Lynn Poole opens this program on man's ability to measure with a sample of the first standardized measurement, a cubit, used in building the pyramids. Dr. Allen Astin and his colleagues, from the U. S. National Bureau of Standards (NBS), discuss the four standards of measurement: length/meter, mass/kilogram, time/tropical year, and temperature/six points of Celsius. Dr. Astin also talks about direct measurement with a simple balance vs. indirect measurement with a proving ring or dynamometer. Dr. Robert Huntoon points out that the earth's rotation varies, so to determine the exact time, the NBS uses quartz crystals, or for more accuracy, ammonium atom vibration or a cesium clock operating on the forces within the cesium atom. The new accurate reference for measuring length is the mercury 198 lamp. In temperature standards, Dr. Herbert Broida notes that the Soviet Union is able to accurately measure extreme temperatures, which are important in the space race.

Lynn Poole asks Dr. George Boas, Johns Hopkins professor emeritus of philosophy, a series of questions about the concern that in 1959 scientific problems seem more important than humanistic problems. Dr. Boas responds that there are four reasons for problems becoming obsolete, and he gives examples of each: they are insoluble; peoples' interests change; they arise from assumptions no longer held; and the problems themselves go out of style. When Mr. Poole asks if there are any humanistic problems whose solution would affect the lives of many people, Dr. Boas lists standardized textbooks in education, the trend towards authoritarianism, and the elimination of provincialism. He notes that there is no one right answer in the humanities; every person is his own interpreter. He illustrates this with a passage from the play "Hamlet," Piero della Francesca's painting "Resurrection," and the music of Bach's "St. Matthew Passion."

Lynn Poole opens the program with a brief history of radar. Dr. J.W. Gebhard, research psychologist with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL), explains that his job is to improve the way men interpret radar pictures on an A-scope. He then demonstrates a PPI (plan position indicator) scope, which uses a bearing dial and cursor to locate a target. Dr. Albert Stone, a physicist with the APL, explains that RADAR is an acronym for "radio detection and ranging," which measures unknown distances accurately. He demonstrates radar's principles and explains how it works, including the radar antenna that indicates direction. A film shows a police radar speed meter in operation. This is doppler radar, measuring only velocity. Other film clips show the use of radar at sea for guiding ships into harbors, air radar for a flight across Lake Erie, and storm forecasting radar. Dr. Gebhard describes ground control approach (GCA) radar including a film of one hour of airplane flights compressed to a few minutes.

In this program the United States Naval Academy gymnastics team performs at the Johns Hopkins University gymnasium. Friedrich Jahn, the father of gymnastics, developed the sport in Germany in 1910. Head gymnastics coach Chet Phillips says that gymnastics requires coordination, form, and grace and that fluidity or elegance, without breaks, is critical. A Naval Academy team member demonstrates a routine on the side horse, the least hazardous of the apparatus. Assistant coach John Rammacher describes the swings, releases and catches, somersaults, and holds required in a routine on the parallel bars, the easiest piece of equipment to start. Members of the gymnastics team demonstrate swings, vaults, and somersaults on the high bar, the most dangerous event, and Mr. Phillips explains the importance of chalking hands to perform well. Tumbling team members demonstrate the variations of somersaults, including roundoffs, required for a routine in this event.

Biologist George Schwartz explains how the microprojector microscope, which he developed, displays the microcosm in a drop of water on a television monitor. He shows slides of the shells of diatoms, the basic food source in fresh and salt water; amoeba, which move by protoplasmic flow; blepharisma, a one-celled organism; rotifers, multi-celled organisms; and euglena, used in anemia research because of their sensitivity to vitamin B-12. Mr. Schwartz discusses producers (such as diatoms), consumers (animals), and reducers (bacteria, fungi, mold) and shows a diagram of a food pyramid of the producers and consumers in Antarctic waters. A film of a microdissection apparatus introduces new ways to research microscopic life.

Using charts and photos, Edward McClain, of the Radio Astronomy branch of the U.S. Naval Research Lab, and Bernard Burke, of the Carnegie Institute of Washington, DC, discuss the "radio window," a larger wavelength band than the optical one for making earth-based observations of space. In 1932, Karl Jansky, from Bell Labs, discovered radio noise from space. Five years later Grote Reber built the first antenna for astronomical observations. The sun was discovered to be a source of radiation and radio waves, as were the Milky Way and Crab Nebula. Later J. G. Bolton and J. G. Stanley discovered a variable source of cosmic radio frequency radiation in the constellation Cygnus. That plus Cassiopeia are the most intense radio sources in the heavens. Additional research resulted in Martin Ryle's development of interferometric techniques, A. E. Lilly's observation of the spiral structure of the universe, and J. H. Oort's mapping of our own galaxy. In 1944, H. Van de Hulst predicted that a hydrogen cloud produces radiation in the radio range of 21cm wavelength. E. Purcell and H. Ewen confirmed this theory, detecting a 21cm cosmic gas emission from neutral hydrogen in the Milky Way in 1951. Ohio University's John Kraus was instrumental in detecting the Milky Way's radio transmissions. In 1955, the Mills Cross Array, a simple radio antenna built by Australian B. Mills, was used to record the radio noise produced by the planet Jupiter. The antenna most commonly used is the paraboloidal reflector with a diameter of 80-90 ft. The largest steerable radio reflector is at Jodrell Bank in the UK. Plans for the National Radio Astronomical Observatory at Green Bank, West Virginia are underway at the time of this program. Increasing research will help to explain whether the explosion theory or the continuous creation theory of the universe is more valid.

Lynn Poole gives a brief history of this "fastest game on two feet," which the Indians called Baggataway and the French lacrosse. Former player and member of the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association, William Morrill, describes how the game's equipment and rules have changed and explains today's field layout, rules, players, and equipment. Robert Scott, head coach, and Wilson Fewster, assistant coach of the Johns Hopkins University lacrosse team, the Blue Jays, explain skills such as passing and cradling, personal and technical fouls, stick work, dodges, and face off strategies while team members demonstrate. The coaches give a play-by-play commentary of film footage from the 1957 Navy/Hopkins lacrosse game. Coach Scott interviews Hopkins's All-American player Mickey Webster, who explains why he enjoys lacrosse, its appeal to fans, and its difference from football. Lynn Poole lists other schools fielding lacrosse teams, describes the qualities lacrosse instills in players, and mentions that Hopkins is the current holder of the Wingate Trophy, named for Baltimore sports writer W. Wilson Wingate, and emblematic of the intercollegiate lacrosse championship.

Lynn Poole gives a brief history of aviation propulsion. Dr. William Avery, of Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Lab, describes how techniques of flight have changed from the Chinese rocket of 1232 AD to the ramjet. Isaac Newton's equal and opposite principle was the basis for jet propulsion, and its first use was in jet-assisted takeoffs, which allowed shorter runways. Dr. Avery shows a diagram of a solid fuel rocket consisting of propellant grain, nozzle, and warhead and contrasts it with a liquid propellant rocket consisting of rocket fuel and oxidizer tanks, combustion chamber, warhead, and valves and pumps. He notes that liquid fuel rockets are more subject to failure than solid fuel ones. Dr. Avery briefly describes the work of rocket pioneers Tsiolkovskiy, Goddard, and Oberth. Further research in the field resulted in the air-breathing engine during World War II, pulse jet engine (loud and limited in speed), turbojet engine by Briton Frank Whittle, and ramjet engine, first proposed by Rene Lorin in 1910 but requiring supersonic speed. Dr. Avery describes the key components of the ramjet: the diffuser, fuel system, and combustor. He then explains graphs comparing the ramjet and turbojet in four areas of performance and limitations: thrust per unit frontal area, specific fuel impulse, thrust per unit weight, and speed and altitude limits, proving ramjet the more economical to use. In concluding, Dr. Avery shows how a 1970 airliner with both turbojet and ramjet engines will look and operate.

Members of the Johns Hopkins audiology team discuss the interrelationship of hearing, language, and speech, especially in children. Dr. Bordley explains the hearing process using a mock-up of the inner ear and brain. Dr. Pauls discusses children's normal speech development and shows children in this learning process. Dr. Hardy gives examples of how damage to the external or middle ear causes minor hearing problems, but damage to the inner ear causes hearing distortion. Since the hearing mechanism is an information bearing system, children who have problems with loudness, pitch, or both can have decoding issues. However, sight, taste, and smell also contribute to learning, so staff and parents can teach a repetitive, all-sensory form of learning, especially for children with aphasia, who have language problems unrelated to hearing loss. A film shows the observation and evaluation of a child in the clinic to determine whether he has hearing or language problems or a combination of the two. Dr. Hardy concludes that parents' acceptance and guidance is critical in training their hearing-impaired child.

Lynn Poole interviews five students graduating from the Johns Hopkins University this year. He asks pre-med major Rierson and English literature major Seipt about their future plans, how they financed their education, what influenced them to attend Hopkins, and their comments on the university's curriculum. Allison Furst, a Wellesley College graduate, is at Hopkins on a scholarship provided by the Fund for the Advancement of Education for a teacher training program. She did graduate work in her own field while learning teaching methods and participated in a paid internship. Mr. Poole asks her about factors in selecting a position after graduation. Electrical engineering students Lory and Garbis tell Mr. Poole about their interests in this field and about the guidance from and influence of professors William Huggins and Ferdinand Hamburger. They also critique the curriculum and describe their future plans.