of the evidence given before Lord Rayleigh's commission or to look to the reports which have been prepared by various bodies of experts for the Executive Committee.
In electrical matters there are questions relating to the fundamental units on which in Mr. Trotter's opinion we may help the officials of the Board of Trade—standards of capacity are wanted; those belonging to the British Association will be deposited at the Laboratory; standards of electromagnetic induction are desirable; questions continually arise with regard to new forms of cells other than the standard Clark cell, and in a host of other ways work could be found. Tests on insulation resistance were mentioned by Professor Ayrton who gave the result of his own experience. He had asked for wire having a certain standard of insulation resistance. One specimen was eight times as good as the specification; another had only one one-hundred-thousandth of the required insulation; a third had about one three-hundredth.
Mr. Appleyard again gave some interesting examples, the examination of alloys for use for resistance measurements and other purposes, the testing of various insulating materials and the like.
I have gone almost too much into detail. It has been my wish to state in general terms the aims of the laboratory, to make the advance of physical science more readily available for the needs of the nation and then to illustrate the way in which it is intended to attain those aims: I trust I may have shown that the National Physical Laboratory is an institution which may deservedly claim the cordial support of all who are interested in real progress.
