Dr. Vail, Director of the New York Historical Society, looking at common items of daily use, weaves a historical story as he reconstructs life of the past. He describes the economic history by comparing a sign from the Niantic toll bridge that had been used twice over a period of time. He also shows old stagecoach posters, New York and Erie Railroad and the Victor dog advertisements, and Yellow Kid comics. Dr. Vail recounts two stories of how historical materials from libraries were used to solve law cases. He also discusses how he assisted author Kenneth Roberts acquire authentic details in his research for the historical fiction novel "Rabble in Arms." He notes that Chancellor Robert R. Livingston's papers were recently discovered, including Napoleon's authorization for the Louisiana Purchase. Showing examples, Dr. Vail illustrates how historical pictures, portraits, and magazines are also useful to researchers. Of note is the album of August Edouard silhouettes recently acquired by a Baltimore collector. Mr. Poole presents Dr. Vail with children's items from his youth and a three-part mold Pennsylvania Dutch pitcher from his wife's family to add to the collection. This is the last program in the career series.

The program opens with a brief history of the evolution of metal and its uses in early tools, utensils, weapons, and ornaments. In 1900 only sixteen kinds of metal were used by American industry, but at the time of this program, there are 321 known metals and alloys. Lynn Poole shows a piece of a new metal, Fiberfrax, that doesn't get hot when heated. Dr. Maddin, associate professor of metallurgy at Johns Hopkins University, discusses the inside of metal and shows a model of atoms in a perfect metal and one with deviations or imperfections. Mr. Poole notes that only 460 metallurgists are being trained in 45 colleges each year but at least three times that number are needed each year for the next ten years. Dr. Hollomon, head of the metallurgy and ceramic research division of General Electric (GE), lists common metal products and discusses how metals, such as titanium alloys, must be made stronger to withstand the higher temperatures occurring at faster jet speeds and to solve the problem of fractured pipelines and ships. There are career opportunities for chemist metallurgists, involving ingots and arch melting; process metallurgists, researching the forces in metals; development metallurgists, testing stresses and corrosion of metals; and research metallurgists, looking inside metals. Dr. Hollomon recommends studying math, physics, and chemistry in high school to begin the path to becoming a metallurgist. Dr. Vannevar Bush, president of the Carnegie Institution, promotes the benefits of this forthcoming Johns Hopkins career series and comments on the applications of modern science to the improvement of life. The pamphlet, "A Career in Metallurgy," is offered to viewers for a postcard.

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Thomas Edison's invention of the electric light bulb, this program deals with the history of electricity and its current use in medicine. A film explores electricity's timeline: sparks created from rubbed amber, William Gilbert's study of magnetism, Benjamin Franklin's demonstration of lightening as electricity, Alessandro Volta's first electric battery, and Thomas Edison's 1879 incandescent electric light. Dr. McKusick explains the limitation of stethoscopes to show the need for spectral phonocardiography, a Bell Labs invention which records three-dimensional heart sounds. To create a spectral phonocardiogram, the doctor places a microphone over the patient's chest to record the heart's sounds on magnetic tape, but only the abnormalities are displayed in the final product. An EKG is also made simultaneously for comparison. Lynn Poole notes that research on guided missiles let to the next method of detecting heart disease, ballistocardiography, which is in its experimental stages.

Dr. Olsen, one of the team of scientists from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, briefly discusses the history of fire. He explains the zones and structure of a candle's flame and uses the Schlieren system of photography to detect the density gradients in the rising gas. Capt. Gayhart discusses the study of early spark-ignited flames, and he diagrams the operation of the Schlieren system. Mr. Edmondson shows three films of a flame's development in a stream of combustible gas taken at 100,000, 20 million, and 200 million frames per second.

Admiral Bolster discusses the U.S. Navy's research and development programs for weapons, equipment, techniques for use, and personnel training. Dr. Hulbert describes the Naval Research Lab, established in 1923 to meet the scientific and technical needs of the navy. Its departments include chemistry, mechanics, optics, radio, metallurgy, sound nucleonics, radiation, electricity, and systems coordination. One of its specific programs is the radio telescope, shown on a film. Dr. Chapanis discusses how industrial design improves the accuracy and functionality of machines for humans. Using a mock-up of a radar indicator, he redesigns it to reduce user fatigue, allow the operator to sit or stand, facilitate readings, simplify controls, and clarify codings. Dr. Mead explains the tests featured in a film showing naval systems coordination, the integration of men and equipment and how well both perform under stress. In conclusion, Mr. Poole defines a system analyst.

Leo Geier introduces the viewers to Euterpe, the Greek muse of music and then introduces William Sebastian Hart, faculty member at the Peabody Conservatory and founder/musical director of the Gettysburg Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Hart states that the three artistic entities of music are the composer, the orchestra, and the conductor. The composer invents the music, which is made up of rhythm, melody, and harmony. He demonstrates each of these elements with the tune "Pop Goes the Weasel," which he also plays in the styles of Mozart, Bach, Mendelssohn, Debussy, and Prokofiev. Baltimore composer Sidney Shapiro wrote these variations for this broadcast. Next Dr. Hart describes the history of the orchestra and how instruments were added. He shows a chart of the orchestra seating for a 90-member symphony and explains how the sounds are balanced. Lastly, Dr. Hart explains how the conductor and his baton evolved from the church's choirmaster keeping time with his staff. He displays one page of a full orchestra score and explains each line written for different instruments. The conductor has many tasks, including controlling the orchestra's balance and timing, setting the pace, and unifying the whole, but most of all he must inspire the musicians.

As historical background to 1959 Doppler radar navigation systems, an animated film considers the use of Ptolemy and Mercator's maps, the magnetic compass, and John Hadley's 1731 sextant. Clarence Rice, aviation products manager of the Bendix Radio Division in Baltimore, MD, points out that aviation navigation depends on knowing the ground speed and the path of the aircraft over the earth. He uses a chart to demonstrate the effects of winds on plane direction and the efforts to compensate: a homing device, which did not account for wind drift and also picked up static interference; the radio range system, which used four beams to overcome the drift problem but still received static; and the manual direction finder, which became the standard aid in the 1930s. A film describes how, in 1939, Bendix developed the automatic direction finder (ADF) with omnirange, which also eliminated static. Over the ocean, LORAN, or long range navigation, devices were used. Another animated film shows how Christian Doppler, in 1842, described the Doppler effect based on sound waves and how that principle has been applied to radar's radio waves. The film explains the "plus" Doppler effect for direct measurement of forward speeds and the "minus" for measurement of drift angle. Pitch and roll are also corrected by the radar beams since beam compensation is based on the magnitude of the Doppler shift. A plane's Doppler radar components include a transmitter, antennae, receiver, frequency tracker, and cockpit indicator. Mr. Rice explains how pilots divide their flights into shorter legs, placing the information into the navigational computer. He notes that Doppler radar will not become obsolete with faster aircraft speeds and that it does not require a land-based facility.

Fourth generation glassblower John Lehman makes a glass trap for a vacuum system as specified by chemistry professor John Gryder. Mr. Lehman and Dr. Gryder explain the process of making the glass piece, including "pulling points," using both cross fires and torch to heat the glass as it evolves. A brief film explores the history of glass, from volcanic obsidian to the man-made glass of the Egyptians. In 300 B.C. the blowpipe was invented, opening the way to new uses of glass. At the first American colony in Jamestown, Virginia, Captain John Smith built a glass factory. A film shows a reenactment of an early American glassblower making a bottle. Dr. Gryder displays historical tools still used in the art plus modern ones that have been added. Manufacturers of glass have changed the assumed properties of glass, making it pliant, strong, heat and cold resistant, etc. for new functions. Mr. Lehman completes the glass piece, inserts it in the vacuum system, and tests it for leaks.

Lynn Poole provides a brief history of the origins and transmission of influenza. Dr. Charlotte Silverman, chief of the Division of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases, Maryland Department of Health, describes the production and activities of antibodies and the 1957 vaccination program, citing Dr. Maurice Hellerman at the Walter Reed Hospital as the person who identified the new type A strain of the Asian flu virus. She also explains the international character of the flu, which can cause epidemics and pandemics, such as the Spanish influenza outbreak of 1918-19, during which 25 million died. A film shows the work of the World Influenza Center in London where flu strains are collected and studied. Another film clip illustrates how Asian influenza virus vaccines are made in hens' eggs. Dr. Silverman describes how viewers can protect themselves and lessen spreading the virus. Finally, Dr. Silverman describes symptoms of the flu and offers suggestions for treatment of it.