Science and TechnologySource: The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 74, No. 3 (Mar., 1952), pp. iv-vPublished by: American Association for the Advancement of ScienceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20790 .

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II-Vr Science and Technology - (From the Month's News Releases)

iProgress Report After prolonged research, Stanford University scien-

tists have developed a compound X-ray microscope, using four mirrors instead of two and giving a magnifica- -tion of 150 diameters. Although electron microscopes, with a maximum resolving power of about a ten mil- lionth of an inch, can be used to examine extremely small objects, they cannot be used to examine living processes, for they operate in a vacuum. The X-ray microscope operates in helium, allowing the use of soft X-rays for the examination of small biological speci- mens. Research under the direction of Paul H. Kirk- patrick, Stanford physics professor who invented the instrument, will be continued, to develop more sensitivity.

Markers Plastic-covered labels that include 96 different price

units printed on disks die-cut into laminated sheets may be punched out and cemented to the top of price- stamping dowels with a special adhesive. Another mark- ing device is a throw-away bottle with a felt tip that permits fine, medium, and bold marking. When the ink supply is exhausted, the nib section may be attached to a fresh refill. Spillproof, the ink marks with equal ,ease on porous and nonporous surfaces, is instant-dry- ing, water-, fade-, and launderproof, and is made in nine colors, including black and white.

Exercise Artifact

The Libby Carbon 14 Age Determination Machine Will, it is claimed by the manufacturer, determine the age of any historical artifact between 1000 and 25,000 years old that is composed of organic material. Special techniques have been developed to assure low background.

Whirling Brush A revolving brush, with an attachment holding special

detergent tablets, fastens to a garden hose for fast, easy car or window washing. It may also be used to wash boats, screens, walls, porches, and farm equipment. A stationary bumper brush prevents splashing and cleans corners. The brush may be used with either high or low water pressure.

Load Distribution Indicator By means of an ingenious instrument, the Lodicator,

invented by the Swedish engineer Lennart Swenson, it is possible to calculate in minutes the correct trimming and distribution of tanker cargo to avoid longitudinal stress. The device, which has been patented in most seafaring countries, also facilitates unloading, as it ensures correct redistribution of the oil after it has been discuharped in clifferent nortq-

They Last Dynel, a completely synthetic product of modern tex-

tile research, has been used to design workshirts, trou- sers, and coveralls that are said to resist acids, caustics, wear, moths, mildew, shrinkage, snagging, and tearing, thus reducing the high cost of replacement in certain industrial operations.

Rare Photographs A high-speed retinal camera designed by Bausch &

Lomb was used at the Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology, which met in Mexico City early in January, to photograph in color for the first time such unusual diseases as dracontiasis and cysticercus. Either color or black-and-white photographs of the sensitive blood vessels and arteries within the eye may be made with the camera, which was developed for the U. S. Public Health Service. It is used in the diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, dia- betes, and other vascular diseases. Resulting photographs may be enlarged many times, projected onto a screen before and after eye operations, or used as visual teaci- ing aids.

Charts and Plans A time-saving method of producing statistical charts

or floor plans with printed adhesive tapes and tabs allows reproduction by photostat or photo-offset. Charts are easily corrected or brought up to date. Kits available for each use include all the materials and tools neces- sary, plus a variety of tapes, tabs, and templates.

Floor Problems Solved Resembling cork flooring in appearance, Roc-Wood is

composed of hardwood fibers chemically treated and bonded together with a plastic. It may be laid with a trowel directly over worn, cracked, rutted, or disinte- grating floors of concrete, wood, or asphalt and, harden- ing by chemical action, is ready for use within 24 hours. Said to withstand vibration, it is resilient, skid-, termite-, and rotproof.

Long-Lasting Labels Plastic tags for labeling nonpackaged, openly dis-

played goods are strong and flexible. They resist crack- ing, creasing, tearing, and shoppers' finger smudges.

Recorder Oscilloscribe is a direct-writing oscillograph capable

of recording chart speeds of 35, 100, and 200 mm/sec. At the latter speed each cycle of a 200-c/sec signal

Address a post card to Science and Technology, 1515 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington 5, D. C., for further information about an, ite-m nn nansno iv and v-

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is traced out in a 1-mm interval. A. R. Eckels, of North Carolina State College, and I. S. Blumenthal, of Northrop Aircraft, reported at the winter meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers that this very high-speed instrument would find wide applica- tion in electrocardiography, electrophysiology, servo- mechanism research ancl design, 60-c power system study, vibration and nuclear radiation measurement, and many other uses in. the rapidly developing instru- mentation field.

Free Sample Fisher Combax combustion boats and covers, for use

in holding steel samples during carbon and sulfur deter- minations, will not crack or burn through even at temperature tests above 24000 F. Sample packages are available while they last.

News from Palomar Installation of new equipment on Palomar Mountain

will make the Caltech auxiliary station there one of the best earthquake recording units in the world. Two electromagnetic linear strain seismographs will record strains to which the earth is subjected by seismic waves as small as one billionth of an inch per inch. A vectorial recorder, which will photograph a pattern roughly x 5,000 of the earth's surface motion in two dimensions, will make it possible to determine at a glance the kind

of movement in a seismic wave. A tripartite seismograph will indicate quickly and accurately the direction from which earthquake waves and microseisms arrive at the station. In the Pasadena Laboratory a magnetic tape recorder will continuously record the earth's vibrations. When the tape is run through a playback machine at a speed of about 15 in./sec, the low-frequency vibrations are raised to a frequency at which they can be heard. Thus local shocks sound like pistol shots and distant quakes like a ten-strike in a bowling alley. All the new instruments were designed and developed by Hugo Benioff, professor of seismology.

Pat. Pending A unit featuring a polyethylene reservoir that requires

only a one-handed squeeze to fill an automatic self- leveling burette is held in a plastic base that is also a platform for beaker, flask, or dish. A molded stopper holds the burette rigidly in position and provides a firm seal between bottle top and burette. Available in 25- and 10-ml sizes graduated in tenths.

No Spilled Coins A coin dispenser in maroon or beige plastic, which

attaches underneath the dashboard of any automobile, will take coins in any sequence from a penny to a quarter, thus making change readily accessible for park- ing meters, toll bridges, garages, tunnels, or newspapers.

Field headquarters of the Juneau Ice Field Research Project. Research station on a nunatak at an elevation of 3875 feet overlooking Taku Glacier, 16 miles above its terminus, was built in 1949 and has been occupied throughout the summers of 1949, 1950, and 1951. Extensive meteoroglaciological observations are being made by the American Geographical Society under- contract with the Office of Naval Research and with the active support of govern- ment and civilian organizations and private institutions. (American Geographical Society photo.) v

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