Things have progressed a bit since this. Simulator trains locomotive engineers Color movies on the windshield of a mock-up locomotive cab help British Railways train engineers to drive on a newly electrified line between London and Manchester. Simulated speeds up to 100 m.p.h, are controlled by hand throttle and brakes at the engineer’s side. The […]
A magnetic pump with no moving parts, this simple device may propel our submarines silently along the ocean floor
By JAMES G. BUSSE
In the silent world of underwater warfare, the slightest noise can bring sudden death to a submarine. The electronic ears of the enemy can detect conventional engines and screw propellers as far as 100 miles away. A computer interprets the sounds and directs a deadly homing torpedo to their source in minutes. How do you go about maneuvering a 3,260-ton nuclear submarine without making a sound? Two medical researchers at St. Louis University's School of Medicine may have found the answer—a revolutionary undersea propulsion unit dubbed the "sea engine."
A California firm isn't kidding when it invites you to send them your ideas for fun and games. They've made millions on fads— from Hula Hoops to bubbles Here's a firm whose president may suddenly start bouncing spectacularly lively rubber balls for the chief of research and development to catch—if he can. And the executive vice-president thinks nothing of firing a blast of air from a formidable-looking plastic gun at his busy and unsuspecting secretary.
That's the Wham-O Mfg. Co. of San Gabriel, Calif., where anybody's idea of an amazing toy, or a novel product of almost any sort, has a chance to become a reality and be sold by the millions.
Wiretap-proof telephone This scrambler keeps private phone conversations safe from wiretappers and eavesdroppers. Fitted to an ordinary handset, it needs no electrical connection, has its own power source. To hear, a person needs an unscrambler coded identically. Delcon Division, Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif., sells it for $275, keeps your name and code locked in […]
Electric cars will soon cut travel time between New York and Washington, in a bold U. S. program to speed travel by rail
By ALDEN P. ARMAGNAC
DRAWINGS BY HENRY B. COMSTOCK
All a-BOARD! Psshhh-the doors slide closed. The silvery train leaps forward. Back into your seat cushion you go, as if in an airplane taking off. No nonsense about it, this train's really going to ride—in just 150 seconds it will accelerate to 125 m.p.h., more than two miles a minute. For it aims to get you to your destination in a travel time matching that by air—maybe less.
007 tangles with the trickiest assortment of supergadgets ever assembled for the screen in new James Bond movie, "Thunderball"
By HERBERT SHULDINER
Gadgetry is a smash hit in Hollywood. Dozens of new films and TV episodes are filled with zany gimmicks and pushbutton devices to entertain audiences.
The thing that started this remarkable trend is the unprecedented success of the gimmick-packed James Bond movies. The first three 007 films raked in over $75 million. Gold finger alone has earned about $43 million—more than any film has ever returned over a comparable time span.
Portable “tree” apartment house An easy-to-assemble “tree” apartment house with cabins on its branches has been designed by Hoist Dollinger, German architect. The building is intended for temporary accommodations. The 320-foot concrete mast has a base only 16-1/2 feet square. An internal elevator and stairs provide access to the cabins. One of the structures is […]