The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-12-06
THE BRAIN OF INDUSTRY
WHERE, HOW It WORKS
THE WORLDS LARGEST LAsoRA
TORIES ARE MAINTAINED BY
PRIVATE CORPORATIONS.

In the good old days of industrial
development our Industries were foun-
ded upon a Fundamental principle 81
an invention or two produced by some
one who knew nothing about manu-
featuring. IL an inventor discoveries
some new thing company was form-
ed to commercialize and sell 1T.
Today, manufacturing concerns en-
ploy their own inventors, provide them
with extensive laboratories, and tell
them to go ahead and invent
One of the largest laboratories in
the world liz maintained by the Gen.
eral Electric company at Schenectady,
N Y, where is also located the com :
panys largest plant. This laboratory
occupies several floors of large sew
en- story building costing 5000, 900. The
scientific staff consists of nearly $50
employees. There are II physicists
and chemists, metallurgists, 2S as
sistants, SO helpers, Is glass blowers,
SO mechanics, and an Office force. The
staff is headed by DIR. willis Rodney
Whitney, ably, assisted by such scien-
lists as DR.. Chas P. Steinmetz, DR..
Irving s. Langmuir, DR., w A. Coolidge
and others.
Millions in Experiments.
In addition to this force the COM
pany maintains laboratories at several
other plants and spends more than a.
million dollars each year in this .exper-
mental work. That this is money
we'll spent, and confidence in science
we'll placed Is evidenced by the dis
covery Of such wonderful things as
the new Mazda incandescent lamp, the
new Coolidge x-ray tube, new alloys
new processes of calorzing, of cast
ing copper, and many other inventions
The laboratory work includes great
variety of research. From the COM
mon analysis of paints and oils, to-
defining the atom. Everything that an
inventor may need for his task is at
hand in this wonderful new laboratory.
Electric current Is available in any
voltage or an1perage desired Vacuum
or compressed air--even liquid airs
always on tap. Furnaces of all kinds,
including the highest temperature
known, are always aglow. A large
staff of mechanics are ready to build
any kind of special apparatus the in
ventor may want.
An Example.
A typical laboratory success was the
discovery of the new gas filled Mazda
electric lamp. Dr. Lang
muir was trying to find remedy for
the blackening of the ordinary tung-
stem globe after few hours of SER
vice. This blackening is caused by
flying particles of the metal tungsten
which are thrown off the tungsten
wire filament, when operated at white
heat, and fasten against the inside of
the bulb. DR.. Langmuir experimental
with lamps containing gases in the
bulb instead of a vacuum. He discov-
5red that If the glass bulb was filled
With nitrogen At was possible to ma
.erially raise the temperature of the
hlament and thus increase
he brilliancy of the lamp and Improve
he color OF the light by making it
yhiter Incidentally the new lamp
rave nearly twice as much light as
he old tungsten lamp for the same
mount of current, later argon or 9TH
r inert gases Were employed instead
# nitrogen.
Solve New Problems.
The problems that continually arise
n the shops are often referred to the |
laboratory for answer. In this way
many new processes are worked out.
someone complained because copper
astings could not be made owing to
he presence of air bubbles in the fin
shed casting, So the laboratory
ound way to make such castings.
something goes wrong with an in
ulating material over to the lab" it
oes for thorough investigation. and
early always 1t comes back with it's
rouble diagnosed and remedied The
'boratory is also continually conduct
,g research along unknown paths and
wing its findings to the world in or
err to throw more light on the funda-
rental things underlying all physical .