Wow, where do you think the DJ’s got the idea?
Mechanical Reporter Substitutes for Human Stenographer
A MECHANICAL reporter, used for the first time at a Federal Communications hearing in Washington, threatens to replace the human stenographer.
Two large phonograph-type records are employed. When the first record is consumed, the machine automatically shifts to the other record.
The recorder operates with 100 per cent accuracy. It can take dictation at any speed and occupies only the space of any ordinary desk. It is said to be especially adaptable to courtroom use. Special devices render the machine practically noiseless.
Gee, things sure have changed a whole lot since then.
OIL - Modern WAR GOD Threatens the World
Black gold, precious underground liquid, is food for the modern war machine. Deprived of it, a nation’s military campaign is threatened with failure. Will oil become an instrument to enforce peace or to cause war?
WITHIN the last few decades, oil has changed from an almost unknown and unnecessary commodity to one of the world’s most vitally needed materials. Oil, unlike nitroglycerin, has always been an innocent, viscous fluid used for lubrication and fuel. But harmless petroleum, like Dr. Jekyll, has undergone a startling transformation. Oil may yet be the means whereby the flaming torch of war is carried across the world.
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My god. I think the technology here is just too advanced for me to understand. It keeps food hot? And has wheels? Impossible! That president is one lucky fella!
“Lunch Wagon” For White House
A LUNCH wagon de luxe, encased in glittering metal and rolled upon balloon tired wheels, has been placed at the disposal of President Roosevelt. When the Chief Executive finds himself too busy to take time off for lunch, the lunch wagon is pushed in, and he is served a piping hot meal.
With Edison’s Insomnia Squad
by Richard G. Berger
IT WAS during the summer of 1916 just after my graduation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that I read an article in Munsey’s Magazine concerning Thomas A. Edison and his “Insomnia Squad.” I immediately wrote to Mr. Edison requesting employment in his laboratory.
He was away on one of his annual Firestone-Burroughs vacation trips. Upon his return I received a letter stating that Mr. Edison offered me two weeks’ trial employment in his laboratory at fifteen dollars per week. I accepted—in fact I would have taken the position without salary—and reported to the laboratory at West Orange, fully expecting to be back home at the end of the two weeks.
The sight of Mr. Edison with several days growth of beard and dressed in baggy clothes, vigorously chewing tobacco, set me at ease. He assigned me to work on various problems of phonograph record composition and the manufacture of phenol (carbolic acid) which was then much in demand for both records and explosives.
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LICORICE may create new assets for you
Some business—perhaps yours—may soon find an additional source of wealth through licorice. This could happen by improving on some product now in use or developing a brand new one.
A prime example of product improvement from research is to be found in the tobacco industry. For many years now, licorice has been added to certain tobacco products to improve the taste, and also as a mellowing and conditioning agent. And a prime example of a new product as the reward for research is Foamite Firefoam— a foam of great staying power obtained from the “spent” root after completion of the initial extraction process.
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How to Run An Atomic Power Plant
Nuclear research piles give preview of methods that may be used to make tomorrow’s electricity.
By Martin Mann
You—as a citizen—own a part of the 2-1/2 billion-dollar atomic-energy industry. Although your individual share is only one in 143,000,000, it is probably the most important single thing you own. It provides the most powerful weapon in our arsenal for war, promises cures for many diseases, and will eventually furnish cheaper electricity and transportation.
YOU’VE heard a lot about atomic energy. But you probably have a lot of questions because so few people have actually seen an atomic engine. Well, I have. I was one of a small group of reporters who saw two nuclear piles early this winter. While they were operating, I touched them, stood on top of one, saw it turned on and off, watched as “hot” radioactive materials were taken out of it. So maybe I can help you visualize the process and get rid of some of the mystery. Let’s imagine you have just gotten a job running an “atom furnace.” Sure I mean you! Some day such jobs will be as common as locomotive engineers. The engines of die future will be like the experimental piles I saw at the Argonne National Laboratory, which the University of Chicago runs for the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, used to transfer heat out of power piles, but what that material will be is still a question. That’s one reason nobody has built a real power pile yet. A good heat-transfer fluid will probably be found among the metals that melt easily—bismuth might be a possibility.
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