Nature World War 1 Issue

8/11/2019 Nature World War 1 Issue

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SAFEin the twenty-rst century, it is easy to look backat the terrible events of 1914-1918 and wonder how the

world turned upon itself with such ferocity. Despite a cen-tury of continued conict since, the images of that GreatWar remain branded onto the collective consciousness the trenches, the barbed wire, the gas masks, the mud, the

human misery, the slaughter on industrial scale.The First World War was more than a clash of armies.It was a ght for supremacy in Europe and a battle to har-ness the emerging application of science and technology.For the rst time, new machines gave the bulk of the ad-

vantages not to the attackers on a battleeld but to thedefenders. Science then sought even more terrible weap-ons as a way to break such stalemate -- an eort that cli-maxed with re and fury in the summer of 1945.

To mark a century since the outbreak of the FirstWorld War,Naturepresents this special collection of his-torical articles published in the journal from September

1914, in the wars earliest months, to November 1918. Thearticles are unedited and the pages appear here as theywould have done to readers then.

From the thousands of pieces we published during thattime, our editors have selected a few dozen. The mix issimilar to the magazine section ofNaturetoday: there areeditorials, news reports, correspondence from readersand book reviews. Most of those we selected are directlyrelevant to the war, but not all. Some describe Naturestake on what we now consider history: the epic Antarc-tic adventures of British explorer Ernest Shackleton, forinstance, and a summary of something called gravitation

and the principle of relativity presented the year beforeby Prof.A. Einstein.

Other articles are included to give a avour of academiclife at the time, and there it is surprising (or not) how littlethings seem to have changed. There are squabbles aboutrival departments advertising for sta while many suitablecandidates are away at the front line, grumbles about lackof resources (only poor-quality rubber was available forhigh-altitude research balloons, so many burst) and a snif-fy response to suggestions that scientic societies canceltheir meetings, lest it give the appearance of cowardice.

A word of warning:Natureat the time was very much aBritish journal and Britain was still very much an imperialpower. Coupled with a deliberate wartime anti-Germansentiment, some of the opinions and terms included willseem rather, well, not in keeping with todays enlightenedattitudes to the international nature of science and re-search. Apologies to anyone oended, but well, there

was a war on.Perhaps most pertinent are the articles that demon-

strate directly how central science was to the war eort.After Allied troops were gassed for the rst time at Ypres,a Natureanalysis pinpointed chlorine as a likely culprit; a

reader suggests a method to allow ships to signal in secret;possible therapies for the new problem of shell-shock arediscussed.

The articles are presented in chronological order andbookended with striking editorials. The rst, from Sep-tember 1914, points out that Germanys industrial abilityto wage war far exceeded Britains and that Britain had torestructure its eorts broadly based on science. The nalpiece, published just days after the Armistice in November1918, presciently warned the public that morals and ethicsmust advance in line with scientic knowledge -- for it ispossible to conceive of a time when the forces at mans dis-

posal will be so strong that a hostile army or an enemys citymay be destroyed almost at the touch of a button.

JULY 2014.

WWI SPECIAL NATURE S1


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INDEX.

S4 The war and after

September 10, 1914

S6 Scientic societies and the warOctober 22, 1914

S7 The sea sheries and the warOctober 22, 1914

S9 Scientic work and the warNovember 5, 1914

S10 The care of the woundedNovember 5, 1914

S11 Wireless signalling for shipping in wartime

November 12, 1914

S12 Eects of the war on scienticundertakingsDecember 10, 1914

S14 The war

January 14, 1915

S16 Eugenics and warFebruary 18, 1915

S18 Meteorology and the warMarch 4, 1915

S19 Home forestry and the war

April 15, 1915

S21 The use of asphyxiants in warfareApril 29, 1915

S22 Insect pests and warMay 6, 1915

S24 Germany and the munitions of warJune 3, 1915

S26 Poisonous gases in warfare and theirantidotesJune 10, 1915

S29 University appointments in war timeJune 17, 1915

S30 Science and munitions of warJuly 22, 1915

S33 The surgery of the warJuly 22, 1915

S35 The war and chemical industryJuly 29, 1915

S38 The visibility of distant objects inwarfare

September 30, 1915

S40 Science in the war and after the war

October 14, 1915

S46 The universities and war economy

October 28, 1915S49 Modern bullets in war and sport

October 28, 1915

S50 Oiland fats as war suppliesDecember 9, 1915

S52 War economy and agriculturaleducationJanuary 13, 1916

S53 Chemical organisation in Germanyduring the war

March 23, 1916S55 The Shackleton Antarctic expedition

March 30, 1916

S56 Our bookshelf: Instincts of the herd inpeace and warApril 0, 1916

S58 Foreign war-planesApril 27, 1916

S59 Avoiding ZeppelinsMay 11, 1916

S60 Daylight and darknessMay 11, 1916

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INDEX.

S62 The relief of the Shackleton AntarcticexpeditionMay 18, 1916

S65 Sir Ernest Shackletons AntarcticexpeditionJune 8, 1916

S68 Forecast by Mr. WellsAugust 10, 1916

S69 Eyesight and the warAugust 31, 1916

S71 Our bookshelf: Bacons war mapsOctober 12, 1916

S72 Our bookshelf: Economics in the light of

war

November 16, 1916

S73 Meteorology in warNovember 16, 1916

S75 Letters to the editor: War organisationNovember 23, 1916

S76 Our bookshelf: The drink problems ofto-day in its medico-sociological aspectsNovember 30, 1916

S77 Gravitation and the principle of

relativityDecember 28, 1916

S80 The septic problem in arMarch 15, 1917

S83 Our astronomical columnMarch 15, 1917

S84 Sir A. R. BinnieMay 31, 1917

S86 The classical system of educationJuly 5, 1917

S88 War breadJuly 26, 1917

S89 The regeneration of the Britishscientic instrument trade after the warAugust 16, 1917

S90 The British synthetic colour industry inwar time

August 16, 1917

S91 The psychopathy of the barbed wireSeptember 6, 1917

S94 Shell-shock and its lessonsSeptember 27, 1917

S97 Letters to the editor: Whale-meat in wartime

March 14, 1918

S98 Sulphuric acid and the warApril 11, 1918

S100War-time research in the United StatesApril 25, 1918

S102Letters to the editor: Recovery ofspeech through excitementMay 9, 1918

S103After the warJune 6, 1918

S105Weather inuences on operations of warAugust 29, 1918

S107Biology and warSeptember 19, 1918

S108German industry and the warOctober 3, 1918

S111The war and psychologyOctober 3, 1918

S113Food and health: Cookery under rationsOctober 10, 1918

S115War and peaceNovember 14, 1918



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Nature World War 1 Issue