General view of an apparatus used to study the thermal dissociation of sodium cyanide at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C. Thermal dissociation is defined as the breaking down of a chemical compound by heat into smaller components, which then recombine to form the original compound upon cooling.

The Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory (F.N.R.L.) was established at American University in 1919 under the directorship of Arthur B. Lamb. Initially part of the War Department, the F.N.R.L. was the successor to several wartime initiatives to develop a secure domestic supply of nitrate compounds necessary for the manufacture of explosives during World War I. With a staff of about 110 individuals, including 35 to 50 chemists, the F.N.R.L. focused on the manufacture, production, and development of products of atmospheric nitrogen, including munitions and fertilizers.