WWll proximity fuse

[Gaston]

I saw on tv last night that USA made a proximity fuse for their anti aircraft artillery.They actually used vacuum tubes and they withstood 22,000 g's being shot out of the gun. I think that is just amazing.

 

[dknguyen]

How does a vacuum tube withstand 22kgs? Even an accelerometer that doesn't use vibrating masses (Memsic) only withstands 50kgs. You'd expect the difference between the two to be huge (or maybe a 100% change is huge?)

 

[Pommie]

How does a vacuum tube withstand 22kgs? Even an accelerometer that doesn't use vibrating masses (Memsic) only withstands 50kgs. You'd expect the difference between the two to be huge (or maybe a 100% change is huge?)

They probably suspended it on springs or more likely encased it in a rubber block. I thing the g in the original post was gravity.

Mike.

 

[Gaston]

yes i was speaking of gravity. when they started talkin about it i thought to myself " i wonder how they made that without tubes?" then they interveiwed i guy and he said "we didn't even have transistors " and they proceeded to talk about how they had to develope a tube to withstand the forces

 

[dknguyen]

They probably suspended it on springs or more likely encased it in a rubber block. I thing the g in the original post was gravity.

Mike.

Haha, I suppose kgs coudl also be interpreted as kilograms in addition to 1000gs. But I got lazy. Probably should have said kGs.

 

[Hank Fletcher]

yes i was speaking of gravity. when they started talkin about it i thought to myself " i wonder how they made that without tubes?" then they interveiwed i guy and he said "we didn't even have transistors " and they proceeded to talk about how they had to develope a tube to withstand the forces

Sounds fascinating. Can you remember what TV program it was?

 

[Pommie]

I always find it amazing the things that were done 50, 100 or more years ago. The speed of light was first measured to within 0.25% of current estimates in 1862.

We think that we have advanced so much but the reality is that most mechanical things are pretty much the same as 50 years ago.

Mike.

 

[ronsimpson]

The proximity anti aircraft shells were not from a machine gun but were from a cannon. I do not know what size. My dad’s gun used 95 pound ware-heads.

Before the proximity fuse; They had timers on the ware-head. You set the timer to go off at about the right altitude as the airplanes are flying at. You could not directly hit a plane but you filled the sky with sharp pieces of metal.

The proximity fuse was much better. There was a high failure rate. Probably because the first 10uS of the flight is very violent. You could not hit a plane but just get close and let the fuse decide when. BANG!


It is amazing that they made electronics that could withstand being fired out the barrel of a gun.

 

[Thunderchild]

I've got a radio of my dads downstairs (he used to collect them) its amazing just how little it took to make a radio once the volume control is ingenious no pot but the receiving coil is a sort of transformer and the inner coil is turned by a knob increasing or decreasing the magnetic coupling and therefor the volume simply ingenious

 

[Hank Fletcher]

We think that we have advanced so much but the reality is that most mechanical things are pretty much the same as 50 years ago.

I was thinking about this just yesterday, but if I had my choice, I'd choose to be born in the mid-19th century, right on the frontier of computer programming and electronic exploration. And grossly over-engineered machines in all fields. My dad (not that he was around back then!) says things were overbuilt in the 19th century, because the idea back then was that if you're going to build something, you might as well build it to last forever. Not like the xbox 360s of today, which I'm told can barely outlive a 30-day warranty!

To be fair, that's comparing apples and oranges. What I really want to know is, why aren't we spending more time thinking up crazy stuff for the future now? Just twenty years ago (pre-cellphones-smaller-than-a-breadbox, pre-gameboy) the ubiquitous nature of cellphones, video games, tvs and DVDs like those in cars, and music players the size of thimbles containing more tunes than anyone's entire record collection in the 1980s, seemed unimaginable.

I know that, because I don't remember imagining any of this! Every now and again you hear pundits make a claim that the cellphone, etc, owe their credits to shows like Star Trek. That just makes me think that we should be going all out on our sci-fi of today, so we can have super cool stuff a few years from now. I think we tend to too cynically downplay the power of our collective consciousness - the more we dream and imagine the things we want, and get more specific about what we want those things to be, has a huge impact on what we can eventually accomplish.

As an informal poll, if you could just imagine one thing that you'd want a few years from now, what would it be? Chances are, you're not alone in your desires, and market forces and governments tend to take heed of those kinds of things. I put it to all forum members: what do you want, presuming the imaginable is possible?

 

[Gaston]

the show was modern marvels. i dont remember the title but I believe it was something like deadliest wepons. they said the timer fuse took an average of 2,000 shells to take down an aircraft, and with the proximity fuse it went down to 400.

 

[Hank Fletcher]

the show was modern marvels. i dont remember the title but I believe it was something like deadliest wepons. they said the timer fuse took an average of 2,000 shells to take down an aircraft, and with the proximity fuse it went down to 400.

Ah, good to know the killing machines are becoming more environmentally friendly. Seriously, though, thanks for the reference - I'll check that show out.

 

[Thunderchild]

I was thinking about this just yesterday, but if I had my choice, I'd choose to be born in the mid-19th century, right on the frontier of computer programming and electronic exploration. And grossly over-engineered machines in all fields. My dad (not that he was around back then!) says things were overbuilt in the 19th century, because the idea back then was that if you're going to build something, you might as well build it to last forever. Not like the xbox 360s of today, which I'm told can barely outlive a 30-day warranty!

To be fair, that's comparing apples and oranges. What I really want to know is, why aren't we spending more time thinking up crazy stuff for the future now? Just twenty years ago (pre-cellphones-smaller-than-a-breadbox, pre-gameboy) the ubiquitous nature of cellphones, video games, tvs and DVDs like those in cars, and music players the size of thimbles containing more tunes than anyone's entire record collection in the 1980s, seemed unimaginable.

I know that, because I don't remember imagining any of this! Every now and again you hear pundits make a claim that the cellphone, etc, owe their credits to shows like Star Trek. That just makes me think that we should be going all out on our sci-fi of today, so we can have super cool stuff a few years from now. I think we tend to too cynically downplay the power of our collective consciousness - the more we dream and imagine the things we want, and get more specific about what we want those things to be, has a huge impact on what we can eventually accomplish.

As an informal poll, if you could just imagine one thing that you'd want a few years from now, what would it be? Chances are, you're not alone in your desires, and market forces and governments tend to take heed of those kinds of things. I put it to all forum members: what do you want, presuming the imaginable is possible?

I want hooligfans and nasty people to dye as we speak can I have that please in the very near future ?

 

[Gaston]

a cure for a lot of wretched disease would be nice

 

[Thunderchild]

a cure for a lot of wretched disease would be nice

the firtst cue is to stop doing a lot of the things we shouldn't in the name of profit and do thing proporly not eat certain things or make it a hidden part of food because its cheaper or feed the animals rubbish to get faster growth and again more profit as fast as we find a cure for something anotherone is discovered and invariably its due to our own stupidity and love of profit

 

[Hank Fletcher]

So to sum up Gaston's and Thunderchild's collective anticipations, we should test for cures to horrible diseases on nasty people (whoever they might be), preferably killing off the worst of them in the process. I'd suggest there's enough evidence that that's happening already - "hooligfans," through their various vices, tend to cull themselves, and in doing so, provide their bodies as test examples of what too much cigarettes, booze, loose sex, and bad diet can do to a person. Let 'em die out, and their parasitic industries with them, I say.

I think the goal of curing diseases that effect the most vulnerable of humanity is a noble one. Sometimes the solution to that sort of thing exists in more places than just under a microscope in a lab. I say it's a good initiative, but obviously much more imagination, and action, is still required.

Any other ideas out there? C'mon, how often does someone ask you what exactly it is you want?!

 

[Thunderchild]

yes I want the Skenar to be accepted by goverments and the medics and not ignored because it will put pharmaceutical businesses out of a job being a single electronic device that will cure anything, its been proven but have goverments allowed it to be accepted no WHY ? BECAUSE OF PROFIT
this can cure anything from impotence to cancer and of course headaches it works yes its like startreck medics machines but above all IT WORKS but is it released to the general public ? NO
its a couple of ICs (one probably a microcontroller) and a handfull of components and a LCD display you can have one if you like but the goverment won't say yes this cures bad stuff they will only say OOOOH it only cures pains. there are solutions to the worlds problems all around us but we don't turn to them because it is UNPROFITABLE.....

 

[quixotron]

I was thinking about this just yesterday, but if I had my choice, I'd choose to be born in the mid-19th century, right on the frontier of computer programming and electronic exploration. And grossly over-engineered machines in all fields. My dad (not that he was around back then!) says things were overbuilt in the 19th century, because the idea back then was that if you're going to build something, you might as well build it to last forever. Not like the xbox 360s of today, which I'm told can barely outlive a 30-day warranty!

To be fair, that's comparing apples and oranges. What I really want to know is, why aren't we spending more time thinking up crazy stuff for the future now? Just twenty years ago (pre-cellphones-smaller-than-a-breadbox, pre-gameboy) the ubiquitous nature of cellphones, video games, tvs and DVDs like those in cars, and music players the size of thimbles containing more tunes than anyone's entire record collection in the 1980s, seemed unimaginable.

I know that, because I don't remember imagining any of this! Every now and again you hear pundits make a claim that the cellphone, etc, owe their credits to shows like Star Trek. That just makes me think that we should be going all out on our sci-fi of today, so we can have super cool stuff a few years from now. I think we tend to too cynically downplay the power of our collective consciousness - the more we dream and imagine the things we want, and get more specific about what we want those things to be, has a huge impact on what we can eventually accomplish.

As an informal poll, if you could just imagine one thing that you'd want a few years from now, what would it be? Chances are, you're not alone in your desires, and market forces and governments tend to take heed of those kinds of things. I put it to all forum members: what do you want, presuming the imaginable is possible?

For me, I would have like to have been an rf enginner in the 60's or 80's. Those were the golden times of ECE and lots of stuff was hapening around the world.

I respect the Old USSR, they were a worthy adversary.

 

[dknguyen]

I put it to all forum members: what do you want, presuming the imaginable is possible?

-better power sources (generation and batteries)
-better actuators
-a learning computer that superconducts at room temperature

 

[HiTech]

IWe think that we have advanced so much but the reality is that most mechanical things are pretty much the same as 50 years ago.

Mike.

Better take a closer look at modern day automobiles. Between advanced materials, and refined prinicples, they are far different than the old rumble seat clunkers our grandparents drove. And that doesn't include the heavy interface of electronics in them.