National Bureau of Standards

STANDARDS, NATIONAL BUREAU OF. This United States body was established by act of Congress on March 3, 1901, and has for its functions the development, construction, custody and maintenance of reference and working standards, and their intercomparison, improvement and application in science, engi neering, industry and commerce. The bureau is a part of the Department of Commerce. Its services are available without charge to the national and State Governments, and under certain conditions, tests and investigations are conducted for the public. In the case of tests for other than the national and State Govern ments, fees are charged which are paid in to the U.S. Treasury. The original staff of the National Bureau of Standards numbered 14 persons. In 1939 there were about 95o, of whom two-thirds were technically trained. The plant comprised 19 permanent build ings on a site of 56 ac. in the north-west suburbs of Washington.

The bureau serves as a clearing house for scientific and technical information and to this end co-operates with similar institutions abroad and with the research laboratories of American industries. Large industrial groups send research associates to work in the bu reau's laboratories on problems of mutual interest, the results of which are published for the public benefit. The laboratory equipment is unusually complete and includes several small-scale manufacturing plants in which mill processes can be studied.

Scope.

The bureau's work falls into two major classes, the first comprising scientific and technical research and testing, and the second the establishment of commercial standards. Each of these major groups includes several divisions which in turn are made up of sections, the section being the working unit dealing with some specific class of problems. The research and testing group consists of the following divisions : electricity, weights and measures, heat and power, optics, chemistry, mechanics and sound, organic and fibrous materials, metallurgy, and ceramics.

The commercial standardization group is composed of the follow ing divisions : simplified practice, trade standards, and codes and specifications. Members of the staff co-operate with such organi zations as the Federal Specifications Executive Committee and the American Standards Association. In addition to these two groups there are divisions concerned with the administrative work of the central office, the operation of the bureau's plant, and the construction of apparatus.

Achievements.

Through conferences held, practical uni formity in weights and measures has been secured throughout the country. In this connection it should be remembered that the National Bureau of Standards has no police power. The bureau, with other national laboratories, is engaged in a determination of the values of the electrical units in terms of the mechanical units, and has published its results on the ampere and ohm. Many con tributions have been made to the art of radio communication, particularly as regards the fundamental data underlying the propagation of radio waves, and the measurement and control of frequency. The bureau developed a radio beacon by which air craft are guided in fog and by which the pilot can tell when he is following the desired course. Contributions have been made to the art of manufacturing railroad rails, car wheels, and to the de velopment of the light alloys used for aircraft. A means for re tarding the corrosion of duralumin has been developed, and the plating of metals with chromium has been made a commercial success.

The bureau's polarimetry section has made many fundamental discoveries in the field of carbohydrates. A commercial method was developed for the production of corn-sugar (dextrose) and this is a most important industry. Similar work was started years ago on levulose (sugar obtained from a weed, the Jerusalem arti choke) and it has been demonstrated that the recovery of this sugar on a commercial scale is practicable.