U. S. Department of Commerce

Daniel C. Roper, Secretary

National Bureau of Standards

Lyman J. Briggs, Director

Visitors' Manual

National Bureau

of Standards

A Brief Synopsis of Its History, Functions, and

Laboratory Facilities

Miscellaneous Publication M153

(Supersedes Miscellaneous Publication M134)

of the

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1935

VISITORS' MANUAL OF THE NATIONAL

BUREAU OF STANDARDS 1

CONTENTS

Page

General information 1 Points of special interest 3 South building 4 West building 5 Sound chamber 5 Low-temperature building 6 Wind-tunnel building 6 Altitude laboratory 6 Dynamometer building 6 Northwest building 6 Chemistry building. ... 7 East building 8 Radio building.. . 9 Hydraulic building . 9 Industrial building 9 Kiln building 12 Fire-resistance group 13 Ten-foot wind tunnel 13 A few notable accomplishments . 13 Number of publications issued 14 Volume of testing 15 GENERAL INFORMATION

History and functions—The National Bureau of Standards was established by act of Congress,

approved March 3, 1901, continuing the duties of the old Office of Standard Weights and Measures

of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. In addition, new scientific functions were assigned to the new

Bureau. Originally under the Treasury Department, the Bureau was transferred in 1903 to the Department of Commerce and Labor (now the U. S. Department of Commerce). It is charged

with the development, construction, custody, and

maintenance of reference and working standards and

their intercomparison, improvement, and application

in science, engineering, industry, and commerce.

Statistics—The original staff numbered 14 and the

laboratories were housed in temporary quarters near

the United States Capitol. There are now about

700 employees, two-thirds of whom are scientifically

i Prepared by Hugh G. Boutell, Chief, Information Section. 142728—35 (1)
2

and technically trained. The director of the Bureau

is Dr. Lyman J. Briggs. The laboratories occupy

12 major and 7 minor buildings on a site of 56 acres, situated at the intersection of Upton Street and

Connecticut Avenue in the northwest suburbs of Washington, 4 miles northwest from the Washington

Monument. The altitude of the lower floor of the north building is 335.69 feet above mean sea level, latitude 38°56'32" north, longitude 77°03'59" west. Those desiring other general information about

the Bureau may telephone Cleveland 1720, branch

230.Research associates—In addition to the regular

staff, there are at the Bureau a number of research

associates, supported by industrial groups to work

on research problems of mutual interest to the Bureau and the industry concerned. Their status

is that of a Bureau employee. Results of the work

of research associates are public property.

Organization—The Bureau is organized in three

principal groups—the first dealing with research and

testing; the second with commercial standardization; and the third with the administrative work,

operation of plant, and construction of laboratory

apparatus. There are 9 divisions of the first group, made up of 67 sections; 3 divisions with a total of 14 sections in the second group; and 3 divisions containing 19 sections in the third group.

Services—The Bureau's services are available to the National and State Governments without

charge. Work other than that for the Govern- ment is undertaken under certain conditions, the main consideration being the value of the work to the Nation as a whole. For private tests a fee is charged, which, however, is turned into the United

States Treasury and is not available to the Bureau.

Publications—The results of the Bureau's investi- gations are made available through its own publications and by articles in the scientific and technical

journals. Several series of publications are issued by the Bureau covering various phases of the work.

A list of these may be purchased for 40 cents from

the Superintendent of Documents, Government

Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Results of original research are published monthly

in the Journal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards, obtainable on a subscription basis at $2.50 per year ($3.25 foreign) . Semiannual volumes

of the Journal of Research bound in cloth may also be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents at $3 per volume. The various papers
3

in the Journal are also published separately as Research Papers. These are numbered consecutively, as RP1, RP300, etc. Progress of work in the laboratories, important

conferences, and new publications issued can be

followed in the Technical News Bulletin, issued monthly and obtainable by subscription at 50 cents per year (70 cents foreign) from the Superintendent

of Documents.

Nonperiodical publications include Circulars, containing compiled information on scientific and technical subjects; Handbooks, usually containing

weights and measures regulations, safety codes, and

similar recommended laws, standards of practice,

and regulations; Simplified Practice Recommendations, consisting of approved elimination of superfluous sizes and varieties of articles in common use; Building and Housing publications, covering recom- mended requirements for building codes, homeowner's problems, and related matters; Commercial

Standards, giving acceptable standards of quality

agreed to by manufacturers, distributors, and con- sumers; and Miscellaneous Publications, generally

compiled data, charts, etc., that do not fit into the

other series. None of these publications is available on a subscription basis. POINTS OF SPECIAL INTEREST

The laboratories in the following list have been

chosen as of greatest interest to the majority of

visitors. Likewise they are representative of the Bureau's work, which includes fundamental and

applied research and testing.

Special arrangements can be made to visit other

laboratories not listed. Visitors' trip—-A scheduled trip through the

laboratories for general visitors starts from room

300, South Building, at 1:45 p. m., daily, excepting

Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Special ar- rangements must be made several days in advance

for groups of 10 or more. It is possible, on any one

trip, to visit only a few of the places listed. In the

case of a small group, the guide tries, as far as

possible, to accommodate the interests of those making the trip but the visitor with some definite interest should go to the laboratory concerned rather than on the general trip. The Bureau is open for

official business from 8:30 a. m. to 4:00 p. m. (12:30

p. m.,_ Saturday). The sequence of buildings here given is that in which the trips are ordinarily routed.
4

SOUTH BUILDING

Room 101 —Mass section Weights of many different classes are compared

with the Bureau's standards in this laboratory.

The balances used in this work include several of the

highest precision. One of these is a large balance

for comparing 50-pound weights with an error of only 1 part in 20 million. This section has the custody of the national standard of mass, obtained

from the International Bureau of Weights and

Measures. Rooms 108 and 109—Dimensional variations Investigation of dental materials; thermal ex- pansivity of solids over a wide range of temperatures.

Room 114 and corridor—Interferometry

A demonstration apparatus is arranged to show

the bending of a 5-inch steel bar under the pressure

of a finger. Optical methods are employed by the Bureau in making all sorts of precision length measurements. The equipment of this laboratory in- cludes apparatus for ruling scales directly from light waves. Room 116—Identification of questioned documents,

guns, and bullets Special arrangements must be made with the

section chief to inspect the identification work.

Rooms 201 and 202—Capacity and density Tests of glass volumetric apparatus and hydrometers; determination of density and thermal ex- pansion of liquids.

Room 209—Length measurements

In this laboratory length-measuring instruments

of all kinds are checked against the working standards

of the Bureau. These in turn have been compared

with the national standard, 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 when

no work is in progress.)

Room 212—Spectroscopy In this section the spectra of the elements are photographed, and the position and intensity of the

lines determined with high precision, thus furnishing

reference standards for the science of spectroscopy.

The spectra of rare gases occurring in the atmosphere

may be viewed through a small spectroscope.
5 SOUTH BUILDING—Continued Room 218—Time section Watches and clocks are here compared under

controlled conditions with the Bureau's standard

clocks, which are installed in a special room in the basement. These clocks do not vary more than 2 one-hundredths of a second per day.

WEST BUILDING

Room 102—Engineering instruments Pressure gages, liquid meters, anemometers, and

fire extinguishers are among the instruments and

appliances tested in this laboratory. A standard

test for elevator interlocks was developed by this section. Room 208—Testing of thermometers Mercury-in-glass thermometers are compared with

the Bureau's standards by immersing both instru- ments 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 thermocouples, and optical and radiation pyrometers.

The apparatus and method necessary for the reali- zation of a new absolute standard of light (the

Waidner-Burgess standard) were developed in this section. Room 806—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 ro- tation of a beam of plane polarized light passing

through the solution. The Bureau also carries out

research work on the properties of sugar. By special

arrangement with the United States Treasury

Department, the Bureau supervises the equipment

and methods used in testing sugar at the Customs

laboratories, which are located at the various ports

of entry. SOUND CHAMBER

Transmission and absorption and reverberation

of sound in rooms by acoustical building materials

are studied. A revolving loud-speaker is used as the sound source in the reverberation chamber and

will be demonstrated by special arrangement.
6

LOW-TEMPERATURE BUILDING

The discovery of deuterium (heavy hydrogen) was the result of cooperative work of this laboratory

with Columbia University. Here, the lowest temperature so far attained in this country, that of liquid helium ( — 456° F), has made possible the study of the properties of materials at very low

temperatures, particularly superconductivity in metals. Liquid air (temperature —310° F) is usually on hand and its effect on the properties of common materials can be demonstrated.

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 and the behavior of model air- planes, automobiles, 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 attained. ALTITUDE LABORATORY

Studies of airplane engine performance under

flight conditions. The low air pressures and temperatures encountered at altitudes up to 30,000 feet can be duplicated.

DYNAMOMETER BUILDING

Main laboratory—Automotive power plants

Investigation of performance of internal-combustion engines with special reference to fuels, lubri- cants, and devices intended to promote economy and

efficiency. NORTHWEST BUILDING

Basement—Experimental foundry and metal-working

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. The equipment employed is similar to that used in actual mill practice but on a smaller scale. Room 105—Microstructure of metals The crystalline structure of metals and alloys is studied in this laboratory. The effect of work,

heat treatment, corrosion, etc., can be determined.
7

NORTHWEST BUILDING—Continued Room 202—Gages

Testing of precision gages used for controlling the dimensions of machine parts. Optical methods are often used in testing gages, and their lengths can

be determined to one-millionth of an inch. Room 311—Aeronautic instruments Testing of all types of aeronautic instruments for scale errors, effect of temperature and pressure,

elastic defects, vibration, and other factors affecting the performance of these instruments. Fundamental research and a certain amount of development work on special instruments are also being

carried on. CHEMISTRY BUILDING

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. 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 volumetric 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. Room 410—Accelerated weathering equipment for organic protective coatings

Apparatus for determining breakdown of protective coatings.

Apparatus for determining hiding power of paint.
Airplane view of the Na

[Look.

1 The names of the principal buildings are shown. The main entrance to tl trip through the laboratories starts at 1:45 p. m. fror 8
-

lal Bureau of Standards

South]

i ureau's grounds is on Connecticut Avenue, to the left of this picture. The

: om 300, South Building, shown near the top center. 9


10

CHEMISTRY BUILDING-Continued

Room 417—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 the Chemistry Building may be

obtained on application at the Chief Chemist's

office, room 215.) EAST BUILDING

Rooms 106 and 107—Tests of electrical measuring

instruments

Special switchboard for connecting different cir- cuits 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 resistance are immersed during test contains a special stirring

arrangement and temperature control. Precision standards for other laboratories are thus compared at a constant temperature with the standards which rep- resent the Bureau's basic unit of electrical resistance. Room 307—Life tests of incandescent lamps

Each year several thousand lamps representing

Government purchases of about 3,000,000 lamps

per year are tested to ascertain whether they

comply with the Federal specification requirements

for rating and life. Room 81

4

—Integrating sphere for determining the mean spherical candlepower of lamps

By means of a hollow sphere the inside surface of which is painted white, and at the center of which

is placed the lamp, the total amount of light given

off in all directions by any electric lamp is deter- mined by a single measurement. Room 317-—-Tests of radium

Practically all radium sold in the United States is tested in this laboratory. The rate of gamma

radiation is compared by means of an electroscope

with that of a standard sample.
11 EAST BUILDING—Continued Room 407—Optical instruments Equipment for testing lenses, including photographic lenses used in airplane mapping.

Room 4-08—Standard cells Weston normal saturated cells, by which the standard of voltage is maintained for the United

States. RADIO BUILDING

Main hall—Museum and library

Various types of electron tubes. French and American radio sets used in World

War.

Miscellaneous apparatus developed for research. Publications, reports, and books. Rooms 218-21

4

—Standard of radio-frequency

Fundamental standard of radio-frequency, consisting of six quartz oscillators and auxiliary apparatus. Good to 1 part in 10,000,000.

(Note.—Other parts of the radio work may be

seen upon special arrangement with the section

office.) HYDRAULICS BUILDING

This building, which is 285 feet long and from 60

to 92 feet wide, contains supply and measuring

basins, flumes, and pumping and metering equipment, for every variety of hydraulic investigation,

including experiments with models of large structures. A maximum flow of 250 cubic feet per second

is possible in the main flume, which is 12 feet square and 200 feet long. (Open to visitors on special

arrangement with chief of the section.) INDUSTRIAL BUILDING

Basement, west end—Cement and concrete testing

equipment

Samples from about 70 percent of all cement

which the Government buys are tested by the Bureau. Basement, center—Large testing machines for struc- tural materials The vertical machine on the left, the largest in the world, has a capacity of 10,000,000 pounds in compression. On the right is a 600,000-pound
12

INDUSTRIAL BUILDING—Continued machine for either tension or compression, and

specially designed for testing beams. In the room

next to this machine on the right is the Emery

high-precision testing machine with a capacity 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 many special machines

for determining properties of textiles. Tests of

textiles and paper are made in a room in which the humidity and temperature are automatically kept

constant. Room 107—Paper

The Bureau has a complete paper-making plant,

including a paper machine for making a sheet 29

inches in width, with which improvements in processes and the use of new materials can be studied. 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 test under simulated service conditions. Room 819—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. KILN BUILDING

East end—Optical-glass plant

The Bureau operates one of the few plants now

making optical glass in the United States. Most of the glass made here is used by the Navy Department

for binoculars, gun sights, periscopes, and similar

devices. Equipment includes machinery for making

pots, melting and annealing furnaces, and instru- ments for determining quality of glass.
13

KILN BUILDING—Continued Center Furnaces for ceramic material, enameling of metals. West end Rotary cement kiln and ball mills for experimental

grinding of cement. FIRE-RESISTANCE GROUP

West of the Industrial Building is a group of structures in which tests are made to determine the

intensity and duration of fires and the fire resistance

of building materials and constructions. The equipment includes a large furnace for wall panels and

another for testing safes. TEN-FOOT WIND TUNNEL

This outdoor wind tunnel, located just west of the

fire-resistance group, has a diameter of 10 feet and

a maximum wind speed of 75 miles per hour. Tests on large models of buildings, chimneys, full-sized airplane wing sections, etc., are made in this tunnel. A FEW NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The National Bureau of Standards

Constructed the first altitude laboratory for measuring the performance of airplane engines under

flight conditions. Produced the first practicable model of the earth- inductor compass for aircraft. Developed the radiobeacon which, in combination

with a special aerial and receiving set on the air- plane, gives the pilot a visual switchboard indication

of whether he is following the correct course. Discovered that a thin coating of pure aluminum

will greatly decrease the atmospheric corrosion of duralumin, a special light alloy largely used in air- craft construction. Worked out successful process for plating steel and other metals with chromium, the hardest metal

known, thus prolonging the life of gages, printing

plates, and other mechanical parts several hundred

percent.

Developed the paper now used for printing United

States currency. Total service life extended 300

percent.
14

Discovered that certain waste water from paper

mills makes a satisfactory material for tanning

leather. Established the dextrose (corn sugar) industry.

Made three standards for planeness for testing gages, flat to within 1 five-millionth of an inch. Ruled steel scales free from any measurable error. Commenced experiments in making optical glass

in 1914 and at last solved the difficult technique, so that optical glass of many grades is now produced

as a routine matter.

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,

home ownership, zoning regulations, and plumbing

requirements.

Helped to eliminate unnecessary variety of sizes and styles of over 150 articles in common use, secur- ing agreement of manufacturers to concentrate on

production of those in greatest demand, thus lowering cost of manufacture and distribution. Assisted industry in agreeing cn satisfactory standards of quality for many products, and published the results as commercial standards. Published National Directory of Commodity

Specifications and developed certification and label- ing plan for making available to both large and small purchasers the benefits of buying by specification.

NUMBER OF PUBLICATIONS ISSUED

During the fiscal year 1935 the number of papers

published in the Journal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards was 113. In addition, the Technical News Bulletin was issued each month.

Over 30 papers were published in other series of the Bureau, including Simplified Practice Recommendations, Commercial Standards, Circulars, Handbooks,

and Miscellaneous Publications. In addition, ap- proximately 100 papers were published in outside

scientific and technical journals.
15

VOLUME OF TESTING

In one year the National Bureau of Standards

tested approximately

1,550 electrical standards and instruments.

1,540 electric batteries. 4,500 electric lamps, representing purchases

of 2,500,000 lamps by the Government.

1,150 gages and samples of gage steel. 6,300 weights and balances.

1, 460 scales. 750 timepieces.

11,200 pieces of glass volumetric apparatus. 820 hydrometers.

1,440 laboratory thermometers.

62,000 clinical thermometers.

1,850 samples of engine fuels and lubricants. 2,770 samples of sugar. 2,260 samples of radium and radioactive materials determining a sale price of $1,500,- 000. 1,135 engineering instruments. 700 aerouautic instruments.

1 ,070 specimens of engineering materials. 300 fusible boiler plugs. 900 samples of metals and alloys.

32,600 samples of cement and concrete, repre- senting purchases of 4,770,000 barrels of cement.

8,000 miscellaneous samples of ceramic materials. 1,600 samples of rubber.

5,230 samples of textile materials. 1,500 samples of paper.

1,700 samples of leather. 7,000 samples of paint and varnish. In addition to the above, 930 miscellaneous

chemical tests were made and 5,150 standard samples were distributed. o


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