WALTER J. MURPHYf Editor

A Businessman Asks . . ·

H o w can I keep up with atomic energy developments?" Many industrial leaders are vitally interested in this rela­tively new field of science and technology—wisely so. Within the next decade, many additional successful business ven­tures based o n nucleonics technology will be launched. Many long existing industries will be affected some way by the rapidly expanding research that characterizes the nu­cleonics field.

The Industrial Information Branch of the Atomic Energy Commission is doing an excellent job of making material with significant implications in present day industrial activi­ties available. Frequently the criticism is leveled at the com­mission that it overdoes secrecy, that more information should be released. But a great mass of information is avail­able—much more than most industrial people believe. Of greater importance is the fact that such information is being put out in very useful form. The Industrial Information Branch of the AEC is to be congratulated for the mamiei in which it has tackled a difficult assignment. Nearly 9000 unclassified reports have been released to date.

"Selected Reports of Interest to Industry," special AEC bibliography series, separates from the 9000 nonsecret re­ports, about 800 covering technological developments con­sidered of particular interest to general industry.

The entire set, or individual sections of the series, may be purchased from the Office of Technical Services, Department of Commerce, Washington 25, D . C , for $2.25; costs of individual sections are: Chemistry and Chemical Engineer­ing, 45 cents; Construction and Civil Engineering, Mining and Geology, 25 cents; Electronics and Electrical Engineer­ing, 35 cents; Health and Safety, Industrial Management, 25 cents; Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering, 25 cents; Metallurgy and Ceramics, 35 cents; and Nuclear Tech­nology, 35 cents.

The AEC lias taken still further steps to help disseminate nonsecret industrial information beyond the. field of publica­tion of bibliographies. Industrial Information Depository Li­braries have been established in New York, Chicago, Stan­ford, and Washington. The commission has also designated 42 libraries as general depositories in order to make certain that published material on atomic energy is available in nearly all sections of the country.

Many of t h e unclassified reports are reproduced by de­pository libraries or may b e purchased at nominal costs from the Office of Technical Services. For those who wish to maintain continuous, close contact with current atomic energy developments, we recommend Nuclear Science Ab­stracts, a semimonthly journal published by the AEC.

Finally, it should be reported that "Unclassified Bibliogra­phies of Interest to the Atomic Energy Program" are avail­able—compilations of more than 550 bibliographies pertain­ing to many phases of scientific and technological work per­formed in the field.

To help t he interested individual or firm to learn more about such literature and services, the Industrial Information

Branch has prepared an unpretentious but highly informative booklet which is yours for the asking. We have reproduced the title of the brochure as the title of this editorial.

Lest We Forget

V^HEMISTRY and the chemical industry have advanced through the contributions of countless individual scientists. Among those whose contributions have made the greatest impact stands josiah Willard Gibbs. Biographer Bernard Jaffe ranks Gibbs among the 10 most influential physical scientists of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Gibbs has been elected to the Hall of Fame at New York University, and a campaign is under way to raise funds to erect a bust in his honor (C&EN, May 17, page 2024). Gibbs was a mathematical physicist who entered upon his career just as the new field of thermodynamics was being established and applied toward improving the efficiency of steam engines. Gibbs took a keen interest in this new field but was especially attracted to the concept of entropy, which he thought should be useful in the solution of many chemical problems.

Gibbs was the first to recognize the power of thermody­namics in the treatment of chemical problems. His first paper, a 140-page treatment of the equilibrium of heteroge­neous substances, was almost unparalleled in the history of science. Having discovered a new branch of science, he treated it exhaustively and in so doing he foreshadowed the development of theoretical chemistry for a quarter of a cen­tury. It was in this paper that Gibbs enunciated his phase rule that was to prove such a valuable tool for predicting the conditions for separating substances from complex mixtures of salts or metals. The paper was full of fresh approaches and brilliant guides to many problems in the manufacture of chemicals and is still being reread today. Gibbs' work had definite impact on Haber's discovery of ammonia synthesis, the exploitation of the Searles Lake brines, the manufacture of steel and other alloys, and of countless plastics, drugs, and dyes. Biochemistry has been enriched by the application of Gibbs' work to equilibria in body fluids.

Because Gibbs contributed so much to the advance of chemistry it is fitting that the chemical profession and the chemical industry should support the drive to raise funds for his bust in the Hall of Fame. T. W. Kirby suggests in a letter to the editor on page 2670 that a 9-cent contribution by every one of the 67,000 ACS members would do it. Sev­eral ACS local sections have already started raising funds.

Just last week we were happy to announce the first indus­try contribution. It was by M. W. Kellogg Co., which pre­sented a $500 check to the ACS New York Section, custo­dian of the campaign funds. We feel sure that many other firms will wish to identify themselves with this worthy cause. Contributions from both individuals and from industrial firms would be welcome. They should be sent to Arthur B. Kemper, secretary of the New York Section, at Manhattan College, New York 71 , Ν. Υ.