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Measures for Progress: A History of the National Bureau of Standards

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278<br />

Freighted with apparatus designed and constructed at <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bureau</strong>, this touring car was<br />

ready to measure and record 18 points <strong>of</strong> per<strong>for</strong>mance <strong>of</strong> its engine and operating<br />

equipment on <strong>the</strong> road.<br />

The instrument mounted on <strong>the</strong> running board measured wind speed and direction<br />

relative to <strong>the</strong> car. The apparatus on <strong>the</strong> floor o/<strong>the</strong> front seat measured and recorded<br />

graphically <strong>the</strong> instantaneous rates <strong>of</strong> gasoline flow to <strong>the</strong> carburetor. The equipment<br />

in <strong>the</strong> rear seat recorded 16 separate measurements <strong>of</strong> various factors in engine and<br />

car per<strong>for</strong>mance on a moving strip <strong>of</strong> paper.<br />

To measure a <strong>Bureau</strong> motorist's reaction time in applying his brakes, his car was rigged<br />

with two pistols. When <strong>the</strong> first pistol under <strong>the</strong> running board was fired it made a<br />

mark on <strong>the</strong> roadway. The sound was <strong>the</strong> signal <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> driver to apply <strong>the</strong> brakes,<br />

<strong>the</strong> application <strong>of</strong> which automatically fired <strong>the</strong> second pistol, making ano<strong>the</strong>r mark on<br />

<strong>the</strong> road. The reaction time was obtained by dividing <strong>the</strong> car speed by <strong>the</strong> distance<br />

measured.

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