British Institute of Radiology: Annual Congress

Abstract

THE twelfth Annual Congress of the British Institute of Radiology was held in the Central Hall, Westminster, on December 7–9, and in connexion with the Congress there was an exhibition of apparatus organized by the British X-ray industry. The Congress was opened by the president, Mr. W. E. Schall, the opening address being followed by the nineteenth Mackenzie Davidson Memorial Lecture, delivered by Dr. G. Shearer on “X rays-Their Influence in Pure and Applied Science”. In the course of this lecture, Dr. Shearer noted that twenty-five years have elapsed since Moseley first observed the regularities in the? and L X-ray spectra of the elements which pointed to the general similarities in the internal structures of various atoms and led ultimately to a fairly complete understanding of atomic structure and to the placing of electrons in their appropriate energy levels. This same series of observations has also led to the use of X-rays in the study of the solid state, with results of great, practical and industrial importance. From the study of simple crystals by W. H. and W. L. Bragg, the work has advanced to such an extent that complex molecules such as the proteins can now be studied, and the results, incidentally, linked up with the work of the organic chemists. Another phase of X-ray work entailed the study of materials from an industrial point of view, and in many cases the physical properties of materials can be correlated with the size and perfection of the individual crystalline components, while the X-ray method is the method of choice in investigations into the phase relations in alloy systems.