ACS N E W S

CA Publishes 3 Millionth Abstract First million reached after 32 years; second million 17 years later; third million in only eight years

When Irving Feuer signed and mailed his digest of a paper on ionization of alkali atoms by electron bombardment, Chemical Abstracts' 3 millionth ab­stract was on its way to publication. The result of his effort appears in column 12264e of the current (Nov. 25) issue of CA.

Mr. Feuer is a physical chemist and director of applied research for Canrad Precision Industries in New York City. He also is one of approximately 3300 men and women (most are chemists or chemical engineers) in more than 100 countries who prepare abstracts for CA in their spare time. The articles and papers Mr. Feuer and his col­leagues digest come from nearly 10,000 technical journals, published in some 50 languages and monitored by CA.

The original report from which Mr. Feuer extracted the 3 millionth ab­stract was written by two University of California Radiation Laboratory sci­entists, F. S. Baker and G. O. Brink.

While it took 57 years for CA to reach the milestone of its 3 millionth

abstract, producing the first million ac­counted for 32 of these years—and only eight have elapsed since the 2 mil­lionth abstract was published. The fact that it took four times as long to compile the first million as the third tells a lot about CA—and chemistry itself.

In 1897, about 20 years after its founding, the Society recognized a need on the part of American chemists for comprehensive abstracts, and ap­pointed a Committee on Abstracts and Reviews. In that same year, Review of American Chemical Research, a pre­cursor of CA that had originated as a publication of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, became a section of Journal of the American Chemical Society. It was not until January 1907, however, that the first issue of CA appeared.

First Abstracts. A well-known chemist of the time, William H. Walker, wrote the first two abstracts in CA. He also was editor of the Ap­paratus Section, the first section to appear in the book, and had been an

early chairman of the Northeastern Section. The title of the first abstract was "New Apparatus for the Deter­mination of Sulphur and Carbon."

The 1 millionth abstract was written by Dr. Shiro Tashiro, a physiological chemist born in Japan and fluent in both Japanese and English. He re­ceived a Ph.D. in 1912 from the Uni­versity of Chicago, where he also did his undergraduate work. The 2 mil­lionth abstract was done by Dr. Wer­ner Nowacki, professor of crystallog­raphy at the University of Bern (Swit­zerland) and still an active abstractor. During World War II, Dr. Nowacki organized a staff of abstractors who made available to CA digests of the most important European chemical literature which otherwise was un­available in America.

In the 40 years between the found­ing of CA and the end of World War II, the rise in the rate of chemical dis­covery remained fairly constant, al­though there were notable exceptions, particularly during the two world war periods. By 1939, the number of

CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS Vo l . 1. J A N U A R Y 1, 1907 No. 1

APPARATUS

W. H. WALKER.

New Apparatus for the Determination of Sulphur and Carbon. A. KLËINË. Ζ. angew. Chem., *9, 1711.—The flask which serves as generator in the determination of sulphur by the evolution method, is, in this apparatus, blown w;vh a long neck, the diameter of the upper three-fourths of which is considerably larger than the neck of the flask proper. Into the narrowest part of this neck is ground a delivery-vube which carries a small groove or slit to within a short distance of the lower end. By turning the delivery-tube this groove may be made to connect w-ith a small groove cut in the neck of the flask, thus forming a channel from the funnel to the interior of the flask. The acid for the reaction is placed in this funnel-shaped neck, with the delivery-tube so placed with respect to the two grooves as to offer a tight stop­per. When the flask is connected with the absorbing system the ac'd is allowed to enter the flask by turning the delivery-tube so that the two channels connect. The opening is again closed and the funnel is filled with water, which serves as a cooler for the.escaping gases and also as a water seal for the flask. W. H. WALKFR.

1st ABSTRACT

2 MILLIONTH

Bile acids. IV. The effect of diet on bile acid content of blood and bile. Kogyoku Gon. J. Chosen Med. Assoc. 27, 1141-52 (German abstr. 63) (1937); cf. C. 4 . 32, 25589.—Feeding of carbohydrate, protein or fat to dogs produces a decrease of bile acid in blood and an in­crease in bile. A similar effect can be produced when carbohydrate or fat is given subcutaneously. Following the digestion, the liver must absorb bile acids from the blood, and excrete them with bile. S. Tashiro

1 MILLIONTH

Growth features on crystals of long-chain compounds* II. S. Amelinckx (Lab. Kristalkunde, Ghent, Belg.). Acta Cryst. 9, 16-23(1956); cf. C.A. 49, 15341e.—Growth features observed on crystals of the orthorhombic modifica­tions of the «-ales. C22H43OH, C04H49OH, and C26H53OH are described. They consist of interlaced spirals of two types. The effect of the presence of imperfect dislocations on the growth patterns is discussed. Growth around an imperfect dislocation in a crystal of the orthorhombic modification of the w-alcs. does not produce a poly type. The normal stack­ing is continued; this causes certain complications in the growth pattern. The growth of twinned crystals of w-alcs. and monocarboxylic acids (behenic, eicosanoic, and lignoceric acids) is considered. A growth mechanism for ordinary twins and for certain polysynthetic twins is proposed.

W. Nowacki

66 C&EN DEC. 2, 1963

abstracts published annually had risen to a little over 65,000. But war clouds brought this number tumbling to 52,-000 the following year, and by 1945, it had dropped to slightly over 32,000, the lowest since 1927.

Rush. By 1948, however, the total was back to the 43,000 mark. Then something happened. The next year, the total jumped to 52,000, and the rush was on. In 1956, the number of abstracts exceeded 90,000, and the estimate for 1963, at 170,000, is nearly twice that figure.

The full extent of the recent flood of CA entries can be appreciated even more when other factors occurring dur­ing the past 25 years are considered. The size of the pages in CA has in­creased twice—in 1951 and again in 1963. Present-day abstracts exhibit greater depth of experimental work; more concepts and more compounds are studied per article. The number of new compounds, or new data on old compounds, reported per article has increased about threefold.

Since CA is dedicated to covering all published material containing new information of chemical interest, the ebb and flow of abstracts thus is a fairly accurate barometer of the level of new activity in chemistry. Cer­tainly the postwar surge in chemical research has been an important factor in making necessary larger quarters for Chemical Abstracts Service, of which CA is a major part. Completion late in 1964 of the new $6.8 million CAS headquarters adjacent to the Ohio State University campus in Columbus will come none too soon.

Research Costs. The National Science Foundation reports that re­search projects which result in re­search or development studies now cost an average of $40,000 each. Accordingly, world-wide chemical re­search in 1963 is proceeding at a $7.2 billion clip, compared to $3.6

billion in 1956 and $2.6 billion in 1938. The 3 million abstracts pub­lished by CA, moreover, could be said to represent a $120 billion investment.

Another trend indicated by abstracts published in the past 25 years is that the areas of greatest development dur­ing that period have been physical (including nuclear) chemistry, which has risen from about 9.5 to 14% of the total; inorganic chemistry, up from 0.9 to 4%; and biochemistry, up from 21 to 28%. Also, while the percentage of total chemical research contributed by the United States, British Common­wealth, Germany, and France has de­creased, that of Russia and Japan has increased. Estimates for 1963 put U.S. research at 25.3% of the total; Russia, 2 3 % ; the Commonwealth, 13.2%; and Japan, 7.6%.

If eight years seem short compared with 32 as the length of time required to produce a million abstracts, it should be noted that the fourth million is expected to take only five to six years to complete. By that time, the present CA system, generally regarded as the best of its kind in existence, may be both improved and supplemented by the fruits of current CAS research into automated methods of storing and retrieving chemical data. This re­search is aimed not only at facilitating the production of CA itself, but also at making feasible certain additional services which CAS cannot economi­cally provide using conventional data process methods. An ultimate benefit may be a quickening in the pace of over-all scientific achievement, made possible by the increased availability of the world's chemical knowledge.

To commemorate his role in produc­ing CA's 3 millionth abstract, Mr. Feuer will receive the type form used in printing his abstract at Mack Printing Co., Easton, Pa. The form will be plated in bronze and incor­porated into a desk pen set.

Ionization of alkali atoms by electron bombardment. F. S. Baker and G. O. Brink. U.S. At. Energy Comm. UCRL 7087, 52 pp.(1962). An at. beam contg. a radioactive tracer is crossed rectilinearly with an electron beam. The reaction 3 MILLIONTH products are adsorbed on collector surfaces and detected in a scintillation counter. The at. beam is also quant, sampled by adsorption. The value of the total ionization cross section is directly proportional to the counting rate ratio, Ri0n/Rbe*m. The relative ionization cross-section curves of K, Rb, and Cs have been normalized and are presented. The values for a in the relation Ql = aE~b, expressing the simple ionization cross sections as a function of total electron energy, are also given. The total scattering cross sections of the above elements are also partially resolved into their components. The autoionizatiori structure of Cs is related to known energy levels of the atom.

Irving Feuer

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