U. S. Department of Commerce

Bureau of Standards

Visitors' Manual

of the

Bureau

of Standards

A Brief Account of Its History, Functions, and

'Laboratory Facilities

Miscellaneous Publication No. 134

(Issued February 27, 1932) (Supersedes Miscellaneous Publication No. 93)

United States Government Printing Office Washington : 1932
CONTENTS

History, functions, and organization

Points of special interest A few outstanding accomplishments

Number of publications issued Volume of testing

(ii)
ISITORS' MANUAL OF THE BUREAU OF

STANDARDS 1

HISTORY, FUNCTIONS, AND ORGANIZATIONS

The Bureau of Standards was established on

larch 3, 1901, by act of Congress, taking over the

uties of the former office of weights and measures

f the Coast and Geodetic Survey. The bureau was

riginally under the Treasury Department but was

>ansferred to the Department of Commerce and

,abor (now the Department of Commerce) in 1903.

t is charged with the development, construction,

ustody, and maintenance of reference and working

tandards and their intercomparison, improvement,

nd application in science, engineering, industry,

nd commerce. The original staff numbered 14 and

tie laboratories were housed in temporary quarters

ear the Capitol. Now there are about 1,100 emloyees, two-thirds of whom are scientifically and

i-3chnically trained, and the laboratories are among

l tie best equipped in the world. There are 12 major

nd 7 minor buildings on a site of 56 acres, situated

1 1 the intersection of Van Ness Street and Connec-

!cut Avenue in the northwest suburbs of Washing- m. The altitude of the lower floor of the Shop

uilding is 335.69 feet above mean sea level, latitude

8° 56' 32" north, longitude 77° 03' 59" west.

' The director of the bureau is Dr. George K. Burgess,

'he bureau's telephone number is Cleveland 1720. In addition to the regular staff, there are stationed

t the bureau a number of research associates, sent y manufacturers and industrial groups to work on

oecial problems of interest to the particular industry

oncerned. The salary of a research associate is paid y the group which he represents; otherwise his status

; that of a bureau employee. Results of the work

f research associates are public property.

The bureau is organized in three principal groups

le first dealing with research and testing; the sec- ad with commercial standardization; and the third

iith the administrative work, operation of plant,

ad construction of laboratory instruments and

pparatus. There are nine divisions of the first roup, made up of 68 sections, and four divisions lith a total of 19 sections in the second group.

»

1 Prepared by Hugh O. Boutell, chief, information section. 97403°—32 (1)
2

The bureau's services are available to the Nation I and State Governments without charge. Woij other than that for the Government is undertake I under certain conditions, the main considerate being the value of the work to the Nation as i whole. For private tests a fee is charged, whic 1 / DISTRICT LINE.

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Location of the Bureau of Standards in re- lation to a few of the -principal streets and

public buildings

however, is turned into the United States Treasu and is not available to the bureau. The results of the bureau's investigations a made available through its Journal of Research a: by articles in scientific and technical journa

Other series of papers are also issued by the burei covering various phases of the work. A list of thes papers will be supplied on request to the Bureau o Standards. The bureau's publications are availa

"
y purchase from the Superintendent of Documents,

iovernment Printing Office, Washington, D. C. The Bureau of Standards Journal of Research

lay be obtained on a subscription basis at $3 per

ear ($3.75 foreign). Semiannual volumes of the

ournal of Research (approximately 1,100 pages),

ound in cloth, may also be purchased from the uperintendent of Documents at $3 per volume.

Progress of work in the laboratories, important

Dnferences, and new publications issued can be fol- >wed in the bureau's Technical News Bulletin, hich may be obtained by subscription at 25 cents

er year ("40 cents foreign) from the Superintendent

f Documents.

Progress in the field of commercial standardiza- on in this country and abroad is recorded in the Jommercial Standards Monthly, an illustrated magzine, the subscription price of which is $1 per vear

&1.25 foreign).

A complete illustrated description of the Bureau

f Standards has been published as Circular No. 1 nd may be obtained from the Superintendent of )ocuments at 50 cents per copy. POINTS OF SPECIAL INTEREST

The laboratories in the following list have been

hosen because they have been found to be of greatst interest to visitors. Likewise they are repre5ntative of the bureau's work, which includes fun- amental and applied research and testing.

Special arrangements can be made to visit other

iboratories not listed. A scheduled trip through the laboratories starts om room 300 Physical Building at 2.15 p. m., daily

iscepting Saturday afternoons, Sundays, and holidays,

pecial arrangements must be made several days in idvance for groups of 10 or more. It must be borne in

jiind that it is only possible, on any one trip, to visit few of the places listed. The sequence of buildings

ere given is that in which visitors are ordinarily

jxited. iHYSICAL BUILDING.

Room 101.—Mass section. Weights of many different classes are sent here

to have their accuracy determined. The bal- ances used in this work include several of the

1 highest precision. One of these will determine

the difference between two weights of about 1

1 kilogram (approximately 2 pounds) each, with an

j error of less than 1 part in 100,000,000. This

> section has the custody of the national standard

1 of mass, kilogram No. 20.
4

PHYSICAL BUILDING—Continued. Rooms 108 and 109—Dimensional variations. Investigation of dental materials; expansivity ] of solids. Room 114 and corridor—Interferometry.

A demonstration apparatus is arranged to show;! the bending of a 5-inch steel bar under the pres- 1 sure of one finger. Optical methods are emj

ployed by the bureau in making all sorts ofl! precision length measurements. ' Room 116—Length measurements in terms o/lj light waves; identification. Precision screws and dial indicators are cal brated in terms of light waves. Identification questioned documents, guns, and bullets (will b open only by special arrangement with th section chief). Rooms 201 and 202—Capacity and density. Tests of glass volumetric apparatus and hy

drometers; determination of density and therma

expansion of liquids.

Room 209—Length measurements. In this laboratory length-measuring instru- ments of all kinds are checked against the work- j ing standards of the bureau. These in turn have been compared with the national standard

meter bar No. 27—which is kept in the vault on the first floor of this building. High-precision

length measurements are made in a special under- ground room, where temperature is practically constant. (Open only by special arrangement 1 when no work is in progress.)

Room 212—Spectroscopy. In this section the spectra of the various ele-

!

ments are photographed, and the position andj

intensity of the lines determined with high prej cision. The spectra of rare gases occurring in the atmosphere may be viewed through a small I spectroscope.

Room 218—Time section. Watches and clocks are here compared under

controlled conditions with the standard clock,! which is installed in a special room in the base-| ment. The clock does not vary more than twoi one-hundredths of a second per day.
5 HEAT BUILDING.

Room 102—Engineering instruments. Pressure gauges, water-current meters, anemometers, and fire extinguishers are among the instru- ments and appliances tested in this laboratory.

A standard test for elevator interlocks was

developed by this section. Room 203—Testing of thermometers. Mercury-in-glass thermometers are compared

with the bureau's standards by immersing both

instruments in a bath, the temperature of which

can be kept at any desired point.

Room 212—Pyrometry.

Devices for measuring high temperatures are

tested in this laboratory. These include ther- mocouples, and optical and radiation pyrometers.

The apparatus and method necessary for the

realization of a new absolute standard of light

(the Waidner-Burgess standard) were developed

in this section. Room 306—Optical testing of sugar. The standard test for purity of a sugar solution

is made by means of an instrument known as a

saccharimeter. This instrument measures the

rotation of a beam of plane polarized light passing

through the solution. The bureau also carries out research work on the properties of sugar. CRYOGENICS LABORATORY.

Room 11 —Plants for -producing liquid air and

hydrogen used in determining points on the low-temperature scale. Helium has been liquefied in this laboratory, the temperature being —456° F. Liquid air is usually on hand as it is used in many of the

laboratories. Its temperature is —310° F. At

this temperature the characteristics of ordinary

substances are entirely changed. Soft rubber

becomes as brittle as glass, lead may be used as a bell, while mercury may be frozen into the form

of a hammer-head and used to drive nails. WIND-TUNNEL BUILDING.

Main laboratory—Aerodynamics.

One of the three wind tunnels at the bureau,

employed in studying the characteristics of air flow in the tunnel itself as well as the behavior

of model airplanes, airships, bombs, buildings,

chimneys, etc., in an air stream. This tunnel is 54 inches across at smallest section, and in it a wind speed of 75 miles per hour can be obtained.

andards, looking south

are, starting from the top left: Hydraulic Building, Radio Building,

I Laboratory, Wind Tunnel Building, Altitude Laboratory, Dynamomstrial Building, Kiln Building, Fire Besistance Group, and Ten-Foot

enue, to the left of this picture. The trip through the laboratories starts


8

ALTITUDE LABORATORY.

Studies of airplane engine performance imde

flight conditions. The low air pressures an«; temperatures encountered at altitudes up tl 30,000 feet can be duplicated.

DYNAMOMETER BUILDING.

Main laboratory—Automotive power plants.

Investigation of performance of internal-corn bustion engines with special reference to fuel; and lubricants. The bureau is the principal test; ing laboratory for the Aeronautics Branch of th* 1 Department of Commerce. Before commercial

airplane engines are licensed by the department

they are given an endurance test in a special test!; ing plant at Arlington, Va. METALLURGICAL BUILDING.

Basement—Experimental foundry and metal-worh

ing equipment.

Alloys can be prepared by melting in induction

electric-arc, or gas-fired furnaces and cast, rolled forged, or drawn into the shape desired. Tht equipment employed is similar to that used 11 actual mill practice but on a smaller scale. Room 105—Microstructure of metals. The crystalline structure of metals and alloy;:

is studied in this laboratory. The effect of work

heat, treatment, corrosion, etc., can be determined

Room 202—Gages.

Testing of precision gages used for controlling the dimensions of machine parts. Optical meth

ods are often used in testing gages, and theii lengths can be determined to one-millionth 01 an inch. Room 311—Aeronautic instruments. Testing of all types of aeronautic instrument,' for scale errors, effect of temperature and pressure

elastic defects, vibration, and other factor; affecting the performance of these instruments

Fundamental research and a certain amount o: 81 development work on special instruments ard

j ( are also being carried on. CHEMISTRY BUILDING.

ill Room 8—Electrochemistry.

Small electroplating plant, used for preparing

specimens for exposure and laboratory tests. Room 112—Electrochemistry.

Equipment for measuring conductivity and

hydrogen ion concentration.
9 iEMISTRY BUILDING—Continued. Room 205—Gas chemistry.

Equipment used in the testing of gas appliances,

including several devices for the rapid analysis of products of combustion and of mixtures being

burned, which are of interest to those engaged in the study of the utilization of gas. Room 208—Gas chemistry. Here will be seen a considerable variety of apparatus for the analysis of gases, especially some very well-designed equipment for volu- metric analysis, and elaborate apparatus for the

fractionation of gases by distillation. Room 211 and shaft in corridor—Petroleum. Laboratory stills for determining the chemical

composition of petroleum.

Room 303—Organic chemistry. Pure crystalline rubber has been produced in

this section by distillation. Room 1+10—Accelerated weathering equipment for organic protective coatings.

Apparatus for determining breakdown of protective coatings.

Apparatus for determining hiding power of paint.

Room 1+17—Protective coatings.

Chamber large enough for a man to work in where humidity can be controlled by saturated

solutions of salts. Note.—A special mimeographed guide to the laboratories in

this building may be obtained on application at the chief chemist's

office, room 215. „ECTRICAL BUILDING.

Rooms 106 and 107—Tests of electrical measuring

instruments. Special switchboard for connecting different

circuits and optical device for accurate reading

of scale of instruments. Room 109—Heavy-current testing. Tests are made up to 1,200 amperes. Current

supplied from a special storage battery.

Room 111—Resistance measurements. The oil bath in which wire standards of resis- tance are immersed during test includes a special

stirring arrangement and temperature control. Precision standards for other laboratories are
10

ELECTRICAL BUILDING—Continued.

fDUSl

Jlifi thus compared at a constant temperature with i tl standards which represent the bureau's bas

unit of electrical resistance. Room 307—Life tests of incandescent lamps.

Each year several thousand lamps representii

Government purchases of about 3,000,000 lamj per year are tested to ascertain whether the comply with the Government's specifications

Room 31

4

—Integrating sphere for determining t) mean spherical candlepower of lamps.

By means of a hollow sphere the inside surfae of which is painted white, and at the center which is placed the lamp, the total amount

light given off in all directions by any electri lamp is determined by a single measurement Room 317—Tests of radium.

Practically all radium sold in the United State

is tested in this laboratory. The rate of radiatio;

is compared with that of a standard sample,

Room 408—Standard cells. Weston normal saturated cells, by which th standard of voltage is maintained for the Unit©

States. RADIO BUILDING.

Main hall—Museum and library.

Various types of electron tubes. French and American radio sets used in Worl< War.

Miscellaneous apparatus developed for research Publications, reports, and books. Room 214. Fundamental standard of radio-frequency, co

sisting of four quartz oscillators and auxilia: apparatus. Good to 1 or 2 parts in 10,000,000

Note.—Other parts of the radio work may b< seen upon special arrangement with the sectio

office. HYDRAULICS BUILDING.

This building, which is 285 feet long and from 60 to 92 feet wide, contains supply and measuring

basins, flumes, pumping, and metering equipment

for every variety of hydraulic investigation, in| eluding experiments with models of large strud

tures. A maximum flow of 250 cubic feet pel

second is possible in the main flume, which is 12 feet square and 200 feet long. (Open to visi- tors on special arrangement with chief of the

section.)

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11 DUSTRIAL BUILDING.

Basement, west end—Cement and concrete testing

equipment.

Samples of about 70 per cent of all cement which

;he Government buys are tested by the bureau.

Basement, center—Large testing machines for

structural materials. The vertical machine on the left, the largest in

;he world, has a capacity of 10,000,000 pounds in compression. On the right is a 600,000-pound

machine for either tension or compression, and

specially designed for testing -beams. In the •oom next to this machine on the right is the Emery high-precision testing machine with a

3apacity of 2,300,000 pounds in compression and

1,150,000 pounds in tension. Room 25—Optical glass. Examples of glass produced by the bureau. Examination for striae and strain. [Room 106—Textiles. The equipment includes a complete cotton mill and representative machines for special work.

Tests of textiles and paper are made in a room in which the humidity and temperature are automatically kept constant. Room 107—Payer.

The bureau has a complete paper-making

plant, including a paper machine for making a

sheet 29 inches in width, with which improve- ments in processes and the use of new materials can be studied. Room 138—Experimental sugar plant for the pro- duction of levulose on a semicommercial scale. The method used for the recovery of this sweetest of all sugars was developed by the bureau. Room 227—Rubber. The work of this section occupies several laboratories on this floor and in the basement. Automobile tires are tested for power loss and endurance, on special machines which greatly shorten

the time needed for a service test. Room 319—Leather. Samples of leather made from various kinds of

hides. Machine for measuring the durability of

sole leather. Work on tanning solutions. Means

for increasing the life of leather, and for combating

deteriorating influences, such as sulphuric acid

in the atmosphere, receive particular attention.
12

KILN BUILDING.

East end—Optical-glass plant.

The bureau operates one of the few plants m

making optical glass in the United States. Mc

of the glass made here is used by the Na - Department for binoculars, gun sights, pe

scopes, and similar instruments. Equipme

includes machinery for making pots, melting a; annealing furnaces, and instruments for det( mining quality of glass. Center. Furnaces for ceramic material, enameling

metals, etc.; fire tests of wall panels. West end. Rotary cement kiln and ball mills for grindii cement. FIRE-RESISTANCE GROUP.

West of the Industrial Building is a group

structures in which tests are made to determii the intensity and duration of fires and the fii resistance of building materials and construction The equipment includes a large furnace for w£

panels and another for testing safes. TEN-FOOT WIND TUNNEL.

This outdoor wind tunnel, which is located ju; west of the fire-resistance group, has a diameter

10 feet and a maximum wind speed of 75 miles p< hour. Tests on large models of buildings, chinj neys, full-sized airplane wing sections, etc., ai made in the tunnel. A FEW OUTSTANDING ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The Bureau of Standards

Constructed the first altitude laboratory fc measuring the performance of airplane engines und(

flight conditions. Produced the first practicable model of the eartl inductor compass, now universally used in long distance aircraft flights. Developed the radiobeacon which, in combinatio

with a special aerial and receiving set on the ai] plane, gives the pilot a visual indication whether h

is following the correct course. Discovered that a thin coating of pure aluminur

will greatly decrease the atmospheric corrosion c duralumin, the special light alloy largely used i aircraft construction. Worked out successful process for plating ste( and other metals with chromium, the hardest mete known, and thus more than doubled the life c printing plates used by the Government.
13

Developed a new paper for printing United States

urrency with a life 50 per cent greater than paper

jrmerly employed.

Discovered that certain waste water from paper

lills makes a satisfactory material for tanning

;ather.

Jff Established the dextrose (corn sugar) industry

„„ nd is now experimenting on production of levulose

(jj 'sugar from Jerusalem artichokes) on a commercial

cale. Made three standards of planeness flat to within

ne five-millionths of an inch. These are fused

Lljuartz disks about 11 inches in diameter. If en-

•[Jirged to be 1,000 miles in diameter, the surface

i vould not differ from a true plane by more than 1 nch.

I

- Commenced experiments in making optical glass In 1914 and at last solved the difficult technique, so hat optical glass of many grades is now produced

j j,s a routine matter. Cast the largest disk of optical

U|)|;lass ever made in this country and the largest ever

roitproduced anywhere at one pouring—69.75 inches in

i liameter and 10.5 inches thick; used as the mirror

fj or the Perkins telescope at Ohio Wesleyan University. f Ruled several steel scales directly from light

; Ivaves, so that there was no measurable error in the

inished scales,

it Assisted in securing the adoption of a uniform

International temperature scale by the International

Conference on Weights and Measures.

Published books on house construction and repair,

lome ownership, zoning regulations, and plumbing

•equirements.

8 Helped to reduce unnecessary variety of sizes and

styles of articles in common use, securing agreement

)f manufacturers to concentrate on production of

:hose in greatest demand, thus lowering cost of

t manufacture and distribution.

I Assisted industry in agreeing on satisfactory standards of quality for many products, and published the results as commercial standards.

[ Published first directory of commodity specifications and has started a series of publications in which all recognized specifications for a given class

of commodities are to be published in full. Devel- oped certification and labeling plan for making

available to small purchasers the benefits of buying

by specification.

NUMBER OF PUBLICATIONS ISSUED

I During the fiscal year 1931 the number of papers

published in the Bureau of Standards Journal of Research was 146. In addition, two other periodi-
14

cals, the Technical News Bulletin and the Commt

cial Standards Monthly, were issued each mont

Forty-eight papers were published in the other seri of the bureau, including simplified practice recor mendations, building and housing, commerci

standards, circulars, handbooks, and miscellaneoi publications. The total, including 12 numbers

each of the three periodicals, 146 reprints, and I other publications, was therefore 230. In additio 170 papers were published in scientific and technic

journals.

VOLUME OF TESTING

In one year the Bureau of Standards teste approximately

2, 350 electrical standards and instruments.

2, 430 electric batteries.

4, 000 electrical lamps, representing purchases < 2,970,000 lamps by the Government.

2, 400 gages and samples of gage steel. 10, 100 weights and balances.

1, 230 scales. 430 timepieces.

14, 700 pieces of glass volumetric apparatus.

1, 400 hydrometers.

4, 500 laboratory thermometers.

92, 000 clinical thermometers.

2, 050 samples of engine fuels and lubricants.

1, 900 samples of sugar.

2, 700 samples of radium and radioactive material determining a sale price of $1,500,000.

1, 450 engineering instruments.

1, 000 aeronautic instruments.

2, 300 specimens of engineering materials. 400 fusible boiler plugs.

1, 500 samples of metals and alloys. 20. 000 samples of cement and concrete, represent

ing purchases of 2,300,000 barrels o cement.

12, 000 miscellaneous samples of ceramic materials

1, 600 samples of rubber.

6, 600 samples of textile materials.

2, 800 samples of paper. 350 samples of leather.

3, 000 samples of paint and varnish. In addition to the above, 900 miscellaneous chemi

cal tests were made and 6,500 standard samplei were distributed. o