More than 1900 chemicals have been found in coal, and over 200,000 operations, we also produce chemi- gineers-people with your training, different products are made from cals. Thus we are always interested If you want to explore the earth's them—products like plastics, syn- in anything, and anybody, that will surface for ore, delve into the corn- thetic rubber, synthetic fibers, and help to advance the technology of mercial use of coal chemicals, help resins. There's still more to come. these related products, improve their rocket designers solve new problems Only a fraction of the 1900 chemicals quality and in general reduce the with new steels, there might well be in coal are currently used commer- over-all cost of manufacture and pro- a place for you at United States cially. vide better products and better serv- Steel. Write for our booklet, "Paths Today, United States Steel and ice for our customers. of O P P o r t u n i t y " - U n i t e d States other producers of coal chemicals It s a big job and we need a lot of Steel, Personnel Division, Room continue to study coal, its structure, good people to do it-physicists, 2801, 525 William Penn Place, Pitts- and its future potential as a source chemists, geologists, all kinds of en- burgh 30, Pa. of basic chemicals. Why, you may ask, are we so in- terested in chemicals when our prin- cipal business is steel? The reason is that it's just good business. In pro- ducing coke for our steel-making Modern chemistry is creating exciting new signing new processes to expand and per- horizons that challenge the inventive fect the many operations of this ever- minds of both scientist and student. Prod- growing industry. uct synthesis, by bold adaptation of natural resources to our way of life, has pushed Yes, today's chemistry is a fascinating the frontiers of chemistry far beyond its world. Filled with exciting accomplish- early promises. ments and possibilities, it attracts young men and women of vision who will give As the chemical industry forges ahead, the industry the inspiring leadership of inventing new processes and producing tomorrow. new materials which assure the progress and comfort of our society, research and Write our Director of College Relations development soar to new heights. Imagina- for a copy of our new booklet "Opportuni- tive exploration advances under chemists ties For College Trained People With The and chemical engineers. New and greater Dow Chemical Company". And consult production facilities are created. Many with your Placement Director as to when more engineers of all kinds tackle the com- a Dow Representative will visit your plex tasks of building new plants or de- campus. It remained for Nicholas Lobachevsky to solve a riddle that bothered mathe- maticians for the better part of twenty-two centuries.* He was able to construct a rational geometry by denying Euclid's fifth postulate — by maintaining that parallels do meet. Here at Sylvania Electric we have a noneuclidean geometry of our own, in which parallels also meet. It's a geometry of professional development, though, and not just of points, lines, and planes. T H I S : At Sylvania a man advances by one of two parallel paths. If his interests and talents lie in the areas of engineering and scientific specialization, he advances as a specialist. If his forte is in the areas of organization and administration, he advances through management. These parallel paths meet in a common point: At Sylvania a man knows that he is given the fullest opportunity to develop and exercise his talents. He knows that a man goes as far and as fast as he is able in the path of his choice. Whether he chooses management or specialization, he finds equal rewards and compensation. Graduates and men with advanced degrees in science and engineering will discover Research, Development, Manufacturing and Marketing careers at Sylvania —in specialization or management— in: LIGHTING, RADIO, TV, HI-FI, ELECTRONICS, SEMICONDUCTORS, PHOTOGRAPHY, COMMUNICATIONS & NAVIGATION SYSTEMS, AIRBORNE DEFENSE, RADAR, ECM, MISSILES, COMPUTERS, CHEMICALS, PHOSPHORS, PLASTICS, METALS & WIRE. Contact your college placement officer for an interview, or write us and ask for a copy of Today & Tomorrow with Sylvania". The flexibility of modern Asphalt designed to make maximum use Be sure to cut Pavement is one of the great of native soil and other native out and file achievements of scientific road- materials such as sand, stone, this data theft building. slag and gravel. This is one im- and those portant reason for the economy previously It is the planned result of layer- of modern Asphalt roads. inserted in this u Pon-layer construction that Study the diagrams on this page. publication. locks" surface to foundation to They show how the load is dis- Make them help spread the weight load, tributed on modern Asphalt con- your absorb shock and pounding without cracking. struction and how the maximum professional stress varies with depth of reference Mod ern Asphalt paving is pavement. material. After completing the Westinghouse Student Training Progress? Certainly. And if you have ability and Course in 1951, Harvey Graves attended the West- ambition, you'll find Westinghouse offers equal engi- inghouse Advanced Design Course* and was sent by neering opportunities in automation, jet age metals, Westinghouse to the Oak Ridge School of Reactor radar, semiconductors, electronics, large power equip- technology for one year. Back at Westinghouse again ment, guided missile controls and dozens of other ln 1953, Engineer Graves did advanced work on nuclear fascinating fields. reactor development. For more information on professional opportuni- In 1955, he was promoted to supervisory engineer ties at Westinghouse, write to Mr. J. H. Savage, West- on the Belgian reactor project. In 1956, he was again inghouse Electric Corporation, 3 Gateway Center Promoted to Manager, Westinghouse Nuclear Design Pittsburgh 30, Pa. Section. Today, Mr. Graves' 24-man section is develop- ing and designing the nuclear portion of commercial factors for the Yankee Atomic Electric Company and th e Center d'Etude de l'Energie Nucleaire in Belgium. Full| y accredited graduate school of m i c h i g a n state university VOLUME 11 NO. 3 MARCH, 1958 0PerQti FRANK W . Brutt 16 °n Purity K *™* ^ 18 Boxes, Boxes, Boxes Larry Paulet ASSOCIATE EDITOR LARRY PAULET 20 The Mighty Midgets Reprinted from Skyline, North American C ASSISTANT EDITOR Aviation ° CHARLES PUMA 22 T r a d e i n Your "Black a n d W h i t e " . . . . Jack Colegrove M A N A G I N G EDITOR 28 G u b s & Societjes WARD FREDERICKS 31 Fudge Factors NEWS EDITOR NORM DILL 39 Today's M o s t | m p O r t a n t New Prime Mover Edited by Norm Dill BUSINESS MANAGER FRAN WEIHL 42 New Developments Edited by Norm Dill 66 Index To Advertisers PROMOTION MANAGER ELLYN HARDS 68 Sidetracked ADVERTISING MANAGER RODGER FAUL FRONTISPIECE: Gear for Bunyan's watch? This 27 ton 12' diameter gear is actually a gear wheel which will be used in each of 2 reduction sets aboard the SS Brazil CIRCULATION MANAGER ^ C o u r t e s y of G e n e r a l EleCtn£ KATHY DAVENPORT Cover: by Elaine Lepel CLUBS & SOCIETIES JOHN TALBOT MEMBER ENGINEERING COLLEGE MAGAZINES ASSOCIATED Published four times yearly by the students of the COLLEGE OF ENGINEER- ING, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY, East Lansing, Michigan. The office is STAFF on the third floor of the Student Services Building, Phone ED 2-1511, Ex- BURT MOORE tension 2614. Entered as second class matter at the Post Office in East MAGGIE McNAMARA Lansing, Michigan, under the act of March 3, 1879. Address Mail to: P. O. Box 468, East Lansing, Michigan. ADVISORS _ , Publishers representative PAUL G. GRAY Littell-Murray-Barnhill, Inc. D . D . McGRADY 3 6 9 L e x i n g f o n A v e n u 6 / N e w Y o rk 605 W. Michigan Avenue, Chicago Subscription rate by mail $1.00 per year. Single copies 25 cents. Exploring new frontiers is still a pretty excit- Mills, Iowa, he did his graduate work in or- ing business, especially in the great scientific ganic chemistry at the University of Chicago. and research centers like the Whiting Labora- He received his BS in chemistry from St. Olaf tories of Standard Oil Company. Here men College, Northfield, Minnesota, in 1950. He like Dr. Omar Juveland are engaged in impor- is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, tant exploratory work such as the search for and the American Chemical Society. new and improved catalysts for use in high polymer chemistry. In the photograph, Dr. Busy young men like Dr. Juveland have Juveland is recording data on a polymerization found opportunity and work to their liking in process taking place in this research area. the Standard Oil Laboratories at Whiting, Indiana. They share in the progress and ac- Dr. Juveland is one of the group of young complishment which contribute so much to scientists in Standard's Hydrocarbon and the technical advancement and improvement Chemicals Research Division. Born in Lake required by America's expanding economy. More Orders for Ryan Firebees San Diego-Nearly $20 million worth of Ryan Firebee jet drone missiles have been ordered by the Air Force and Navy in 1957. In operational use, the Firebee is the nation's most realistic "enemy" target for evaluating the performance of air-to-air and ground-to-air missiles. It possesses the high speed, altitude, maneuverability and extended duration needed to simulate "enemy" intercept problems. America's number-one jet drone, the Firebee is another example of Ryan's Washington — Unveiled in an unpre- million manhours of research, develop- skill in blending aerodynamic, jet pro- cedented flight at the Pentagon, the ment, and test in VTOL aircraft. pulsion and electronics knowledge to Ryn X-13 Vertijet gave military meet a challenging problem... answer a vital military need. officials a glimpse of the future of air- P°wer. Like a huge bat, the Vertijet Navy, Army unhooked itself from its nose cable. hovered vertically, then whipped over to Use New Ryan into horizontal flight and roared out of sight. Navigator World's first jet VTOL aircraft, the San Diego —Navy aircraft —piston v engine, jets and helicopters will soon be ertijet combines the flashing perform- ance of jet power with the mobility of equipped with Ryan lightweight auto- mi ssile launching. It frees supersonic matic navigators and ground velocity airrpower from runways and airports. indicators. Lightest, simplest, most without landing gear, flaps, actuators, reliable, most compact of their type, the X-13 concept means less weight — these systems are self-contained and m °re performance in speed and climb. based on continuous-wave radar. In the words of a top Air Force The navigators provide pilots with general, "The Vertijet has provided required data such as latitude, longi- milltary planners with a new capability tude, ground speed and track, drift for r m a n n e d a i r craft of the future." angle, wind speed and direction, ground Achieved in close cooperation with miles covered and course and distance the Air Force and Navy, the Vertijet is to destination. Ryan is also developing based upon Ryan's unsurpassed 2 1/4 guidance systems for supersonic missiles. FIGURING OUT A CAREER? Selecting a career can be puzzling, too. tion will take on increasing importance. Sometimes, as with the seven bridges, the Transistorized computers offer an excellent answers aren't always available. In engi- chance for development work in computer neering and research, it's just as important circuits . . . high-frequency power supplies to discover that no solution may be possible . . . magnetic amplifiers, regulators, storage as to find the solution. It is equally true in devices. Challenge? It's tremendous - for career selection that some companies can we're working not only on present systems, provide solutions . . . opportunities for but those of the future!" growth . . . not always available in all com- panies. Here's how Bob Hildenbrandt found * * * * the solution to his career problem - at IBM: There are many excellent opportunities for bince joining IBM," Bob says, "I've seen well-qualified'engineers, physicists and some amazing developments in advanced mathematicians in IBM Research, Develop- circuitry. In my opinion, transistorized digi- m e n t and Manufacturing Engineering. Whv tal airborne computers represent one of the not ask your College Placement Director most progressive assignments in electronics when IBM will next interview on your cam- today As we enter the missile age, the pus? Or, for information about how your tecnnology of packaging and miniaturiza- degree will fit you for an IBM career, LIBERAL EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PROGRAM AT DU PONT INCLUDES INSURANCE, SAVINGS AND STOCK PLANS Means More Security, WHAT'S YOUR LINE? Greater Real Income To Young Graduates DU PONT NEEDS ALL Du Pont believes that the employee KINDS OF ENGINEERS builds his own job security by the way he does his work, by his contri- butions to the progress of the Com- DuPont has always needed chem- pany and by his readiness to accept ists and chemical engineers, and responsibility. still does. But today, there's critical When you join Du Pont as a scientist or engineer, you're But Du Pont meets the employee need for engineers in almost every given an actual project assign- other field—civil, mechanical, elec- more than halfway with a program ment almost at once and begin of benefits designed to help him as trical, instrumental and industrial to learn your job by doing it. engineering, to name a few. he advances. That's the essence of our train- ing philosophy at Du Pont. Your employee benefits go to work Expansion is the major reason. the day you join the Company. They Our objective is to give you In 1957, for example, sales at responsibility at the outset and grow and build equity for you as the DuPont were nearly two billion qualify you quickly for more, years go by. Vacations, life insurance, dollars. Four new plants were being because the more ice grow, the group hospital and surgical coverage, built. New research programs were more tie need trained leaders. accident and health insurance, pen- being launched, New products were Although there is no one sion and bonus plans are all part of moving into the production and training program at Du Pont the program. marketing stages. Engineers and (each of our many depart- Let s look at a special example, the scientists of all kinds work in 75 ments runs its own), all have Thrift Plan. You become eligible for Du Pont plants and 98 laboratories several basic features in com- it after one year with the Company. in 26 states All of this tends to mon. All are personalized— For each dollar you invest in U. S. broaden opportunities for the young tailored to the new man's back- Savings Bonds, the Company contrib- ground and interests. All in- scientist and engineer at DuPont. utes twenty-five cents toward the pur- volve close supervision on an informal, day-to-day basis. chase of Du Pont common stock in If you're interested in finding your name. Roughly 65 per cent of And all permit periodic evalu- full scope for your ability, and this the Company's 90,000 employees arc ation of the new man. includes a great many special fields, now participating in the plan. Du Pont offers you plenty of oppor- This flexible system helps the new man to move ahead When you're deciding on a career, tunity to move ahead. security is only one consideration. according to his abilities. He gets to know Du Pont and his But it's an important one to you and SEND FOR INFORMATION BOOKLET job quickly. He gets a head- your family. At Du Pont, security is ON JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT DU PONT start on future responsibility. a bright part of the future awaiting You probably have questions the college graduate. Booklets on jobs at Du Pont are yours lor the asking. Subjects covered in- about this program and how • * * eludle: mechanical, civil, metallurgical, you'd fit into it. I'll be glad to chemical, electrical, instrumentation try to answer them when I visit More than 700 of the some 1100 and industrial engineers; atomic en- your campus. Why not sign degree-granting colleges and universi- ergy technical sales, business adminis- tration, research and development. up for a Du Pont interview at ties in the U. S. are represented at Name the subject that interests you in your placement office now? Du Pont. Of these 700, more than half a letter to Du Pont, 2494-F Nemours are the smaller liberal arts colleges. "'"'fling, Wilmington 98, Del. Paints, chemicals, glass, plastics, fiber glass . . . all these products have exciting family trees. And at Pittsburgh Plate Glass Com- pany, tomorrow's offspring promise to be even more intriguing. Look around you . . . at paint, for example. It's much more than mere color. Paint protects. It must be thoroughly researched and carefully compounded to withstand infinite variations oi atmosphere, heat, stress and other conditions. Or look at chem- icals . . . their roles in the creation and development of textiles, metals, paper, agriculture, missiles, medicine. You name it, chemicals are there, making important contributions. Glass. These days, it can be made to remain rigid at blast furnace temperatures, withstand supersonic speeds, have the tensile strength of bronze. And it's much the same story for plastics and fiber glass. Everywhere you look —in architecture, industry, the home, everywhere' PPG products find new, exciting applica- tions with fascinating and challenging potentialities. Are you seeking a career that requires creative thinking, utilizes all your skills and know-how, offers a chance to learn the latest techniques? Then look into your enticing career possibili- ties with the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. Contact your Placement Officer now, or write to the Manager of College Relations, Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, One Gateway Center, Pittsburgh 22, Pennsylvania. Because engineering is a profession at GM- your professional stature grows year by year HERE's something of serious importance to you as a Because we know that from the work of our engineers at young graduate engineer: our 35 divisions and 126 plants in 71 cities and 19 states— and at our huge Technical Center near Detroit—will com<; Are you taking just a job—or are you going out to really the products that will keep General Motors on its progres- practice the respected profession for which you have been sive path. so fully trained? Naturally, you get more than professional recognition. Here at General Motors we long ago recognized that engi- Your salary reflects your ability and progress. neering is a profession-and began treating our engineers And, of course, there is opportunity without limit. For 14 who work on our hundreds of products as professional men. of the 33 GM Vice-Presidents are engineers, as are 23 of For example our engineers are used on assignments that the 42 Division General Managers. give them an opportunity to use their training and educa- Today we are looking for young men who may fill tomor- tion as they were meant to be used. To let them practice row's GM executive positions. Should you wish to join us engineering. and practice your profession as you build your career, let °r take the fact that GM encourages its engineers to gain us hear from you. It could be the most important letter professional recognition by presenting technical papers to of your life. . • • tn gineering societies. GM positions now available in these fields: Take. too, the encouragement our engineers receive in MECHANICAL ENGINEERING • ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING Working for advanced degrees, in doing original research. INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING • METALLURGICAL ENGINEERING The fact that over 179 of our engineers and scientists AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING • CERAMIC ENGINEERING received over 164 patents for such work in a recent four- MATHEMATICS • INDUSTRIAL DESIGN month period is one indication of the opportunity for PHYSICS • CHEMISTRY creative work here at GM. An these are but a few examples of the fact that engineer- ing is a profession at General Motors. Why do we place engineering in this special category? "Modern civilization is now faced with a task of fatal only prudence and fear, that can prevent total war. urgency. Unless man can find ways of limiting war. And yet. in the light of reason, the efforts to avert total modern civilization itself may perish. The difficulties of war hold more promise of success than the hope for limiting warfare today contrast with the capacity of freedom from all war. It still is easier, as it has always major powers to wage total war with ever fewer restric- been, for man to restrict war than to establish peace tions and ever fewer survivors. Today, it is no longer a on earth." common belief in the dignity and destiny of man, but — H. Speier, Head of the Social Science Dii'is' 0 " INDIANAPOLIS IND : (Special) Lockheed Aircraft Corporation and the Allison Division of General Motors Corporation have teamed up to produce a commercial Passenger transport that promises to revolutionize air transportation on the medium-and-short-range flights. Cruising at more than 400-mPh the Allison Prop-jet Lockheed Electra will bring jet-age speed and comfort to passengers and set new standards of operating economy for air lines of the world. Teamwork within Allison, just like the Lockheed-Allison team, is highly prized b y newly graduated engineers. If you would like to know more about the All son team, write Personnel Department, College Relations, Allison Division of General Motors Corporation, Indianapolis, Indiana. i Operation Purity by Richard Geeck Pure metals, a highly desirable attainment, is the object of numerous companies and research laboratories. The author points out the activity of industry in its endeavor to achieve the theoretical 100% purity. E VER since man has stumbled on nuggets of cop- per and gold in the bed of some ancient stream, he has been dealing with metals in various degrees of at all. In fact, until the last decade they were only theoretical metals. All metals to a greater or lesser degree react in the same way, which explains why, impurity. Even today, commerieally pure metals con- under the traditional smelting and refining processes, tain a small amount of impurities. So-called pure gold none has yet been secured in an absolutely pure state. is about 0.4 percent copper and other impurities. It was not until recently that science and industry have Until a metal is isolated in such purity, its proper- begun to approach truly pure metals. Pure metals in ties can not be known to the fullest extent. This is this case being whittled down to less than one part one aspect in science in which part of the phenom- impurity in 1(X) million. Since man's history can be enon is a mystery. Alloying, i.e., proceeds by laws written in terms of metals, this is the beginning of a not fully understood. new metallurgical age. The first real desire to obtain a pure metal came The great difficulty to begin with was that all from the scientfic passion for measurement. The atom- metals are found to react with other elements of ic weight of silver had to be settled as accurately as the earth's crust to a great extent. For centuries possible to provide a key reference in the table of men struggled with crucibles and fire, trying to sep- elements. It was Theodore W. Richards of Harvard arate some of the more easily separated metals from University who finally succeeded in preparing a tiny their ores. The long Bronze Age gradually gave way amount of very pure silver and establishing its weight to the Iron Age. After this came the industrial rev- as the international standard. Later, with the develop- olution, as iron was rapidly refined on a large scale ments of metallurgical microscopy, the electron mic- to steel. Then the steel was found to have a large roscope and X-ray diffraction, it was found that a range of properties when alloyed with other metals. pure metal typically has a tight, crystalline structure As time went on, more and more difficult metals be- in which atoms are arranged in regular, perfectly gan to be separated from their ores, such as aluminum spaced polyhedral forms, called a crystal lattice. and magnesium. When a metal is mixed with another to form an alloy it is found that this second metal distorts the lattice Beyond these older metals, however, is a range in a regular way, generally adding strength, hardness, of highly reactive metals, such as titanium, zirconium or other properties to the alloy; impurities such as and hafnium, which are not only very difficult to sep- gases, slags, or other minerals cause haphazard breaks arate from their ores, but are very difficult to keep in or discontinuities in the lattice, generally weakening this state. When an attempt is made to melt them, the material. they combine very readily with the oxygen and nitro- gen of the air and with the container in many cases. The New Jersey Zinc Company was one of the first companies to make advances towards purer met- When these metals react in this manner they form als in the late 1920's. They purified zinc by fractional brittle, spongy masses with no resemblance to metals distillation and obtained a degree of purity with less 16 Spartan Engineer The basic steps in tantalum production are shown in this photo. In front of the scientist are roundels of high- purity tantalum made by Electro Metallurgical Company. These small, cylindrical shapes are pressed into electrodes similar to the one at left, and arc-melted under vacuum. On the right is an ingot produced by this method. Tantalum is used in high-efficiency capacitors, such as those being examined, vacuum tubes, and for chemical processing equip- ment. than 0.005 percent impurity. This zinc was used in iron to tough steel. Alloys get their wide ranges from the big automobile die-casting market, because the small amounts of other metals which are added to pure zinc, unlike ordinary zinc, was corrosion-resist- give the alloy different properties. The present drive ant and made strong, cheap alloys for precision for purity leaves hardly a new or old metal untouched, casting. and the sheer range of new properties is completely different. There was really no great push for pure metals until the second World War. It was at that time that Chromium is another metal which shows remark- accumulated knowledge and curiosity regarding met- ably different properties when in the pure state. als became linked to the driving demands of three Chromium as we know it is a hard, brittle metal advancing technologies. Atomic energy, for example, used almost exclusively in plating and in such alloys Squired a purity in metals extending from its base as stainless steel. But, chromium when purified is soft me tal, uranium, right up to the reactor itself. Super- at room temperature as compared with the impure sonic aircraft required metals able to withstand tre- chromium. It is almost as ductile at room temperature me ndous heats, this seemingly being a quality of pur- as soft wire. Vanadium is another metal like chromium lt y led to the development of pure titanium. Finally, which is very brittle in its common form. In fact, new electronic devices required ultra-pure metals vanadium is used as a toughening agent in tool and b oth new and old in order to function at all. spring steels. Like chromium, vanadium becomes quite ductile when pure at room temperature. The first result was the discovery in metals of many re markable new properties which were not known More remakable properties have shown up in the until these metals were prepared in the pure form. laboratory. The General Electric Research Laboratory- This was not entirely unexpected by scientists. For has had a big hand in metal purification since the ex ample the reduction of carbon in iron from 4 to 1 (Continued on Yagc 56) Percent makes all the difference between brittle cast The packaging industry, a 15 billion dollar business, is demanding college- trained personnel for design and development P ACKAGING, a relatively new field, is providing challenging opportunities to college-trained per- sonnel in a 15 billion dollar industry. Only five years ago, after repeated requests from the packaging industry, Michigan State University established a curriculum in packaging. Today. with 144 undergraduate and 9 graduate students enrolled. the School of Packaging is progressing rapidly, ana is providing the packaging industry with personnel capable of originality and responsibility. After World War II, it became evident that poor packaging had resulted in waste amounting to mu- lions of dollars. Consequently, a need arose for p e r ' sonnel trained in materials, statistics, operations, and management. The program at M.S.U. was inspired by John Ladd of the General Box Company. After a thorough investigation, Dr. A. J. Panshin, Head, Department of Forest Products, paved the way for approval of the first curriculum in packaging ever offered by any university. At the present time, there are eight specific pack- aging courses in the curriculum, and many other allied subjects are offered to give the student a wide range of course s t u d y in business, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and engineering. Also, a student may take up to 36 credits in electives such as mar- keting, purchasing methods, production control, food preservation, and management. This flexibility in the curriculum offers the stu- dent an opportunity to take courses that will help him in his particular interest, whether it be tech- nical sales, product development, or package design- ing and testing. The curriculum is periodically revised to keep abreast with progress and meet the demands of the industry. An Industry Advisory Committee, a per- manent body representing venders and users of packaging materials, as well as consultants and ed- itors in the field, meet every year on the M.S.U. campus to offer suggestions, review courses, and bring the curriculum up to date. As a result, a grad- uate is recognized when he enters the business, and there is no apprenticeship needed or required to familiarize him with recent developments. After his second or third year, each packaging student must acquire 12 weeks of practical experience within the industry. Only after this close association with the industry, can a student realize and appreci- ate the challenging problems that he will be con- fronted with atter graduation. Packaging design is both an economic and engi- neering problem. The container must withstand all abuses in transportation and storage, yet it must be within a reasonable cost to the consumer. There have been cases where the package was worth more than the product enclosed. Also, if the volume of a pack- age can be reduced only one or two cubic inches Per cubic toot, the cost ot storage area and transporta- tion can be reauced appreciably. There is a great demand for college-trained per- sonnel in this field who are ambitious, and desire to tackle these problems. The pay is on a par with the engineering profession, and there are many more Positions available than there are qualified people to fill them. The packaging industry is only in a stage of infancy, and the potentialities have hardly been scratched. In the future, however, with men of vision and ability in its ranks, the industry is anticipating better and cheaper packaging for all industrial and commerical consumers. A rocket engine gas generator and turbopump, hidden in a maze of instrumentation, propellant tubing and brac- ing, pertorm amazing feats of engineering. Mechanics are installing a blade valve for turbine pump testing. The Mighty Midgets SMALL PUMPS AND GENERATORS PUT MUSCLES IN ROCKETDYNE'S POWERFUL MISSILE ENGINES Reprinted from Skyline, North American Aviation Co. Y NOW THE "UNSUNG HERO" theme has B become an old wheeze in success stories. Star quarterbacks don't win football games; it's the "for- squared-off buildings, surmounted by tanks and chopped up with test pits. The laboratory is equipped to probe into any Component and accept it or reject gotten" men on the line. Business tycoons would be it w i t h all t h e finality of a s u r g e o n p e e r i n g i n t o a back pushing a broom if it weren't for the hundreds chest cavity. of "little people" who backed them in their rise to At CTL are two massive generator units dial success. formerly were in Southern California's Pacific Elec Rocket engines, the newest successes in the power trie streetcar sub-stations at Pomona and Etiwanda. package field, must go right along with this tradition The power from these two generators is used to of modesty. The roaring, flame-spitting thrust cham- feed three electric motors from a U.. S. Navy sub ber of a rocket engine owes much of its glory to marine that less than ten years ago was prowling two comparatively pint-sized units without which the the Pacific Ocean. The submarine motors are linked rocket couldn't hunch itself off the launching pad. to speed increasers that provide the necessary rev- olutions to turn the pumps at the desired test speed. The gas generator and the turbopumps are the For most of the tests, soft water is used as a fluid mighty midgets of rocket engines. While the atten- because the chemicals present in San Fernando Val- tion of the world is centered on the ATLAS, THOR, ley water are enough to upset the delicate calcula- JUPITER, NAVAHO, and REDSTONE missiles, and tions involved in calibrating a high-speed pump. the thundering Rocketdyne engines that power them, these two stalwarts remain hidden in a maze of pro- In other pump tests, liquid oxygen and rocket pellant tubing and engine bracing, ready at the open- engine fuels are used as fluids to duplicate the actual ing of a valve to perform amazing feats. conditions within the rocket engine where highly explosive mixtures of propellants ram through the The turbopump must be capable of gulping down turbopump only a seal's space away from each other. an amount of propellant equal to the contents of a The engineers must restrain the liquid oxygen on railroad tank car in less than two minutes. The gas one side of the turbopump from any unfriendly mix- generator, to turn the pump at its incredible speeds, ture with rocket engine fuel, four hundred degrees must develop power equal to that generated by the higher, on the other side. motors of six modern automobiles. At the same time, the two components must be extremely light weight Pumps Turn at Sonic Speeds to meet one of the primary requirements for use in a rocket engine. During a test the pumps whine in sonic and ultrasonic modes, and the speed increaser causes the thick concrete flooring to quiver. On signal, then- Little Pump Has a Big Job is an abrupt cutoff. Within seventeen seconds a pump The bulk of the flame and the fury of a rocket spinning at 22,500 rpm is brought to a complete halt. engine firing takes place within the thrust chamber- Remember that at Components Test Laboratory the spot which, like the football quarterback, gets it is necessary to utilize two massive streetcar sub- the major share of credit for all the "ground" gained. station generators and three huge motors to turn But that flame and fury could not exist unless there over a pump at desired test speed. What takes the was a turbopump, operating like a buzz saw, suck- place of this bulky set-up when the turbopump is ing the propellants out of the tanks and hurling them placed within the rocket engine? at tremendous flow rates and exceedingly high pres- sures into the thrust chamber. When you consider The answer is a gas generator, a unit that may the tremendous effort being expended to lift a be likened to an ostrich egg nestled within a min- hasketball-sized satellite into an earth orbit for the iature pot bellied stove. A gas generator is a device Project VANGUARD, you can understand whv the which produces a usable gas by means of chemical turbopump must be extremely light. There is no decomposition, recombination or combustion. It's an telling where, in this world or out of it, a turbo- extremely small component that could be tucked into Pump may be carried in the flight of a missile. A the drawer of an engineer's desk-with room for a pound saved is a wonderful achievement. lunch bucket left over. Yet it develops as much as 1800 horsepower. Revolutions-per-minute is not a true indication When the gas generator is in operation, fed by of the efficiency of a turbopump, but it is an indica- the same propellants that ignite in the big thrust tion of the busy life led by the pump. A speed of chamber, there is an extended, controlled explosion 10,000 revolutions per minute is commonplace in creating a rush of gas. The gas causes the blades the Rocketdyne turbopumps. Speeds of 22,500 rpm are not unknown, and the engineers are striving for of the turbopump to whirl; the pumps suck the pro- 30,000. pellants from the missile tanks, hurl them through the injector into the thrust chamber-and the missile Testing of the turbopumps is accomplished at is on the way. Components Test Laboratory in Rocketdyne's Pro- Because the by-products of a gas generator firing pulsion Laboratory. CTL's two highly utilitarian are inflammable gases, at the Test Laboratory ten- buildings are dedicated to one aim-guaranteeing the reliability of components before they are sent up to (Continued on Page 58) join the engines on the big stands. They are blunt. Trade in Your "Black and White" A new development in color picture-tube engineering may make a $300 receiver possible A.RTHUR GODFREY was seated in a big over- and the TV industry in a concerted effort to have stuffed chair sipping a cup of tea as he introduced their system licensed as the first color broadcasting Faye Emerson to the first commercial color-television service. Rival Radio Corporation of America (RCA) audience in history. The time was July, 1951; the objected that an approval of CBS's mechanical system place-a large CBS-TV studio on 63rd street in New would be unfair to U. S. televiewers in that it could York City; and the audience consisted of those fortu- not be received on present black and white sets. nate enough to possess one of the two hundred color Furthermore, they insisted that the resulting quality sets in cxistance, or who had made their own adapter. was poor, and had little chance for improvement. The hour-long variety show had many other CBS-TV They asked the FCC to rule against CBS, with the personalities as well, including Ed Sullivan, Garry promise that they would have a far superior elec- Moore and Sam Levenson who in their turn per- tronic system perfected within four to five years that formed for the limited, but appreciative audience. could be received on present black and white sets. Miss Emerson's red gown had a tendency to fade to a greenish tint on occasion, and Godfrey's ears glowed After some deliberation, the FCC, in March of a dull shade of red but these and other slight imper- 1947, announced that color television was not at pres- fections were deemed inconsequential in light of the ent perfected to the point where it could be licensed magnificence of color reception. A new milestone had commercially. It was to be a few years more before been reached in a progressive entertainment medium. Yet, as we shall see subsequently, tint TV was to be- the U. S. was to enjoy tint-TV. come the center of much criticism and public con- troversey. Television as an entertainment medium was he- ginning to capture the public's fancy and those most concerned with its availability—viewers, advertisers Had CBS's mechanical color television transmis- and broadcasters-began clamoring for television m sion system progressed to a point whereby TV viewers color. It is interesting to note that of these three, would accept it? Would these same viewers invest only the broadcasters (and only a minority of them) upwards of $1000 in a receiver that could be used continued to support color-TV once it had been initi- only four or five hours per week for the present? ated, but more of this later. These and many other questions were yet to be Three and a half years later, CBS-TV once again answered. Let us go back and trace those steps which petitioned the FCC to grant them a license to trans- led to this initial broadcast and subsequent TV-color programming. mit in color with their improved "Field Sequential system. In an effort to thwart CBS's move to #»» control in color-casting, RCA demonstrated its T> Early in 1947 the Columbia Broadcasting System chroic Mirror" transmission method. demonstrated in a closed showing its new "Field Sequential" color transmission system to members of RCA's system had as its basis three "dichroic the Federal Communications Commission, the press, mirrors" which were able to direct the three priman 22 colors, red, green and blue, in two different directions willing, naturally, to invest huge sums of money in a by transmitted light. Reportedly, RCA's electronic project they thought to be only temporary. method would transmit more distinct images and pres- ent a truer representation of color diversity than During the early months following the color pro- CBS's mechanical system. gram featuring top network personalities, CBS-TV did only limited color-casting on five eastern affiliates. However, the FCC ruled that CBS's improved These were mostly during day-light hours when regu- system was superior to that of the RCA method and, larly scheduled monochrome programs were not be- in view of the improvements evident in CBS's entry, ing broadcast. The network's entry into regularly the commission granted a license to the Columbia scheduled color-casting consisted of two daily day- Broadcasting System in November, 1950, which time thirty minute shows: "Modern Homemakers" allowed the network to telecast programs in color. and "The World Is Yours." These two programs were sponsored by five participating advertisers who bought thirty and sixty-second time segments to display their The CBS system of transmitting color images em- products, much in the manner as present-day station- ployed a three-color revolving wheel which rotated break commercials are presented. behind the lens of the camera. The disc was com- posed of three color filters which separated the in- coming image into its three primary colors. The red Indeed, rough sledding was encountered by the segment of the wheel filtered the image so as to per- network. The price of the receivers was a barrier to mit only the red portion to pass through. In like their purchase and, manufacturers were unable to re- manner the other two filters permitted the entrance duce the price because of the diminutive demand. of only the blue and the green portions, all in succes- Due to the sparse audience advertisers were reluctant sion. These three color signals were then converted to pour money into color programming. This meant into electrical impulses and transmitted. that color-telecasting would continue to operate on a limited basis, so that even those who could afford the $1000 receivers were prone to forget the whole thing! In the home the receiver intercepted the signal and by means of a synchronized color-wheel the The Columbia Broadcasting System had invested signal was once again separated into its three con- heavily in color-TV with the view of strengthening stitutent primary colors. The green image is formed their position as the number one television network. as the green segment of the wheel passes over the It was rapidly becoming apparent that they had in- face of the tube and in exact manner the red and blue vested unwisely. It would seem that CBS had found images are formed. themselves on their own revolving wheel, slightly off-balance on a course that led them nowhere, yet, When CBS got the green light to commence afraid to step off and risk being completely thrown color-casting, they purchased the "Air King' tele- off-balance! vision receiver manufacturing company for the ex- press purpose of producing adapters for monochrome In 1951 the federal government helped the net- receivers then in use. This move was necessitated by work save face by ordering all color-TV set production the refusal on the part of set manufacturers to supply halted to preserve scarce materials, as the nation the public with the necessary attachments. It seems faced an international crisis. Chromatic-TV was nearly that the executives at CBS were the only men in the industry who felt that their system of color trans- mission had a future. Set manufacturers were not Forgotten as CBS-TV made only token efforts to con- "adder." This unit blends the three combined color tinue their color programming. impulses to give the proper proportions of brightness, and constitutes the black and white segment of the Coincident with the news of a Korean truce from color signal. The second portion, the "subcarrier," is the Far East, came the news from New York that fed to the "encoder" which combines the color signals HCA, with its subsidiary, the National Broadcasting proportionately to render the right values of "satura- Company, was ready to demonstrate its perfected tion" (intensity) and "hue" (color shading). The two "Dot Sequential" color transmission system. Early signals are now recombined and transmitted together entry into practical color-TV followed when RCA to the home receiver. shelved the "Dichroic Mirror" tube, and developed a new all-electronic direct-view color tube. At the receiver the incoming signal is conducted Sixty newsmen at an NBC-TV studio in Washing- to an electronic "separator" which serves to part the ton watched a program televised in color from Ward- monochrome and color signals. If the receiver is a man Park Hotel on both color and monochrome sets. conventional black and white set, the "subcarrier, The reception was of a quality superior to the current which conveys color information, is rejected and the CBS system, and the demonstration clearly proved remaining portion, when focused on the face of the its compatibility. tube, appears as a black and white image. After a demonstration before the Federal Com- If the receiver is a compatible set, however, the munications Commission, RCA petitioned the board subcarrier is fed to the "decoder" for separation into for a license replacing CBS's "Field Sequential" sys- its three primary colors once again. These are relayed tem. An announcement was quick in coming. In to the corresponding tube in the three-gun picture- August, 1953, the FCC officially authorized RCA's tube, and then projected on the screen. "Dot Sequential" system as the standard color-broad- cast method. The face of the picture-tube is covered with 351,000 dots, or "phosphors," arranged in triangular Whereby the CBS system captured the scene with groups. Each clot is capable of reacting to a certain one color tube, RCA utilizes three tubes, or "guns," color impulse delivered by the corresponding color one for each primary color. The camera actually takes gun. three separate pictures through one lens by means of a system of filter-mirrors. Each mirror traps one Behind the tube-face is a metal screening mask color and allows the two remaining colors to pass with 117,000 minute holes focused on each triangular through. These three distinct color images are di- group of clots. Each gun shoots a stream of electrons rected to the corresponding color tubes where they in horizontal lines running from left to right on the are converted into electrical impulses. They are now face of the picture-tube. Therefore, when the beam oi once again mixed, and the resulting signal is divided each gun is uncovered by one of the minute holes in into two segments. The first segment goes to the the mask, the corresponding color dot appears at 24 that point on the screen. The "Dot Sequential" system as developed by simpler wiling arrangement than that present in the RCA was the product of three years study by the RCA units. The absence of the mask allegedly in- National Television System Committee under the creases the picture brilliance by 70'/, but the im- supervision of RCA vice-president, Dr. Elmer W. portant factor is that the one-gun Lawrence tube can Engstrom. be manufactured for $100 or less. Further, Chromatic Inc. engineers say the "Chromatron" is not limited in size, and that advance tests have given color registra- It would appear that color-television had come of tion and brightness levels far superior to the RCA age and would enjoy a prosperous future. Yet, as we units now being employed. shall see, this was not the case. In April, 1956 RCA forecast that sales of color receivers would reach the half-million mark by the end of the year, when The Lawrence principle involves the focusing of actually only 130,000 units had been purchased. RCA the electron beam on the phosphoric screen much and its subsidiary, the National Broadcasting Com- in the same manner as on the RCA tube, but with pany, had lost 6.9 million dollars since its entry in only one scanning gun. Instead of the phosphors be- color programming and color set production. ing arranged in triangular groups of dots, they are "shot" out in five horizontal lines about 0.001 inches thick. Behind these lines is mounted a grid of vcr\ The lack of extensive color programming, high fine wires so arranged that alternating conduction maintenance costs, and inconsistantly good reception wires can carry different electrical charges. The have been factors leading to the public's lethargy in charge on the wires directs and focuses the electron fully accepting TV's latest innovation. The biggest beam so that, as the grid charge changes, the beam single hurdle, however, has been the high cost of color will strike one, two, or all three primary color phos- receivers. The three-gun picture-tube itself costs up- phors. The grid changes depend upon the nature wards of $250 and its corresponding circuitry is very of the transmitted image. complex and also costly. It appears however, that there may be hope. A few of the 21-inch receivers The Lawrence tube, by nature of its relative sim- on the market since June 1956, have been reduced plicity, does not require the close dimensional toler- in price to $495. This is a reduction of 505? since the ances necessary in its more complicated predecessor, first compatible set was introduced early in 1954. thereby reducing the cost of manufacturing. Also, the This initial set in the color market had a 12-inch color-selector grid will do away with the necessary screen that sold for $1000. color-encoder in present sets. A new advance in color picture-tube engineering The development of Dr. Lawrence's "Chromatron" was announced a little over a year ago that may make tube may be the answer to exorbitant receiver and possible the marketing of a $250 or $300 color re- maintenance costs, and poor receotion. Now NBC-TV . ceiver. Dr Ernest O. Lawrence, through the auspices is doing their best to present colorcasting in quantity of the Radiation Laboratory of the University of as well as quality. The network at present is following California, obtained a patent on his "Chromatron a policy of presenting at least one major evening show one-gun color picture-tube for the Chromatic Tele- vision Laboratories Inc. The new picture-tube does not utilize a shadow mask and is composed of a much Now you can See why only Eagle Turquoise leads & pencils give you perfectly sharp drawings YOU ALWAYS GET PROVEN QUALITY FROM TURQUOISE DRAWING LEADS AND PENCILS PROVEN G R A D I N G - 1 7 different formulae make sure you get exactly the line you expect- from every Penci I, every time. PROVEN Durability Because compact .ead structure gives off no chunks of use.ess "dust" to blow away, Turquoise wears down more slowly. PROVEN NEEDLE-POINT STRENGTH- as electron photomicrograph shows, Turquoise lead struc- ture is finer-and therefore stronger. It holds a needle point under drawing pressures for long lines of unchanging width C L U B S AND S O C I E T I E S A. I. Ch. E. Phi Lambda Tau The student section of the American Institute of The Phi Lambda Tau Fraternity was founded Chemical Engineers has as its main objective to at Michigan State College in 1925, to mark with acquaint the Chemical engineering student to his distinction those who, as Engineering undergraduates, professional society while he is still in school. Any have demonstrated their administrative ability or have student enrolled in chemical engineering can become shown unusual initiative. a member. Undergraduates become scholastically eligible at The student section here at State has two meet- the beginning of their Junior year if their scholastic ings a term. The program for the last meeting was average for the previous two years is favorable. a talk on "Eonomics of Chemical Processes" given Eligibility is also based upon such activities as cam- by Mr. G. H. Wesseman, who is employed by the pus organizations, social fraternities, campus politics, Standard Oil Company of Indiana. outside work, athletics, music, and publications. Last term two of the student members went to the A.I.Ch.E. Convention in Chicago. Their expenses Phi Lambda Tau is unique in that it has only one were paid by the Procter and Gamble Company. chapter and that being the one founded at Michigan State University. Some of the various activities that This year Michigan State has been chosen as the members participate in are field trips, picnics. the host for the 7th annual North Central Regional Conference of the Student Chapters of A.I.Ch.E. The Engineering Exposition projects, banquets, and serv- chairman for the conference is Wes Rearick and ice functions such as campus tours and aid to activ- working under him are, Grant juchartz and Miles ities sponsored by Professional Engineers. Talbert. The officers of Phi Lambda Tau are: The officers of A.I.Ch.E.: President Jim Clock President Charles Griffen Vice President Duane Dolph Vice President Roderick MacKay Treasurer Glenn Gardner Secretary Carl Thearin Secretary Ronald Hamelink Treasurer Gerald Knapp Corresponding Secretary Stanky Badelt Faculty Advisor Dr. R. W. Ludt Faculty Advisor Prof. L. V. Nothstine Pi Tau Sigma Tau Beta Pi Pi Tau Sigma is a national honorary mechanical Tau Beta Pi is a national honorary For all engi- engineering fraternity. The chapter here at State was neers. To be eligible, a student must be in the top installed in 1950 through the help of Professor L. C. K of the Junior Class and have an all-college above Price and former Dean of Engineering, L. G. Miller. 3.3. Seniors must be in the top ,'i of their class and have an all-college above a 3 point. To be eligible for membership you have to be in Each fall term the seniors arc taken in along the top 25% of the Junior Class or the top 35% of the with the three top students from the junior class. Senior Class. In the junior year only 17% can be taken Winter term the rest of the juniors are taken in. in and 33% in the senior year. This means a good Tau Beta Pi meets three times a term. The) hold scholastic record is needed to be eligible but also their meetings in their own room on the fourth floor the student is judged on leadership, personality, de- of Olds Hall. Mr. Olds requested this room for them pendability and probable future success in mechanical when he gave the money for the building. engineering. Officers for Tau Beta Pi: The out-going officers are Joe Colucci, President; President Lowell Smith Keith Salisbury, Vice President; Wayne Sebrell, Cor- Vice President Richard Plugge responding Secretary; Charles Kirchhoff, Recording Recording Secretary Wayne Robertson Secretary and Richard McCormic, Treasurer. Corresponding Secretary . : Philip Cline New Officers for 1958-1959: Treasurer Robert LaFraugh President Jack Slocum Faculty Advisors: Vice President John Sovis Mechanical Engineering C. H. Pesterfield Corresponding Secretary Laverne Root Electrical Engineering I. (). Ebert Recording Secretary Jack Garter Civil Engineering A. H. Leigh Treasurer Keith Wood Agricultural Engineering C. W. Hall Faculty Advisor P. J. Thorson Faculty Treasurer I. E. Morse •"I Going around in circles ? Chances are you're wondering what your future holds. At Douglas, long- range projects of tremendous scope assure a constant variety of assignments . . . and the opportunity to expand your responsibilities. Douglas is headed by engineers who believe that promotion must come from within. They'll stimulate you to build a rewarding future in your field. For important career opportunities, write: As an aid to students, THE SPARTAN ENGINEER presents: FUDGE FACTORS A complete conversion table for your notebook THESE EIGHT PAGES MAY BE REMOVED AS A BOOKLET AND KEPT FOR READY REFERENCE. Fudge Factors at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in the field of Materials Engineering The development of more advanced, effects of radiation on matter are In the field of chemistry, investi- far more powerful aircraft engines important aspects of the nuclear re- gations are made of fuels, high-tem- depends to a high degree on the de- actor program now under way at perature lubricants, elastomeric velopment of new and improved P & W A. Stress analysis by strain compounds, electro-chemical and or- materials and methods of processing gage and X-ray diffraction is an- ganic coatings. Inorganic substances, them. Such materials and methods, other notable phase of investigation. too, must be prepared and their of course, are particularly important properties determined. In the metallurgical field, mate- in the nuclear field. rials work involves studies of corro- sion resistance, high-temperature While materials engineering as- At Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, the signments, themselves, involve dif- physical, metallurgical, chemical mechanical and physical properties of metals and alloys, and fabrication ferent types of engineering talent, and mechanical properties of each the field is only one of a broadly new material are studied in minute techniques. diversified engineering program at detail, compared with properties of Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. That Mechanical-testing work delves known materials, then carefully ana- program — with other far-reaching into design and supervision of test lyzed and evaluated according to activities in the fields of mechanical equipment to evaluate fatigue, wear, their potential usefulness in aircraft and elevated-temperature strength design, aerodynamics, combustion engine application. of materials. It also involves deter- and instrumentation — spells out a The nuclear physics of reactor mination of the influence of part gratifying future for many of to- materials as well as penetration and design on these properties. day's engineering students. FUDGE FACTORS (Continued from Page 33) These conversion factors first appeared in the November'54 and Jan- uary '55 issues of the CITY COLLEGE VECTOR. p l a n t w a s understood from at least t h e b e g i n n i n g of t h e 19th century, neither steam nor gas turbines w i r e built during most of that century. Instead, the re- ciprocating steam engine was developed early and remained for many years the dominant type of power plant. Probably the high operating speeds required for large turbine outputs and high efficiencies were excessive for the materials and bearings of the day. Nor was theory, especially as it pertained to turbine nozzles, adequate to provide a good foundation for practical design. Early in the 20th century, however, the steam tur- bine was perfected; and in a few years it had almost completely superseded the reciprocating steam en- gine. You might logically expect parallel development of the gas turbine. On the contrary, almost contem- poraneously with the perfection of the steam turbine, development of the reciprocating internal combustion engine began. And many years passed before atten- tion turned to the gas turbine. Industry became interested in the industrial pos- sibilities of the gas turbine as a result of a doctorate thesis written by Sanford A. Moss in 1900. Dr. Moss Today's Most Important New Prime Mover was given facilities in Schenectady to continue his Development in aircraft gas-turbines research and development work on turbosuper- has been due to new metallurgical and chargers and gas turbines. manufacturing techniques. Because of its greater ease of manufacture and correspondingly decreased cost for low pressure ratios, the centrifugal type progressed much more rapidly than axial-flow compressors. From 1910 onward a OVER 2000 years ago man successfully harnessed large number of centrifugal compressors were built the energy in an expanding gas—in effect, discovering for blast-furnace and other industrial applications. the principle of the gas turbine. Since 130 B.C., During the closing days of World War I, the centrifu- when Hero of Egypt built the first gas turbine-a gal compressor was selected for the turbosupercharger small, hot-air driven toy carousel—men have con- —the immediate predecessor of the aircraft gas—tur- tinued to improve upon his idea. bine power plant. Meanwhile, although Sir Charles Algernon Parsons had built a few axial-flow com- During the 16th century the turbine principle pressors in the 1900 to 1910 period, for many years was applied to turn a roasting spit. This was the first development of this type proceeded slowly. practical application of the gas turbine. Engineers' interest in the independent gas-tur- On November 30, 1791, shortly after the close bine power plant didn't lag while the steam turbine °f the American Revolution, the British Patent Office and the reciprocating internal combustion engine issued patent No. 1833 to John Barber. This patent were in process of development. Though a number described a gas-turbine power plant that included in of investigators were active in gas-turbine research elementary form all the principal components of the previous to and just after 1900 and though their work modern plant. Yet until about 1940, few engineers constituted a necessary foundation for later develop- took this type of power plant seriously-the average ment, no practical power plants were produced. Person still thinks of it as a modern invention. Charles Lemale and Rene Armengaud in France, The principle of the turbine itself dates back to Norman Davy in England, and Dr. Sanford A. Moss antiquity. And although it's apparent from Barber's Patent that the principle of the gas-turbine power (Continued on Page 52) March, 1958 Full-time, off-the-job GRADUATE ENGINEERING TRAINING helps speed careers at Western Electric Right now, Western Electric engineers are back "on campus" in a unique new Graduate Engineering Training Program. They're attending courses at special study centers established by the company in Chicago, New York and Winston-Salem, N. C. It's a rare chance to study advanced engineering and get full pay at the same time. These "students" are guided by a teaching staff of top West- ern Electric engineers, outside experts and professors from leading universities. They're learning the latest technical devel- opments . . . boning up on everything from manufacturing proc- esses to computer applications. When the program reaches its peak, some 2,000 to 3,000 West- ern Electric engineers will attend each year .. . studying in an atmosphere as close to a university graduate school as is prac- tical for industry. This engineering "university" was born because of the ever- increasing complexity of Western Electric's job as the manu- facturing and supply unit of the Bell Telephone System. Today W. E. engineers are right in the middle of exciting fields like microwave radio relay, electronic switching and automation. Graduate engineering training is designed to spur their devel- opment and advancement throughout their entire careers. How Graduate Engineering Training would work for you The program gets under way after approximately six months on-thc-job experience. First off: I. A nine-week Introduction to Western Electric Engineering helps you learn about your W.E. engineering field, sharpens your skills in getting ideas across. Technical subjects include communications systems, prod- net design principles, military electronic systems. 2. Another nine-week program, General Development, starts after your first year with us, helps broaden and strengthen your engineering back- ground. Besides technical subjects like engineering statistics, measure- ments and instrumentation, and electronics, you receive grounding in human relations and the socio-economic importance of engineering. 3. To meet continuing needs for formalized technical training, Advanced Development offers four-week courses tailored to the individual needs of the engineers selected to attend. These courses are designed to help develop creative engineering abilities. Computer applications, switching theory, feedback control systems, and semi-conductor devices and cir- cuits are sample topics covered in this phase. Besides taking part in the Graduate Engineering Training Pro- gram, engineers are eligible for our Tuition Refund Plan for after hours study at nearby colleges. In short, there's a unique opportunity at Western Electric to develop a professional career . . . and work in the exciting world of communications. Hold My Hand, But Not Too Tightly Mechanical "hands" that can disassemble an air- from a crane bridge and can cover the entire working craft jet engine "bolt by bolt" are part of the remote area of the shop. handling equipment in one of the world's largest shops for handling radio-active equipment. Operators of these manipulators and four other electrically controlled wall-mounted manipulators are The huge "hot" shop, 160 feet long, 50 feet wide protected by concrete walls some seven feet thick and 63 feet high, is part of the Atomic Energy Com- and by nine windows of lead glass and zinc bromide, mission's test facilities utilized by the General Electric six feet thick. Each window contains 500 gallons of Company. zinc bromide to protect operators from stray nuclear Remote handling tools in the "shop" range from a radiation. 100-ton crane down through O'Man, a huge machani- cal "arm" to a much smaller master-slave manipulator Enough controls are located at each window to for making intricate mechanical adjustments. operate any piece of servicing equipment in the entire shop. Radio contact can be maintained by operators The O'Man manipulator can handle from 500 to in the control galleries with other operating sites and 3,000 pounds, depending on the arm length and with a lead shielded locomotive used to haul equip- position used. This giant manipulator is suspended ment to be maintained in and out of the huge shop. The shop is serviced by a track system which circular magazines with the launchers, resembling enters through large remote-controlled double doors anti-aircraft guns, in the center and numerous cells at the west end. Smaller entrances are provided for on the perimeter to house the missiles themselves. personnel who must enter the "hot" shop. All three arc built to withstand (the pressures of the On the floor of the shop are two large capacity missile take-off and near misses From enemy bombs, turntables for rotating heavy equipment that must be and all are airliltercd for protection of the equipment serviced. Rotation of these nuclear aircraft propulsion and personnel. equipment components provides easier access by tool In general terms and within the bounds of mill and better view from any of the nine observation tary security-this is what the TDU is designed to do: windows. Suppose a fleet of enemy bombers, or perhaps a Connecting with the main "hot" shop are smaller single missile, is detected by one of the numerous shops for handling radioactive equipment, including warning systems spanning the North American con one area for servicing O'Man and other remote han- tinent. A signal is sent to the TDU, where it is re- dling equipment. ceived by a series of data-handling and computing Also connecting with the "hot" shop by water machines. These decode the information and analyze canal is a water-filled storage pool for fuel elements the number of attackers, their location, course and and other radioactive units. The pool, 120 feet long, speed of approach. 60 across and 24 deep, is filled with water that is Next a scheduling and programming computer much purer than ordinary distilled water for sale sets the logical points of interception. Then it starts in drug stores. the machinery to load the missiles onto the launchers Visual observation of work in the "hot" shop is and fire them at the proper time and in the proper difficult because distances involved between observer direction. and equipment often exceed 50 feet. In this stage—still without the lifting of a human hand—the blast-proof concrete-and-steel cell doors Six of the viewing windows in the main shop are swing open to release the missiles the computer has 18 feet above the shop floor and two are 30 feet above selected. The cells have reinforced concrete walls it. One window is located in the cell for maintaining two feet thick and are so constructed that, should the remote handling equipment. one of the missiles go off by mistake, the blast would Viewing aids used include binoculars, spotting go upward through the roof rather than horizontally telescopes, mirrors and closed circuit industrial tele- to detonate the other missiles. vision, with preparation being made for installation As a cell is opened, one of the launchers circles of a television network that includes black and white, to face it and sends a small cart down a railed bridge color, 3-D stereo vision or any combination of these, to the door. Swiftly the missile is loaded on the cart with viewing screens at all operator locations. and rolled onto the launcher. Then the launcher swings to the desired position of fire. After an auto- Depth perception depends to a great extent on matic check-out—and at the proper time—the pro- the stereo vision of the technician, since size, color jectile is fired. All of this is done automatically. and shadows are not always available as depth per- ception aids. There are two stages of flight after the initial upward thrust. First the missile follows a guidance beam to the vicinity of the target. Second, as the missile approaches the target, a secret "homing" de- One Step Beyond Push-Button Warfare vice senses its presence and "locks on" to the target to close in for the kill. "This goes one step beyond push-button warfare, for at the Talos Defense Unit you don't even need to During all of this action, the military personnel at push a button to send this weapon into action." the TDU merely observe and monitor the perform- ance of the equipment. However, several modes of That was the description of the first completely operation that are less automatic and employ some automatic system for firing and guiding missiles to human operators are possible. Both the equipment their targets. The base, is an electronic control center and the operators are maintained in a constant state which can go into action by itself in response to warn- of readiness by use of automatic practicing devices ing signals from remote outposts. and system-checkout equipment. These employ tape, bearing data on a simulated engagement, which is A decade ago, it would have seemed like a fig- played through the system. ment of science fiction to speak of a base that could fire a missile and guide it to its target without the One of the numerous advantages of the Talos unit help of a human hand. But here it is, before you, is the fact it can fire single missiles or numerous mis- today. siles simultaneously at a number of different targets and can continue to fire over an extended period of The Talos Defense Unit (TDU) is composed of time. Also, it can carry either a high-explosive or three structures—one a long, low concrete and steel nuclear warhead. building (316 x 80 feet horizontally, 30 feet tall) containing the control center, and the other two (Continued on Next Pane) 43 March, 1958 The "Talos" missile is about 20 feet long, 30 inches Physical changes Senio is looking for appear in in diameter and weighs 3,000 pounds. It is accelerated lithium fluoride within a few days rather than in by a large solid fuel booster rocket some 10 feet months as is the case in many metals. long, which is jettisoned when the missile reaches cruising speed. At this time the main ramjet engine, During his studies, Senio found that lithium using kerosene as fuel, ignites and provides thrust to bubbles appear first in bright colors. The colors, lie keep the missile at constant speed throughout its said, show that these bubbles have a third dimension, Bight. The engine develops 40,000 horsepower. even though they are extremely thin, measuring only about three one-hundred-thousandths of an inch. Completion of the land-based unit now enables the Army to use the same weapon produced for the As the bubbles thicken, they turn white. Navy, an important factor from an economy stand- point. Senio said he believes formation of helium and tritium gases in the irradiated lithium is responsible for the bubbles. So far, however, he is at a loss to explain why square and rectangular bubbles appear rather than conventional spherical ones. Square Bubbles At first glance, he said, the box-like bubbles have no practical value, but should lead to important Square bubbles, the first such phenomena ever scientific findings regarding the fundamental atomic observed in nature have been found by a General structure of matter. Electric Company scientist during experiments at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL). "It will take a lot of study to explain why nature allows bubbles of this type to form in one material Peter Senio, a metallurgist at the laboratory, dis- and not in others," he said. closed that brilliantly colored microscopic bubbles in square and rectangular forms appear in lithium fluoride crystals after they have been irradiated with These unique bubbles are formed this way: neutrons in a reactor, then heated above 600 degrees Centigrade (1,112 degrees Fahrenheit). Small pieces of clear lithium are irradiated with neutrons in a reactor. Once irradiated, they turn black. Square bubbles, Senio said, never have been in any other material. No bubbles of any kind were dis- Next, these crystals are heated in a laboratory covered by Senio in lithium fluoride that was not first furnace. When they reach about 450 degrees Centi- irradiated with neutrons. grade (842 degrees Fahrenheit), they turn clear, or almost clear, again. Lithium fluoride, he explained, is a clear, glass- like material he irradiates to study the effects of When heated to about 700 degrees Centigrade neutron bombardment and to associate the results (1,292 degrees Fahrenheit) for several hours, they with materials that make up a nuclear reactor. look frosty to the naked eye. At this stage they are taken from the furnace and allowed to cool. Studied under a microscope, the crystals reveal color squares formed inside and most frequently along natural faults in the lithium fluoride crystals. Over-all ap- pearance of groups of the bright bubbles is somewhat similar to squares used in stain glass windows ar- ranged in cubist design. If the temperature of the furnace is boosted above 700 degrees Centigrade, the bubbles inside the cry- stals turn white and their corners begin to round. As the melting point of lithium fluoride, 842 de- grees Centigrade, (1,547 degrees Fahrenheit), is ap- proached, the bubbles grow and combine to form new shapes that resemble sausages, donuts, boomer- angs and many other familiar objects. Ultimate form of the bubbles during heating near the melting point of the crystals, appears to be Spheri- cal as would be expected. Where Engineers Can Move Ahead Faster America's Railroads offer young engineers a particularly fast track to an interesting and challenging future. The reasons are clear. Our railroads are putting through an enormous program of automation and modernization. They are vital to America's economy and defense. And their need for you is very great. Their present management teams are looking forward to future successors. Retirement rates are currently high; and replacements are brought up from within. If you'd like to consider the unusual opportunities and rewards open to engineers of all types in railroading, see your placement officer or write us at 30 Church Street, New York 7, N. Y. We know you will like working with America's railroads. We've been doing it ourselves for many years—in supplying this great industry with Kerite quality insulated wire and cable. NEW DEVELOPMENTS distribution of various types of reactors. It contains (Continued from Page 44) 256 channels, compared to a device previously in use at KAPL which furnished only 11 channels for recording information on different energy range neu- Elevator Furnace Equipped With trons. Automatic Quenching Arrangement Transfers 4000 Pound Load In 7 Seconds Employed in reactor development work at Kapl, the analyzer, through its work-saving features, has A problem in fast quenching heat-treated alumi- freed highly trained scientists from routine calculat- num has been solved by an electric elevator furnace, ing work. They can now spend time saved in evaluat- equipped with an automatic elevator quench, which ing information the new analyzer provides for them. transfers the load from furnace to quench in just seven seconds. Savings in time and labor by the new analyzer are matched by the space it conserves at the labora- The furnace has four zones, handles a 4,000 lb. tory. The device is only 8 inches high, 19 inches long charge at 1,000 degrees F maximum operating tem- and 13 inches deep, compared to earlier analyzer perature. Temperature variation throughout the load equipment which took up at least 10 times that is 10 degrees F or less after stabilization at control amount of space. temperature. The KAPL engineers said the analyzer works this Loads of coiled 24 S aluminum alloy sheet ma- way: terial as large as 6 ft. wide and 12 ft. long are regu- larly processed in the furnace. Remote recording Development of new reactors at KAPL involves thermocouples are used during performance testing. mock-up of various fuel arrangements and accurate Within 15 minutes, most of the load is at temperature, measurement of resulting neutron energy spectrum. and 20 minutes the inner-most part of the coils reaches the heat-treat temperature. Similar rapid heat- ing is obtained on extrusion and formed parts loads. This is accomplished in a large part by measuring the time of flight of neutrons over a given distance and recording the number of these neutrons which A Neutron Flight Analyzer fall into 256 different velocity ranges. Through vari- ous calculations, scientists can convert the velocity Two engineers at the Knolls Atomic Power Lab- of these neutrons into corresponding energy ranges. oratory here have developed a new electronic com- puting device for measuring, counting and classifying To accumulate this vital information, a neutron time of flight of neutrons from a nuclear reactor which beam coming out of the thermal test reactor is accomplishes in an hour what it previously would chopped by a rotating shutter so that velocity can have taken a man a month to do. be measured. At the end of a flight path of established length, the neutrons are detected by a counter and Elmer J. Wade and Donald S. Davidson of KAPL the information relayed to the analyzer. developed the first all-transistorized time of flight analyzer for use in determining the neutron energy (Continued on Page 49) the beginning of a million dollar detective story Men, vehicles and instruments bound for the middle east The cast of this story may include a part for you. GSI is a leader in the worldwide search for new petroleum reserves. Emphasis is shifting to foreign areas and there is a world of opportunity awaiting those who can qualify for a career in geophysical exploration. GSI has openings for college graduates trained in geophysics, physics, engineering, math and geology. For a rewarding career, which may take you from California to Calcutta, join the cast .. . join GSI. Write for our booklet, "With GSI The World Is Your Office." Engineers' Wives The organization is divided into four individual groups: A new organization, "Engineers' Wives," is being Mechanical Formed on the M.S.U. campus. It is sponsored by Chairman—Sally Daly the Engineering Department, and the purpose of this club is to acquaint the engineering student's wife Co-chairman—Kathleen Wenke with the field of engineering through lectures, movies, Civil and discussions. Chairman—Sharon Wiseman The first group meeting proved a success with Co-chairman—Carole Morgan 150 student wives in attendance. It was a business Electrical meeting held on January 21st in the Union Building. Chairman—Marilyn Wilson The faculty advisor is Miss Agnes McCann, assistant Co-chairman—Marilyn Archuletta to the Dean of Engineering, and the assistant advisor Met., Chem., and Agricultural is Mrs. J. D. Ryder, wife of the Dean of the School Chairman—Mary Bode of Engineering. Co-chairman—Connie Gyde Club officers are: These groups function separately, and meet each month. Once each term, all four groups meet together President—Marilyn Raymond for a business and social meeting. The next organiza- Vice President—Zoe Hewitt tion meeting will be held April 10, and Dr. C. U- Secretary—Carol Schuhardt Harris, Head, Department of Applied Mechanics, will Treasurer—Doris Brown give an introductory talk on engineering. NEW DEVELOPMENTS further research will be required to determine how best to exploit this new capability. (Continued from Page 46) Scientists gave tin's explanation of meteor trail Information on each neutron counted is directed propagation: into one of 256 channels, each representing a velocity range. Up to 65,536 neutron counts is stored in each When a meteor enters the thin upper atmosphere of these channels. ol the earth, the high velocity of its passage causes the air particles to break down into positive and After the experiment this information is trans- negative ions. This trail of ionized air, which may persist durin mitted over cables to electronic calculating equip- of a second up to several minutes alter the passage ment which punches information from each channel of the meteor, acts as a reflector of radio signals of the analyzer onto a separate card. which would otherwise radiate out into space. Along a transmission path of the type used in the experi- This information is then fed into a digital com- mental facsimile system, ionized meteor trails appear puter for analysis of the data from the cards and the on an average of several times a minute to close the result is then automatically plotted on a graph which circuit between transmitter and receiver. shows the reactor energy characteristics. The entire operation from neutron count to pro- The research team pointed out that meteor path duction of a graph which reveals the energy spectra propagation promises ultimately to increase the versa- of the reactor requires only about an hour, compared tility of all radio communications by providing a to what would have been a month's work for a single means of sending information at times and over dis- tances for which other means may not be available. scientist recording data manually. It also offers a valuable means of supplementing the overcrowded radio spectrum. Signals Are Bounced From Meteor Trails According to the report of the three scientists, the experimental system functions this way: High-frequency radio signals, bounced from me- teor trails 60 to 100 miles above the earth, have been The material to be transmitted is recorded on used experimentally for the first time to transmit 35 millimeter film, which is scanned to produce a images of printed material over a distance of nearly signal in a manner similar to the techniques used in 1,000 miles without relays. television film transmission. The resulting signal is sent out from the transmitter through a highly di- rective antenna aimed in the direction of the distant The novel system was developed for the Cam- receiver. At the receiver, the signal is picked up by bridge Research Center of the Air Research and De- another directive antenna each time it is reflected velopment Command. Principals in the development during the brief life of an ionized meteor trail, and were Warren H. Bliss, of the technical staff at RCA's the information is fed to a cathode-ray tube for dis- David Sarnoff Research Center in Princeton, J. N., play on a viewing screen. In the experimental system, and R. J. Wagner, Jr., and G. B. Wickizer, of the photographic techniques are used to record the image RCA Laboratories radio research staff at Riverhead. as it appears on the screen. Basic research in the field of meteor trails has The research team reported that the scanner and been conducted in this country notably at Stanford transmitter are run continuously, sending copies of a University and the Bureau of Standards, much of it picture over and over at the rate of two complete sponsored by the Department of Defense, as well scans each second. The receiver is also on continu- as in Canada and the United Kingdom. In recent ously with the recording unit in a "standby condition." years more attention has been given to the effects of meteor reflection on communications. The Canad- "When a passing meteor closes the transmission ian Research Board developed a teletype system. path, the incoming signal trips the recorder . . . to permit reproduction on the phosphor screen," they Because radio reflections from meteor trails were said. "The circuit then resets for the next burst." believed to be of importance to the Air Force, the Propagation Laboratory of The Cambridge Research The report stated that the experimental trans- Center had initiated a meteor program in 1953. As a mitter produces 20 kilowatts of power at a frequency result of this program, Dr. Philip Newman and Dr. of 40 megacycles, which is in the very-high-frequency Joseph Casey of the Cambridge Center came to the range somewhat below the portion of the frequency conclusion that it should be possible to make radio spectrum used for commercial VHF television service. transmission of visual material via meteor trails. It added that the "encouraging results" so far have RCA, at the request of the Air Force, developed spe- been achieved during preliminary tests of the new cial equipment to investigate this possibility. The equipment prior to the start of a planned research first trial of this equipment during early autumn met program. with instant success. However, the meteor trail phenomenon is a complicated one and considerable acteristic of emitting light under the influence of an New Electronic Panels That Store Images applied voltage. To operate the panel, a voltage is For Prolonged Viewing applied across the whole assembly. In darkness, the current is prevented from flowing by the insulating Two novel electronic storage display pant-Is that property of the cadmium selenide layer. When the can be used for prolonged viewing of projected light light of the projected image strikes this layer even Images to which they are exposed for only fractions for as little as l/l(X)-second, however, the cadmium of a second, were described in Washington recently selenide becomes conducting in accordance with the by scientists of the Radio Corporation of America. pattern of light, allowing current to pass through the opaque layer to the electroluminescent layer. The electroluminescent material thereupon emits its own The experimental devices, with potential applica- light in the same pattern, reproducing the original tions in radar and other electronic display systems, image in bright form. were among several new developments disclosed by scientists and engineers at the third annual meeting of the Institute of Radio Engineers' Professional Since the cadmium selenide remains conducting Group on Electron Devices on November 1. Among for a long time after the light source has been cut the others were new techniques which promise to off, the current keeps flowing to generate light in lead to increased sensitivity and versatility in Vidicon the electroluminescent layer. When the image is to television camera tubes. be erased, the voltage is interrupted for a fraction of a second. The cadmium selenide then drops back to its insulating condition, ready for the next exposure. The two types of display panels described by the specialists include one in which a new electronic principle is employed to achieve a light amplifier Describing the laboratory device as a panel three which, after a l/100-second exposure to a dim image, inches square, Dr. Nicoll said that considerably larger stores and displays the image in bright form for sev- storage panels of the same type can be made. He eral minutes or longer. The other type, employing stated that future devices with these characteristics different principles and a more complex structure, might be used in many applications to store for pro- was described as a high-resolution storage system longed study images that appear only briefly, such as combining picture detail with long image persistence. "stills" from television or motion picture sequences, or radar displays. The first of the two devices was discussed by Dr. F. H. Nicoll, of the RCA Laboratories technical staff The other approach to direct-view picture storage at the David Sarnoff Research Center, Princeton, in a panel device was described by an RCA Labora- N . J . In the new panel, according to Dr. Nicoll, the tories team including E. E. Loebner, H. O. Hook, bright image display persists for several minutes fol- and D. C. Darling. Developed in two different designs lowing an exposure of only 1/100-second to the pro- under a Signal Corps Contract, the device was char- jected image. He added that the image may be erased acterized by the scientists as a high-resolution storage in a fraction of a second, if desired, leaving the panel system for radar and other display applications in immediately ready for another exposure. which long persistence and a high degree of detail are required. Dr. Nicoll told the- group that the ability of the panel to store a bright image after only a brief ex- As explained by the team, the panels comprise' posure results from the discovery of a previously un- arrangements of photoconductive and electrolumines- known phenomenon in cadmium selenide, a photo- cent materials in tiny cells on a specially fabricated conductor material which is an insulator in darkness glass plate. They pointed out that the high resolution but becomes a conductor of electricity upon exposure to light. It was found, he said, that under the in- was achieved by employing large numbers of cells in fluence of applied voltage and exposure to light, the a small area-1275 per square inch in one design, and conductivity of the cadmium selenide will increase about 1600 per square inch in another. sharply and will remain high for long periods after the light source has been cut off. The scientists explained that the operation de- pends upon the basic principle of employing light- induced conductivity in the photoconductor materia The scientist gave the following explanation as to how the newly-discovered principle is applied in to permit the flow of current to the electroluminescen the- experimental amplifier: layer. In the new experimental panels, they said, the storage is achieved by an optical feedback process, with the light emitted by the electroluminescent ma- The panel itself is a "sandwich" formed by a thin terial being used to maintain the conductivity of the layer of cadmium selenide photoconductor on one photoconductor material. By this means, it was side, and a layer of electroluminescent material on pointed out, storage is theoretically infinite, although the other, separated by a thin layer of opaque ma- in practice the laboratory devices have been limited to terial. The electroluminescent material has the char- storage of about fifteen minutes. 50 Spartan Engineer If you are interested in automation . . . Here's what Air-Tool Engineering at Ingersoll-Rand can mean to you AUTOMATION, today, is the magic word country's leading manufacturers of air com- that is opening new horizons for cost- pressors, pumps, rock drills, gas and diesel saving economy in practically every industry. engines, vacuum equipment. All of these Things that used to be done by hand are now products depend heavily on advanced engi- being done automatically. Here is a rapidly neering in their design, manufacture and field growing field which offers fine opportunities application. for you as a mechanically minded engineer. Then there are the advantages of living in Many interesting engineering problems Athens, Pa., where Ingersoll-Rand builds auto- arise in the design, development and experi- mation equipment. The picturesque Pennsyl- mental work on such machinery, and creative vania hills provide many recreational advan- engineering is necessary to solve them. Prac- tages that are particularly appealing to the tical engineering ability is also needed for outdoor man. installation and initial operation of such If you are looking for a leadership career equipment. The early studies of customers' with long-range job security and excellent needs and automation equipment sales are opportunities for advancement, you'll find it also challenging jobs. at Ingersoll-Rand. Ingersoll-Rand is a recognized leader in For further details, contact your Place- designing and building these labor-saving air ment Office, or write to Ingersoll-Rand, 11 and electric tools, and is also one of the Broadway, New York 4. A turbosupercharger is similar to an independent PRIME MOVER gas-turbine power plant except for the absence of (Continued from Page 39) a combustion chamber. Production techniques were well developed for the turbosupercharger. (Shortly in the United States are representative of the workers thereafter several hundred thousand turbosuper- in the field at that time. About the beginning of the chargers were built to make possible the high-altitude century, Hans Holzwarth began a long career devoted flying of Flying Fortresses, Super-fortresses, Liber- almost exclusively to the constant-volume, or explo- ators, Lightnings, and Thunderbolts in World War II.) sion, gas turbine. This type has met with far less Favor than the constant-pressure type, although the In September 1941, the Air Force asked General compound aircraft engine operates on essentially the Electric to undertake development of the aircraft gas same cycle1. turbine in the United States and asked Bell Aircraft to design a suitable airplane. Within six months of In 1918 the Army accepted the first turbosuper- the time work began, the first unit was completed. charger-a device utilizing a small turbine rotor to And the first jet engine flight in the United States increase the normal air intake of an internal combus- occurred at Rogers Dry Lake (formerly Muroc), tion engine, permitting greater power and efficiency California, in October 1942. at high altitude. Yet the increase of scale involved in passing from Several different ground power plants were built turbosuperchargers to independent gas-turbine power or begun during the 1930's. Among them were two plants necessitated not only new tools and other man- of Holzwarth's design, manufactured by Brown Boveri ufacturing facilities but also development of new Limited, the first of which operated successfully for metallurgical and manufacturing techniques. In gen- short periods as early as 19.33 and completed a nearly eral, operating stresses and gas temperatures required continuous run of 470 hours in September 1937. The were no higher than for the turbosuperchargers. But August Thyssen Steel Works of Hamborn, Germany, then ordered a second unit of 5000-kw capacity, in- obtaining the necessary strength in some of the parts stalled in 1940. Successful operation of the second with larger dimensions proved more difficult. It isn't unit, probably the first large industrial gas turbine surprising, therefore, that in the absence of an emerg- in actual service, was reported but details aren't ency the large financial outlays required weren't available. favored. Beginning about 1931, Brown Boveri developed a boiler, in reality a supercharged steam generator. In it, the hot products of combustion are forced around the water tubes at high pressure and high COLOR TV velocity to increase the rate of heat transmission. A gas turbine operated by the waste gases from the (Continued from Page 25) boiler furnishes the power for compression. Although not strictly an independent power plant, it provided in color each night and hopes to expand that to two a powerful stimulus to further development, especially or more programs per evening during the rest of the of axial-flow compressors. 1957-58 season. The Houdry cracking process for producing gaso- Advertisers are beginning to realize the capabil- line, in which a certain operation is carried out with ities of color-TV in selling their products. The med- gas at high pressure and temperature, furnished ium's ability to present the product in all its natural another stimulus, for the gas expanded in a turbine color, as well as the impact that multi-colored images to deliver sufficient shaft power to drive an electric have on the viewer, arc prompting more and more generator as well as the necessary compressor. national advertisers to appropriate funds for adver- tising in color-TV. Among the other gas turbines of the 1930's was a constant-pressure unit of George Jendrassik's design With an impending reduction in set costs, and built at Budapest, Hungary, in 1935, with assistance more and more of the advertiser's dollar being spent from the Hungarian government. in color presentation, it appears as if color-TV will find its way in the next decade. The Jendrassik unit, which included an axial-flow compressor and regenerator, developed about 100-hp net output at 16,400 rpm with a thermal efficiency of 21.2 percent. The Neuchatel unit of 4000-kw capac- ity uses no cooling water and requires as an auxiliary only a small diesel-driven alternator to supply the starting motor in the event of a complete power fail- ure. (Its efficiency is reported to be about 17 percent since it has no regenerator.) In 1939, Brown Boveri also began designing a gas-turbine locomotive that from 1942 onward operated successfully for long penods on nonelectrified railway lines of the Swiss Federal Railway. 52 This could be the most valuable reading you've ever done! JUST PUBLISHED-YOURS FREE! An interest- Application and Sales Program — advantages to you in ing, comprehensive, 16-page brochure that will answer world-wide field engineering activities; rewarding your questions about how to use your training and opportunities in electronic sales. talents to your best advantage in the job you select. AND — important facts you want to know about indi- The story is too big, too diverse and too detailed to tell vidualized training, your advancement opportunities, here-that's why we ask you to let us send it to you. chances for advanced study; company policies and bene- Get this preview of a whole range of exceptionally fits; plant locations; living and recreational prospects. promising futures for the price of a postage stamp. Find out how a fast-growing company encourages engineers and scientists to develop their potentialities to the fullest. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS HELPFUL BOOK: Raytheon's Record - review of pace-setting activities in electronics that widen horizons for you. Research Program-suggestions for your future in either "pure" or applied research. Development and Design Program -prospects for you in the practical application of research to the manufac- ture of new electronic products and components. Manufacturing Techniques Program-latest production processes outlined for you who are inclined toward supervision and management positions. Over five miles of ductile iron pipe going into many of today's supertankers A deep sea tanker takes many a heavy every three or four years when han- is used for water and gas mains. It may beating when waves are rough. dling sour crudes. soon be under the streets in your town. With each pitch and roll, she has to Ductile iron pipe, tanker owners find, Ductile iron has many uses -from weave. And her five or more miles of combines the low cost and demonstrated plowshares to jet plane parts. Ana cost- piping have to weave with her. corrosion resistance of cast iron with conscious industry is constantly finding If it is ductile iron piping, every pipe the tough strength of carbon steel. new ways to use this versatile money- length gives without break or leak. So today, many of the newest tankers saving, Inco-developed material. Bends without breaking carry pipe and fittings of ductile iron. Ductile iron is not only ductile, but also For free booklet, "Engineering Prop- erties tough. And resistant to the corrosive Ductile Iron also under city streets Irons," write: Dept. 232G, Educational action of sea water and sulfur laden The properties that prove ductile iron Service, Development and Research Div., crude oil. pipe suitable for tankers also commend In some tankers, gray cast iron pipe it to municipal and utility engineers. So The International Nickel Company, Inc. resists corrosion for ten years or more. this shock-and-corrosion resisting pipe New York 5, N. Y. Sometimes, though, it's cracked and broken by the pounding of heavy seas that overtax its strength. In other tankers, steel pipe outrides such storms without damage. But it cor- rodes so badly it may have to be replaced This record tells why-musically • We'd like to send you a plateter There are a lot of things to consider in .. .We think that last factor is mighty selecting the organization with which you important. We call it the "human touch" ele- will stake your future. For example, how is ment and it's pretty well explained, music- the company rated in its field? Is it known ally, in a theme song we had recorded for a as a "quality " company? Is it growing? Is it recent national sales conference. The Ray aggressive? Is it big enough to offer you the Porter singers do some rather unusual vocal- opportunities you want? Is it too big—to izing you'll probably enjoy. Clip the coupon the point where, of necessity, it deals with and let us send you a record. It's good listen- numbers instead of individuals? ing with a little food for thought thrown in. The difficult part of high-purity metal production PURITY is the final stages of refining. The effort required to (Continued from Page 17) obtain the 99.9% pure is nothing compared to the labor required to remove the last 0.1%. Anything less purification of tungsten tor lamp filaments. General than 0.05% of impurities is an industrial achievement. Electric has done considerable studying of so called Actually in industry purity is not as important as the perfect crystals or microscopic "whiskers" of metals. structural purity or the uniformity of the metal's con- These were first discovered at the Bell Telephone stituents, for most industrial metals are alloys. Laboratories, growing on cadmium. Crystals of iron, grown at General Electric, are about one-tenth the Vacuum methods of refining of one kind or anoth- diameter of a human hair. Under tests they show tre- er are the most universal tool of high-purity metals. mendous flexibility, indicating a tensile strength of Industry generally has been staying away from work almost a million pounds per square inch, close to the in vacuums, mainly because of their strangeness, theoretical strength of iron and far beyond that of but also because of their added costs in production any known metal or alloy. The theory is that in such time. But dealing with metals where the presences small dimensions crystal structure is continuous of a small amount of oxygen can act as an impurity, enough to approach the ultimate properties of the a fairly high vacuum is a necessity. Besides this, other pure element. advantages have come into play. A group of men at the University of Virginia under Vacuum methods can be divided into two levels. Allen T. Gwathmey have been growing huge single One is embodied in the vacuum arc-furnace, in which crystals of high purity metals to facilitate their study a low-vacuum or inert-gas atmosphere is maintained in another way. The crystals are about as thick as while a larger carbon electrode supplies power and a pencil. These crystals are sectioned and machined heat to the melting metals. This is the tool for primary into highly polished slices or spheres, so as to cut titanium and zirconium, as well as for high-purity through or along one or more faces of the crystal. molybdenum, experimentally produced by the Climax These crystals are actually a large scale exactly like Molybdenum Co. and under intensive development those found in the tiny crystals of the regular metal. for advanced jet engines because of its high melting Various chemical experiments have been carried out point. The other level of use is represented by the on the prepared crystals and the rates of the reaction high-vacuum melting furnace, in which heat is sup- measured on each of the faces. A dozen metals have plied by induction coils around a center crucible and been studied in this way including copper, silver, the vacuum maintained is around 100,000th, of an nickel and iron. Corrosion varies from face to face atmosphere. as much as 5 times for copper. Friction and wear also varies for each face. Therefore we can say that Another example of the growth of vacuum melting the different crystal faces differ almost as much as is the Vacuum Metals Corporation, a 50 percent inter- one element to another. est in which was recently acquired by the Crucible Steel Company of America, with plans for large ex- Another small group at the University of Virginia pansion. Vacuum Metals, a small subsdiary of Nation- under Jesse W. Beams has been whirling thin metal al Research, built part of its business on the vacuum films to destruction in the ultraccntrifuge and meas- melting of high-purity copper, iron and nickel. Vac- uring the forces required. Again the results are start- uum Metals produces copper which is held to 0.0005* ling. The thinner the metal film, the tougher and or less of oxygen and nitrogen, 0.001% or less of sul- stronger it is. fur and phosphorus and equally small amounts or 13 other trace impurities. Metals of such purities are All this seems to indicate that if we could get met- used widely for electronic tubes. als pure enough and orient their surface crystals in a desired pattern, we may unfold a whole new range These metals, however are nowhere near pure of strengths and special properties. So far few of the enough for the new electronic transistor devices, new discoveries are explainable, much less practical, invented by Bell Telephone. In an endeavor to obtain but the possibilities are wide. Union Carbide and such purity necessary for electronic transistors, Bel Carbon Corporation have both been investigating Laboratories have developed an entirely new process nearly all of their metals in ultra-pure form. About that raises the purity of industrial metals to a new four years ago they brought in two new closed-fur- frame of reference. Bell Laboratories have produced nace processes for producing high-purity ferrochrome, a pure form of germanium, used as the semi-conduct- an iron compound, and manganese to meet the in- creasingly tight specifications for jet-aircraft alloys. ing metal in transistors, to a degree of purity in which almost no impurities are detectable by present met- The big problem comes when you try to produce ods. Still other companies are developing new meth- pure metals in any great quantities. It is an entirely ods of preparing pure metals. Westinghouse has done different proposition preparing pure metals commer- considerable amount of work on levitating or float cially. The first step is to secure them in as pure a melting bits of metal, heated and suspended in a state as possible. These processes are usually a chem- vacuum between electromagnetic induction coils ica process rather than the old metal-smelting prevent all contact with the furnace walls. techniques. 56 I'm in the business and I know... "Not too long ago I was in the same situation you fellows are in now. Senior year and the hig de- cisions. What am I going to do with my education? What am 1 going to do for a living? "Well, 1 talked to a number of -people and did as much letter writing and looking around as I could. The way 1 figured it, 1 wanted opportunity ...a fair chance to put my capabilities to work and to be recognized for what I could do. Of course, I wanted to be well paid, too. It all seemed to add up to the aircraft industry ... and to me it still does. "In the space of just a few years I've worked on quite a few projects, important projects that some day may mean a great deal to this country. They sure meant a lot to me. And I wasn't standing still either. My salary and my responsibilities have in- creased with each promotion. That means lots of challenges, new and tough problems that we have to solve, but that's the way 1 like it. So, if you- want some advice from this "old grad," choose the aircraft industry. It's the wisest choice, I'm in the business, and I know." probably no other industry in America has growrr so fast and advanced so far in a short time as has the aircraft industry. And yet there is no limit to how far man's inventiveness and imagination can push the boundaries. Radical new concepts that, would have been unthought of just a few years ago are the drawing-board problems of today. Truly aviation is still in the pioneering stage, and one of the leaders is Northrop Aircraft, which has been making successful contributions to our nation's defense for over 18 years. Projects such as the Snark SM-62, world's first intercontinental guided missile, have identified Northrop as a suc- cessful pioneer. And new aircraft such as the super- sonic, twin-jet T-38 advanced trainer are maintain- ing this reputation. Let us tell you more about what Northrop can offer you. Write now, regardless of your class, to Manager of Engineering Industrial Relations, Northrop Division, Northrop Aircraft, Inc., 1034 East Broadway, Hawthorne, California. PURITY (Continued from Page 56) The scientist is not yet satisfied with the purity of metals. This is only a beginning of what he will do. He will not rest until he has refined metals pur- er still. It may be that he will never achieve a really pure metal or if he does he may never know unless he can develop an instrument which can detect the smallest infinitesimal impurity. The National Bureau of Standards has been granted funds to work on this very problem of attaining pure metals. The striking fact about this whole problem is that when we do obtain ultra pure metals industry will not be able to use them anyway because they will be too soft for practical purposes. Nevertheless, the striving for pur- ity in metals is already creating a whole new level of industry at the same time that it is expanding our basic knowledge of metals. MIGHTY MIDGETS (Continued from Page 21) inch tubes lead away from each testing pit. The gases are purposely ignited at the end of the tubes. Fifty-foot tongues of flame sweep upward against the surrounding mountain, or flare high in the air, geysers flaming yellow against the sky. Plenty of Action Before Test A gas generator test is alive with action. One minute the pit is crowded with mechanics, test engi- neers, and instrumentation people. The next minute a siren wails and a warning voice is heard over the loudspeakers placed at a score of strategic points throughout the laboratory. "Warning. There will be a gas generator test firing in Pit Six in three minutes. All personnel clear the area." There is a final check by the leadman, a last survey by the test engineer, then the gas generator, pierced with a score of instrument taps, is left alone while the crews retire to the safety of the control room adjoining the pit. The recording engineer, the test engineer, two development engineers and the four members of the crew, along with an auxiliary fireman, crowd inside the long narrow room Hanked on one side by con- soles, and on the other by high banks of recording instruments. Looking out at Pit Six is an oblong porthole eighteen inches long, four inches wide. Viewed through the thick glass, the gas generator seems small to be the object of so much caution. The test' operator fingers a score of switches. Red lights flash on the console. Voices call readings from the record- ing instruments on the rear wall. There is a hissing of valves reacting to pressure. START TODAY TO PLAN TOMORROW By knowing about some of the projects underway at the Babcock & Wilcox Company, an engineer may see his personal avenues of growth and advancement. For today B&W stands poised at a new era of expansion and development. Here's an indication of what's going on at B&W, with the consequent opportunities that are opening up for engineers. The Boiler Division is building the world's largest steam generator. The Tubular Products Division recently introduced extruded seamless titanium tubing, one result of its metallurgical research. The Refractories Division developed the first refractory concrete that will withstand temperatures up to 3200 F. The Atomic Energy Division is under contract by the AEC to design and build the propulsion unit of the world's first nuclear- powered cargo vessel. These are but a few of the projects — not in the plan- ning stage, but in the actual design and manufacturing phases — upon which B&W engineers are now engaged. The continuing, integrated growth of the company offers engineers an assured future of leadership. How is the company doing right now? Let's look at one line from the Annual Stockholders' Report. The men at the console call out a check sheet A finger presses a button. There is a stunning in much the same manner as a pilot and co-pilot in cessation of noise, a moment of echoing silence, then the cockpit of an airliner. Gaseous nitrogen pressure the all-clear siren is sounded. Someone pulls back is checked, the recording functions, the manifold and a door, and the crew goes back to the test pit. The purge pressures. The igniter link is given a specula- gas generator, immediately after firing, is still black tive flick, and the after-burner is checked. If the with intense heat, the metal seeming almost to throb slightest doubt is entertained, the test is delayed at the abrupt change in conditions. The various until the questionable condition is resolved. operations are conducted with great caution. Gas generator and turbopump development is Safety Behind Concrete Walls a continuous effort at Rocketdyne. What may be the The air of tension mounts, for the possibility of very best gas generator or the most efficient turbo- mischance in a tremendous power package, only the pump in rocketry today, tomorrow may be inad- thickness of a concrete wall away, is always present. equate. The scope of the various engine programs The test engineer bends before the recording instru- widens daily. More powerful components are always ments making last-second observations. The siren being sought. Every improvement in design, every lifts once more. Dead silence in the control room. modification, requires proof-testing. A minor change Then a solitary voice, "Igniter on! START!" in one detail starts a sequence of changes in other details. Each one must be proved reliable, desirable. There is a thudding tumult as the gas generator comes to life. A fifty-foot tongue of yellow flame The success of the missiles powered by Rocket- roars from the exhaust pipe, battering against the dyne engines is due to a great many factors. Not the face of the mountain. On the wall a score of pens least is the reliability of the two mighty midgets, the quiver over a score of recording charts. Seen through unsung heroes hidden from the cameras, the turbo- the window, the generator is a ruddy ball of pul- sating metal. pump and gas generator. March, 1958 better forget it! No engineering position worth getting can possibly offer you a "free ride". The old rules still apply: a successful career depends on the amount of ability you have and on the capacity of a company to make good use of that ability. Sikorsky helicopters have amply demonstrated our capacity for putting engineering talent to constructive use. They are the most versatile, most widely used rotary-wing aircraft in the world today. motors; prime engine development; ing at Garrett. With company finan- Education is the springboard for cial assistance you can continue your your future. Couple it with the cryogenic and nuclear systems; pneumatic valves; servo control units education at outstanding universities proper engineering experience, such located nearby. as you receive at Garrett, and you and air motors; industrial turbo- chargers; air conditioning and pres- Project work is conducted by have the ingredients for a successful small groups where the effort of each career in engineering fields which surization and heat transfer. In addition to direct assignments, individual is more quickly recog- will be expanding for years. nized and where opportunities for At Carrett, specific opportunities a 9-month orientation program is available to aid you in selecting your learning and advancement are in aircraft, missile and technological greatly enhanced. For complete fields include: system electronics; field of interest. This permits you to survey project, laboratory and information, write to Mr. G. D. computers and flight instruments; Bradley. gas turbine engines and turbine administrative aspects of engineer- What careers are available at Allied Chemical? Where would you fit into the Allied picture? Perhaps majors, engineers (chemical, mechanical, electrical). at one of our 12 research laboratories, more than 100 Facts about these careers are in a new book, "Allied plants, or many sales offices throughout the country. What Chemical and Your Future." Why not write for a copy? products would you work on? There are more than 3,000 The Allied interviewer can also answer your questions. in all—chemicals, plastics, fibers . . . and new ones coming Your placement office can tell you when he will next along every year. visit your campus. At Allied, there are careens for chemists, chemistry Allied Chemical, Dept. C-1,61 Broadway, New York 6, N.Y. Pump-turbine design is now the work . . , Water conditioning chemical, service, and hydraulics, the field . . . of John Jandovitz, equipment specialist in Houston is new BSME graduate of College of City of New assignment of Arthur Brunn, BS Chem. E., York, '52. University of Tennessee, '56. Field sales engineering of America's widest range cf industrial products is choice Recent of Roy Goodwill, BSME, Michigan State College, '54. Training Course Graduates Starting up a cement plant in Mexico after coordinating all work on it is latest job of John Gibson, BS Met. E., University of California, '54. T H E R E ' S variety at Allis-Chalmers. Whether you're thinking in terms of types of industries, Nucleonics is chosen field of R. A. Hart- field, BME, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, kinds of equipment, types of jobs, or fields of work, '53. Currently he is working on design and the diversification of Allis-Chalmers provides un- development of new nuclear power plant. surpassed variety. For example: An outstanding training program, started in 1904, is available for those with sufficient background. is designed to help you find the activity within Learn more about Allis-Chalmers and its train- these groupings for which you are best suited. Up ing program. Ask the A-C district office manager in to two years of theoretical and practical training your area or write Allis-Chalmers, Graduate Train- are offered. Direct employment at Allis-Chalmers ing Section, Milwaukee 1, Wisconsin. Join the G A S Industry ...the Nation's Sixth Largest The Gas industry—the sixth largest in the nation—has a total investment of over 35 billion. Last year the industry set a new all-time record in number of customers, volume of Gas sold, and dollar revenue. In fact, Gas contributed 25% of the total energy needs of the nation as compared with 11.3% in 1940. The Gas industry is a major force in the growth development and economic health of this country. There are many opportunities for you in the Gas industry. The industry needs engineers, and does not over-hire. You won't be regimented. There's always room for advancement. With utility companies and with manufacturers of Gas equipment, there's always a future for you as an engineer. Call your nearest Gas Utility. They'll be glad to talk with you about your opportunity in the Gas industry. American Gas Association. How to make a good grade with a scraper Huge 518 hp. scrapers like this often have to maneuver giant loads on hills—up, down and sideways. Engineers who de- sign these mammoth earth movers have to provide for the terrific, combination radial and thrust loads, plus shock loads. To take the loads and assure dependable scraper perform- ance engineers mount wheels, pinions and differentials on Timken* tapered roller bearings. Tapered design lets Timken" bearings take both radial and thrust loads Not all bearings can take loads from the sides, as well as from above. The tapered design of Timken bearings lets them take both radial and thrust loads in any combination. And because Timken bearings roll the load on a full line of contact between their rollers and races, they have extra load-carrying capacity. INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Why Vought Projects IB 5x Allison Division of General Motors Corp. A. W. Faber-Castell Pencil Bring Out The Best f>2 Co. Allied Chemical & Dye In An Engineer Corp. At Vought, the engineer doesn't often 68 Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. forget past assignments. Like all big f>4 American Gas Association events, they leave vivid memories. li The Asphalt Institute And it's no wonder. 59 Babcock & Wilcox Co. For here the engineer contributes to 66-67 (Chance Vought Aircraft history-making projects — among 4 Convair-Fort Worth Divi- them the record-breaking Crusader sion of General Dynamics Corp. fighter; the Regulus II missile, chosen .!() Douglas Aircraft Co., Inc. to arm our newest nuclear subs; and the new fast-developing 1,500-plus- 1 Dow Chemical Co. mph fighter, details of which are still 26-27 Eagle Pencil Co. classified. ** Eastman-Kodak Co. The Vought engineer watches such 11 E. I. duPont de Nemours & Co. weapons take shape. He supervises fit The Garrett Corporation critical tests, and he introduces the weapons to the men with whom they (Airsearch Mfg. Co.) will serve. 47 Geophysical Service, Inc. General Electric Co. Engineers with many specialties share 13 General Motors Corp. these experiences. Today, for exam- ple, Vought is at work on important 88 Hamilton Standard Division projects involving: 54 International Nickel Co. electronics design and manufacture 51 Ingersoll-Rand Co. 10 International Business inertial navigation Machines investigation of advanced propulsion 45 Kerite Cable methods r . i7 Northrop Aircraft, Inc. Much 5 configurations 12 Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. Vought's excellent R&D facilities 34-35 Pratt & Whitney Aircraft help the engineer through unexplored (Div. of United Aircraft) areas. And by teaming up with other 9 Ryan Aero specialists against mutual challenges, 53 Raytheon Mfg. Co. the Vought engineer learns new fields 14 The Rand Corp. while advancing in his own. 60 Sikorsky Aircraft (Div. of * * * United Aircraft) Would you like to know what men 8 Standard Oil Co. (Indiana) with your training are doing at 2 Sylvania Electric Products Vought. .. what you can expect of a Vought career? 55 Square D Co. 65 Timken Roller Bearing Co. For full information, see our repre- sentative during his next campus visit. U. S. Steel Corp. * * * 40-41 Western Electric Co. 5 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Or write directly to: C. A. Besio Supervisor, Engineering Personnel Dept. CM-3 The Aerodynamicist Who Test-Hopped Equations Lab floor, Jim previewed control responses that test There'd never been a fighter that could barrel at pilots later would experience. Airplane responses to more than 1,000 mph one minute and land on a carrier Jim's rudder kicks and aileron movements were re- the next. And, as a result, there was unusually keen ad- corded on analog computers. Any inability of the vance interest in the flying qualities of the airplane control system to position the aircraft during flight was proposed by Chance Vought. easier to spot . . . and, with test and design engineers Jim Madden was more than curious. As an aero- on hand . . . easier to correct. dynamic design specialist, he would help develop the "It was like a big schematic — only better," says Crusader's handling qualities. His job began with wind Jim of the simulator. tunnel tests. "It gave me a chance to work with the whole Jim converted tunnel information into a graphic system. Picture of static and dynamic forces affecting Crusader "And actually watching aircraft responses to the stability. He used analog computers and equations of controls gave me a feeling for how fast they happen." motion to predict the build-up of forces during maneu- Another thing that moved fast was Crusader devel- vers. Hinge moments, loads, and required rates of con- opment. Vought's simulator and other facilities detected trol motion were determined and released to Servo- problems before they compounded. The fighter reached mechanism and Product Design groups. Soon the Crusader's stabilization and power control packages operational readiness in record time. began to take shape. Research, design and test facilities at Chance Vought allow the Jim's part in the project could have ended right engineer to do a thorough job in there. But Vought's control system simulator helped him advanced problem areas . . . proceed to some thoroughgoing conclusions. assure high reliability in Vought- developed weapon systems. It duplicated the complete rod system and all servo- mechanisms that would control the speedy new fighter, fa the simulator's cockpit, high above the Structures SIDETRACKED "Ah wins." He was a small and undersized freshman at his "What you got?" first college dance, but despite his smallness and "Three eights and a pair of kings." shyness he was sure of himself in his own way. He "No you don't, Ah wins." walked over to a beautiful and over-sophisticated girl "What you got?" and said, "Pardon me, Miss, but may I have this "Three sevens and a razor." dance?" "So you does. How come you is so lucky?" She looked down at his small size and lack of fraternity pin and said, "I'm sorry, but I never dance A patient of an asylum who had been certified with a child." cured was saying good-by to the director of the in- The freshman bowed deeply and said, "Oh, I'm stitution. sorry; I didn't know your condition." "And what are you going to do when you go out into the world?" asked the director. One day during a war, a tall, strong and handsome "Well," said the ex-nut, "I have passed my bar ex- Roman soldier broke into a house where he found aminations, so I may try to work up a law practice. two luscious maidens and their matronly nurse. Again I had quite a bit of experience with dramatics Chuckling with glee, he roared, "Prepare thyselves in college, so I might try my hand at acting." He paused and thought for a moment. for a conquest, my pretties." "Then on the other hand," he continued, "I may The lovely girls fell to their knees and pleaded be a teakettle." with him, "Do with us as thou wilt, O Roman, but spare our faithful old nurse." "Shut thy mouth," snapped the nurse. "War is "Daddy, why can't I go out and play like the other war." kids?" "Shut up and deal." Following is an excerpt from a letter received in this office some days ago: The young, inexperienced druggist was asked by Dear Sir: a young lady for some cough medicine. Looking on In the coming months, you'll be reading many job the shelf, he could find none. recruiting ads. We thought that you might need some "Please — cough — cough — you've got to do help in wading through this maze of placementology something — cough — cough — for — cough, cough — or jobalony. Here are a few between-the-lines daf- me." fynitions to help you understand what these ads are So he gave her his own idea of a remedy. Soon all about: the owner returned and asked how business was. He reported that he had just cured a woman's cough. TERM TRUE MEANING "I gave her a malted with 4 oz. of mineral oil and 5 Many opportunities-We need help. oz. of castor oil. She doesn't dare cough." Vlanagement potential—Know how to write your name so that no one can read it. Work with top engineers—Sign up with a toy factory. A Boston spinster was shocked at some language Top-level position-A title in lieu of a raise. used by workmen repairing telephone wires near her Challenging problems—Now that we've made it, we home, so she wrote to the Telephone Company. The manager immediately asked the foreman on the job don't know what to do with it. to make a report and here's what the foreman said: Experience-What you ain't got enough of till you re "Me and Spike Williams were on the job. I was too old to use it. up the pole and accidently let the hot lead fall on Responsible assignments-Work. Spike-and it went down his neck. Then Spike looked Nearby beaches-Particularly Utah and Nevada where up at me and said, 'Really, Harry, you must be more you have thousands of miles of beach. careful.'" Less than an hour from—By jet. Cultural and entertainment facilities-Movies and bars available. 1st guy: "You got a beer stein for Christmas?" Job interest-Good looking secretary. 2nd guy: "No, for drinkin'." Stimulating assignments-Office party. Stable company-We lived through the depression. A young man and date pulled over to the side Full quota of golfing, We're really running a country of the road. club; swimming, riding, etc.—manufacturing is She: "You're not going to pull that 'out of gas' just our hobby. routine, are you?" He: "Naw, I use the 'hereafter' routine." She: "The 'hereafter' routine?" How to give a girl a surprise. Place your arms He: "If you're not here after what I'm here after around waist. Draw her strongly toward you and hold then you'll be here after I'm gone." her tight. Start to kiss her. When she says "stop' re- 68 lease her. Note amazement on her face. Spartan Engineer Photography speaks in every language To tell its story in 75 coun- one. With photography, people tries, Pepsi-Cola puts pictures are real; situations authentic, to work to add meaning to the convincing. This is what makes product's global billing as "the photography such a powerful refreshment of friendship." salesman. To build up an atmosphere of Large businesses and small csn friendliness and understanding use this powerful salesmanship— in markets around the world, can also use photography to cut Pepsi-Cola International pub- costs and save time in many other lishes "Panorama"—and gives the ways. It can help with problems brunt of the job to photography. of product design—can watch quality in production. It trains. Photography knows no lan- It cuts office routine. You'll find guage barrier. It is clear to young that it can work for you, too. and old alike—appeals to every- i Qualities I Look For When Recruiting Engineers O. Mr. Hill, what can I do lo get the A. Not long at all. If a man joins a field has a much better idea of what moil out of my job interviews? training program, or is placed direct- he wants to do. This helps us decide ly on an operating job, he gets where he would be most likely to A. You know, we have the same succeed or where he should start his question. I would recommend that assignments which let him work up to more responsible jobs. We are career. Many students have had to you have some information on what work hard during college or sum- the company does and why you be- hiring people with definite consider- lieve you have a contribution to ation for their potential in either mers, to support themselves. These make. Looking over company in- technical work or the management men obviously have a motivating formation in your placement office desire to become engineers that we field, but their initial jobs will be find highly desirable. is helpful. Have in mind some of the important and responsible. things you would like to ask and try Q. Do you feel that a man must know to anticipate questions that may Q. How will the fact that I've had to exactly what he wants to do when he is refer to your specific interests. work hard in my engineering studies, being interviewed? with no time for a lot of outside activi- Q. What information do you try to get ties, affect my employment possibilities? A. No, I don't. It is helpful if he during your interviews? has thought enough about his in- A. This is where we must fill in be- A. You're concerned, I'd guess, with terests to be able to discuss some tween the lines of the personnel all the talk of the quest for "well- general directions he is considering. forms. 1 try to find out why partic- rounded men." We do look for this For example, he might know whether ular study programs have been fol- characteristic, but being president he wants product engineering work, lowed, in order to learn basic motiva- of the student council isn't the only or the marketing of technical prod- tions. I also try to find particular indication of this trait. Through ucts, or the engineering associated abilities in fields of science, or math- talking with your professors, for with manufacturing. On G-E train- ematics, or alternatively in the more example, we can determine who ing programs, rotating assignments practical courses, since these might takes the active role in group proj- are designed to help men find out not be apparent from personnel rec- ects and gets along well with other more about their true interests be- ords. Throughout the interview we students in the class. This can be fore they make their final choice. try to judge clarity of thinking since equally important in our judgment. Q. How do military commitments affect this also gives us some indication of ability and ultimate progress. One your recruiting? Q. How important are high scholastic good way to judge a person, I find, grades in your decision to hire a man? A. Many young men today have is to ask myself: Would he be easy military commitments when they to work with and would I like to A. At G.E. we must have men who graduate. We feel it is to their ad- have him as my close associate? are technically competent. Your vantage and ours to accept employ- grades give us a pretty good indica- ment after graduation and then ful- Q What part do first impressions play tion of this and are also a measure fill their obligations. We have a in your evaluation of people? of the way you have applied your- limited number of copies of a De- A. I think we all form a first im- self. When we find someone whose partment of Defense booklet de- pression when we meet anyone. grades are lower than might be ex- scribing, in detail, the many ways in Therefore, if a generally neat ap- pected from his other characteristics, which the latter can be done. Just pearance is presented, I think it we look into it to find out if there write to Engineering Personnel, helps. It would indicate that you are circumstances which may have Bldg. 36, 5th Floor, General Electric considered this important to your- contributed. Company, Schenectady 5, N. Y. 959-8 self and had some pride in the way the interviewer might size you up. Q. What consideration do you give work experience gained prior to graduation? Q. With only academic training as a background, how long will it be before A. Often a man with summer work I'll be handling responsible work? experience in his chosen academic