530 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLI. No. 1058 



of Time and Tests of Timepieces," has just 

 been issued, giving the regulations under 

 which the tests will be made, the methods em- 

 ployed, together with sections on the use and 

 care of watches, and on standard time and the 

 sources of reliable time standards with which 

 one may make frequent comparisons of his 

 watch. This first edition of the circular an- 

 nounces the regulations for the test and certi- 

 fication of watches only; the test of other 

 timepieces will be taken up later. For the 

 purposes of test watches are divided into two 

 classes, designated as A and B, adapted to 

 watches adjusted for five positions and three 

 positions respectively. The former test lasts 

 54 days, the latter 40 days. Both tests include 

 a test of the temperature compensation of the 

 watch, at temperatures of 5°, 20° and 35°. 

 In the Class A test is also included an exami- 

 nation of the isochronism adjustment of the 

 watch. Pour tests a year are carried out, be- 

 ginning on the second Tuesday in January, 

 April, August and October respectively. The 

 daily rates of the watches under the various 

 conditions are determined within about 0.1 

 second. If the performance of a watch is 

 within certain tolerances set for the different 

 conditions, a certificate is granted showing 

 the results of the test. If a watch fails to 

 meet the requirements, a report is rendered 

 showing wherein it fell short of the tolerances 

 and giving its actual performance in the trial. 

 Watches may be submitted by manufacturers 

 or jobbers of watches, by retail dealers, or by 

 individual owners of the watches, a fee being 

 charged which is estimated to cover the actual 

 cost of the test. It is expected that the tests 

 will be especially valuable in cases where 

 watches are to be used for scientific purposes 

 or exploration, and also to purchasers of high- 

 grade watches in giving them assurance that 

 the watch is reasonably adjusted and in good 

 condition at the time of the test. Copies of 

 the circular and also of the application blank 

 which must be filled out by those submitting 

 a watch for test may be obtained upon re- 

 quest directed to the Bureau of Standards, 

 Washington, D. C. 



We learn from Nature that the movement 

 started last year for the establishment of a 

 Eadium Institution in Manchester met with a 

 generous response from the public. Thanks to 

 the assistance of public men and the press, the 

 committee that was appointed to carry out the 

 scheme was able to collect a sum of about 

 £30,000. The radium department was estab- 

 lished at the Eoyal Infirmary, and began work 

 on January 1 in a number of rooms that had 

 been equipped at a cost of £1,000, and started 

 with about 800 milligrams of radium metal. 

 The contract for the radium, which cost about 

 £21,000, was given to an American firm, and 

 its delivery was not therefore interfered with 

 by the outbreak of the war. In order to ensure 

 the maximum efficiency, the radium committee, 

 acting on the advice of Sir E. Eutherford, 

 Sir Wm. Milligan, and other experts, took 

 control of the equipment of the laboratories; 

 and the standardization of the radium was 

 done in the physical laboratories of the Uni- 

 versity of Manchester. The committee has 

 also drawn up a scheme for the distribution 

 of radium either in the solid form as appli- 

 cators, or as emanation tubes from the liquid 

 form, to the other hospitals in Manchester and 

 the district. Dr. Arthur Burrows is the radi- 

 ologist at the infimary responsible for the 

 administration, Mr. H. Lupton is the physicist 

 in charge, and Sir E. Eutherford acts as con- 

 sulting physicist to the department. 



Admiral Peary's arctic ship, the Roosevelt, 

 has been sold and it is said that after it has 

 been fitted with oil-burning machinery and 

 other improvements, it will be sold to the Bu- 

 reau of Fisheries of the Department of Com- 

 merce and Labor. The ship wiU be used in 

 connection with the fisheries service in 

 Alaskan waters, and will proceed through the 

 Panama canal as soon as the refitting has been 



The geologists of the University of Texas, 

 including the staffs of the school of geology 

 and the bureau of economic geology, have or- 

 ganized the Texas Geological Club. The pur- 

 pose of this club is to stimulate interest in 

 geological matters at the university and in 

 geologic research. Monthly meetings wiU be 



