Science Societies

bolt of lightning. Partly shaken but mostly undisturbed we moved off to the amazed stares of passing cars. We were delighted when we reached the bridge over the river for it gave us protection from the barrage of hail stones and it gave us a chance to regain our breath without swallowing mouthfuls of water.

During one of the breaks between squalls we set out again and arrived at Rievaulx to be confronted by another downpour. We took shelter in the porch of the town meeting-house, but we were thrown out by one determined swallow waiting to get to its nest. Having walked through the town we turned left up a dirt road to one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen on any of these expeditions. The road has a drainage tunnel running under it and the water running off the hills was just too much for it to cope with; so the next best thing was straight over the road, and we had to wade knee deep through it. The hail seemed to stop as we approached Tylas Farm and it was then that we saw our assessor and Mr. Hughes for the first time that day.

The weather then began to change. There were only occasional showers during the night and at about seven o'clock on the Sunday morning we got our first glimpse of the sun. Our socks were soon dried and the nine or so miles were pleasant but, I felt, a little less interesting than the day before. The walking was definitely helped by the warmer weather; and it also helped to make the wait at Hutton-le-Hole much more relaxing. It was fortunate we did not have to spend another evening out because later on in the afternoon the rain began again.

Nevertheless, it was most certainly the most interesting expedition, and a very enjoyable one at that. I.D.H.

SENIOR SCIENCE SOCIETY

This year has been a very successful one for the society, which met as usual with that of Queen Margaret's School. There were ten meetings and a visit, in all, which a great number of people enjoyed.

To start the ball rolling three members of the committee gave talks. Particularly noteworthy was that of John Spence, who competently dealt with the complex subject of "Motor Engineering". The other speakers were Mike Willetts (Marine Shore Biology) and William Adler (Water Supply).

Then we welcomed Dr. Bunday from Bradford University, whose talk "Getting Married the Mathematical Way" proved both informative and amusing. The conclusion was that the probability of finding one's ideal partner at the first attempt is 0.37!

Dr. Singh from Leeds University showed, with some excellent slides, the problems being faced at the moment in the North Sea and how they are being surmounted, in his talk on "Marine Engineering". Also from Leeds University came Dr. Chadwick, who spoke on "Circadian Rhythms."

The last meeting of the Christmas term had a very mysterious ring about it. Dr. Clark from York University talked on "Black Holes"— which he defined as objects which so distort the space fabric that nothing,

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not even something travelling at the speed of tight, can escape from it. The existence of such objects could possibly entail the end of the Universe—but we were reassured as Dr. Clark informed us of the proposed Cosmic Censorship Hypothesis which would prevent this.

After the Christmas break we resumed with a talk on "Nuclear Power" given by Mr. Isles, again of Leeds University.

Then Mr. Kim Booth, an undergraduate from York University, gave an inspired talk on "Genetic Engineering". He explained the whole concept of genetics—how information is passed from one generation to the next, and the structure of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid), the molecule which is responsible for this. "Aircraft development—Putting Technology to Work" was the next talk, given by Mr. Melling from Hawker-Siddeley, which included a film on the development of the Buccaneer aircraft.

The penultimate meeting turned into a discussion in which members of the society actively participated. The subject was "Population Control" and Dr. Firn from the Biological Department of York University provided excellent guidelines for the discussion.

Lastly there was a talk on "Computer Electronics" which included a display of actual components of a computer.

The year was rounded off with a thoroughly enjoyable visit to Robin Hood's Bay and Boggle Hole to study the fossils and marine life—and to have a paddle!

My thanks to Mr. P. L. Harris for another excellent season of talks; to Mr. Brian Macdonald and Mr. Ray Mylan for their enthusiasm on the visit; to the treasurer John Stone and the committee from Queen Margaret's, Claire Wildish and Caroline Lydon.

M.F.G.

JUNIOR SCIENCE SOCIETY

The Society had a series of meetings spanning the Christmas and Easter terms. The more notable of these were three talks given on Lasers. Wildlife and Railway Technology.

Professor 0. S. Heavens, from the University of York, started the year with his talk on Lasers. He explained how a laser worked and then the many applications of the device; well illustrated and demonstrated.

Mr. C. Smith, from the Yorkshire Museum, gave an almost informal talk on Wildlife to be seen around York. By getting society members to comment and ask questions while he showed slides, he led the meeting into a relaxed, informative atmosphere.

Michael Christelow, Head of School, made his debut as a society speaker. He presented a very well prepared talk on railway technology, explaining, with illustrations, the many applications of modern science to our railways.

All other meetings were films supplied by the many large groups, e.g. Shell, I.C.I. etc. Topics ranged through environment, space exploration, physics, medicine and Concorde.

The Society is indebted to the speakers and once again expresses its thanks; also to the House representatives: Townsend, N. Jemmett, Owen, C. Bronk, Megginson, R. Craig, Johnson, and to Mr. D. J. Butler for organising the meetings.