on numerous committees which formulate recommendations to further standard- ization of basic instrumentation and component parts pertinent to technical operations. In the nuclear instrumentation field, one of the major problems lies in the production of various types of electrical cable connectors which serve similar functions on manufacturers’ equipment. The Radio- Television Manufacturers' Association subcommittee on nuclear instrumentation recentiy discussed the frequency of use of various connector-~type cables in AEC laboratory-built nuclear measurement equipment. A tabulation was given which showed that two particular types of connectors (identified as the IPC 27000 and IPC type HN series) were in predominant use for high- voltage service; for low-voltage circuits the IPC 4500 was used. The subcommittee recommended that the standard type of high-voltage connector on commercial nuclear measurement equipment would be of one type—namely, the type-HN series connector. The type UHF (IPC 11875) connector with teflon insert was selected as the standard type for use in low-voltage circuits. Although such problems may not appear significant, the recom- | mendation represents a step forward. The efficacy of technical operations is dependent on the flexibility of interconnecting equipment, and standardization procedures are important in reducing costs and labor. ’ In an effort to prepare the way for future developments in this field, meetings are held periodically with the Office of Basic Instrumentation of the National Bureau of Standards to coordinate plans for research studies. Membership is made up of the sponsoring agencies such as AEC and the Department of Defense, who are principal consumers of special instruments and devices necessary in technical operations. This program is deSigned to establish a cohesiveness of purpose and effort in basic instrumentation research projects at the various laboratories of interested groups, and to eliminate unnecessary duplications of effort. This work is of benifit to all fields of science to which problems of instrumentation are related. Recommendations for the coming year emphasize: studies on critical surveys of currently used instruments or instrumentation techniques;. theoretical or experimental evaluation of new applications of physical principles in measurement and control; and theoretical analysis in various fields of measurement control and handling of data. section.) Fall-out phenomena, Washington, D. C. (End of UNCLASSIFIED Following the atomic det- onation of May 25 at Nevada Proving Ground, the trajectory of the path of the atomic cloud for the 18,000-foot level showed that it passed over Washington, D. C., on May 26. On the same day, a hailshower in the northwest section of the city produced hailstones, some of which were two to three inches in diameter. The radioactivity in the air recorded at the Naval Research Laboratory at the time of the hailshower was the highest yet noted here, 6 x 1073 microcuries per cubic meter averaged over 2k hours. The activity remained in the air in significant amounts for about five hours. The standard maximum permissible concentration is 1.0 27 “OE ARCHIVES