R&D conducted in the United States
53. The estimates assume. I believe correctly. that but little
the United S
knowledge that raises measured output results from the spinoff
tries and mo
of the type covered by the National Science Foun-
of findings of military research to commercial applications. Richard
dation series for R&D expenditures contributed an
R. Nelson finds that whatever spinoff may once have occurred.
conformed :
it dwindled away decades ago as military hardware became more
estimated 0.2 percentage points, or, at most, 0.3
nology was r
specialized and distinct from its civilian counterparts (as in the
points to the growth rate of measured output in
case of the airplane) or became concentrated in areas without
prevailing in
civilian counterparts. See Richard R. Nelson. "Policies in Support
of the index
nonresidential business during the postwar period."
of High Technology Industries," Working Paper 1011 (Institution
United Stat
for Social and Policy Studies. Yale University, July 1984). David
51. Besides the tables indicated in footnote 34, data relating
beliefs abou
M. Levy and Nestor E. Terleckyj infer from correlation analysis
to this determinant appear in table 4-4.
that federally financed R&D has an effect on commercial output
Finally.
52. For a discussion of these estimates see Slower Growth,
but that it does so by stimulating government contractors to
estimates fc
pp. 123-26; Zvi Griliches, "R&D and the Productivity Slowdown,"
increase their private expenditures on R&D in order to adapt their
and Edward F. Denison, "Comment," both in American Economic
findings to commercial products. See David M. Levy and Nestor
may affect
Review, vol. 70 (May 1980, Papers and Proceedings, 1979). pp.
E. Terleckyj, "Effects of Government R&D on Private R&D
quantify the
343-48. 354-55; Barry P. Bosworth, Tax Incentives and Economic
Investment and Productivity: A Macroeconomic Analysis," paper
Growth (Brookings, 1984), pp. 32-33; and citations in these
periods and
presented to the Southern Economic Association. Atlanta, No-
sources. As I explain later (in chapter 3), a higher estimate by
vember 11, 1982. Edwin Mansfield reached a similar conclusion
ers.⁵⁵ My
John W. Kendrick is not comparable. nor pertinent to an expla-
based on a questionnaire survey ("Engineering Employment.
miscellanec
nation of changes in any existing output series, because Kendrick
Federal Funding, and Company-financed R&D Expenditures."
is really estimating what R&D would have contributed to an
paper presented to the American Economic Association. New
imaginary output series that would be obtained if the rise in output
York. December 1982) while Frank R. Lichtenberg reached the
could somehow capture the welfare benefits from new and im-
opposite conclusion ("The Relationship Between Federal Contract
54. Edwar
proved final products. Kendrick has implicitly recognized this
R&D and Company R&D," American Economic Review, vol. 74
Contribution
situation by noting that the part of R&D "that results in cost
[May 1984, Papers and Proceedings, 1983] pp. 73-78). Because
Russian trans
reduction increases productivity and the part that results in new
all private expenditures are counted, when appropriate, in com-
ican Sympos!
and improved consumer goods increases satisfaction. However.
puting the estimate of the contribution of R&D to the growth rate
55. Exam
real product and productivity estimates are generally consid-
that is cited in the text. the estimate includes any positive or
writings. See
ered to understate growth to the extent that there have been net
negative effect of government expenditures on private R&D.
Growth Rate,
Components of Output per Unit of Input
29
e of the
In the past I have interpreted the movement of
offsetting. Confidence in this conclusion, as applied
Iculated
this index from 1948 to 1973 (but not thereafter) as
to 1948-73. is weakened by experience after 1973,
nditures
an acceptable approximation of the contribution
when miscellaneous determinants apparently ex-
output
made to growth by the incorporation of new knowl-
erted a large negative effect on growth. Although
on such
edge into the process of production. Because the
there are reasons why miscellaneous determinants
:ly high)
effects of so many determinants were measured, this
should have changed more after 1973 than before, it
imirable
series is far more refined than the indexes of output
is not clear why their effect was so large. Despite
rators).
per hour worked and unit of capital that have often
this later experience, I still consider that the 1.38
d obso-
been identified as measures of "technical progress."
percent growth rate of the residual provides a rea-
R&D.53
However, my interpretation was based on more than
sonable estimate of the contribution of advances in
directly
improvement upon precedent. It was supported by
knowledge in 1948-73.
derived
the following considerations.
The growth rate of the residual is also, I believe,
to the
First, and most important, the index displayed
an acceptable estimate of the contribution of ad-
residen-
the stable growth that an index measuring the con-
vances in knowledge in 1941-48. It was 1.11 percent.
tribution of advances in knowledge would be ex-
Interpretation of the 0.34 percent growth rate in
} all de-
pected to show in the world's most advanced, largest,
1929-41 is more dubious. In a previous examination
easured
and most diversified economy. From 1948 to 1973 it
of the period I concluded that restrictive practices
wledge
rose every year. Moreover, it did so at a rather steady
introduced during the Depression that affected the
is ob-
rate. In the three shorter periods in this time span its
miscellaneous determinants restrained the growth of
output
growth rates were 1.33 percent. 1.34 percent. and
output per unit of input, but probably were not
at were
1.46 percent. Irregularities in the size of the annual
responsible for much more than one-tenth of a per-
n index
increases were scarcely greater than one might have
centage point of the difference between the 1929-41
it grew
expected from calendar differences alone. even though
and 1948-69 growth rates. 56 Advances in knowledge
the series picks up the effect of errors in the output
evidently contributed much less to growth in 1929-
measure as well as certain errors in the indexes for
41 than in 1948-73.
other output determinants.
The behavior of the residual series since 1973 has
John W.
A second consideration was that similar residual
been altogether different from anything that has gone
W York:
-10. To
estimates for other countries revealed a pattern that
before (tables 5-1 and 5-3). Its growth rate dropped
output,
appeared reasonable for the contribution of knowl-
by 1 full percentage point, or 72 percent, from 1948-
Suctivity
edge.54 In brief, despite large differences in the growth
73 to 1973-78, and by an additional full percentage
of return
rates of output, the residuals were fairly similar in
point from 1973-78 to 1978-82. In 1973-78 the growth
but little
the United States and other advanced Western coun-
rate was about as low as it had been in 1929-41, and
spinoff
tries and moderately higher in Japan-a pattern that
thereafter it was actually negative by a substantial
Richard
curred,
conformed to the accepted belief that in Japan tech-
amount, 0.66 percent, in 1978-82 and was prob-
ne more
nology was moving up toward the much higher levels
ably little different in 1978-83. The peak in the index
in the
prevailing in the West. The fact that the growth rate
to date was reached in 1978. The decline in the
without
Support
of the index had increased from earlier periods in the
growth rate after 1973 was abrupt, with no hint of
stitution
United States itself was also in accord with usual
slackening through 1973 and a sudden decline there-
David
analysis
beliefs about the pace of new knowledge.
after. Moreover, since 1973 the index has behaved
A output
Finally, although I had not attempted annual
erratically, rising in four years and falling in five.
clors to
estimates for the miscellaneous determinants that
It is not plausible that an index measuring the
ini their
Nestor
may affect the residual index, I had attempted to
contribution of advances in knowledge would have
R&D
quantify the contribution of some of them over longer
behaved this way. I can only conclude that some of
paper
No-
periods and to judge the possible magnitude of oth-
the miscellaneous determinants of output were Γe-
clusion
ers. My conclusion was that the effects of the
sponsible for the collapse in the growth rate of the
/ment.
miscellaneous determinants probably were small and
residual and its erratic movement. I offer this opinion
.ures,"
New
t.ed the
intract
54. Edward F. Denison. "A Cross-Country View of the
12, 20, 21, and appendixes M. N: Accounting for Growth, PP. 76-
vol. 74
Contribution of Knowledge to Economic Growth." published in
79: Slower Growth, pp. 81-83 and chap. 9: and "Accounting for
ccause
Russian translation in T. S. Khachaturov. ed., The Soviet-Amer-
Slower Economic Growth: An Update," pp. 21-37.
in com-
ican Symposium of Economics (Moscow, 1978), pp. 39-46.
56. Accounting for Growth. pp. 81-82. An alternative way of
th rate
55. Examples of such estimates are scattered throughout my
measuring real output-using current price weights for each decade
tive or
writings. See Denison. Sources of Growth. chaps. 15-20: Why
instead of the same weights for all periods-would also narrow
D.
Growth Rates Differ. chaps. 3, 9. 17 (part 3). 18, parts of chaps.
the differences between periods.
30
TWO
I
Determinants of Output Changes since 1929
even though. as the next chapter indicates, the
neous determinants subtracted 0.21 points. Neither
show that
evidence is insufficient to establish conclusively
source affects growth of measured output in the
period. am
which of the many developments suspected of being
other sectors, and so these sources contributed smaller
widely am
the culprits responsible for the collapse were really
amounts to the growth rate of potential national
The gr
to blame.
income in the whole economy: advances in knowl-
potential
This conclusion leaves no way to measure what
edge, 0.84 percentage points, and miscellaneous
first colum
actually happened to the contribution of advances in
determinants, -0.16 points. Reasonable variations
potential n
knowledge after 1973. It is not unlikely that the
in the numbers used for 1929-41 and 1973-82 would
the classic
contribution was reduced. The period from World
not greatly change these results.
made posit
War II to 1973 was one in which, it appears, progress
largest cor
in all types of knowledge was exceptionally fast by
Sources of Long-Term Growth
is identifie
historical standards. A gradual falling back to longer
in "labor is
term rates would not have been surprising. However.
Detailed estimates of the contributions that the
increase in
there is no certainty that such a decline occurred.
output determinants made to the growth rates of
when acco
In the following section I summarize estimates of
various output series during each of the eleven
and charac
the sources of growth of output over the 1929-82
standard periods are shown in tables 7-1 to 7-4 and
tion) and o
period as a whole. Solely for this purpose I assume
8-1 to 8-4. These sources-of-growth tables are pro-
upon the "
(reasonably) that the residual series measures the
vided for four measures of total national income and
percent, is
contribution of advances in knowledge from 1941 to
four of national income per person employed, as well
process of
1973; and (as guesses) that the 0.34 percent growth
as for output per unit of input, a subtotal given in the
at low cos
rate of the residual from 1929 to 1941 consisted of a
tables. The tables show the number of percentage
the service
0.45 percent rate for advances in knowledge and a
points contributed to the growth rate.
at 13 perce
-0.11 percent rate for miscellaneous determinants.
The tabulation below condenses growth sources
of persons
while the -0.07 percent growth rate of the residual
into ten groups and shows the percentage of the
sector. (If
from 1973 to 1982 consisted of a 1.00 percent growth
growth rate of each of the eight output series contrib-
combined
rate for advances in knowledge and a 1.07 percent
uted by each group of determinants over the fifty-
cent-oftl
growth rate for miscellaneous determinants. This
three years from 1929 to 1982. This tabulation iden-
each. are
procedure results in an estimate that advances in
tifies the sources of growth in the United States over
reduction
knowledge contributed 1.07 percentage points to the
the longest period presently possible. However.
and to non
1929-82 growth rate of total potential national in-
these distributions should not be regarded as "nor-
factors ne
come in nonresidential business. while miscella-
mal" or "typical" patterns. The data in this study
growth rat
environme
cent, and
Contributions to 1929-82 growth rates
percent. 01
Potential national income
Actual national income
amount all
the preced
Total
Per person employed
Total
Per person employed
inclusion
Nonresi-
Nonresi-
Nonresi-
Nonresi-
The sec
Whole
dential
Whole
dential
Whole
dential
Whole
dential
tial output
economy
business
economy
business
economy
business
economy
business
When the
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
contributic
Growth rate
3.2
3.1
1.6
1.7
2.9
2.8
1.5
1.6
and the CC
Percent of growth rate
All sources
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
other sour
Labor input except education
34
25
-13
-23
32
20
12
-25
growth in
Education per worker
13
16
26
30
14
19
27
34
tions secto
Capital
17
12
15
10
19
14
20
13
cation, an
Advances in knowledge
26
34
54
64
28
39
55
68
Improved resource allocation
8
11
16
19
8
11
16
18
dwellings :
Economies of scale
8
11
17
20
9
12
18
22
able to cap
Changes in legal and human
the largest
environment
I
2
-3
-4
-1
-2
3
-4
ness. follo
Land
0
0
-3
-4
0
0
-3
-3
Irregular factors
0
0
0
0
-3
-5
-7
-8
Other determinants
5
-7
-10
-13
5
-8
10
-13
57. See
Fast. pp. 39-
Sources of Long-Term Growth
31
Neither
show that patterns have changed from period to
The third column of the tabulation analyzes the
in the
period. and other studies show that they have differed
growth of potential output per person potentially
smaller
widely among countries.57
employed in the whole economy. To an important
national
The greatest interest attaches to the estimates for
extent this growth rate was the net result of offsetting
knowl-
potential output shown in the first four columns. The
positive and negative influences. Five of the ten
laneous
first column of the tabulation analyzes the growth of
groups of determinants contributed an amount equal
riations
potential national income in the whole economy. By
to 128 percent of the growth rate, one (irregular
2 would
the classification adopted, six groups of sources
factors) did not affect it, and four subtracted an
made positive contributions to this growth rate. The
amount equal to 28 percent. When expressed in
largest contribution, 34 percent of the growth rate,
percentage points, the contributions of education per
is identified in the table as coming from the increase
worker, advances in knowledge, improved resource
in "labor input except education." It represents the
allocation, economies of scale, changes in legal and
that the
increase in the amount of work done in our economy,
human environment, irregular factors, and "other
rates of
when account is taken of the number, working hours,
determinants" are all practically the same as their
eleven
and characteristics of workers (except their educa-
contributions to the growth rate of total potential
7-4 and
tion) and of the effect of changes in the hours of work
output in the whole economy, but when expressed
are pro-
upon the work done in an hour. Second largest, at 26
as percentages of the growth rate, they are about
ome and
percent, is the incorporation into the productive
twice as large. The contribution of advances in
as well
process of advances in knowledge of how to produce
knowledge equaled 54 percent of this growth rate.
en in the
at low cost. Third, at 17 percent, is the increase in
On a per person employed basis. labor input except
centage
the services provided by four types of capital. Fourth.
education declined and made a negative contribution
at 13 percent, is the increase in the level of education
equal to 13 percent of the growth rate because of
sources
of persons employed in the nonresidential business
declining average hours (including the effect of an
= of the
sector. (If the two components of labor input are
increase in part-time employment) and the change in
contrib-
combined. they account for nearly half-47 per-
the demographic composition of hours worked. Land
he fifty-
cent-of the growth rate.) Fifth and sixth, at 8 percent
per person potentially employed also declined and
on iden-
each. are gains from economies of scale and the
subtracted an amount equal to 3 percent of the growth
ites over
reduction in the overallocation of labor to farming
rate.
owever,
and to nonfarm self-employment. Land and irregular
The fourth column refers to potential national
as "nor-
factors neither added to nor subtracted from this
income per person potentially employed in nonresi-
is study
growth rate. Three changes in the legal and human
dential business. The contribution of capital was a
environment subtracted an amount equal to 1 per-
smaller percentage of the growth rate than in the
cent. and other determinants an amount equal to 5
whole economy, where it includes dwellings and
percent, of the growth rate. The latter consists of the
international assets, but the positive or negative
amount allocated to miscellaneous determinants in
contributions of all other determinants were larger
the preceding section, with a slight offset from the
and the importance of offsets correspondingly greater.
employed
inclusion of the dwellings occupancy ratio.
Advances in knowledge alone contributed an amount
Nonresi-
The second column analyzes the growth of poten-
equal to 64 percent of the growth rate, education per
dential
tial output in the nonresidential business sector alone.
worker 30 percent. In all, five groups contributed an
business
When the other three sectors are eliminated, the
amount equal to 143 percent of this growth rate,
(8)
contributions of labor input and of capital are reduced
while four subtracted an amount equal to 43 percent.
1.6
and the contributions (positive or negative) of the
Columns 5 through 8 of the informal tabulation
100
other sources are increased. The reason is that all
provide estimates for the actual output series that
-25
growth in the government. households. and institu-
are the counterparts of the potential output series
34
tions sector is ascribable to labor input except edu-
just reviewed. The contributions of many determi-
13
cation, and practically all growth in the services of
68
nants are the same on an actual as on a potential
18
dwellings and international assets sectors is ascrib-
basis when expressed in percentage points, but differ
22
able to capital. Advances in knowledge were much
when expressed as percentages of the growth rate
the largest source of growth in nonresidential busi-
because the growth rates are different. When contri-
-4
ness. followed by labor input except education.
butions expressed in percentage points differ, the
-3 3
-8
58. There were also offsetting pluses and minuses within the
-13 -
57. See Denison and Chung. How Japan's Economy Grew So
"labor input except education" group and also. no doubt. among
Fast. PP. 39-45.
the "other determinants,"
32
TWO
Determinants of Output Changes since 1929
only reason is that the positions of 1929 and 1982
Depression and World War II had not cut net capital
with respect to the business cycle and productivity
formation and birth rates in 1930-46? Or were capital
cycle were different. Irregular factors make a nega-
formation and population growth in the postwar
tive contribution to growth rates on an actual basis
years larger than they would otherwise have been so
because the index for the effect on output per unit of
that the deficiency was eliminated? The reader may
input in nonresidential business of changes in the
suppose that the percentage of growth contributed
intensity of utilization of employed resources result-
Th
by capital is reduced by inclusion of the period's last
ing from fluctuations in intensity of demand was 7
three years, 1980-82, in which business activity was
percent lower in 1982 than in 1929.
weak, but in fact all the percentages for capital in the
Contributions to the series computed on a poten-
informal tabulation were the same or lower in 1929-
tial basis are not affected by the cyclical positions of
79 than in 1929-82.
end years, but even they may be somewhat affected
The following chapter examines changes in the
by the cyclical pattern-and international events-
sources of growth after 1973. Readers are encouraged
of the past. However, the effect is rarely known. For
to look at the estimates for other periods shown in
example, would the sizes of the capital stock and
the tables, which have been discussed in my previous
potential employment in 1982 have been bigger if the
books.
The grov
and prod
long per
The amc
the first
The grov
the whol
or from 3
most ser
age poin
person e
The D
HORACE FREELAND JUDSON
The Search
for Solutions
ABRIDGED EDITION
(text complete, pictures and captions omitted)
Introduction by Lewis Thomas, M.D.
1987
The Johns Hopkins University Press
BALTIMORE
Copyright © 1980 by Playback Associates
Johns Hopkins Paperbacks edition copyright © 1987 by
The Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
The abridgment of this Johns Hopkins Paperbacks edition of The Search for
Solutions is limited to the deletion of photographs and captions from the
original hardcover edition. The text of the book has not been altered.
The illustrated edition was published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
This edition is reprinted by arrangement with Henry Holt and Company, Inc.
The Johns Hopkins University Press
701 West 40th Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21211
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Judson, Horace Freeland.
The search for solutions.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Science-Social aspects. 2. Technology-Social aspects.
3. Scientists-Interviews. I. Title.
Q175.5.J82 1987
500
87-2856
ISBN 0-8018-3526-7 (pbk.)
Photo credits: p. 21, World Wide Photos; p. 50, Mike Jackson; p. 66, Susan
Shaw; pp. 90, 100, Playback Associates; p. 153, Bachrach; p. 182, Caltech
Photo; p. 193, Wayne Miller/Magnum Photos; p. 244, courtesy Florida State
University
the builder of bridges: the professional's pride in
and the inn
skill; the swelling gratification that comes with
them. Two
recognition accorded by colleagues and peers;
although Jac
perhaps the competitor's fierce appetite; perhaps
parallel-Isa
ambition for a kind of fame more durable than
death, said:
most. At the beginning is curiosity, and with
I do not kr
curiosity the delight in mastery-the joy of
to myself
figuring it out that is the birthright of every child.
playing or
I once asked Murray Gell-Mann, a theoretical
now and t
physicist, how he got started in science. His
prettier sh
answer was to point to the summer sky: "When I
of truth lay
was a boy, I used to ask all sorts of simple
For some,
questions-like, 'What holds the clouds up?"
the world to
Rosalind Franklin, the crystallographer whose early
Sheldon Gla
death deprived her of a share in the Nobel Prize
at Harvard,
that was given for the discovery of the structure of
simple ques
DNA (the stuff that genes are made of), one day
learning abo
was helping a young collaborator draft an
and the mo
application for research money, when she looked
said. "And I
up at him and said, "What we can't tell them is
the Man in
that it's so much fun!" He still remembers her
us"-that th
glint of mischief. The play of the mind, in an
same face to
almost childlike innocence, is a pleasure that
'Why is the
appears again and again in scientists' reflections on
us?' She was
their work. The geneticist Barbara McClintock, as
was hard. A1
a woman in American science in the 1930s, had no
in college-le
chance at the academic posts open to her male
learns the ar
colleagues, but that hardly mattered to her. "I did
difference is,
it because it was fun!" she said forty years later. "I
moon and W
couldn't wait to get up in the morning! I never
interesting'-
thought of it as 'science.''
can't let go."
The exuberant innocence can be poignant.
Curiosity
François Jacob, who won his share of a Nobel Prize
by far, a wor
as one of the small group of molecular biologists
for creation,
in the fifties who brought sense and order into the
arts, Medaw:
interactions by which bacteria regulate their life
to young scie
processes, recently read an account I had written
exploratory i
of that work, and said to me with surprise and an
incomprehen
evident pang of regret, "We were like children
other side of
playing!" He meant the fun of it-but also the
problem wor
simplicity of the problems they had encountered
and months
4
The Search for Solutions
5
Investigati