, etc., depend for their most reliable evaluation upon the value of
. In a word,
is increasingly coming to be regarded, not only as the most fundamental of physical or chemical constants, but also the one of most supreme importance for the solution of the numerical problems of modern physics. It seemed worth while, therefore, to drive the method herewith developed for its determination to the limit of its possible precision. Accordingly, in 1914 I built a new condenser having surfaces which were polished optically and made flat to within two wave-lengths of sodium light. These were 22 cm. in diameter and were separated by 3 pieces of echelon plates, 14.9174 mm. thick, and all having optically perfect plane-parallel surfaces. The dimensions of the condenser, therefore, no longer introduced an uncertainty of more than about 1 part in 10,000. The volts were determined after each reading in terms of a Weston standard cell and are uncertain by no more than 1 part in 3,000. The times were obtained from an exceptionally fine printing chronograph built by William Gaertner & Co. It is controlled by a standard astronomical clock and prints directly the time to hundredths of a second. All the other elements of the problem were looked to with a care which was the outgrowth of five years of experience with measurements of this kind. The present form of the apparatus is shown in diagram in [Fig. 8], and in [Fig. 9] is shown a photograph taken before the enclosing oil tank had been added.
Fig. 8—
, atomizer through which the oil spray is blown into the cylindrical vessel