THE
IMMEDIATE DELIVERY FROM STOCK FANSTEEL
TANTALUM EQUIPMENT S I N G L E TUBE T A N T A L U M BAYONET
This is often the case in experiments where two or more persons work to gether in the conduct of the experi ment. However, merely witnessing the written page alone is of little benefit. T h e witness chosen should be sufficiently skilled to understand the subject matter and he should be as impartial as possible. He may not be a co-inventor of whatever invention may have been made, as the testimony of a co-inventor may not be used in corroboration. Record of Conception of Invention
18" long χ 1" dia.; 3 0 " , 4 8 " and 6 0 " lengths χ VA" dia.
THREE-TUBE T A N T A L U M BAYONET HEATERS
6 9 " long VA" diameter
TANTALUM T A P E R E D TUBE C O N D E N S E R S 3 " χ 2" χ 3 6 " and 6 " χ 2 " χ 6 0 "
Here's another big step in Fansteel's stock expan sion program to better serve the chemical industry. These and other Fansteel tantalum products—such as heat exchangers and coil and " U " type h e a t e r s are gaining universal acceptance wherever chemical processing equipment must be contamination-free, acid- and corrosion-proof. Fansteel is the only supplier of tantalum equipment who performs the entire job—produces the metal from ore, engineers the application, designs and builds the equipment.
Address inquiries to Equipment Department, Metals and Fabrication Division
FANSTEEL METALLURGICAL CORPORATION North Chicago, Ill., U.S.A. Circle No. 45 on Readers' Service Card 92 A
P R O F E S S I O N A L SIDE
INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
T h e record of conception of in vention is equally free of mystery when examined in the light of a few easily understood principles. Nearly all industrial laboratories have stand ard forms for recording such con ceptions. Although the forms natur ally differ from one to another, they may all be expected to conform to the basic principles. It is not enough for a chemist to have an idea. He must be able to prove what idea he had and when it occurred to him. The straight forward way to do this is to write down the idea and to disclose it to someone, usually a coworker, who understands the idea presented and who then signs the record of dis closure as a witness. A notarial acknowledgment is customarily used to assist in later proof of the in ventor's signature. Preserving the idea in secrecy is fatal to later proof of conception of a specific idea on a specific date, as the only proof which could be adduced would be the unsupported word of the inventor. It is for this reason that the practice of mailing a writeup of the idea to oneself and preserv ing the unopened envelope bearing the postmark does not provide a legally sufficient safeguard. This is a rather widely held misconception among chemists (and others, too), but a brief analysis will show the fallacy of this practice. T h e can cellation stamp of the post office on the envelope is of course evidence that the envelope was processed by the post office on that day. How ever, the cancellation stamp is no evidence whatever as to the contents of the envelop or whether at the time it was cancelled there were in fact any contents. This again will depend on the unsupported testi-
