Cross a bridge and make a wish N Efifty XT time you cut ten or twenty or miles off a weekend trip home possibilities in this direction. From the mining of raw ore to the fabrication of pays particular attention in its educa- tional program to the development ot by taking the short way over a bridge- the finished product, steel-making is di- give a thought to the days when the college graduates and other technically- rected by technically-trained men. Spe- trained men. This program has as funda- bridge wasn't there, when people had to cialists in every phase of engineering take the long way around. mental objectives providing employees play a vital role in the many and varied a sound foundation for advancement and Right then would be a good time to steps in making steel. Thousands of make your wish . . . a wish that you will assuring them opportunity for maximum other engineers supervise the transfor- personal development. soon be able to put your engineering mation of finished steel into structures knowledge to work in helping to plan and The training program in United States like this mighty bridge. build the things that make America great. Steel has become the "bridge" to success- The steel industry offers hundreds of United States Steel recognizes the ful careers for hundreds of capable need for carefully-trained specialists and young men. VISION... Vital Ingredient of a Name What is vision? An inspired peatedly demonstrated. It's a liance nine times greater than the revelation? Or . . . the faculty or vision that's burned brightly sun; the bacteria-killing Steri- sense of sight? through the years. lamp; fluorescent and mercury- Pick your own definition. In this bold challenge to status vapor sun lamps; talking lamps; They're both important in your quo, Westinghouse staked his heat lamps; lamps to produce future. With Westinghouse, they name and future on a conviction black light . . . and on and on are both important, too. that better, cheaper power could be through the 10,000 different types Even before the time George delivered with alternating current. and sizes . . . plus a multitude of Westinghouse dramatically The same spirit of enterprise electronic tubes with equally proved the superiority of a-c by the Westinghouse organiza- versatile and vital applications. power distribution, climaxed by tion has repeatedly broadened the Yes, vision is essential in win- his daring demonstration at the usefulness and diverse applica- ning a name but it is doubly im- Columbian Exposition in 1893, tion of electric lighting. portant in protecting it, especially the vision (inspired revelation) For example, the quartz tube a name whose reputation is staked of Westinghouse had been re- filled with Krypton with a bril- on the commitment. . . Hmraram-mmm.' Southern fried chicken, quality birds more frequently and more economically. golden-brown and crispy. Man, oh, man . . . what a treat! Experiments with amino acids and their importance m the nutrition of man and animal, are but a small part of Well, mister, you can thank Methionine, an essential the continuing research program in many fields which is amino acid, for helping to bring better quality and less carried on by Dow—in the interest of producing more expensive poultry to the family table. "Chemicals Indispensable to Industry and Agriculture. - Chemistry and southern fried ??????? That's right, for today, chemistry plays an indispensable role in nutrition. For several years biochemists have recognized the nutritional importance of amino acids, the building block of proteins. Several of these amino acids are essential to the diet, for without them man and animal cannot grow or maintain life. Methionine is one of these essential amino acids. Dow's continuing research, along with that of other investigators, has proved that critical deficiencies of Methionine can be corrected by supplementing chicken feed with this amino acid, produced synthetically. Chickens fed fortified diets grew ten per cent faster and consumed less feed for every pound gained. Such new developments make it possible for poultry raisers to market better Did Newton really owe it all to an apple? Of courso not! Even if the "falling apple" myth were true, it would have merely been a meaningless annoyance to Sir Isaac Newton without his extensive background of reading and research. But he was able to apply principles learned in years of study to an apparently accidental phenomenon, and to come up with a whole new theory of physical relationships. You too will find that your progress in business, practice or research will depend on the background of knowledge and techniques learned while you are in school. The books you use today will never be discarded—they will go with you as long as you are active in your chosen field. Of course, many of them will bear the McGraw-Hill imprint because McGraw-Hill is the world's leading publisher of scientific and technical works both for learning and for reference. After graduation, with school behind you, you will find that constant advances in your field emphasize the importance of continual reading and the value of keeping a close check on new products resulting from new and improved techniques. Keep up by studying both the editorial and advertising contest of the McGraw-Hill magazine devoted to your field. Today in school and tomorrow in business or practice, you will find that your progress depends on your up-to-the-minute knowledge of your field. And, McGraw-Hill will continue to serve with books and magazines designed to provide all that is important and current. I he ring test, shown above, is a scientific founders as evidenced by the photograph below of method for determining the modulus of rupture cast iron pipe installed in 1664 to supply the town of pipe. It is not a required acceptance test but one and fountains of Versailles, France and still in of the additional tests made by cast iron pipe manu- service. Cast iron pipe is the standard material for facturers to ensure that the quality of the pipe water and gas mains and is widely used in sewage meets or exceeds standard specifications. works construction. Send for booklet, "Facts About Cast Iron Pipe." Address Dept. C , Cast Iron Pipe A ring, cut from random pipe, is subjected to Research Association, T. F. Wolfe, Engineer, progressively increased crushing load until failure 122 So. Michigan Ave., Chicago 3, Illinois. occurs. Standard 6-inch cast iron pipe, for example, withstands a crushing weight of more than 14,000 lbs. per foot. Such pipe meets severe service re- quirements with an ample margin of safety. Scientific progress in the laboratories of our members has resulted in higher attainable stand- ards of quality in the production processes. By metallurgical controls and tests of materials, cast iron pipe is produced today with precise knowl- edge of the physical characteristics of the iron before it is poured into the mold. Constant control of cupola operation is maintained by metal analy- sis. Rigid tests of the finished product, both ac- ceptance tests and routine tests, complete the quality control cycle. But with all the remarkable improvements in cast iron pipe production, we do not forget the achievements of the early pipe Table of Contents • articles THE FAIR SEX 8 STRENGTH FOR STRUCTURES 10 YOUR FIRST JOB 12 ENGINEERING-IT'S CRIMINAL 14 NODULAR CAST IRON 16 CENTURIES OF SERVICE 18 • features ENGIN-EARS 7 WE PRESENT 13 THE SOCIETIES 19 PICTURE PAGE 20 CAMPUS NEWS 22 NEW DEVELOPMENTS 24 SIDETRACKED 39 & 40 BY HERKIE BOWERS Spartan Engineer Editor the graduate. According to the Dean, median L O, THE POOR SENIOR! Next June, the largest class of engin- eers in history will be graduated. Next June, some 650 of us-MSC's engineer- starting salaries for various degrees are about as follows: B.S.-$225 per month, M.S.-$300 per month, Ph.D.— $375 per month. ing seniors —will leave to try for a place in The present overcrowded condition is industry. expected to diminish in a few years. Probable figures for the next four years show: Lo, the poor senior! According to figures Dean Miller gave us Year U.S. grads MSC gratis the other day, the prospects for this year's graduates leave much to be desired. He esti- 1950 47,000 650 mates there are some 350,000 engineers 1951 31,000 400 practicing at the present time. He also 1952 22,000 300 estimates that the profession will absorb only 1953 15,000 200 about 20,000 new men each year. » • • * HI LAMBDA TAU, ENGINEERING With approximately 47,000 engineers slated to receive degrees next spring, apparently less than half of us can expect to find jobs in our field. P honorary, again is active on campus. Through the efforts of a small group of faculty members and a student commit- To our way of thinking, one excellent tee, the fraternity was reactivated last term. solution of the problem is graduate work. For Phi Lambda Tau was first organized at MSC those men scholastically eligible, and able in 1925 and was discontinued during the war to afford it, an advanced degree would give years. them an additional " s e l l i n g " point in the With the large number of engineering stu- future and take them out of the present sur- dents now on campus, the school does need plus of job-seekers. another honorary in addition to Tau Beta Pi. In addition to assuring graduates a chance These two engineering honoraries are not in a t the better positions, advanced degrees (Continued on Page 26) generally mean higher starting salaries for | T STILL MAY BE A MAN'S WORLD, technician. Following her discharge in 1946, I but the fair sex is fast establishing a Natalie entered MSC under the G.I. Bill. beachhead. During her freshman year she earned top To prove this point, we dug out a scholastic honors and received the Tau Beta musty old volume, published when grandma Pi slide rule award—the first woman ever to was a potential career woman, to determine receive it. how far a girl then was permitted to advance Natalie is a member of AIEE, mixed chorus, in pursuit of fame and fortune. It wasn't very riding club and ski club. During her first far! year, she was captain of the women's fresh- This reference book—the latest thing in man soccer team, and at present is registrar guides to a career—listed every occupation at the Sig.ma Kappa house. Last summer, she open to young ladies. It even mentioned engineering drafting for those young ladies adept with rule and pencil. This started a hunt for those Spartanettes we have seen around campus looking through a transit, pouring molten iron in the foundry and carrying slide rules as easily as hand bags. T HE FIRST FEMALE OF THE SPECIES we found was ex-marine sergeant Natalie Noble of Cummington, Mass., an EE senior. In high school, she was on the girls' basketball team, sang in the glee club, and was named to the Pro-Merito honor role. After graduating from high school, she entered the Women's Auxiliary Marine Corps and served three years in the San Francisco Bay area as a radio operator and attended the Reserve Officers Training around a football, playing baseball, or knit- Program at Quantico, Virginia, and now holds ting a pair of argyle sox. a reserve commission. When asked why she chose engineering, Natalie replied, "It just came naturally. Between my war experience and my interest in electronics, I thought I would have a try at S TEVE BRODIE'S DECISION TO JUMP from the Brooklyn Bridge could not have been much greater than Ann Kapp's decision to leave Brooklyn and it. My folks encouraged me even though there study electrical engineering at MSC. are no engineers in the family. Now I'm more Ann now is a junior, and has the qualities determined that ever to prove that a woman of becoming a successful EE in the electrical can be as good an engineer as a man." appliance field. Perhaps your "kitchen of tomorrow" will be equipped with some of W E FOUND OUR SECOND ENGINEER- ess hard at work in the foundry—18 year old Dolly Filipus from Benton Harbor. MSC was a new experience for Miss Kapp's ingenious ideas. A deep interest in high school mathematics and physics, as well as mechanical drawing war courses, gradually developed in Ann a her last term, although she is a junior in ME. strong desire to become an engineer. Because the events of the last war catapulted science and engineering into public consciousness, Ann became aware of the important role of the engineer, not merely in advancing the stan- dard of living, but in the interest of science itself. There were no family influences on her decision to become an engineer. Ann's par- ents first opposed the idea. However, they She transferred to State from Benton Harbor J.C. Most of the men were surprised when Dolly first entered the foundry. However, they found a pleasant and intelligent person who was not afraid to get her hands dirty. Dolly is proving herself capable of giving competition in a 'man's field". We asked Dolly why she had chosen ME. Ann Kapp "Well, in high school," she answered, "I took some engineering courses on a dare, and now feel that it was the right decision. Why soon developed a real liking for them. My did Ann choose M.S.C.? Many of the outstand- interest also stems from a liking for machinery ing eastern universities were overcrowded a nd how it works. As far as my future is and wouldn't accept women as engineering concerned, it is quite indefinite. I would like students. to start in a drafting room or perhaps go into Several well-known firms already have business with my brother who is an EE senior reaped benefits from Miss Kapp's engineering "ere at State." abilities. During the war she was employed Dolly spends a great deal of her summer by Cox & Stevens, and last summer by George vacations doing the chores on her parent's G. Sharp, both'of New York City, as an engin- farm. Interested not only in her duties as a eering draftsman. armerette, she is equally versatile in tossing (Continued on Page 28) E NGINEERING HISTORY WAS BEING made when ground was broken in Philadelphia last April for a 160-foor span bridge. This marked the first use of consideration in concrete design is to prevent its cracking under the tensile loads. In the conventional reinforced design meth- od, enough mild reinforcing steel is used to pre-stressed concrete in important structural prevent any appreciable elongation and con- construction in this country. sequent cracking. However, in the pre-stres- Of more importance to practical-minded sed method, a large compressive stress is designers, however, was the fact that the formed in the concrete before the load is bridge contract was won competitively by a applied by high yield strength steel wires or bid that was $200,000 lower than others with cables. This compressive stress, approxi- more conventional designs. mately 5000 psi, and larger than the designed Although construction of the Philadelphia tensile stress, neutralizes the tensile stress bridge made U.S. history, in some parts of the and maintains a margin of compressive stress world it would be considered commonplace. thereby eliminating the tendency to crack Other sections, particularly Europe, are far within the concrete when the load is applied. out front in the development of pre-stressed The most important advantage of pre- concrete structures. The reason being that stressed concrete is its ability to utilize the shortages of steel and wood forced designers recently developed concrete compressive to search for non-conventional methods if the strengths of 6000 psi and steel yield strengths postwar reconstruction job was to be even of 150,000 psi. These strengths are compared partially completed. with the compressive and yield strengths of What is pre-stressed concrete, and what are 2000 psi and 40,000 psi of concrete and steel its advantages? respectively, which are used in conventional It isknown thatthe compressive strength of reinforced concrete design. concrete is much larger than its tensile stren- Conventional design cannot take advantage gth, and the difference is still increasing. of these increased strengths for a number of , For example, compressive strengths of reasons which follow in a chain-like se- 6000 psi are now easily obtained, with 9000 quence. If the high compressive strength psi reached with special treatment. Compare concrete were used, the cross-sectional area this with tensile strengths of only 350 psi. would be too small to allow the required Since every beam under load is subject to allotment of mild reinforcing steel. Then, if equal compressive and tensile forces, a prime high yield strength steel were substituted, the greatly decreased area would be large poration of New York, builders of about 700 enough; however, the elongation of the steel similar tanks throughout the United States, a would be five times as great which would record which represents almost the entire allow cracking of concrete under tension, thus pre-stressed construction in the United States making its use unsatisfactory. up to the present time. Many of the pre-stressed concrete's advan- Currently, there are numerous methods of tages stem from this initial advantage. For pre-stressing in actual practice, and no one example, the reduced cross-sectional area method has come to be recognized as stan- reduces the , dead weight a corresponding dard. The impetus for the series of modifica- amount. Also, the required amount of concrete tions is the result of efforts to lessen labor is decreased; which effects a large saving, costs, overcome transporatiton problems, and since the cost of concrete is a major item in seek other applications—a trend that is na- the total cost. Cold drawn or high yield tural after any wide, sweeping engineering strength is costlier than mild steel, but the developement. The most successful methods required amount of cold drawn steel is one- used thus far are the Freyssinet or French fifth smaller, making the steel costs about method, the Maguel-Blaton or Belgian method, equal. It is also possible with reduced cross and the Hoyer system, used in Sweden and sections to decrease the overall building England. dimensions without sacrificing space. The Maguel-Blaton method, which has been Fatigue stress in the wires is negligible used the most, utilizes cables consisting of since the addition of the load would only vary thirty to sixty quarter inch wires, stressed to the stress, at the most, four percent. How- 135,000 psi. The wires are spaced uni- ever, the stress in reinforcing steel could formly within a rubber or sheet metal sheath vary from 0 to 20,000 psi. Because fatigue is cast in the concrete. After the concrete has unimportant, and because the failure of one hardened, a five ton jack is used to stress wire through a defect is inconsequential due two wires at a time. The locking mechanism to the large number of wires, designers con- consists of metal wedges which fit into a clude that s t r e s s e s up to eighty percent of grooved "sandwich" plate. This plate bears yield strength are permissible in pre-stressed in turn against a carbon steel distributing concrete steel as compared to the general plate which compresses the concrete beam. rule that stresses up to only fifty percent of When the wires are stressed and secured, yield strength are permissible in concrete grout, a fairly fluid concrete, is pumped into reinforcing steel. the hollow spaces within the sheath to pro- Another advantage of pre-stressed concrete tect the wires from corrosive action. is evident in the construction of the new The best feature of this system is the Lansing sewage disposal plant. The large ability to place any number of wires within a cylindrical concrete shells, which will serve cable and insuring a uniform stiess. Disad- as sludge digestion tanks, were constructed vantages are the time taken to stress each without the usual reinforcing, and though the pair of wires and the extension of the dis- shells are only six inches thick, they are tributing plates beyond the end of the member. crackproof and leakproof due to a compressive Freyssinet, who first pointed out that high stress initiated by wires wound around the yield strength steel was necessary to retain Periphery. Incidentally, the shells were a compressive stress in concrete, devised a constructed by the American Pre-Load Cor- method which has been used successfully in France. This system employs eight to eighteen wires enclosed in a round sheet metal sheath held in position by helical springs. Instead of a distributing plate, the wires are secured in a cylindrical concrete block which, after pouring, becomes an integral part of the concrete beam. Sweden and England have utilized the Hoyer system, a refinement of the earlier methods, which has opened the field of mass production of standardized members to pre-stressed concrete. In this method, 0.2" diameter wires are stressed and secured to (Continued on Page 32) I N OUR SENIOR YEAR, AS WE AP- praise our qualifications with the hope of finding our place in industry, we most often consider only the first half field; as well as our acceptance of responsi- bility over and above that required by our present position. Socially, we must know and understand of the requirements set for us by industry. each of our business a s s o c i a t e s . We must In our appraisal we consider our back- concern ourselves with the problems and ground in fundamentals given in college welfare of each of these persons. After courses. We may wonder a little whether our business hours, sociability with our associ- grades are as good as industry desires. We ates plays a great role in our industrial concern ourselves with our appearance and success. In both of these phases our con- our manners. We complete our preparation by sideration must be that we respect equally getting out our Sunday suit and Sunday all of our associates whether above or below manners for the interview. us on the industrial and social ladder. At this point, we have prepared for indus- Continuous study in our chosen field is a try's first view of our qualifications. In must if we are to keep abreast of changing general, industry assumes from our college's conditions and stay on the road to success. reputation that we are sound in fundamentals. Industry has much to offer, and is willing to Scholastically, we have placed ourselves cooperate fully with the person who is inter- on various levels, and the industrialist ested in further educational opportunities. considers our apparent scholastic qualifica- Your gain in knowledge is industry's gain in tion in relation to the positions open with progress. his organization. The best positions do not The last possibility-and the major one-is always require top scholastic averages, our acceptance of additional responsibility- although our grades often indicate our interest Many grade 'A' college graduates, although as well as our ability. otherwise desirable, fail completely when Our appearance, poise, mannerisms and manners come in for close observation as the they do not exhibit the ability nor the desire interview is conducted. to accept a little more responsibility °r a little more work over and above that normally Our other qualifications, or as we might define them, our possibilities, are most required to perform their duties. Extra hours thoroughly searched for. These possibilities and extra responsibilities assumed throug are our social interests and abilities, outside our own initiative are the final requirements - a s well as inside-our business world; and for success. our interest in continuous study in our chosen Evaluate yourself on these qualities before you have your next interview. which he was riding. He suffered a very T HE WORST NEVER HAPPENS" IS the philosophy of Mr. Datus Pierson, graduate EE from MSC Mr. Pierson claims he has lived 87 years on borrowed time. Since his actual serious V-shaped skull fracture and was bleeding from one ear where the organs had been crushed. His wife was rushed to his bedside so she age is 58 years, his claim is not self could see her husband before he died. But evident. He explains this once again he denied death. oddity as follows: That is how 30 more years In the horse and buggy days were added to his borrowed of the year 1900, while playing time. The accident caused per- marbles in the middle of Grand manent deafness in one ear. River Ave., in Detroit, he The "Grim Reaper" smiled backed into a moving electric with certainty again in 1943 streetcar. Caught on the car's with the onslaught of a heart cow- catcher, his head was attack. Mr. Pierson's son was bounced along the pavement given an emergency furlough for a hundred feet until he was from war duty in China to be shaken loose and then the with his dad during his last moments. Although causing his rumbling streetcar seemingly early retirement, the heart finished its job by running attack was not fatal, and Mr. over both of his ankles. Pierson added another seven he daily newspapers assu- years of borrowed time. This red its readers that the lad is how he explains his 87 would be dead bv'mornine. but he lived and gained fifty years of borrowed years of borrowed time. time. However, his flesh and blood feet were "The Worst Never Happens", has become Su Pplanted by artificial ones. He refers to one of Mr. Pierson's favorite expressions. them a s " t h e s e damned t w i g s " . Mr. Pierson made a success of his engin- In 1920 a streetcar smashed the roadster in (Continued on Page 28) T HERE OUGHTA BE A LAW ON JUST how much a guy can take around here. For the past couple of years I've been running myself ragged trying to find the ideal piece is a pitcher of a babe with no clothes on. I signs up. The first day of c l a s s e s I recognize my buddies what flunked effective livin' with engineering major. At one time I even got so me. There was old Below Bottom Bowers and desperate that I thought of trying human Plum Poor Paul in the gang. I began to feel engineering*, but I'd sooner pluck ducks for right at home in this mob. Pretty soon in a living. comes some shady looken character who is You characters must be a bunch of geniuses eating the end of a cigar which I smell prior with a lot of guts to get some of these engin- to his entry. This man is nothing but skin and eering courses that they toss at ya. I've tried bones, although his dirty pink snort shirt all six engineering majors, and each one bulges with a couple of roscoes. He must not keeps giving me a tough time. trust nobody as h e ' s even got a gat in his I decides that it's about high-time I goes slide rule case and one stuffed in his belt. over to see my enrollment officer again. She "OK, youse g u y s , " the cigar butt moves seemed quite agreeable about giving me a over to the other side of his mouth without transfer to something else, but to what....I'd him touching it, "I give orders around here, tried 'em all and failed. No other branch of the school would take me with my minus point see? Any objections?" There are no objec- two average. Even if I did get an " A " in tions. Pogo-Stick 201, it didn't seem to cut no ice "OK, dis is Bank Heists 201. Da first tree with her. "We usually have some type of weeks we study da approach of da Fiscus course to fit every personality", she says. mob in Chi. I woiked wit 'em a l l - t h e Eraser "OK sister", I says, "I'm game if you are, mob before they got rubbed out, and the whaddaya got that I ain't tried?" "This McCandles in St. Louis. One of the McCand- course is made to order for a person of your les was snuffed out in a bank heist back in character**", she says as she slips me this '02. Dey knew how to operate real scientific here little course out line which says on the like. Here, lemme show y a . " cover "Criminal Engineering". The frontis- He starts writing on the board. After a few minutes he's all through, and there's a formu- *Business Administration la that's at least five feet long which sports **/ Am an integral sign. At this point I am once more ready to change my major, but I string along- "Dat's da payroll job formula. Da exponent atmosphere. We are told to do this to people is two, for two guards; tree, for tree guards, when they don't want to play ball. Inciden- and so on. Wit one substituted for " a " you tally, it is advisable or even necessary to use can solve for a simple stick up. Dis here is a new dummy for each demonstration. one of those empirical formulas, so loin it The professor with the cauliflower ears good." then shows us how to get better grades from "Now dis course is busted into tree parts; unwilling instructors and more dough from Casing and Entering, Pulling da Heist, and future employers. A dummy is used in lieu of da Getaway. Da text is "Maken and Breaken an instructor. The likeness is amazing. The Out", by Monk Miller, one of me old pals. OK, dummy is supposed to represent an old man scram and all of youse grab one of dese shivs with grey hair. The instructor begins. onna way out. Take this card overta the "OK, Buster, where's me passen mark for Union ta get your heaters cause we're gonna this term?" need 'em next week." The dummy makes no reply and for this he is busted one in the snout by the instructor. A On the way to the next class we pass a big puff of sawdust issues forth. Then he C. E. 316a Sand, Cement, and Concrete lab grabs the old man's cane and whacks him mixing a big batch of concrete with a water- across the back of the head with it. cement ratio of 0.6792. The group is pouring this wet concrete into an open form which "C'mon, c'mon, I ain't got all day or maybe surrounds a man, the head of whom protrudes youse want another kick in the lip. slightly from the wet concrete. I recognize The prof boxes the old man on the ears. the man as a physics prof I once had. I put When the family resemblance becomes plain, my hand into the wet concrete, smear this he gives him the heel of his boot in the pit of over his face and continue on. the stomach. He then knocks over some chairs The walls of the persuasion laboratory are and walks away saying: "I'll be around again lined with a sound-proof material. The profes- tomorrow, Buster, and if I don't get them sor, who has a busted nose and cauliflower decent grades by then, I'll really have to go ears, demonstrates to us what he calls "per- to work." By this I guess he means that the suaders." These are: a hunk of garden hose, gangster leader will fire him. a vat of red hot ly.e, some blow torches, and We move on to the final class for the day, a calculus book. The use of these is demon- Crooked Gambling. This is good because I strated to the group. Evidently there is a don't like to see the dummies of nice old plentiful supply of grandma dummies for this grey haired profs be knocked all to pieces. is what is used as the demonstratee. During It's so hard on the dummies. I don't like this time a phonograph plays a record of these math classes too much, but I keep mum somebody yelling like hell. This provides the (Continued on Page 30) NODULAR CAST IRON NEW STRENGTH FOR AN OLD MATERIAL N ODULAR CAST IRON, WHICH IS synonomous with ductile cast iron, is a material possessing high strength, high elastic modulus and a substantial a compact form. A larger addition insures that all the graphite is converted to the spheroidal form, and the strength increases to a value several times that of the untreated product." amount of ductility. Magnesium is not the only element that These desired properties are obtained by may be added to bring about these spheroidal the addition to a cast iron melt of an element graphite structures. The British Cast Iron which puts the graphite in spheroidal or Research Association discovered that adding nodular form instead of the flake form common ceruim will bring about this same property. to gray cast iron. This type combines the process advantages of grey cast iron, fluidity Grey cast iron contains graphite in long and castability, and also has the advantages flares, forming a multitude of voids and of cast steel, high tensile strength, and good notches in the matrix which are primarily ductility. responsible for relative brittleness and low Is nodular cast iron something new? strength. Great strides have been made in the In a book published in 1918, "The Prin- metallurgy of cast iron in the last twenty-five ciples, Operation and Products of the Blast years. By means of carbon control, alloying, Furnace", J. E. Johnson tells of cast irons and general improvements in melting practice, that had been developed having nodular a wide range of properties have been achiev- structures. Many metallurgists of today have ed. However, as long as graphite is present made attempts to disprove Johnson's dis- in the form of flakes, there are great limita- covery. These metallurgists claim he did not tions to the level of properties obtainable, obtain nodular graphite structures, but ob- especially those related to toughness and tained flake and under-cooled structures. ductility. Discovery of this material was announced in this country at the American Foundryman's This has created a wide gap between the Society meeting in Philadelphia, May 7, 1948. cast irons and the cast s t e e l s . Many larg e It was stated there that the process for manufactured parts which require toughness making nodular cast iron " i s based on intro- have had to be made from expensive cast ducing into the iron a small amount of magne- steel. The use of malleable iron is mostly sium or magnesium-containing agent such as limited to small parts and light sections. With nickel-magnesium alloy. This produces a the advancement of nodular cast iron this partial conversion of graphite to the spheroi- "gap" is reduced and it soon may be pos- dal form and the remaining graphite takes on sible to make available a low cost foundry iron which is easily produced, has excellent casting qualities, and good physical proper- The endurance properties of nodular iron ties. are greatly improved over those of grey iron. The reason is believed to be that nodular * * * • cast iron has no graphite in the flake form to cause severe internal notching. Improvements Through photomicrography it is possible to in destructive growth at high temperatures show the changes in structure resulting from are looked for by metallurgists by striving the formation of graphite from flakes to toward a fine-textured graphite flake. Since spheroids. Figure l(a) shows the micro- nodular cast iron has no flake graphite, structure of high carbon cupola iron as melted destructive growth at high temperatures is down; it is the common structure of pearlitic less than that of grey iron. iron with long graphite flares. Figure l(b) Nodular cast iron is as free machining as shows the microstructure of the same melt grey iron of the same hardness. The surfaces after magnesium has been added; it shows of this material are much smoother and do not tear as grey iron does. A broken chip is formed in lathe turning of the as-cast nodular iron, while in the annealed state a continuous chip is formed. The casting quality of nodular iron is excellent. Fluidity is about the same as grey iron of the same composition. However, nodular iron has a distinct tendency toward piping, and inadequately fed sections may collapse. Complicated castings have been successfully produced by using the molding the graphite as dispersed spheroids or nod- practices set up for malleable cast iron. ules, each partly sheathed in ferrite (rela- Nodular iron, because of its great ductility tively pure iron), and a pearlitic matrix. and resistance of thermal shock, may replace In order to improve the ductility of nodular high carbon castings used for railroad car cast iron the pearlitic structure must be wheels and ingot molds. broken down. As in malleable iron, this is The welding of nodular cast iron is done done by annealing. However, the transforma- by following the same techniques as for grey tion is completed within a few hours as iron. However, no indications of cracking are compared to 24 hours or longer for malleable found in nodular iron when arcwelded and cast iron. The annealing serves to decompose there are some indications of greater harden- the pearlite giving an entirely ferrite matrix. ability along the weld margin. It would seem The micro-structure is shown in figure 2. logical that the nodular graphite around the Elasticity and stiffness of iron is greatly welds would return to the flake form, but the dependent upon the graphite form. Flake spheroidal graphite bodies float in the molten graphite iron does not follow Hookes' law zone and cool down without being regenera- (stress proportional to strain) since the ted. modulus of elasticity decreases with increas- Nodular cast iron possesses greater ing stress. On the other hand, nodular iron strength and ductility than grey iron and behaves like cast steel where stress is better casting characteristics than cast proportional to strain up to high levels of steel. These are the main reasons for its stress. Figure 3 shows this relationship in a rapid development in the past three years. typical stress-strain curve. Forty-three foundries are licensed to use this treatment, but none as yet are on high produc- tion. Many potential applications exist for this new material. The agricultural implement, automotive, and railroad industries no doubt could apply nodular cast iron, both in the as-cast and heat-treated condition. There still are a number of problems to be solved before the process can be considered (Continued on Page 38) CENTURIES of SERVICE ANCIENT IRRIGATION SYSTEM STILL SERVES CHINA T HE CHINESE LONG HAVE BEEN noted for their engineering feats of which the Great Wall of China, pago- das, and their irrigation systems are make it impervious to water. It is interesting that all these rocks were gathered from nearby stream beds and laid in the structure by hand. the best known. The inner feeder canal always is supplied In this great group is the Tukiangyien with irrigation water. During floods, it is not Irrigation System. It was designed and con- over-supplied because the dike at the open structed in 250 B.C. by the Governor Li-Ping end of the "Fish Snout" is only high enough and was engineered by his son. The project to maintain a sufficient level for irrigation is located in the Szechwan Province on the purposes. The excess water flows over the Meankiang River in western China. Spanning dike at this point and into a spillway later this project is the equally famous 1820-foot bamboo suspension bridge. re-enters the river. The system irrigates over half a million Water from the inner and outer canals can acres in fourteen districts of the Chengtu be diverted into the nine canals and numerous Plain. The two main feeder channels, nine laterals and sub-laterals by the use of sand canals, their 2726 laterals and sub-laterals and bamboo-cage diversion structures. make up a total of seven hundred miles of The most unusual and interesting part or constructed waterways. The river itself has a the system is the method of annual repair. All flow of 262,000 cubic feet per second which work is done by hand at low water stage. is equal to the combined flows of the Missouri There is no machinery. To facilitate repairs, and Ohio Rivers. cofferdams are placed across the outer canal Most important structure of the system is at the tip of the "Fish Snout", diverting the the "Fish Snout", so named because of its flow to the inner canal. After the repairs have shape. This structure divides the river into been completed on the outer system, the the inner and outer feeder canals. The inner procedure is reversed and the inner system canal is mainly for irrigation; while the outer is repaired. canal, which is the Meankiang proper, does The cofferdams, constructed of wooden the same in addition to being the flood chan- tripods and bamboo mats plastered with mud, nel. The "Fish Snout" is a diversion structure are made and placed by hand. After repairs over a mile in length and made of rock sau- are completed in one channel, they are placed sages. These are simply bamboo baskets in the other channel. filled with rocks. Silt and other sedimentation This, of course, differs greatly from ouf materials lodge in this rock structure and elaborate system of gates and spillways for (Continued on Page 36) On October 27, Otto H. Hall, engineer f ential equations to electrical circuits. for the Michigan State Department of Thirty-three students were initiated into Conservation, addressed the Civil the honorary during fall term. Engineering society on the advan- Plans to raise the minimum scholastic tages of registration for the profess- requirements for membership were discussed ional engineer. He stated that there was a but a final vote was delayed until winter large amount of misunderstanding as to the term. true nature of engineering by the general public. He added that, "Registration would SME members were presented a unify the engineering profession". One of Mr. Hall's staff members who had just recently taken the first part of the regis- A variety of programs during fall term, including talks and movies. Prof. Jesse Campbell, superintendent of tration examination told the Society of the the college power plant, gave a short address nature of the test. on the power department. He stated that MSC The society is making plans to contact has invested over a million dollars in its former CE students and keep their names and plants, and that the generation of electricity addresses on file. actually resulted as a "by-product" of the heating requiremen ts. all term saw the Ag Engineers Several movies were shown, including F gather again in their Club Room and welcome new members. Guest speajcers for programs that were presented were members of the AE Staff. "Rail Bar Steel", showing the re-use of worn out railroad rails; and " T h i s is Magnesium", depicting the manufacture of magnesium from sea water. An interesting fact in the movie Professor McColly showed slides and was that from one cubic mile of sea water presented a discussion on his recent two 4,500,000 tons of metal can be extracted. years in China. Prof. A. W. Farrall presented a program with slides taken in Europe. Clare Chemical Engineers learned of a Gunn showed an outstanding movie covering possible career in the paint industry the tourist and resort business in Michigan. last term. William Barrett, president Another program was "Faculty Night", in of the Detroit Paint Association was which the Ag Engineering Faculty was intro- guest speaker at a meeting and gave a talk duced to the group. Mr. Fisch, new to the (Continued on Page 34) faculty, was elected club advisor to assist Prof. J. S. Boyd. Ed Seligman, President of Pi Mu Epsi- Ion, mathematics honorary, announced the inauguration of a new program of speakers for the meetings last term. Speakers from various departments talk on the use of mathematics in their field of study. The program already is in progress. Dr. Hunt of the Zdology department was the first in the series. He discussed the use of mathematics in the study of genetics. At the following meeting M. D. Rogers, of the EE Dept., spoke on the application of differ- ... THE CANUS SCENE A SST. PROF. M. F. OBRECHT OF the Ch.E. dept. is conducting a ten- week course in "Boiler Feed Water Treatment", for power engineers through-out Field trips included a visit to Detroit to hear Mr. Mogenson, one of the foremost pro- ponents of work simplification and a trip to Kalamazoo to Upjohn Co. As soon as the the state. The instruction is designed to aid staff can arrange it, field trips will be a engineers with their increasing use of high weekly affair as part of the course. Plans are pressure equipment, in which the tolerance now under way for setting this option up as a limits of such things as scale and corrosion degree conferring department. are drastically reduced. Prof. Obrecht began teaching this as a regularly scheduled course in March. He already has given several lectures in various Michigan cities. T HE ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING department has announced the resigna- tion of two men and the addition of two others to the staff. Assistant Prof. D. S. Pearson resigned to go to Penn State college as an Associate I N A PERIOD OF TWO YEARS THE industrial engineering option has grown from a few inquisitive engineers into a very enthusiastic group of some 150 Professor. Assistant Prof. C. E. Goodell resigned to enter private business with his brother. They own a manufacturing plant in Caro, Mich. students. This includes students other than Instructor E. I. Doughty, who received his mechanical engineers. Professor Apple's M.S. in Physics recently at Union College, enthusiasm and efforts have brought the option to the attention of many people in the now is in charge of a course in Basic Elec- field, and it has been received with enthusi- tricity and Small Motors, set up with the asm. Redmond Company of Owosso. This course is part of MSCs program of Continuing The staff is tied in with Professor Horn's Education. Industrial Training Program in Continued Dr. R. J. Jeffries, an alumnus of the Education in Industry. The conference herd University of Connecticut, has been added here last summer was so successful that a to the staff. During the latter part of the war, much larger and more comprehensive meeting he was a member of the National Advisory will take place next summer. Committee for Aeronautics at Langley Field, Industry has expressed a lively interest in Virginia, while instructing at the University the department's plans to inaugurate a materi- of Virginia. He received his Ph.D. from al handling research laboratory here. Johns Hopkins University in June of 1948. In The staff has a good collection of visual addition to his teaching duties, he now is aids and has the equipment necessary for its doing consulting work for two major compan- own pictures. The script now is being pre- ies. He has had over a dozen papers pub- pared for new movies to be enacted by stu- dents. The present goal is to have a complete lished and has articles in the December course in industrial engineering and manage- issues of both the Review of Scientific ment on slides, motion pictures, strip film, Instruments and the Instrument Society of and printed material to.be rented to interested America. groups. The staff is composed of men who not only have completed the necessary academic work, but have a wealth of experience in the field! They are attempting to teach what industry L OUIS L. OTTO, GRADUATE ASSIS- tant in the M.E. department, addressed the Syracuse section of the Society of Automotive Engineers on December 19. It w a S needs and wants in the engineer. (Continued on Page 32) Magnetic Clutch fluid, through which the waves pass, soon becomes hot enough to burn holes in paper. Magnetic oil is the key to a new magnetic Experiments with the sound waves have been fluid clutch invented and developed by the made to shatter g l a s s , mix paint, churn butter, National Bureau of Standards. and homogenize milk. In its basic form the clutch consists of The equipment for producing the silent only four elements; a driving shaft with a waves is contained in a cabinet similar to a plate at its end, a driven shaft and plate, an floor-model radio. On top of the cabinet is iron-oil mixture between, and a coil to magne- mounted a transparent cylindrical can filled tize the mixture. with oil. The can contains the crystal. The oil The magnetic oil is made by mixing ordin- serves to insulate the voltage across the ary oil and iron dust, producing a mixture quartz, and transmits the sound. The frequen- containing millions of tiny particles of iron. cy of the sound waves may be controlled by The electric system magnetizes the iron particles as needed. varying the thickness of the quartz crystal. This instrument has many possible applica- The electromagnetic fluid clutch is extreme- tions for experimental work in the biological, ly smooth in action because all contacting industrial, chemical, and physical fields. surfaces, both plates and carbonyl iron powder, are coated by a lubricant. When the Measuring Molecules iron oil mixture is not magnetized, it permits the engine to move independently of the Tiny microwaves, similar to those used by wheels, as when the clutch in an ordinary car radar s e t s , now are being employed to mea- is released. Current passed through the sure molecules. By use of such waves, magnetic coil, which may be wound inside the scientists are finding the dimensions of driving disk, established a magnetic field certain molecules and how fast they spin. between the two plates. The iron-oil particles As used in these experiments, the micro- seem to solidify in the magnetic field, pro- vaves vibrate en the average of 24 million ducing the same effect as in a standard times per second. To measure molecules, the friction clutch. waves are passed through a 16-foot rectangu- lar pipe containing the gas under study. If Described as extremely smooth in opera- tion, the electromagnetic fluid clutch is while passing through the pipe, the waves suitable not only for automobiles but for happen to be at one of the characteristic many types of industrial machinery. rates of the molecules, they are absorbed and this additional energy increases the rotation Ultrasonic Generator of the molecules. Working in this method, the scientists High frequency sound waves, pitched above the range of human hearing, have been found watch a horizontal line on an oscillograph. A to do such things as scramble eggs and homo- dip in the line shows when absorption occurs, genize mercury. The device which produces and the frequency i s measured by comparison these sound waves is called an ultrasonic with a standard frequency. generator. It produces the waves by means of a wafer-shaped quartz crystal, vibrating when New Bridge Control a voltage is impressed upon it. Experiments with the ultrasonic generator The Stickel Memorial Bridge which spans have shown that water placed in a chamber the P a s s a i c River between Newark and Har- above the crystal quickly dissipated into the rison, New Jersey, recently has been equipPed air as a fine fog. A glass rod thrust into the with a new electric drive and control system. The new control system is capable of raising the 1,350 ton bridge span 100 feet in 105 seconds. To keep the 222 foot span level while it is being raised or lowered, an "am- plidyne control s y s t e m " is employed. This system, working through the master control device, will start the leveling process as soon as the span gets a fraction of an inch off level. Power for the system is supplied by two 158 horsepower, direct current motors, one for each side of the span. The bridge can be raised or lowered with a wide range of speed. An automatic speed regulator insures a smooth stop. Improved X-rays X-rays with energies of a billion volts or more which were originally intended for atomic research work may soon be available for medical applications. It is believed that they will give a more favorable distribution of energy absorbed in the body. This can be done with the fluoroscope on which the x-ray shadows show as a visible pattern. However, watching the screen for prolonged periods subject the doctor as well as the patient to daagerous amounts of radia- tion. This problem may eventually be solved with the adaptation of the wartime sniper- (Continued on Page 30) studenc in the upper half of his respective Engin-Ears c l a s s . The candidate must fill out an applica- tion, listing extra curricular activities and competition with each other. Each has a other pertinent information. These activities different objective. Tau Beta Pi seeks to will be evaluated to select those students to honor those who have shown outstanding become members. scholastic ability. Phi Lambda Tau is con- cerned with those who have demonstrated During the early part of this term, cards leadership ability and unusual initiative plus will be sent to those juniors and seniors above-average scholastic ability. scholastically eligible. These cards will A candidate for membership in Phi Lambda invite the individual to apply for membership. Tau must be a senior or junior engineering The receiving of one of these cards should not be construed as an actual invitation to join the organization. Application blanks will be available in room 109 Olds Hall about the third week of school this term. Applications may be turned in at the Spartan Engineer office, room 508 EE Bldg.,or mailed to Box 468, East Lansing. • * * * T ENTATIVE PLANS HAVE BEEN made for an organizational meeting to form an industrial engineering group. The first meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 24. Confirmation of this date will be made in IE classes. Primary purpose of the organization will be to have speakers who are authorities in the IE field. It is expected that the group will form as a branch of the ASME rather than affiliate with a separate national organiza- tion. The instructors in the department are encouraging all students in the industrial option to attend this initial meeting and assist in forming the group. • * * * T HIS YEAR'S ENGINEER'S BALL IS January 14 in the Union Ballroom. The dance is semi-formal, Eddie Mack's orchestra will provide the music and intermission entertainment. According to Union Bldg. rules, only 300 tickets may be sold for the dance, so ticket sales promise to be a first come, first served proposition. Judging by the careful plans the Engineer- ing Council made, it should be a gala affair. See you all— At the Engineer's Ball. sustained the loss of both legs and weakened We Present hearing, he has been able to fill his niche in life and to enjoy all that anyone could ask eering career. He began by attaining a high from life—an unmatchable wife, two wonderful scholastic average in college even though he children, and success enough to keep the participated in numerous extracurricular sheriff away from his door. activities. Having written his thesis on storage batteries, he entered this line of work upon graduation. On the basis of this experience The Fair Sex he eventually entered Dodge Bros, in a Best of luck to you, Ann, Dolly, and Nata- responsible position. lie on passing your "stiff" courses this term In 1936, Crysler Corp. (having previously •with flying colors. absorbed Dodge Bros.) showed their faith in T "Date" Pierson by placing him in charge of HESE THREE ARE NOT THE FIRST their newly formed Air Temp Corp. Air Temp girls to study Engineering at State. In produces heating and refrigeration equipment. 1934, Ethel Lyon received a B.S. Local members of Tau Beta Pi will remem- degree in Chemical Engineering. ber him from a banquet given last spring in Even more recently June Mitoray of St. honor of retiring Professor Cory. He delighted Louis, Mo. graduated "with honors" as a those attending with his humorous speech of Ch. E. in 1947. At present, Miss Mitoray is farewell to his good friend. employed in the organic research department He laughs at his wooden leg handicap by of the Monsanto Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo. telling about the time his wife accidently Her work concerns the development and purchased a pair of shoes for him that had improvementof plant processes. built-in arch supports. Most recent of the women graduates is Mr. Pierson stresses the point that a Rose Mary Carroll who received her degree in person can overcome handicaps, and he lists C.E. last June, and now is working for the himself as an example. Although he has State Highway Dept. in Lansing. WOVEN WIBE FABRIC. Koebling 10 to 40 times tougher than other types — THIS VISIT to just one of the first choice for high-speed winding. weaves wire screens to meet every sort of Roebling works has been an eye- industrial requirement. From large size ROUND-FLAT—SHAPED WIRE. opener. Everyone in my line knows Aggregate Screens to closely woven Filter Manufacturers adopt Roebling high carbon Roebling wire rope, but I never Cloths, wires made of special steels and wire for its dependable uniformity which heard chat you stack up so big in non-ferrous metals bring new measures of minimizes machine stoppages and rejects, electrical wires and cables." resistance to abrasion and corrosion. and pulls down production costs. WIRE ROPE. Roebling wire rope is •k •& •& * it' -k made in a complete range of types and Whatever career you are studying for, always affords a rope that's right for every when you get on the job you will find one Many people are surprised to learn of ths application. For easy handling, smooth wide diversity of Roebling's line of wires or more types of Roebling products serv- and wire products. It is often news, too, operation and long life on the job, Roebling ing there, dependably and at low cost. nat several different items in the Roebling Preformed "Blue Center" Wire Rope is John A. Roebling's Sons Co., Trenton 2, N. J. line are used in one and'the same field. In unsurpassed. BRANCH OFFICES: Atlanta, 934 Avon An. * mines and quarries, for example, Roebling ELECTRICAL WIRE - CABLE — Button, 51 Sleeper Si. * Chicago, 5525 W. RooieTelt Rd. * Cleveland, 701 St. Clair Ave.. N. E. * Denver, Wire Rope, Aggregate Screens and Port- MAGNET WIRE. With more than 60 1635 17th St.* Houiton, 6216 Navigation Blvd. * £oa able Electrical Cable are all likely to be on standard types, Roebling's line of electrical Angela, 216 S. Alanieda St. * Vem York, 19 Rector the jobtogether. Wherever there's industry, wire and cable meets practically all trans- St. * Philadelphia, 12 S. 12th St. * Pittsburgh, 8SS W. there are Roebling Products that help bring mission, distribution and service needs . . . North Ave. * Portland, Ore., 1032 N. W. 14th Are. * SanfrancUeo, 1740 17th St.*S«allIe, 900 Firit Are. So. highest efficiency and lowest service cost. The insulation of Roevar Magnet Wire is "they got a pair of twos, threes, and sixes on Engineering-It's Criminal opposite sides of each die and if your first roll isn't boxcars you can't miss because you on account there is already too much intoler- can't get a seven to crap with. That's enough ance in the world. Besides, I had Differential for today. Next period I'll show you the cold Equations waved by my enrollment officer deck switch." because I was taking this Crooked Gambling Leaving this c l a s s for Arson Lab, I have class. The math prof begins. the feeling my money worries are about over. "Siddown ya crumbs, siddown, Take a load I have at last found my major. It is apparent off your feet." that I am the criminal type. This character talks like a vacuum cleaner After Arson Lab I takes a glance at my salesman and has a smile like it is tied to program to see what's on the agenda for his ears. He tells us about sliding dice. He tomorrow. Wouldn't you know it. I got an brings in something about surface tension eight-to-eleven Sexual Assault Lab. I go to that I don't quite get. my room to get plenty of rest. "Suppose your point is nine...now it's for sure you can't mak-e nine if one face is a one or a two, so you slide a die to come up five giving you three to two odds on any even New Developments money chance. Now watch t h i s . " scope, a device used for seeing in the dark. He then rolls a pair of dice on his desk, It would intensify a faint image and enable picks them up and rolls again. Then he says: the user to see clearly with the intensity of "I rolled a different pair of dice the second the rays at safe, low limits. It also would and fourth times than I did the first, third, facilitate motion pictures recording actual and fifth times. These," he held up the dice, movements. A fluid catalytic cracker is the realiza- new avenues of inquiry, new possibili- tion of the plans and the work of many ties, new jobs. men. It costs many millions of dollars Many scientists, technical men and —but it owes its efficiency to catalyst engineers work for Standard Oil. We choose them carefully, provide them studies that begin in beakers that cost with the finest equipment, and try to only thirty cents each. create an intellectual climate that will The "cat" and the beaker symbolize stimulate their best work. the enormous range of our research From their beakers and pilot plants work, which draws on nearly every comes the impetus that keeps Standard phase of chemistry, physics and engi- Oil in the forefront of industrial re- neering in its effort to make petroleum search, that provides thousands of bet- products more useful. And every new ter products so that millions of people fact we discover about oil opens up can enjoy better living. Strength for Structures Campus News buttresses with lock nuts prior to the placing a joint meeting with the Syracuse Technology of the concrete. After the concrete has been Club, an affiliation af all professional engin- placed and has hardened, the lock nuts are eering societies in the area. His talk was on released and the stress is transmitted to the automatic transmissions. concrete by bonding action. This innovation Mr. Otto is on leave of absence from Cor- is potentially tremendous in scope for it nell university where he is an associate permits the members to be sawed to any professor of mechanical engineering. He is a length. Already, retailers in Sweden offer it candidate for a Ph.D. in automotive engineer- in stock sizes as a substitute for steel and ing at State. lumber in the building industry. The college automotive lab has been Actually Sweden is not alone in finding expanded with the acquisition of part of the new applications of pre-stressed concrete. old garage space vacated when the new All of Kurope is using it in a variety of ways. stadium garage was completed. The additional For example, bathtubs, railroad ties, roof space will be used for engine bench work and slabs, lamp posts, storage bins, pilings, and fuels and lubricants testing. the important bridge and factory structures are The old room now will be used for dynamon- among the successful products of prestressed eter operation and testing. Set-up and in use concrete. now are 100 HP and 20 HP dynamometers. Yet the utilization, even in Europe, of During winter term there are prospects that pre-stressed concrete has just begun, and graduate students in automotive engineering the potential will increase with everyadvance may do some development work for Reo in steel and cement manufacture. Its existence motors. This would be on engines to be used offers a challenge to structural engineers, for for the Army contract which Reo received last it offers them a chance to be pioneers in a summer. field with a promising future. (Continued on Page 38) Glass that picks fire out of a light beam The electric lamps you see between the boxes in a matter of seconds you have fire in your search in glass—and these ray-blocking, ray- on the table are exactly alike-they generate hands! transmitting glasses represent only one of a both powerful light and intense heat. multitude of outstanding developments that The explanation is: One of the glass plates have earned Corning this reputation. If you should concentrate the beam of one transmits the comparatively cool, visible rays of them with a reflector and plug it into an generated by the bulb, blocking off most of We hope you'll keep in mind that Corning ordinary socket, you'd be practically blinded the invisible heat rays. The other allows only research and technical skill have made glass the invisible heat rays to pass. one of the most versatile engineering mate- by its glare and your clothes scorched by rials there is. theheat—unlessyou turned away fast! These pieces of glass are only two of the But look what happens when you put them dozens of ray-transmitting or ray-blocking For when you're out of school and are into the fixtures in the foreground, so their glasses that Corning makes—glasses that concerned with product and process plan- bearns are covered by two different kinds of can pick out any segment of the light spec- ning, you'll find it to your advantage to call Corning glass.. on Corning before your plans reach the blue- trum and put it where it's needed. print stage. Corning Glass Works, Corning, For example, a lamp shielded with a Corn- New York. The beam from the bulb on theleft is cooled down so sharply that you can hold a ing glass which transmits only near ultravio- wisp of newspaper in it for hours without let rays lights automobile instrument panels its catching fire. Yet the light is almost as without glare. Another kind of Corning glass dazzling as ever. transmits only invisible infrared rays and is used in electronically controlled burglar Notice now that no light apparently shines alarm systems. from the bulb in the fixture on the right. But if you hold a piece of newspaper over i t - Throughout industry, Corning means re- of his talk was "Why Are We Here?". He The Societies discussed the more satisfying values of living and stressed the importance of harmonious on the technical aspects of paint manufacture. community living. He also spoke about job and career possibili- ties for Ch. E's in the paint industry. After a color movie about the uses of paint and modern manufacturing methods, Mr. Barrett During Fall term the AIEE-IRE con- was called back to answer many questions . ducted a successful membership about the industry. drive. Meetings that were held in- Earlier in the term, about thirty members cluded, General Motors' "Train of accepted the invitation of the Detroit Section Tomorrow" movie, and a talk by of the Professional AIChE to attend their F . B. Harris on the various major fields open meeting at Wayne University. J. A. Clark of to engineers. the DuPont Company gave a talk on "The M. D. Rogers has been selected as faculty First Professional Position of the Chemical advisor for the combined AIEE-IRE organiza- Engineer". tion. Officers of the society are, John Foul- kes, president; Paul Fair, vice-president; Tau Beta Pi, Engineering Honorary, Dean Morgan, treasurer; Vernon Kidd, AIEE initiated 42 members during fall term. secretary; Blaine Cadwell, IRE secretary. This total included 29 seniors, two juniors and one alumnus. Nine days of informal initiation were conducted prior to November 10th. On this date a formal initiation banquet was held in the Union. Professor Baccus, of the EE Dept., acted as toastmaster for the ceremon- ies. The principle speaker was C. W. Otto, of the Lansing Chamber of Commerce. The title THE CASE OF THE Expanding Spandrel Night and day, winter and summer, year after Today you will see aluminum-clad buildings year, for more than twenty-six years aluminum going up in every part of the country. These spandrels (the vertical area between windows in buildings are quick and inexpensive to build. Their skyscrapers) were exposed to the weather . . . and aluminum walls never will need expensive painting nothing happened. or repairs. That was proof enough for the architects. This case is typical of the history of Alcoa and Proof that Alcoa Aluminum castings used for of the men and women who work for it. While spandrels stood up in all kinds of weather, resisted aluminum was proving itself in small applications, corrosion, kept up their good appearance, never Alcoa engineers were perfecting the methods for needed maintenance. large scale production and fabrication Within the "Aluminum works so well for spandrels," lifetime of men now living, this company has reasoned the architects, "why not expand its use grown to be one of America's great industries. • • • make entire walls of it?" They came to Alcoa New developments now underway in Alcoa's with their ideas. Alcoa engineers had kept pace. laboratories are pointing the way to even more Designs and methods for making complete walls widespread uses for aluminum in the years ahead. ALUMINUM COMPANY OF AMERICA, Gulf Bldg., were ready. New ways had been found to make Pittsburgh 19, Pennsylvania. aluminum cheaper and more useful. Centuries of Service huge permanent structures constructed with machinery and modern equipment. Long bamboo cages filled with gravel collected from near by stream beds are the chief ele- ments of wier and protection works. Plans have been made to improve the present structure, eliminate its defects, and enable it to develop full utility. Beside improving the existing irrigation and flood control measures, navigation and water power is to be stressed with modification of the existing structures and the incorporation of new ones. Dikes will be built to protect the land from the ravages of flood waters. They would also serve to control the river. The channel would be improved to carry off excess flood water with its accompanying loads, thus relieving the irrigation channels of the threat of flood and silt deposits. Move- able gates would be provided to regulate water flow at the tip of the "Fish Snout". There also would be a series of moveable gates to provide an equitable proportioning of the irrigation water in the channels, laterals, and sub-laterals. In transportation starved China there is great need for improved facilities. The cheapest way is through improving the many waterways. It has been proposed that locks be installed and the river dredged to handle barges and boats. A power plant also is planned, to provide electricity for the irriga- tion pumps, lighting, grinding mills, and small industries. It would be necessary for the plant to produce about 26,000 kilowatts to meet this need. Although over 2,000 years old, the irrigation system is among the largest in the world today. Neither the design nor the method or diversion have been changed. Though im- provements are contemplated, this system functions as well today as it did 22 centuries ago. Somental MANY near-miracles, actual, experi- or imaginary, are being at- tributed to electronics that it's quite the glamour girl of the electrical industry. Working closely with this infant prodigy, we find it is indeed fascinat- ing and astonishingly versatile. We find, too, that it is a terrific work • er. Applying electronic principles to tough, matter-of-fact indus- trial jobs is the work of this section. It rewards us with some really amazing success stories, and with abundant oppor- tunity. The field has hardly been touched. New Field This field of industrial electronics was completely unknown, of course, when I received my degree in Electrical Engi- Department on electric mine hoists. In touch on the other great departments, neering from Illinois and entered the 1931,1 moved back to the Electrical De- covering just about every major industry. Graduate Training Course at Allis- partment, doing sales application work Many GTC students find their greatest Chalmers in 1925. During the 2-year for the Motor and Generator Section. I course I stuck pretty close to electrical interest and opportunity in the Basic In- worked, successively, on unit sub-stations, dustries Department. There they design, work—and at its completion, I was on the had charge of the Mixed Apparatus Sec- electrical test floor helping run tests on build and install the machinery for min- tion, was in Industrial Sales, handled ing, smelting, cement making, flour mill- some of the first big blooming mill motors contract negotiations and sales liaison ing, oil extraction, food and chemical the company ever built. work during the war, and in 1947 took processing. Others become interested in Next, I worked in the Basic Industries charge of the company's growing Elec- hydraulic or steam turbines, the com- tronics Section. plexities of centrifugal pumps and the Here we develop and apply four main engineering problems of small motors or classes of industrial electronic equipment: V-belt drives. Rectifiers, Induction Heaters, Dielectric Some fit into engineering and design. Heaters and Metal Detectors. With the Some find themselves most interested in exception of Rectifiers, this equipment is manufacturing or in field work such as relatively new to industry. We're turning service and erection. Many like selling, up new uses and applications every day. and find their engineering training pays It's an absorbing line of work, and pio- off best in a District Sales Office. neers an entirely new frontier of indus- Whatever a man may eventually find trial methods. most to his liking and advantage, the Wide Choice of Interests Allis-Chalmers Graduate Training Course I've traced this brief personal history to is a wonderful vantage point from which illustrate the widely varied opportunities to start. It offers contact with all major a young engineer finds at Allis-Chalmers industries, and a chance at many types of even within a single field such as electricity. work: design, manufacture, research, test- I never got far from the Electrical De- ing, installation, selling, advertising, ex- partment, because I found what I wa'nted port. There is no other organization that right there. But I wouldn't be giving a can offer a graduate engineer such a wide true picture of Allis-Chalmers if I didn't range of activities. Campus News NODULAR CAST IRON for large scale commercial adoption. One of great troubles to date is that results have Two instructors from the M.E. department, been difficult to duplicate. A foundry trying Professors Price and Apple, attended the to make a number of identical heats of nodu- ASMH meeting in New York last term. lar iron has found great difficulty in getting Mr. Apple was a member of the work stan- identical results. It must also be remembered dardization committee. The committee project that nodular iron for the most part is still in is to standardize the terminology used in the the experimental stage. field of industrial engineering. No matter what course future investigation takes, it is certain that a new engineering Paul DeKoning, of the M.E. Dept., has been awarded patents on two devices for the material is being developed having unique testing of commercial dishwashing machines. properties. Because of the simplicity of the nodular cast iron process, it will rank high The test is performed in two parts. The first is to spray a mixture of protein and with other casting materials for its place in carbohydrate material on a plate and let it industry. Industry will feel the presence of stand 12 to 16 hours. The dish is then washed this new material more and more as new in the machine to be rated and placed on developments are made. another machine that revolves the dish in front of a photoelectric cell. A predetermined reading of a meter, operated by the photocell, determines the rating of the dishwashing machine. Tests completed in the Lansing area have shown only five out of twelve dishwashers as being satisfactory. Father, looking cautiously into the living room of the fraternity house: "Does Joe Smith live here?" Voice from the inside: "Yeah, just bring him in and lay him on the couch". * • * * A young woman Little dog looking up at a parking Stepped out of bed meter: "Heck, ya gotta pay now!" Three football players at different Slipped into her robe • * « • schools had flunked their classes and Stepped into her slippers were dropped from their teams. They Raised the shade "Boys," said the clergyman to the Uncovered the parrot sunday school class, "You must learn got together and talked about their Put on the coffee pot never to lose your tempers, even under misfortune. And answered the phone. the most vexing circumstances. To The man from Notre Dame said: A masculine voice said: illustrate this, while I've been talking, "That calculus was just too much." The man from Southern Cal. said: "Hello honey, just got a Z4-hour leave, a fly has landed on my nose; I do not swear, I do not blastpheme, I merely "It was trig that got me". I'll be right up!" Say, 'Go away fly.' MY GOD, IT'S A The guy from U of M said: "Did She hung up the phone BEE!" youse guys ever hear of long divi- Took off the coffee pot sion?" Covered the parrot Pulled down the shade * * * * Stepped out of her slippers Slipped out of her robe Stalin was pinning some medals on Crawled into bed and his ski-troop heroes, and he went up Heard the parrot say: to one of them to get some personal "Kee-rist, what a short day!" information. » * * • Stalin: "Tell me, comrade, what was the first thing that you did when you came back from the war?" "Have you heard about the new Soldier: "Well, sir, I hadn't been college game?" home in four years—hadn't seen my "No, what's that?" wife-well, you know how it is." "Button, button, here comes the Stalin: "Er-yes. But tell me, what housemother." was the second thing that you did when you came back?" Soldier: "I took off my skis." * * * * A grave digger, absorbed in his thoughts, dug the grave so deep that he couldn't get out. Came nightfall and the evening chill, and his predica- ment became more and more uncomfor- table. He shouted for help and at last attracted the attention of a passing drunk. "Get me out of here," he shouted, "I'm cold." The drunk looked into the grave and finally distinguished the form of the grave digger. , "No wonder you're cold", he said, You haven't got any dirt on you." * * » • rof: "Why the quotation marks on this exam paper?" M.E.: "Courtesy of the man on my right, sir." Want ad in State News: Will trade- One good study lamp for comfortable bed. Transferring from Engineering to Bus. Ad. * * * * Little Willie is so distressed. He The bandage-covered Ch. E. who got a pair of pink pajamas and a Then there is the one about the soldier who was slapped for drinking lay in the hospital bed spoke dazedly military hair brush for his birthday. milk out of a wax container. to his visiting pal: Now he doesn't know whether to go to West Point or U. of M. "What-What happened?" * • • * "You absorbed too much last night, * * * • and then made a bet that you could fly The buxom soprano in the opera out the window and around the block." She: Have you heard those awful fainted and it took four men to carry "Why didn't you stop me?" scream- ed the beat-up Ch. E. student. things people are saying about me? her off stage two abreast. He: Sure Baby, why do you think I'm "Stop you, I had ten bucks bet on * » * * you!" here? * * * * "Do you think you can make my * * * * daughter happy?" Overheard in a dark corner of a hard- The old lady was very much afraid "But I thought that her name was Sue!" ware store. One can of paint to of passing her destination. Leaning another: "Darling, I think I'm pig- forward, she poked the streetcar * • * * ment." conductor in the ribs with her umbrella. "Is that the First National Bank, * * * * my good man?" She was only a cattleman's daughter but all the horsemen knew her. "No ma'am," replied the conductor A Mississippi steamboat had stop- hastily, "that's me." * * # * ped because of a dense fog on the river. A nosey passenger asked the * * * * cause of the delay. The guys who think our jokes are rough, "Can't see up the river," the Would quickly change their views, captain replied briefly. Drunk: "It takesh mean hour orsho If they'd compare the ones we print, to get to sleep when I go home." "But I can see the stars overhead," Drunker: "Thash funny, I always With those we're scared to use. the passenger sharply replied. fall ashleep ash soon ash I hit da * » * * "Well," said the captain, "unless bed." that bad boiler busts, we ain't goin' Drunk: "Sho do I. My troublesh that way." "Honey, ah sho loves yo bathing hitenda bed." suit." "Sho nuff?" "It sho does!" * * * * A pessimist is a man who feels that all women are bad. An optimist hopes so. * * * * One morning a lone Irishman was at work near the top of a telephone pole, painting it a bright green when the pail of paint spilled and splashed on the sidewalk below. A few minutes later another Irishman came along. He looked at the paint, then at his country man and inquired with anxiety, "Do- herty, Doherty! Have ye had a himer age?" movies and stills, it can repeat a story, time of a flick of light, photog- W ITH THE SPEED raphy can reduce or enlarge accurately to scale, and without missing the tiniest detail. and again, without the loss of a single detail. Yes, photography serves business and in- dustry in many important and valuable ways. And that's not all. It can work for you, too. If you would like to It can magnify time with the high speed know how, please feel free to write for litera- motion-picture camera so that the fastest mo- ture, or for specific information which could tion can be slowed down for study. It can be helpful to you. Eastman Kodak Company, record the penetrating x-ray and reveal inter- Rochester 4, New York. nal conditions of materials and products. With These were also tough tests for G-E engineers A LEAK, that would take years to deflate a tire is big enough to cause trouble in the cooling system of a refrigerator. How to devise test equipment sensi- the G-E Research Laboratory, further development of it was carried on by the General Engineering and Con- suiting Laboratory. It was applied to refrigerator tive enough to catch such microscopic flaws and eliminate them from General Electric units was also testing by engineers in the Company's Erie, Penn- a tough test for engineering skill and ingenuity. sylvania, plant. But the G-E engineer in search of solutions makes To the consumer, this sort of teamwork means use of the stream of new ideas flowing from industry's better, more dependable, longer-lasting General largest technical staff—the more than 9000 scientists, Electric products. To the engineer it means more engineers, chemists, physicists, and mathematicians varied opportunities, quicker development, the ad- employed by General Electric. vantages of belonging to an organization where The principle for the new electronic leak-detector emphasis on research and incentives for creative now being used to check refrigerators came out of thinking are the tradition.