The Practice of Research: The Equipment Provided and Methods in Use at the Works of Messrs. Ricardo

IT is the painful experience of all who engage in experimental work of a type to which they are not accustomed, that they may easily spend more time in rectifying faults in their equipment or technique than in producing useful data. Information on these points has, therefore, considerable value to the investigator, but the supply of such information has hitherto been scanty. One reason for this, as regards research on internal combustion engines, is that, except for Government Establishments, which are naturally uncommunicative, and Universities, whose work is mainly educational rather than experimental, there are few organisations which carry out research on a scale wide enough to amass a large body of experience. One such firm is Messrs. Ricardo & Co., Ltd., who have been engaged on work of this kind for the last fifteen years. The description in these pages of their Shoreham Laboratory, and of their experimental methods, should, therefore, be of use to many. The writers (who are on the staff or Messrs. Ricardo & Co.) realise that the requirements of experimental work vary enormously, and that methods which suit their needs may not suit the needs of others. They have endeavoured, therefore, to explain not only how things are done, but why they are done in that particular way, and thus to give their readers an insight into the factors governing the choice of method, which they can apply to their own particular problems.