有两个因素严重阻碍了工业科学研究的有效开展。
Two factors weigh heavily against the effectiveness of scientific research in industry.
一是开展研究时弥漫的普遍保密氛围，二是个人研究人员缺乏自由。
One is the general atmosphere of secrecy in which it is carried out, the other the lack of freedom of the individual research worker.
就任何一项研究是保密性质而言，它自然会限制所有参与其中的人员与同行科学家进行有效接触——无论那些科学家身处其他国家、其他大学，还是——往往是这样——同一家公司的其他部门。
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, or even, often enough, in other departments of the same firm.
保密程度自然因情况不同而有相当大的差异。
The degree of secrecy naturally varies considerably.
一些较大的公司所从事的研究，其性质如此普遍和基础，以至于不保密反而对他们更有利。
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.
然而，依赖此类研究的大量工艺流程，在专利可以申请之前，都会以完全保密的方式进行追求。
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.
还有更多的工艺流程根本就从未申请专利，而是始终作为秘密工艺保存。
Even more processes are never patented at all but kept as secret processes.
这种情况尤其适用于化学工业，因为在那里，偶然发现所发挥的作用远大于在物理和机械工业中的作用。
This applies particularly to chemical industries, where chance discoveries play a much larger part than they do in physical and mechanical industries.
有时候，保密程度甚至到了连研究的整体性质都不得提及的地步。
Sometimes the secrecy goes to such an extent that the whole nature of the research cannot be mentioned.
举例来说，许多公司在从图书馆借取技术或科学书籍时都面临极大困难，因为他们不愿意让自己的名字被登记为借阅了某某书籍，唯恐其他公司的耳目能够由此追查出他们可能正在从事的研究类型。
Many firms, for instance, have great difficulty in obtaining technical or scientific books from libraries because they are unwilling to have their names entered as having taken out such and such a book, for fear the agents of other firms should be able to trace the kind of research they are likely to be undertaking.