Hutchinson gazette., 1902-01-23
rAE wORLD's wAIG"4.
Ihs Car. That IL T'ken In Germany
Secure Clrrtot STANDARD,

sbcure Oirrtol NtAhuhfd'
Imperial Physical and Technical Insti-
tute OF Germany, which appears In the
November Pearson's, the following in
terest!ng account OF the buildings them
selves Is given:
Every attention was given to the de-
tails OF construction, so that the various
buildings and the apparatus should be
perfectly fitted to the purpose OF accuT'
Rte investigation. Money was not stint
ed, and i is probable that no other IN
stItutIon in the world Is 80 thoroughly
equipped.
/ For delicate experiments In physics,
great solldlty OF construction Is required
Therefore the two main buildings were
sunk deep In the earth and set on a firm.
foundation Of stone and asphalt, so tha,
an earthquake could hardly jar them,
An even temperature, especially In the
domain Of physics, Is another require
ment for delicate experiments. There
fore, the walls were built thick anl
solid | was shown the method OF COL
struc,ion in the basement OF the physI-
cal building. First, an outer wall lS
inches thick, pierced with tIght-n,tirg
double windows; then an air space
reaching from floor to ceiling and wide
enough for O man to walk in; then an
inner wall of solid masonry 2h feel
thick, also fitted with tight double win
dows and doors. Still inside Of thls
there Is rooms inclosed In masonry walls
and having thick glass door and cell
ings, glass being the best heat insulatoT
These rooms are not artAclally heated
and yet they can be kept at a tempera
ture that will not vary winter or sum
mer throughout the year more than two
degrees.
Each room has Its own ventilator II
carry off stenches and acid fumes, So
that In no case can one experiment In
terfere with another. All the larger
rooms are so fitted with extra doors,
windows, heating radiators, and lighting
apparatus that they can be divided into
, two or more smaller rooms should extra
places be needed for particularly delicate
experiments. An architect, two masons
and two carpenters are kept especially
employed by the year for making these
changes and for building the foundation
pillars and other convenlences for the
experiments. Instead Of shingle or tile
roofs, which might absorb heat the
buildings Of the Reichsanstalt are coy-
cred with a thick layer Of soil, now
thoroughly grown up to turf.
When l first saw the institution the
grass on the roofs was just turning
green and q few dandelions shone out lC
yellow patches, One small building
near the middle Of the ground seemed,
at first sight, out Of harmony with the
remainder OF the Institution, 1t Is ST.
dlagonally 10 the front Of the ground',
80 that II may rest in the magnetic
meridian, and It is built wholly withou.
iron or steel In any form--no iron naili,
hinges locks, pipes or anything else Ut
the kind. Here the professors may
come when they are working with deli
cate experiments in magnetism and oil
the conditions are propltious All the
buildings give the impression of spa
clousness and permanency, and, stan l.
ing as they do IN the midst of a garden
and trees. are shut of from the life ot
the surrounding streets, they furnish an
ideal condition Of seclusion and quiet
Musical pitch has a curious tendency
to creep up. 1t is said that Blchs
music sounds much differently now froai
what It did when Bach wrote II, because
the instruments are now pitched higher
In 1882 1t was found that the pitch u
high A at the Vienna Court Opera had
crept from the prescribed 435 double
vibrations q second to 44S and In 1855
| this number had further increased ~
45O. Accordingly, a musical conference
was held, and a resolution was taken to
re-establish the old pitch Of 435 vibrN~
tons per second. Upon this announce
ment the Relchsanstalt, the Imperial
Physical and Technical Institute Of Ger.
many, set up standard instruments, AMI
has since tested and corrected many
hundreds Of tuning forks, shortening
them IL they are too low in pitch, ard
thinning the arms II they are too high
All the military orchestras Of Germany
are pitched alike, and the Re!chsanstali
keeps the tuning forks correct And
this solicltous care Of the government In
preparing standards Is one reason why
the world now goes to Germany III
musical matters