THE DOME OF DISCOVERY: THE PHYSICAL WORLD (SB13)
Explorations into the nature and behaviour of matter have made possible many of the material achievements of the present age.
"This section concerns itself with a series of discoveries that gave rise to a great number of the practical achievements of the present age-discoveries elucidating what matter consists of (the reward of chemists) and how it behaves (the goal of physicists). Matter is the substance of every material around us, even ourselves and the air we breathe.
The spirit of scientific discovery and new knowledge leading to a greater appreciation of the universe about us are more fully displayed in the Exhibition of Science in South Kensington. Here, in the Dome, the displays show more specifically some of the practical outcomes of the physical and chemical research in which the British have been pioneers and principal exponents. Boyle, for example, discovered the principles that close the doors of our underground trains. Newton's work led ultimately to the jet engine, Faraday's to electric power, Maxwell's to radio and Rutherford's to tapping the energy of the atom's nucleus. On the chemical side, the outcome has been antibiotics, vitamins, rayon, nylon, plastics, and many other substances now an acepted part of our everyday life.
In short, this section contain most of the original discoveries from which the achievements shown in the other Pavilions of the Exhibition have sprung. It culminates in a consideration of the present state of research relating to nuclear energy, in harnessing which the physicists and chemists have combined their efforts."
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