PROGRESS IN PHYSICS.

So many and so varied are the activities in the University, that very often men in one department lose sight completely of the work carried on in other departments. It is therefore often worth while to call to mind the progress which is being made in certain advanced fields, usually not familiar to the undergraduate. Doubtless few Harvard men know, for instance, that the Physics Department is one of the most active and progressive in the country, and that its work has attracted international attention.

Harvard has been a pioneer in this field, and the Jefferson Laboratory, built in 1884, is the first building of its kind in America. It was here that the notion was first overthrown that "such things as turning lathes were not the sort of thing one should have in a university."

The progress of the department has been steady, and at present the laboratory is engaged in research work of interest to the whole scientific world. The erection of the Cruft High Tension Laboratory has marked a departure into a new field of investigation. Experiments with the wireless telephone, begun a few years ago by Professor Peirce and Dr. Chaffee, have been resumed recently. Moreover, direct wireless communication with Berlin has lately been established.

Professor Lyan's work with ultra-violet rays, and Professor Sabine's investigation of the transmission of sound, and its applications to building materials are among the many important researches going on. At present, there are more than a score of pieces of investigation in progress in the Jefferson Laboratory, with many more in the Cruft. Work so brilliant and of so advanced a nature merits the recognition and approbation of the University in general.