NATURE 



565 



THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1} 



THE NATIONAL PHYSICAL LABORATORY. 



THOSE who remember the address by Prof. Lodge 

 at Cardiff, in which he advocated the estabhshment 

 of a National Physical Laboratory, and the feeling of hope- 

 lessness with which the suggestion was received, will be 

 confirmed in the view that the world moves by the fact 

 that a Treasury Commission has now reported in favour 

 of the scheme. Sir Douglas Galton dealt with the ques- 

 tion in his presidential address at Ipswich, and, on the 

 following day, read a paper on the Reichsanstalt before 

 Section A. That body then took the matter up in earnest 

 and, even in its so-called decadence, was strong enough 

 to start a movement which was before long supported, 

 with practical unanimity, by all British physicists and 

 chemists. A deputation to Lord Salisbury followed, and 

 a Committee, with Lord Rayleigh as Chairman, was 

 appointed — 



"To consider and report upon the desirability of 

 establishing a National Physical Laboratory for the testing 

 and verification of instruments for physical investiga- 

 tion : for the construction and preservation of standards 

 of measurement : and for the systematic determination 

 of physical constants and numerical data useful for 

 scientific and industrial purposes — and to report whether 

 the work of such an institution, if established, could be 

 associated with any testing or standardising work 

 already performed wholly or partly at the public cost." 



The Committee asked various scientific and technical 

 institutions to nominate witnesses, and the evidence thus 

 collected was very interesting and almost entirely in 

 favour of the scheme. The views of those who approached 

 the subject primarily as students of pure science are well 

 known to the readers of Nature ; but it is satisfactory 

 to note that they were warmly supported from the prac- 

 tical point of view by such men as Sir Bernhard Samuel- 

 son, Sir William Anderson, Sir Lowthian Bell, Mr. 

 Crompton, Mr. Preece and others directly connected with 

 industry and technology. The number of questions 

 suggested as those on which useful work might be done 

 was indeed almost overwhelming, and the Committee lay 

 stress on the fact that one of the chief functions of the 

 Governing Body would be to select the most important 

 of the various problems with which they might deal. We 

 agree with the opinion of the Committee that a strong 

 Governing Body would arrive at a solution of this difficulty. 



The Committee had further to consider the relations 

 between the proposed institution, the Standards Depart- 

 ment, and the Electrical Standardising Laboratory of the 

 Board of Trade. They wisely decided that the new 

 institution ought not to be under a Government Depart- 

 ment, and as the Board of Trade has statutory powers 

 with respect to the standards, this decision precludes a 

 fusion between the Standards Department and the nev/ 

 Laboratory. It is, however, suggested that the relations 

 between the two should be very close, that the Permanent 

 Secretary of the Board of Trade should be ex officio a 

 member of the Governing Body, which "should be 

 consulted by the Standards Office and the Electrical 

 Standardising Department of the Board of Trade upon 

 NO. 1511, VOL. 58] 



difficult questions that may arise from time to time or 

 as to proposed modifications or developments." 



It is not, however, proposed to found a brand new 

 institution. " In the opinion of the Committee the 

 principles which underlie the proposal for the establish- 

 ment of a National Physical Laboratory have been tested 

 on a comparatively small scale at the Kew Observatory 

 with the most satisfactory results." 



The Committee therefore propose the extension of the 

 Kew Observatory, and as that institution is controlled 

 by the Royal Society it naturally follows that its manage- 

 ment when enlarged and developed should remain in 

 the same hands. A considerable change is, however, 

 contemplated in the constitution of the Governing Body. 

 Representatives of industry are to be added, and it is 

 stipulated particularly that these should not necessarily 

 be selected from among the Fellows of the Royal 

 Society. 



The plan thus sketched out seems reasonable and 

 practical, and it is to be hoped that the Government 

 will give effect to it. 



If it does, and if the Royal Society consent to play 

 the part assigned to it in the Report, the Council will 

 undertake a grave responsibility and enjoy a great 

 opportunity. Much will depend upon the start. 



Nothing is said in the report of the Committee as to the 

 funds which would be wanted to carry out the scheme they 

 propose. The form which it ultimately assumes must 

 depend upon whether the Government subvention is 

 large or small. It is, we suppose, improbable that the 

 new institution, if founded, will at first be on the same 

 scale as the Reichsanstalt at Berlin. The question as to 

 whether that institution is not too magnificent has in 

 fact occurred to many of those who have seen it. 



No one has ever accused the Kew Observatory of too 

 lordly buildings or too lavish an equipment. As the 

 central thermometric station, it has been hampered by 

 the fact that it has not possessed the apparatus or the 

 means to establish direct comparisons with the gas 

 thermometer. We believe that this difficulty is about to 

 be overcome by the generosity of Sir Andrew Noble 

 who is presenting the necessary installation to the Ob- 

 servatory. But though in this and in other respects it 

 has failed in the past to reach the level of its modern 

 rivals, Kew has been useful both to industry and science. 

 This is proved by its financial success. With a 

 modest endowment of 470/. a year and the use of a 

 Government building, the Committee make about 2000/. a 

 year in fees, and the average receipts increased in the last 

 five years about 25 per cent, over those in the earlier half 

 of the decade. If a specific example of its operations be 

 needed, it is sufficient to cite the fact that, unsolicited by 

 the trade, Kew established a system of trials for watches, 

 in which the leading makers now eagerly compete, and 

 which they confess has improved the standard of their 

 work. 



The more scientific side of the functions of the Observ- 

 atory is illustrated both by its magnetic work and by the 

 fact that the Committee is now employing a gentleman to 

 compare the platinum thermometer over a wide range with 

 the gas thermometer at the Bureau des Poids et Mesures at 

 Paris. What is wanted is the multiplication of operations 



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