206 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 



ability had been accomplished. As a result of recent research and 

 development we now have a magnetic steel that has not only lower 

 iron loss but also much better permeability. 



New alloys are sometimes discovered and developed as byproducts 

 of other research work. In the electrical industry, the need for new 

 alloys with special characteristics often arises in connection with 

 new electrical developments. It is therefore often necessary to de- 

 velop special alloys to meet limitations encountered in electrical 

 developments, particularly when the volume required is too small 

 to be attractive to alloy manufacturers. For example, a recently 

 developed alloy containing only a few percent iron, is stronger at 

 1,100° F. than any low-carbon steel at room temperature. It creeps 

 very little. It survives a 6,000-hour creep test at 1,000° F. that 

 causes cast carbon-molybdenum steel to fail and high-strength nickel- 

 chromium steel to creep 100 times as much. As an amazing demon- 

 stration of how it retains its elastic properties when hot, a bar of 

 steel and one of this alloy were heated to 1,100° F. When struck with 

 a hammer, the steel bar responded with a dull thud; the alloy with 

 a clear, bell-like tone. 



Chemistry. — The application of chemistry to the electrical industry 

 has been almost unlimited. Chemists have been called on principally 

 to produce new and improved insulating materials, compounds, var- 

 nishes, oils, etc. There have been many other developments, however. 

 For example, a fireproof chlorinated compound has been developed 

 to replace transformer oil in applications where fire hazards exist. 

 Many fireproof liquids have been made available, but a great amount 

 of research and development work has been required in recent years 

 to obtain a material that also had satisfactory electrical properties 

 such as high dielectric strength, low power factor, and viscosities 

 comparable with transformer oil, particularly at low temperature. 



Physics. — ^The foundation of the electrical industry is supported 

 to a large extent on the laws of physics. Some of the most impor- 

 tant scientific discoveries and applications therefore have come from 

 this field. The discovery of electromagnetism, the electron, and the 

 X-ray are outstanding examples. From researches on the mechanics 

 of the ion came the principle of circuit interruption by deionization 

 that has been applied to a whole family of interrupting devices from 

 the giant circuit breakers that handle millions of kilovolt-amperes 

 down to the new practical circuit breakers for the home that are 

 little larger than a wall switch. In the field of electronics, numerous 

 electrical developments of far-reaching importance have been based 

 on these and similar discoveries. 



Mathematics. — Probably no other industry rests on such a precise 

 mathematical basis as the electrical industry. From its very begin- 



