Micro-motion study by the aid of the cinematograph is still in its infancy. But it appears to have a wide field of utility. The pictures can be taken at any desired speed, according to the character of the work photographed, but as a rule sixteen pictures per second will suffice. It must be remembered that in this case the record is not obtained for the purpose of studying movement from the scientific or physiological point of view, as with Marey's investigations, but purely for the purpose of discovering whether certain motions are necessary to certain tasks. Obviously the expert engaged in this work must possess an intimate knowledge of movement so as to be able to follow the motions closely and accurately through their natural cycles, and must also be familiar with the work of the factory so as to tell whether a man is working to the best advantage. This faculty alone demands a long apprenticeship, for experience is the only guide. Mr. Frank B. Gilbreth, who has brought micro-motion study prominently before the public, has devoted years to the subject. He has become an unique authority upon it. Now that its advantages are appreciated, one may expect it to fill an even wider space in industrial life, and to be applied in many directions that are as yet undreamed of.
CHAPTER XV
THE MOTION PICTURES AS AN AID TO SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION
Rapid strides are being made in the utilisation of animated photography as an aid to scientific investigation. It is a development useful in all fields of research where phenomena can be recorded in pictorial form. Dr. E. J. Marey, the eminent French scientist, was the pioneer in this work. One has only to peruse his classic work "Movement"[4] to realise the comprehensive nature of his studies. So thoroughly did he cover the ground of chronophotography, as it was then called, that it is difficult to conceive where any new application of the motion picture can now be made.
The Aurora Borealis always has been a subject fascinating to scientists. Numerous papers and brochures have been written about it, and many elaborate drawings have been prepared to convey some idea of its characteristics and its kaleidoscopic changes. The drawings, however, fail to convince, and even the few still-life photographs which have been taken are uneventful.
Realising this deficiency a Danish professor is striving to record the Aurora Borealis in motion upon the celluloid film. A special camera has been designed for his work, and with this it is intended to snap the phenomena from a convenient northern point such as Spitzbergen or Greenland, not only for the benefit of the scientific world but also for the general public which entertains only a hazy conception of the "Northern Lights." It need hardly be said that if this investigator should succeed in his difficult quest he will reveal upon the screen one of the most extraordinary wonders of the world. While the marvellous and weird colouring effects will be missing, the curtains of light that drape the sky, and the strange luminous shafts and glares which light the heavens, should provide a film of intense interest and fascination.
The moving-picture camera is also being applied to the recording of solar eclipses with a view to obtaining a more impressionistic and intimate idea of the activity and extent of the flames which shoot from the surface of the sun. Wonderful still-life pictures of these effects have been taken, and it is only fair to assume that they should be capable of being caught by the motion-picture camera. Efforts are also being made to secure photographs of the heavens, but the difficulties are very great. The long exposure required in this case is a heavy drawback, but seeing that the slowest movements of Nature can be recorded by the cinematograph, and may be speeded up in projection to convey the effect of animation, there is no reason why similar moving pictures of other worlds should not be obtained by combining the moving-picture camera with the telescope. The moon followed through its phases would yield an interesting study, and, incidentally, a film of this character would possess considerable educational value.