- Email: [email protected]
Three-dimensional tic-tac-toe game
j;m.. 1955.j
CURRENT TOPICS
on any curved section of pipe, a con> pound rupture with protruding edges, or ruptured in fittings. T o apply a patch to a severed or ruptured metallic pipe requires approximately 15 to 20 minutes, and pressure can be restored to the system within 30 minutes after application. Little skill is needed to apply the patch, as the materials, before hardening, are pliable and are easily applied. The maximum patch life is unknown as yet, but experience has shown that a properly applied patch will last until permanent repairs can be made.*
Three-Dimensional Tic-Tac-Toe G a m e . - - Q u b i c - - t h e new three-dimensional game for two to four players-is stimulating, brain-teasing fun for a(hflts and youngsters alike, making it a good family game, yet equally entertaining in employee recreation rooms. The game is played, with colored disks, on four levels. The top three surfaces are clear plastic, making it possible to see through the levels in all directions. One lnarker is placed on any square in turn, the object being to get four in a straight line (across, diagonal, etc.) through the Qubic. An incredible number of possible plays makes Qubic interesting. The game has been put Oll the market by American Homecraft (',,., ()f Chicago. Rustless Fish H o o k s (White :liretal N e w s Letter, Vol. XIX, No. 3 ) . - - F i s h hooks that will not rust in either fresh or salt water are proving to be a valuable asset to the angler. These hooks, which are made of special heat-treated nickel that is strong and hard, always stay shiny and never rust-stain lures. * Details available upon request to Navy Tecl~p~ical News. Office of Information, Navy Department. \Vashington 25, D. C.
'~5
H i g h - P e r f e c t i o n Silicon Crystals. - - A new level of perfection has been reached in silicon crystals produced in the General Electric Research Laboratory at Schenectady. Evidence for this perfection is a quantk) called "'lifetime" by which physicists refer to the length of time that an excess of electrons purposely injected to measure crystal quality takes to disappear. Usually "lifetime" is a few ten thousandths of a second; often considerably less. However, in these new crystals, "lifetime" is in excess of a thousandth of a second. From a special supply of excellent elelnental silicon with a purity measured in parts per million and unavailable in more than laboratory quantities until recently, several research associates in the G E Laboratory's senticonductor section have worked to produce the sizeable superpure crystals that show these highly important qualities. One of the investigators, Dr. Hubbard Horn, comments that silicon as contained in common sand is one of the most abundant elements in the earth's crust. But in its highly perfect form, as now produced in the Research Laboratory, it is a rare and invaluable semiconductor. Yet, while G E scientists can achieve unbelievabh high purity by ingenious processing, "this still isn't good enough for what we want to do with it," l)r. H o r n said. discussing methods by which the present goal was achieved. It may never be possible to gain absolute purity and perfection in silicon but the attempt will continue: otherwise silicon's physical, chemical, and electrical properties can never be fully known. Here, as elsewhere in the progress of modern solid-state physics, vast unknown areas invite research, holding out possibilities for val-
CURRENT TOPICS
on any curved section of pipe, a con> pound rupture with protruding edges, or ruptured in fittings. T o apply a patch to a severed or ruptured metallic pipe requires approximately 15 to 20 minutes, and pressure can be restored to the system within 30 minutes after application. Little skill is needed to apply the patch, as the materials, before hardening, are pliable and are easily applied. The maximum patch life is unknown as yet, but experience has shown that a properly applied patch will last until permanent repairs can be made.*
Three-Dimensional Tic-Tac-Toe G a m e . - - Q u b i c - - t h e new three-dimensional game for two to four players-is stimulating, brain-teasing fun for a(hflts and youngsters alike, making it a good family game, yet equally entertaining in employee recreation rooms. The game is played, with colored disks, on four levels. The top three surfaces are clear plastic, making it possible to see through the levels in all directions. One lnarker is placed on any square in turn, the object being to get four in a straight line (across, diagonal, etc.) through the Qubic. An incredible number of possible plays makes Qubic interesting. The game has been put Oll the market by American Homecraft (',,., ()f Chicago. Rustless Fish H o o k s (White :liretal N e w s Letter, Vol. XIX, No. 3 ) . - - F i s h hooks that will not rust in either fresh or salt water are proving to be a valuable asset to the angler. These hooks, which are made of special heat-treated nickel that is strong and hard, always stay shiny and never rust-stain lures. * Details available upon request to Navy Tecl~p~ical News. Office of Information, Navy Department. \Vashington 25, D. C.
'~5
H i g h - P e r f e c t i o n Silicon Crystals. - - A new level of perfection has been reached in silicon crystals produced in the General Electric Research Laboratory at Schenectady. Evidence for this perfection is a quantk) called "'lifetime" by which physicists refer to the length of time that an excess of electrons purposely injected to measure crystal quality takes to disappear. Usually "lifetime" is a few ten thousandths of a second; often considerably less. However, in these new crystals, "lifetime" is in excess of a thousandth of a second. From a special supply of excellent elelnental silicon with a purity measured in parts per million and unavailable in more than laboratory quantities until recently, several research associates in the G E Laboratory's senticonductor section have worked to produce the sizeable superpure crystals that show these highly important qualities. One of the investigators, Dr. Hubbard Horn, comments that silicon as contained in common sand is one of the most abundant elements in the earth's crust. But in its highly perfect form, as now produced in the Research Laboratory, it is a rare and invaluable semiconductor. Yet, while G E scientists can achieve unbelievabh high purity by ingenious processing, "this still isn't good enough for what we want to do with it," l)r. H o r n said. discussing methods by which the present goal was achieved. It may never be possible to gain absolute purity and perfection in silicon but the attempt will continue: otherwise silicon's physical, chemical, and electrical properties can never be fully known. Here, as elsewhere in the progress of modern solid-state physics, vast unknown areas invite research, holding out possibilities for val-