The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1903-10-02
VALUABLE ACCURACY
Bureau of Standards at Washington
Saves Money.
Can Fix the sixe of n MIX Bottle on
Weigh n Mark on Paper-Intsf-
estins Partlculars Of
Work.
At the bureau of standards they think

At the bureau OF STANDARDS tney lnlnk
nothing of measuring the weight Of the
CRIME from your thumb which you may
place on clean sheet of paper. They
weigh the sheet before the grimy thumb
is applied and then after. Likewise they
will measure the width OF human hair,
of If you want them to they win tell
you how much the heat ofyour body ex-
pands the delicate mechanism of the
watch In yoYr pocket, says the New
York Sun.
Their work is intensely practical,
though. Hundreds ofsurpeyors' chains
come to the bureau to be tested. Many
have been used for years under the I'M
preston that they are absolutely accs-
rate. At the bureau they.are found to
vary from the standard from an inch to
half q foot.
How important the accuracy OF the
surveyors chain is was demonstrated
recently In Philadelphia, where an en-
tire subdivision was thrown into court
on ths very point of accuracy Of sur
vsying. The variations, OF the chain
used by the different surveyors was not
more than three inches, but this was suf-
fcient in the large subdivision to'bring
hundreds of square feet of valuable
property into question.
In Brooklyn there was long standing
dispute growing out Of the same condi-
tfon. For years owners of adjoining
pieces of property battlef in the courts
oyer the possession Of II inches of
ground which an inadequate survey had
left outside the boundaries.
The bureau credits itself with q re-
cent saving of 100000 to Uncle Sam.
The gunmakers had heated one of the
great steel gun castings to the degree
which was believed to be just right for
shrinking on the jacket The bureau
of standards instrument was used and
It was found that the temperature was
of several degrees-sufIicien to have
spoiled the gun when the jacket cooled
The damage to the gun would have cost
the government just $4,000.
Recently, In Baltimore, milk dealer
was charged with not giving full meas
ure to his customers. He contended
that his measures were correct and re-
sisted payment of fine. Phe chief OF
the bureau of standards discovered tfrat
the milk dealer and not the city had the
correct standard
In the capital, not many months ago
there was controversy between the
yeRders of milk and the authorities as
to the size Of milk bottles. One dealer
was even ready to make hero Of him
self by going to jail An appeal to the
bureau Of standards settled the whole
controversy
Recent tests Of the ELECTRIC light fur
nished to one Of the eastern cities
showed that the candle power was short
about one-fourth Of that called for by
contract. The annual expenditure OF
the city is $2,000,O 900 and the tests of the
bureau thus showed that the power fur
nished is short in valuation $500 900
year.
The uses Of the bureau just given are
really the minor ones from the stand
point of the bureau officials. 1t is es-
pecially for the%mQre complicated work
that new laboratories are about to be
provided for the bureau at a cost OF a
quarter CT million of dollars
To make exact measurements the
buildings of the bureau must be of spe-
cial design, and perhaps the most elah-
orate system Of heating, ventilating ard
refrigeration ever known will be in
stalled There is balance in the pos
session of the bureau so delicate in its
poise that the heat OF the body alone
affects 1t, although 1t is tightly encased
In plate glass. No one is permitted to
come within is feet oft.
When something Is to be weighed,
Il is placed on one of the pans Of the
balance, The case Is closed and "a
hours are allowed to pass In which the
weights, balance and object, reach the
normal temperature inside the case and
the air which was disturbed resumes
fts equilibrium.
The manipulation Of the balance is
uOne py means or long bars, which ex-
tend l5 feet from the balance. Even
r these precautions are taken
& u different calculations are made
80 correct known variations In the ap-
paratus.
The international bureau Of stand
ards, which has headquarters at Paris.
has furnished to this government
standard meter and standard kiloersm.
The standard meter has never been
touched by human hands since It
reached its present degree Of perfection,
1t rests In a glass case In vault The
comparisons with 1t are made through
the use of microscopes The standard
kilogram is OF platinum-iridlum The
metal In Il cost about $1,000.