CHEMISTRY IN THE TELEPHONE INDUSTRY 605 



Another large portion of the work of our analytical laboratory has to 

 do with materials used in the prosecution of research problems by physi- 

 cists, engineers, and chemists in other groups. For example, in the 

 course of development of such magnetic materials as permalloy and 

 perminvar, methods for the analysis of unusual alloys have had to be 

 devised. The utilization of microchemical and electrometric methods 

 has often offered a way out of difficulties. For instance, it became 

 necessary in connection with a corrosion problem to measure accurately 

 the amounts of volatile acids in certain woods, and for this purpose a 

 differential electrometric titration method was developed. Spectro- 

 scopic analysis finds its use, not only in the examination of minute speci- 

 mens of material such as the deposits on vacuum tube filaments, but 

 also in the estimation of minute impurities in grosser products, as, for 

 example, the presence of zinc in solder. A not inconsiderable volume 

 of research in analytical chemistry has grown out of these problems. 



The most important function of the chemist in the telephone labora- 

 tory is not a conventional one. It consists in a scrutiny of the appara- 

 tus, equipment, materials, and processes of the industry to determine 

 where and how chemical reactions or variations in composition are 

 affecting functional operation . Sometimes the problems so encountered 

 lead to extended researches pursued over a period of years to answer 

 specific questions or to accumulate a reservoir of general information to 

 be drawn upon as needs arise. Sometimes questions are brought to us 

 by workers in other fields, apparatus designers perhaps, questions such 

 as can be answered offhand, or at most require a few days or weeks of 

 work. A considerable part of the more interesting work is published. 



In order to make clear how chemistry applies to telephone problems, 

 a number of examples have been chosen from various parts of the gen- 

 eral field. Many of the tasks enumerated below are shared by the 

 chemists with technical staffs of other departments. They will be dis- 

 cussed from the chemical viewpoint with only sufficient reference to the 

 general engineering considerations to make the problems intelligible. 



Chemical Coxstitutiox and Electrical Characteristics of 



Pure Substances 



The most fundamental piece of work in dielectrics which we are under- 

 taking is a study of chemical constitution of pure substances in relation 

 to their electrical characteristics. This work is going forward under the 

 direction of H. H. Lowry, and is expected to serve as a valuable supple- 

 ment to similar work being conducted elsewhere, principally in univer- 

 sity laboratories. While it is well known to all chemists that aqueous 



