Editors' Column
PIPETMAN
Happy Birthday, NBS In this year of anniversaries (United States Bicentennial and the American Chemical Society Centennial), the Na tional Bureau of Standards (NBS) cel ebrates its 75th. Prior to the passage of the Act of March 3,1901, which es tablished NBS, inaccuracies and in consistencies in measurement prac tices persuaded Congress that it was time to use its constitutional right to "fix the Standard of Weights and Measures" and create a Federal science laboratory to maintain and de velop standards for commerce, science, and industry. Important clauses of the legislation stipulated that NBS is responsible for: • Custody of the standards (of weights and measures) • Comparison of the standards used in scientific investigations, engi neering, manufacturing, commerce, and educational institutions with the standards adopted or recognized by the Government • Construction when necessary of standards, their multiples and subdi visions • Testing and calibration of stan dard measuring apparatus • Solution of problems which arise in connection with standards • Determination of physical con stants and the properties of materials when such data are of great impor tance to scientific or manufacturing interests and are not to be obtained of sufficient accuracy elsewhere. The Bureau has organizationally di vided its functions into four major in stitutes: • The Institute for Basic Standards provides the central base within the United States for a complete and con sistent system of physical measure ments and coordinates that system with measurement systems of other countries • The Institute for Materials Re search (IMR) conducts research to provide a better understanding of the basic properties of matter and materi als and develops standards for mea suring their properties to help ensure their proper utilization by the Na tion's scientific, industrial, and com mercial communities. IMR also developes, produces, and distributes Stan dard Reference Materials. • The Institute for Applied Tech nology conducts and applies research and puts into practice, in a form that can be used by government, industry, and the general public, the technology
With the new
developed in such areas as building, fire, domestic standards, electronics, and consumer product performance and safety • The Institute for Computer Sci ences and Technology develops stan dards and provides scientific and technical guidance for the effective use of computer and automation tech nology in the Federal government. Samuel Stratton, the first director of NBS, essentially set the guidelines for the development of the Bureau as a research organization. He was per sonally responsible for the key clause in the legislation (the solution of prob lems which arise in connection with standards) which, if interpreted broadly, authorizes many types of re search. In its first three years, the Bu reau spent its time in developing basic competence and acquiring the instru ments necessary to perform both basic and applied research. Since then, NBS research has laid the groundwork for advances in electricity, aviation, auto motive engineering, and materials such as plastics and building materi als. It has provided improvements in electrical standards and developed better standards of length and new standards of light, temperature, and time, while pioneering work in many diverse areas. A product of NBS research that will be familiar to most analytical chemists is Standard Reference Materials (SRM). Produced and sold since 1906, SRM's are well-characterized materi als of known composition with which all measurements can be referred to a common base. Some new SRM's de veloped recently for use primarily in environmental monitoring include two for mercury and five for nitric oxide. A report on NBS's Standard Refer ence Materials program by J. Paul Cali will appear in the September issue of ANALYTICAL C H E M I S T R Y . Some of the highlights from NBS's past include the development of the first neon tube (1904), precise deter mination of the Faraday (1914), prep aration of heavy water (1934), printed circuit techniques (1946), the atomic clock (1949), establishment of the Na tional Standard Reference Data Sys tem (1963), and achievement of the highest frequency measurement ever made (1972). Thank you, NBS, for past achieve ments. We wish you success in the fu ture. Happy birthday! A. A. Husovsky
You're all set
DIGITALLY, Set A N Y V O L U M E (even o d d v o l u m e s like 1 1 . 5 μ Ι , 1 1 3 . 6 μ Ι , o r 2,254 μ I) w i t h m i crometer precision and pipette with consistent accuracy — b e t t e r t h a n 0.2 t o 1.0% of f u l l range. Four digital m i - I croliter pipettes, continuously ad justable over their entire range, permit optimal accuracy and reproducibility in c r i t i c a l p i p e t t i n g . Each model can replace 30 or more fixed range units. Comfort-con t o u r e d b o d y of h i g h i m p a c t plas tic h a s l o w t h e r mal coefficient insuring excel lent r e p e a t a b i l ity e v e n w i t h long-term, hand-held operation.
Model No. P-20D P-200D P-1000D P-5000D
Now Available from Stock
Built-in Tip Ejector ( M o d e l s P-20, 200, 1000) p e r m i t s safe, n o n - c o n t a c t disposal.
Recommended Ranges 0 20 200 500
All models supplied
-
Price $ 99.50 99.50 99.50 125.00
20 μΙ 200 μΙ 1000 μΙ 5000 μ|
with 10 disposable
tips.
RAININ INSTRUMENT
CO
INC
94 L i n c o l n Street · B r i g h t o n , M A 02135 (617) 7 8 7 - 5 0 5 0 · T E L E X 9 4 - 0 6 8 7
CIRCLE 184 O N READER SERVICE CARD A N A L Y T I C A L CHEMISTRY, V O L . 4 8 , NO. 9, AUGUST
1976 · 7 8 1 A
