THE WORK OF THE NATIONAL PHYSICAL LABORATORY.
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MHE interest attaching to an invita tion from the president of the Royal Society to. be present at the annual inspection by the general board of the departments of the National Physical Laboratory is heightened by the certainty that one will meet many men prominent in the science and practice of mechanical transport and in the motor industry. At the inspection last week the guests were received by Sir Charles Sherrington, 0.M., presiaent of the Royal Society and chairman of the board; Sir Arthur Schuster, F.R.S.; and Sir Joseph E. Peta.vel, K.B.E., D.Sc., F.R.S , director of the laboratory. The experiments being conducted in the wind channels on the performance and stability of aerofoils and complete aeroplanes, and in the whirling shed on surface pressures, always command a great deal of attention. In the erigincoring department was to be seen an 04:1B apparatus for measuring and recording' the movement of the axles of a motor vehicle relative to the chassis. We understand that a report is to be published, in which, incidentally, the effect of shock absorbers in damping vibrations will be explained. We hope that the experiments will include the effects of the new shock-absorbing rubber spring shackles. The machines for testing the endurance of road springs, big-end bear' ings, shafts with keyways, etc., are all seen in operation, and it is interesting to record that the , big-end bearings shown being run at heavy loads and high speeds had attained the speed-load factor of 30,000 lb. per sq. in.-ft. per sec. The road-testing apparatus still comes in for much service in testing for endurance surfaces under various conditions of load.
In the metallurgy department one saw the melting of metals without flame of any kind, eddy currents set up ire the metal 'by electrical energy transmitted round a coil of wire surrounding the metal causing the generation of heat sufficient to melt the metal. The study of fatigue of metals is one' of the most useful sections of the work of the laboratory, In the foundry, motor engineers were closely interested in the 3( aluminium alloy developed at the laboratory, and in the die-casting of this and other metals.
It would be an impossibility to deal adequately with the research work undertaken at Teddington in the compass of a newspaper article. Each section deserves to b , treated separately., and at Complete length. 'Suffice it to say that the work covers every branch of science and interests every constructional industry in the country—and not least the motor industry.