General view of chemist W.P. Mauley operating a photoelectric haze meter in the Physics Laboratory at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Hopewell, Virginia. Photoelectric haze meters are typically used to measure the light transmittance and haze value of various materials, including packaging film, glass, and plastics.

Formed in 1912 as part of an anti-trust settlement with DuPont, the Hercules Powder Company (later Hercules Inc.) initially specialized in the manufacture of explosives and smokeless powders and subsequently diversified its business to encompass a variety of industrial products, including pine and paper chemicals, synthetics, pigments, polymers, and cellulose.