General view of a laboratory facility and apparatus used to investigate the chemical activity evident in glow discharge at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory located in Washington, D.C. "Glow discharge" refers to the plasma formed by the passage of electric current through a low-pressure gas and is used in analytical chemistry to study the atomic interactions within a gas. The individual present in the photograph is identified as James W. Westhaver.

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.