1 58 



NATURE 



[October 24, [918 



ered a w ide 1 angi rhi n suits \\ en 

 publish d in 1862. " I he ti sting m ichrm » as a 



single-levei machine, with no adequat mis of 



taking up the strain during loading. l"hi investiga- 

 tion led to the construction by Mr. Kirkald) in London 

 ol large machine of aboul 400 tons capacity, and 

 tablishment of the first testing laboratory when 

 tests were carried out foi anyone requiring them. \u 

 Mr. Kirkaldy's research had much to do with 

 hi adoption of the tensili test as the usual test of 

 reception foi iron and steel. From general considera- 

 tions ii might be argued thai a torsion tesl or .1 sheai 

 test would have answered equally well. 



( 'ombint d Sin sses 



\ branch oi tin- subject on which our experimental 

 knowledge is still imperfect is the resistance to com- 

 bined stresses; for instance, the case of combined 

 bending and torsion, or combined hoop and longi- 

 tudinal stress. The most important investigation is 

 that of Guest in rgoo," in which the yield-point was 

 determined in cases of thin tubes subjected to com- 

 binations of tension, torsion, and internal fluid pres- 

 sure. The result has been the general adoption in 

 calculating crank-shafts of the theoretical formula for 

 tin equivalent bending moment M . due to a bending 

 moment M and twisting moment T, 



M, v(M-'rT-), 

 which is usually termed Guest's law. No tests of 



varying or alternating combined stresses have been 

 made, and there is here an importanl field for future 

 1 esearch. 



In this review of experimental work it is not possible 

 to pass ovei tin researches of a remarkable man. 

 Johann Bauschingei (1832 oil, the son of an artisan 

 at Nuremberg, thrown on his own resources at the 

 age ol fourteen. Taught in the technical school, he 

 became professor of i>h\sics and mathematics at Augs- 

 burg and Fiirth, and afterwards of mechanics at 

 Munich. lie made one of the earliest researches on 

 locomotives, in which indicator diagrams were taken 

 when running, lie established the fiist publii labora- 

 tory, supported by Gqvernmept, for testing materials, 

 and introduced methods of accuracy not previous!) 

 attempted, measuring extensions, for instance, in 

 1 250,000 of an inch. He first indicated the simi- 

 larity of deformation in geometrically similar test- 

 bars, and investigated the variation of the position of 

 tin elastic limit in overstrained liars. The " Mittheil- 

 ungen," published under his direction, are a collection 

 n inch valuable and diversified researches. 

 Ii was due to Bauschinger's influence that an inter- 

 national association was formed in [884 to discuss 

 ndardise methods of testing. 



I'nblh Testing Laboratories. 



In Germany, Austria, and Switzerland there an 

 public laboratories, parti} supported by the State, 

 ched to technical high schools which are also 

 Government institutions. Their function is to exe- 

 cute commis ions for public departments or private 

 persons. It was earl; recognised there thai such 

 laboratories can Furthet industry and commerce, pro- 

 vided they meet the requirements of manufacturers, 

 and at the same timi are accepted as independent and 

 impartial, and maintain a high standard of intelli- 

 gence, accuracy, and skill. Ii is desirable that State 

 institutions should carry out purely scientific investiga- 



8 "Experimental Inquiry into the Tensile Strength and other Properties 

 if Wrought-iron and Steel," by Ti. Kirlcaldy, t86s. 



I (aiest, "Strength of Ductile Material, under Combined Stri -. 

 -I -in .. vol. ttvii. . Scoble, ■''■'■ 1 'a , root . vol. .\ii. 



NO. 2556, VOL. I02] 



funis frei id charge, but it is expected thai private 

 persons who use them should paj enough to covei 

 outlay on special appliances or labour, while the cost' 

 of si;,, plant, and administration is borne h\ the 

 State. Ii is possible for such institutions to follow 

 out investigations suggested in the course ol ordinary 

 work which could not be attacked bv private persons. 

 In sonn cases industries have combined to havi ex- 

 tensive researches, extending ovei tears, made in 

 thesi laboratories. The public make so much use of 

 them that the; are scarcel; available an; 

 purposes of instruction. Thus in the enginei 

 laboratory at Gross Lichterfelde there is a staff of 

 230 persons, of whom seventy-five have received high 

 academii training, and thirty-eight others training in 



technical schools. The annual income from tests 



amounted in [913 to jo, 000/. and the expenditun 



32,000/. 



I in Bureau of Standards at Washington is a Govern- 

 ment institution of the same type. It has four largi 

 laboratory buildings .and four or five smaller buildings, 

 which togethei cosl 200,000!., and the equipment about 

 70,000!. The annual cost of maintenance is about 

 120,000!. There is also an auxiliary- laboratory at 

 Pittsburgh. Of six departments one is devoted to 

 tests of materials and structures. A great deal of 

 work is carried out for public departments, and the 

 Bureau settles the specifications of materials supplied 

 to them, as well as inspects and tests them. I under- 

 stood when at Washington that the testing of the 

 immense quantity of cement used on the Panama 

 ( anal was confided to the Bureau, but much work 

 has also been done for manufacturers" associa 



and scientific societies. 



The National Physical Laborator} is very similar to 



the Bureau of Standards, and has accomplished for 

 this countn similar work. It has now Income a 

 Government institution, and the continuance ol its 

 valuable work is assured. 

 [The remainder of the lecture was concerned with 

 testing machines and tests carried out with them. 1 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 

 We Ii arn from Science that at a meeting of the 

 General Municipal Council and the Chambei of Com- 

 merci 1 Bordeaux on September to a proposal was 

 unanimously adopted to establish, in honour of the 

 President of the United States, a Franco-American 

 University of applied sciences, commerce, and 

 industry . 



filiations for the current academic yeai For 

 technical schools an.! other forms of provision for 

 highi 1 1 <ln ation in England and Wales have now 1" 1 n 

 issued bi the Hoard of Education (Cd. 9152).. Sub- 

 stantially the regulations are the same as those in 

 force since \ugust r, 1915. It is satisfactory to find 

 that thi Board is prepared to increasi its grants in 

 an; cases in which it is satisfied that, as a result of 

 ■ l ureases since the financial year 1913-J4 in 

 the rates ol salary or Fees paid to teachers, the grant 

 so determined has become an inadequate contribution 

 towards tin cosl of the schools 01 .lasses concerned. 



At a recent meeting of the governors of the Royal 

 ["echnii il 1 ollege, Glasgow, it was announced that 

 2368!. has been added to the \eu Endowment (Re- 

 search) Fund, making the total to July 3] last 21,245!. 



Since then the college has received a donation of ' 



from Sii William Rowan Thomson, and a similar sum 

 from Mr. James Templeton, so that the fund now 



