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High-speed “brains” for high-speed planes
166
CURRENT TOPICS
[J. F. I.
"As a result," he said, "in many instances the effluent from our stack is cleaner radioactively than the atmosphere itself."
Four Watt Resistor.--A new power resistor, type PW4 rated at four watts, has been enthusiastically received as a recent addition to the International Resistance Company line, Completely insulated with an inorganic core material molded in a high temperature plastic, this unit will not support combustion. Wire element is uniformly and tightly wound on glass fiber core with axial leads 1½in. long; 0.036 in. in diameter. Body dimensions: 1] in. long by w-g ~1 in. in diameter. Type PW4 is available from 1 ohm to 8200 ohms in 4-5% and 4-10% tolerance. Units prominently stamped with IRC trademark, type and rating, ohm range and tolerance. This four watt resistor is particularly recommended for television circuits requiring 2 to 3 watts actual dissipation at high ambient temperature, resistance element of resistance capacitance filter in automobile receiving sets where operation is at high ambient temperature, and all other circuits where a stable resistor is required, with wattage dissipation of 4 watts and less. High-Speed "Brains" for High-Speed Planes.--The more that jet planes increase in speed, climbing ability, and in other aspects of performance the more assistance must be given the pilot in the way of automatic controls. These devices---such as the Westinghouse autopilot--are almost as amazing as the planes themselves. This autopilot flies the plane automatically, whether cruising leisurely or at high-speed, fast maneuvering combat, Although the autopilot contains a few tubes, its operation is based primarily on the Magamp®--magnetic amplifier. Among the airplanes making use of the autopilot is the Lockheed F-94C Starfire, most powerful of all single-engine jets now in production. It is a two-man aircraft in the 600 mph. class and can climb to 45,000 ft. or higher. After take off, ground radar observers direct the airplane by radio toward the target. When near the target, the pilot turns on instruments which electronically track down the enemy, aim the airplane, and fire up to 24 rockets from a ring of tubes in the nose. The Westinghouse autopilot is unique in the use of rapidly spinning "rate" gyroscopes as primary sensing elements for following the movements of the airplane during all maneuvers. They differ in this respect from ordinary "position" gyros, which are not locked to the airplane and hence resist any effort to change their direction of motion. Position gyros are sensitive only to changes in the attitude of the airplane, whereas the "rate" of gyros of the Westinghouse autopilot respond only to the rate at which such changes take place. The flight controller of the autopilot, a single knob, affords virtual fingertip control of the movement of the airplane. To climb, the pilot pulls the knob back and the plane responds at a constant rate, regardless of external conditions. To turn, he rotates the knob either right or left. The turn is executed at once at a rate depending on the amount the knob is turned, with the correct bank angle automatically set for proper coordination. For combat maneuvers, the pilot switches the autopilot to a mode of operation which gives him complete manual control, but which introduces the necessary rate damping to eliminate the hazard of making a maneuver
Feb., 1953.]
CURRENT ToPIcs
I67
too rapidly for the high-speed aircraft. The control reacts to the pilot's signal in less than one-fifteenth second, and the hydraulic flight controls "boost" the pilot's effort some 15 times. The autopilot works through this same system in automatically piloting the aircraft. It is tied into the plane's radar and instrument landing system, helping it to track enemy targets automatically and to land in bad weather. The autopilot is suitable for both large and small commercial airplanes as well as military aircraft. Radio-controlled, it can also serve to direct the flight of guided missiles and pilotless aircraft.
"Hot Lab"--Atomic Age TooL--Nuclear scientists, who work daily with radioactive materials too "hot" to handle, have been able to solve many of their problems by using one of the most unique "tools" of the Atomic Age-the " H o t Laboratory." One such group of scientists is at work in the Bettis Plant, Pittsburgh, Pa., of the Atomic Energy Commission. This plant is operated by the Westinghouse Atomic Power Division, which is engaged in two of the nation's atomic projects---construction of the atomic power plant for submarine U. S. S. Nautilus, and development of another nuclear reactor for a large vessel, such as an aircraft carrier. Both projects are being conducted for the U. S. Navy and the Atomic Energy Commission. A major problem in the construction of nuclear reactors is that of handling radioactive materials during tests and laboratory analyses. For safety purposes, this testing is done almost completely by remote control in a building known as the "hot lab." There are five "hot spots," or cells, in the Westinghouse "hot lab" and these are separated from the main working area by a thick, concrete and lead wall. In the cells themselves--each separated from the other by a thick steel wall--are testing devices designed especially for the lab's operations. The inside of each cell is viewed through a 36-inch-thick window comprised of layers of plate glass separated by oil. Mechanical, claw-like " h a n d s " - controlled from outside the cell--move radioactive objects into position for testing. A periscope-telescope arrangement enables scientists to examine specimens through a remotely controlled microscope. Transmission-Type Interference Filters.--A complete selection of transmission-type interference filters for use in isolating specific spectral bands was announced recently by Bausch & Lomb Optical Co., Rochester, N. Y. Prominent among the fields in which this type of optical product is used are colorimetry, color densitometry, photomicrography, and flame photometry. The filter consists of two highly reflecting but partially transmitting films of silver separated by a spacer film of non-absorbing material, deposited on a two-inch-square glass plate by the high vacuum methods pioneered by the firm. The depth of separation of the silver films by the spacer film governs the wavelength position of the "pass band"; hence the color of the light which the filter will transmit. Wavelengths carried in stock extend over the range of 340 to 800 millimicrons. In the field of high-vacuum, thermal deposition of films on glass, Bausch & Lomb perfected techniques and formulas under the supervision of Dr. A. F.
CURRENT TOPICS
[J. F. I.
"As a result," he said, "in many instances the effluent from our stack is cleaner radioactively than the atmosphere itself."
Four Watt Resistor.--A new power resistor, type PW4 rated at four watts, has been enthusiastically received as a recent addition to the International Resistance Company line, Completely insulated with an inorganic core material molded in a high temperature plastic, this unit will not support combustion. Wire element is uniformly and tightly wound on glass fiber core with axial leads 1½in. long; 0.036 in. in diameter. Body dimensions: 1] in. long by w-g ~1 in. in diameter. Type PW4 is available from 1 ohm to 8200 ohms in 4-5% and 4-10% tolerance. Units prominently stamped with IRC trademark, type and rating, ohm range and tolerance. This four watt resistor is particularly recommended for television circuits requiring 2 to 3 watts actual dissipation at high ambient temperature, resistance element of resistance capacitance filter in automobile receiving sets where operation is at high ambient temperature, and all other circuits where a stable resistor is required, with wattage dissipation of 4 watts and less. High-Speed "Brains" for High-Speed Planes.--The more that jet planes increase in speed, climbing ability, and in other aspects of performance the more assistance must be given the pilot in the way of automatic controls. These devices---such as the Westinghouse autopilot--are almost as amazing as the planes themselves. This autopilot flies the plane automatically, whether cruising leisurely or at high-speed, fast maneuvering combat, Although the autopilot contains a few tubes, its operation is based primarily on the Magamp®--magnetic amplifier. Among the airplanes making use of the autopilot is the Lockheed F-94C Starfire, most powerful of all single-engine jets now in production. It is a two-man aircraft in the 600 mph. class and can climb to 45,000 ft. or higher. After take off, ground radar observers direct the airplane by radio toward the target. When near the target, the pilot turns on instruments which electronically track down the enemy, aim the airplane, and fire up to 24 rockets from a ring of tubes in the nose. The Westinghouse autopilot is unique in the use of rapidly spinning "rate" gyroscopes as primary sensing elements for following the movements of the airplane during all maneuvers. They differ in this respect from ordinary "position" gyros, which are not locked to the airplane and hence resist any effort to change their direction of motion. Position gyros are sensitive only to changes in the attitude of the airplane, whereas the "rate" of gyros of the Westinghouse autopilot respond only to the rate at which such changes take place. The flight controller of the autopilot, a single knob, affords virtual fingertip control of the movement of the airplane. To climb, the pilot pulls the knob back and the plane responds at a constant rate, regardless of external conditions. To turn, he rotates the knob either right or left. The turn is executed at once at a rate depending on the amount the knob is turned, with the correct bank angle automatically set for proper coordination. For combat maneuvers, the pilot switches the autopilot to a mode of operation which gives him complete manual control, but which introduces the necessary rate damping to eliminate the hazard of making a maneuver
Feb., 1953.]
CURRENT ToPIcs
I67
too rapidly for the high-speed aircraft. The control reacts to the pilot's signal in less than one-fifteenth second, and the hydraulic flight controls "boost" the pilot's effort some 15 times. The autopilot works through this same system in automatically piloting the aircraft. It is tied into the plane's radar and instrument landing system, helping it to track enemy targets automatically and to land in bad weather. The autopilot is suitable for both large and small commercial airplanes as well as military aircraft. Radio-controlled, it can also serve to direct the flight of guided missiles and pilotless aircraft.
"Hot Lab"--Atomic Age TooL--Nuclear scientists, who work daily with radioactive materials too "hot" to handle, have been able to solve many of their problems by using one of the most unique "tools" of the Atomic Age-the " H o t Laboratory." One such group of scientists is at work in the Bettis Plant, Pittsburgh, Pa., of the Atomic Energy Commission. This plant is operated by the Westinghouse Atomic Power Division, which is engaged in two of the nation's atomic projects---construction of the atomic power plant for submarine U. S. S. Nautilus, and development of another nuclear reactor for a large vessel, such as an aircraft carrier. Both projects are being conducted for the U. S. Navy and the Atomic Energy Commission. A major problem in the construction of nuclear reactors is that of handling radioactive materials during tests and laboratory analyses. For safety purposes, this testing is done almost completely by remote control in a building known as the "hot lab." There are five "hot spots," or cells, in the Westinghouse "hot lab" and these are separated from the main working area by a thick, concrete and lead wall. In the cells themselves--each separated from the other by a thick steel wall--are testing devices designed especially for the lab's operations. The inside of each cell is viewed through a 36-inch-thick window comprised of layers of plate glass separated by oil. Mechanical, claw-like " h a n d s " - controlled from outside the cell--move radioactive objects into position for testing. A periscope-telescope arrangement enables scientists to examine specimens through a remotely controlled microscope. Transmission-Type Interference Filters.--A complete selection of transmission-type interference filters for use in isolating specific spectral bands was announced recently by Bausch & Lomb Optical Co., Rochester, N. Y. Prominent among the fields in which this type of optical product is used are colorimetry, color densitometry, photomicrography, and flame photometry. The filter consists of two highly reflecting but partially transmitting films of silver separated by a spacer film of non-absorbing material, deposited on a two-inch-square glass plate by the high vacuum methods pioneered by the firm. The depth of separation of the silver films by the spacer film governs the wavelength position of the "pass band"; hence the color of the light which the filter will transmit. Wavelengths carried in stock extend over the range of 340 to 800 millimicrons. In the field of high-vacuum, thermal deposition of films on glass, Bausch & Lomb perfected techniques and formulas under the supervision of Dr. A. F.