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iitecture A Study of Some ae the Problems Encountered in Designing Ships Wonderful Advance in This Science in Next 25 Years is Predicted HE ART of shipbuilding was undoubtedly developed at a very early stage of the history -of the human race. The earliest record of a ship, as distinct from a_ boat, canoe, or other small craft, is found in Egyptian carvings of a date about 3000 B. C. But the science of naval architecture, like so many other branches of science, developed slowly, this science, as now accepted, being mainly a development of the last hundred years, we may almost say of the last fifty years. The famous Swedish naval architect and shipbuilder, Henry de Chapman, published a treatise on shipbuilding in 1775. As late as 1820 we find Dr. Inman, the head of the Royal Naval College and School of Naval Archi- tects in Portsmouth Dockyard, Eng- land, publishing a translation of Chap- man for the instruction of English students of naval architecture. Chap- man’s work, so far as it deals with the science of naval architecture, con- sists largely of empirical rules, al- though it was far in advance of his day, and much of it is still applicable to sailing ships. In some _ respects his ideas were largely erroneous, an example being his theories regarding resistance of ships. In fact, it was not until a hundred years after Chap- man’s time that the science of naval architecture was enriched by sound theories concerning this important branch. Man’s Greatest Work Dealing with the sailing vessels con- cerning which Chapman wrote, Ruskin said: Take it all in all, a ship of. the line is the most honorable thing that man as a gregarious animal has ever produced. By himself, unaided, he can do better things than ships of the line; he can do poems and pictures and other combinations of what is best in him. But as a being living in flocks and hammering out with alter- nate strokes and mutual agreement what is necessary for him in those places, to get or produce the ship of the line is his first work. Into that he has put as much human patience, common sense, forethought, experi- mental philosophy, self-control, habits of order and obedience, thoroughly wrought handiwork, defiance of brute elements, careless courage, careful patriotism, and calm expectation of the judgment of God as can well be put into a space 300 feet long and 80 feet broad, and I am thankful to have lived in an age when I can see this thing done. This is what Ruskin thought and wrote years ago of the ship of his day. His words are even more true of the ship of our present day and generation. His 300 feet of length has trebled, and the size of such a ship, as measured in terms of weight, has grown nearly 10 times. These modern ships have been made possi- ble by the development of the science of naval architecture. This science, alone and unaided, without parallel development in practically all of the arts, sciences and trades, could not have produced these ships; but, so far as the ship itself is concerned, all the great progress in every branch of science and industry could not have produced this concentrated em- bodiment of human intelligence with- out the development and advance- ment of naval architecture or the theory of shipbuilding, a branch of applied science which calls upon and draws from an exceptional number of the arts and sciences. Calls Upon Every Science The modern battle cruiser, whose building is just being undertaken in this country, is an excellent example of the mutual agreement and co-ordi- nation necessary between all the arts and sciences in the work of the naval architect. These vessels of ours will be of 35,000 tons displacement, and will be capable of a speed through the water of some 35 knots, or a little over 40 statute miles per hour. To drive this mass at this speed, there will be required a machinery installa- tion capable of delivering 180,000 horsepower.. The vessels are 850 feet in length; they will carry 10 high- powered 14-inch guns as a main bat- tery, with the addition of a large number of guns of smaller caliber, to say nothing of the torpedo tubes. Let us consider very shortly a few of the sciences involved when we undertake to build such a vessel. It is hardly necessary to say that this undertaking would not have been pos- sible without the slow, steady devel- opment, through the ages, of the various theorems of pure mathematics, which, in their applied forms, have been necessary to material progress in the various branches of engineer- ing. In addition to its general appli- 268 By David Watson Taylor cation, mathematics has made possi- ble the modern systems of control of the firing of the great guns, which permit them, with a considerable de- gree of -accuracy, to drop a shell weighing a ton, on a comparatively small target, at a distance of 12 to 15 miles. This accurate control of fire is based largely on instruments or mechanisms which permit the in- stantaneous solution of problems con- taining as many as half a_ dozen variables. Likewise, these ships could not be possible without the aid of astronomy, for it is through the: development of that science, and through the experi- mental results made possible by it, that the various navigational instru- ments can be utilized to permit a sure and safe passage of the ship from one point of the earth’s surface to another. How Chemistry Aids Chemistry has played its part, not only in its general contributions to all engineering progress, but also in its solution of specific questions and difficulties, such as are involved in the manufacture of propellant pow- ders and high explosives in forms that may be safely handled and car- ried on such a vessel until the selected moment for turning loose their de- structive forces. Chemistry, also, through its particular manifestation in the form of metallurgy, has played one of the most important parts, by providing numerous varieties of steel, ferrous alloys, and nonferrous metals, with are used in the various parts of ‘the ship and its equipment, many of these having been developed solely for the use to which they are put in ‘such vessels as these. Physics, in its various branches, has played a prominent role. In optics it has given us the theories of and has made practicable the various instruments which, in conjunction with fire control systems, make _ possible the accurate firing of guns and tor- pedoes, without which such a vessel would have no raison d’ etre. Acoustics has played its part in the solution of many particular problems and difficulties, for, in the same way that co-ordination has been carried out in constructing the ship, the most complete and harmonious co-ordina- tion of all parts of its organization