[00:00.49]Two factors weigh heavily against the effectiveness of scientific research in industry.
[00:06.78]One is the general atmosphere of secrecy in which it is carried out,
[00:12.23]the other the lack of freedom of the individual research worker.
[00:16.63]In so far as any inquiry is a secret one, it naturally limits all those engaged in carrying it out from effective contact with their fellow scientists either in other countries or in universities,
[00:30.93]or even, often enough, in other departments of the same firm.
[00:35.80]The degree of secrecy naturally varies considerably.
[00:39.84]Some of the bigger firms are engaged in researches which are of such general and fundamental nature that it is a positive advantage to them not to keep them secret.
[00:51.65]Yet a great many processes depending on such research are sought for with complete secrecy until the stage at which patents can be taken out.
[01:02.08]Even more processes are never patented at all but kept as secret processes.
[01:08.37]This applies particularly to chemical industries, where chance discoveries play a much larger part than they do in physical and mechanical industries.
[01:19.10]Sometimes the secrecy goes to such an extent that the whole nature of the research cannot be mentioned.
[01:26.25]Many firms, for instance, have great difficulty in obtaining technical or scientific books from libraries because they are unwilling to have names entered as having taken out such and such a book,
[01:39.12]for fear the agents of other firms should be able to trace the kind of research they are likely to be undertaking.
