June 12, 1913] 



NATURE 



for cold-storage purposes, and for steam-pipe lagging 

 —a piece of work which presents special diffi- 

 culties and has long been needed. The equip- 

 ment for testing- the thermometers hitherto verified 



comparisons oi candle-power units have been made 

 with the Bureau of Standards and the Reichsanstalt 

 through the medium of tungsten filament Limps (Mr. 

 Paterson). The agreement of the results is extremely 



at Kew Observatory has been set up ; some 

 idea of the magnitude of this work will be 

 gathered from the fact that more than 33,000 ther- 

 mometers were tested last year. A research on the 

 viscosity of oils has been completed by Mr. Higgins. 



good, and incidentally affords evidence that the photo- 

 metry of lights of different colours is not of necessity 

 liable to the errors which are commonly attributed to 

 it. Work has been published by the electrotechnics 

 division on the electric strength of ebonite, the com- 



-Model being towed — showing \ 



The photometric division has conducted an inquiry 

 into the visibility of ships' lights, and is at present 

 engaged in an investigation of " glare," particularly 

 that produced by motor-car headlights. Inter- 



NO. 2276, VOL. 91] 



pressibilitv of micanite, the dielectric losses in insu- 

 lators (Mr. Rayner), and the heating of flexible cords 

 and cables (Mr. Melsom). 



Some important researches have been carried out 



