Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-27
BUREAU OF STANDARDS.

Located several niles from tHc Hcdt
of the city. the bureau Of standards
one of the most i'm
Like Collegiate portant factors in
Yr.<;x,,x: the United States
government as af-
fects the business of the country, resem-
bles modern college with its campus
rather than an establishment in which
tests and experiments are being carried
on which command the attention of the
entire scientific world. Pure air. great
old trees and the quiet of the country
contrast strangely with the conflicting
odors of chemicals indoors and the at
mosphere of perpetual searching after
some result which pervades the buildings.
mystery seems to hang about the bu.
reau of standards. Perhaps due to it's
technical and scientific nature, a cloak
of conflicting ideas envelopes 1t. which is
only dispelled by visit. Once it has
been invaded and inspected under compe-
tent guidance mystery dissoIves, leaving
an overwhelming impression of the big
ness of the work being carried on. and
especially feeling of respect for the
wonders of modern science. Out of the
chaos of these ideas concerning the bu-
reau are three which stand out most
prominently. The first is the fact that
the work Is conducted in strict recosni-
ton OF the fact that there is nothing per-
feet under the sun. Secondly comes the
realization that in making tests and ex-
periments with apparatus or materials
sent there. there is no attempt to perfect
them. but merely to. point out the mac
curacies and the degree to which they
are incorrect. And lastly the bureau
aims to secure the maximum of perfec-
ton with the minimum of labor.
No attempt is made to determine the
exact degree which means perfection, but
simply to show the de.
Not Seeking gree of perfection neces-
p.~f..4:. sary for the case in point
fer1ectlon. For example in deter
mining the accuracy of surveyors tapes.
the bureau considers it to be sufficiently
correct If it varies no more than one one
hundredth Of an inch. On the other hand,
If that same instrument is to be used by
the coast and geOdetic survey the error
is determined down to at least one-one-
thousandth of an inch. as the nature of
the latter work demands greater degree
of minute accuracy.
The work done by the bureau of stand
Samuel W. Strattan, can best be divided
into two parts. that for the public and
that done for the government. Two fac
tors enter into the work done for outside
concerns or individuals. One is that the
bureau is making no attempt to compete
with private commercial institutions car
rying on the same line of work, and
charges but a nominal fee for work done.
The other factor is is that in the major
ity of cases tests or experiments made by
hllrQQn ronr6Canf a nf
which 1t is possible to do nowhere else,
such as work necessitating the use Of ap-
paratus possessed only by the bureau, or
requiring a degree of accuracy Obtainable
only by IT.
Figures for the last fiscal year obtain
able show that 1882 tests were made
for outside concerns or Individuals for
which work the bureau received 1906 3d.
an amount greatly under that which
would have been charged by a private
firm. The tests made covered ten classes,
comprising length, mass. capacity, tenn
perature. optical engineering, electrical.
photometry, chemical and hydrometry.
In many instances, while the bureau
forms the base OF operations for all work,
the entire country is
Countrywide used as an expert
Investigation. SUCH s"t instance sDee' Of this this
character which had direct bearing on
every citizen in the country was the in
vestigation carried on III connection with
weights and measures The bureau of
standards Is the governments personal
representative in the matter of correct
weights and measures, and settles finally
the question of what is a pint?" and
similar queries. The recent investigation
was conducted in every state in the
Union with the cooperation Of both state
and city sealers throughout the country.
The methods used consisted of buying
various articles and then weighing them
by standard scales and measures. The
work was carried on by corps of agents
specially authorized by Congress, who
made their purchases merely as individ-
uals Thus the final weights or measures
which determine the quantities which the
business man and every oth-
er person receive We're asceftalned- The
results of this investigation were varied:
Every state is supposed to have set of
standard weights and measures. In some
states these however. had been either
misplaced or lost while in one instance
they were traced to a junk shop. Other
states had no officials and many towns
lacked inspectors. The keenness of COM
petition was found to be the cause of
the greatest proportion of intentional
fraud, although ignorance was wide
spread. The report of this nationwide
is now in course of prepare
ton by the bureau. Already. however,
the benefits are to be seen. Prior to the
of the bureau only two
states had we'll organized standards of
weights and measures. but since the in
many states have enacted
remedial legislation.
Another investigation Of which the gen.
eral public was the greatest beneficiary
was that connected with
Candle candlepower. The term 10
n candlepower' was found to
ROVER. be a will-o' -the-wisp. Candles
themselves varied. and even the same
candle was found to change brightness
as much as 10 per cent. due to moisture
in the testing laboratory. To secure an
accuracy Of even per cent many pre-
cautions were necessary, while today
measurements frequently agree to one
tenth of one per cent. The direct result
of this investigation is shown in the pre-
cision of electric lamps. The method by
which this was obtained consisted in test
ing a great number of sample lamps.
secured