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RESEARCH S c i e n c e C i t y Ccin O f f e r · · · • Readily a v a i l a b l e supplies o f cheap n a t u r a l •^-*~^3Çfl! g a s f o r f u e l &• A county l o c a t i o n w h e r e there a r e no city t a x e s — p l u s no state, corporate, or i n d i v i d u a l income or sales taxes. • Inexpensive the property.
w a t e r f r o m w e l l s located o n
fc Higher e d u c a t i o n in San A n t o n i o f r o m four accre.dited colleges a n d universities. • A w a r m , d r y climafe in a n area w h i c h has b r o a d cultural a n d recreational opportunities. • A r e a d i l y accessible location n e a r a city served b y three railroads a n d five a i r l i n e s .
City of Science Research centers, housing, recreation areas planned in $ 5 0 million development near San Antonio JL ou CAN'T do much creative thinking in a boiler factory," said Harold Vagtborg, president of Southwest Research Institute, a s h e announced plans for Science City, Tex.—a community that will occupy 3000 acres of land near San Antonio. "And that's w h y w e are sponsoring this development where scientists can work in an atmosphere conducive to contemplation," h e adds. Total cost of the development is estimated at $50 million. T h e project, Vagtborg explains, includes plans for industrial laboratories t o be located on a 400-acre site surrounded b y residential areas complete with all t h e comforts of a modern suburban development. I t will have for its focal point the Southwest Research Institute a n d Southwest Foundation for Research a n d Education. Both institutions, h e indicates, now employ over 600 people. • A Choice of 4 0 Plots. Forty large plots h a v e been set aside within t h e grounds of Science City for industrial research laboratories and high level, technical manufacturing units. Some laboratories will b e built t o meet specific industrial needs—available on a long term lease basis—or companies may lease land a n d build their own i n stallations. Vagtborg points out that this is an opportunity for industries t o extend their facilities into the South201O
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built by this method—pouring concrete at g r o u n d level a n d lifting entire floors into position with jacks. B u t Science City will have other advantages besides low construction costs. I t could become an ideal .spot for those who like to swap ideas. " M a n y scientists w h o could d r a w o n years of experience accept retirement at t h e minimum a g e rather than cont i n u e a t their jobs under t h e stresses of congested, metropolitan, industrial living conditions, ,, says Vagtborg. "But we recognize that San Antonio h a s long b e e n known as a place to retire, w h e n it c o u l d become better known as a n ideal place to work," he adds.
west, taking advantage of the good clim a t e , low taxes, a n d utility costs—in a state which has n o individual or corporate income or sales taxes. O n e such laboratory is under construction; negotiations are under way for others. A $5 million development program h a s been launched b y Southwest Research Center to build joint-use facilities which will b e available t o workers in the industrial research laboratories. These facilities include an auditorium, technical library building, swimming pool, cafeteria, golf course, a n d riding Operating conditions of club. And 200 acres for a hospital cenhome laundry machines have ter within Science City has been offered pronounced effect on no-iron t o the San Antonio Hospital District properties of synthetics Foundation b y the Southwest Foundation for Research a n d Education. The first residential area of 860 acres SEABCH b y D u Pont is bringing to is being developed by Angus Wynne, liglit important guides for the housewhose Wynnewood addition in Dallas wife who wishes to machine-launder w o n national acclaim. C. W . Smith wash-and-wear garments made from of SwRI has been commissioned to co- such hydrophobic fibers as Dacron, ordinate t h e residential program, a Orion, and nylon. Research leader community of 2200 homes. Russell W . Peterson in a report before • $12 p e r Square Foot. Typical air t h e recent meeting of t h e Textile conditioned laboratories can b e p u t up .Research Institute declared that women a t a cost of no more than $12 a square m a y soon be "pressing" clothing made foot, Vagtborg indicates» by using the from these fibers by tumbling garYoutz-Slick Lift Slab method of con- ments in t h e home drier. struction developed at SwMI. All jointExhaustive laboratory work has u s e buildings erected by SvvRI will be shown that garments of this type can
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^P^ The first a n d third blocks from the left, shown above, were used to line a mill in which accelerated grinding tests were conducted. The same blocks, after test, a r e beside the originals. Note how abrasive action in grinding has seriously worn a w a y the standard porcelain, yet has had little effect on the Arlcite block. Arlcite, manufactured by The Patterson Foundry & M a c h i n e C o m p a n y , East Liverpool, Ohio, is a high density ceramic, the prindpal ingredient of which is ALCOA Alumina.
As the pioneer commercial producer of high density mill linings, lifter bars and grinding media, Patterson recognized the value of ALCOA Alumina in ceramics when production was started in 1938. Its extraordinary toughness and abrasion resistance made it a natural choice for Arlcite. Arlcite high-alumina ceramic will outwear porcelain linings 2Vz to 3 times, thus reducing contamination of product, frequent relinings and costly downtime. Moreover, grinding tests conducted with extra-abrasive vitreous enamel showed a reduction in grinding time of 40 t o 60 per cent, with
BEFORE./TEST
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Ajlcite block t o n t a i n i i i g , AÏÏCOA ALUMINA ,
negligible losses in mill linings and grinding media. This resistance t o abrasion and impact has prompted Patterson to develop disintegrator blades and other new products with ALCOA Alumina. ALCOA d o e s not make ceramic products. But more and more leading manufacturers are adding A L C O A Alumina to their mixes to improve the performance of their products. W e will gladly send you complete information and samples. Write to ALUMINUM DIVISION,
COMPANY
OF
AMERICA,
CHEMICALS
704-D Alcoa Building, Pittsburgh 19, Pa.
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RESEARCH be l a u n d e r e d in hot or cold water with no n e e d for ironing and with retention of pleats and creases, provided the fabrics are t u m b l e d r i e d for 30 minutes at 170° F. ± 1 0 ° followed by five to 10 minutes of cooling w h i l e tumbling, says Peterson. I t is necessary t o raise temperature of t h e s e fibers to t h e vicinity of their second order transition temperature in order t o remove wrinkles. At this point mobility of the molecules is appreciablyincreased, tlbus facilitating r e t u r n of the polymeric molecules t o their equilibrium position from w h i c h they w e r e forced by fiber deformation in. wrinkling. Twenty &v& fabrics were tested;, including those m a d e u p of 1009k polyester, acrylic, a n d nylon fibers a n d blends of t h e s e with cotton, wool, a n d rayon. Fabrics were photographed with light source at a 20° a n g l e t o emphasize c r i n k l i n g . Arbitrary standards of wrinkling were set up for comparison of results. Main requirement for preventing wrinkling of fabrics tested, says P e t e r son, i s to avoid holding the fabrics under compression while they are h o t . W a r m water followed b y cold wasL· and spinning while cold gives good results.
According to Peterson, a n u m b e r of soaps n o w o n t h e market give a s good detergency a t 60 °F. a s s o m e "popular detergents" do in 140° water. It is not wholly unlikely t h a t a satisfactory system of w a s h i n g w i t h cold water might b e w o r k e d o u t a s a means of cost reduction a n d wrinkle prevention during washing, says t h e Dix Pont researcher. • Blend R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s . For best ease-of-care properties t h e D u Pont people h a v e these recommendations in blending their polyester and acrylic fibers w i t h other fibers: • Dacron with cotton or rayon, not less than 5 5 % t o 659fc; with, wool, not less t h a n 75%—depending upon end use. • Orion w i t h wool, 7 0 t o 7 5 % , but a minimum of 7 5 % when used with t h e cellulosics. • W a s h a n d wear performance can b e further improved "by resin treatment. Peterson goes on to point o u t that fabric construction is an important variable. C e r t a i n w e a v e constructions of a D a c r o n a n d 359o cotton blend, for example, show b e t t e r wash-wear performance t h a n broadcloths or batistes of 1 0 0 % Dacron—in s p i t e of b e t t e r
basic qualities of the 100% synthetic yarn. O p t i m u m wash-wear performance can b e obtained by preparing from polyester fiber a fabric s o constructed a n d finished to provide the p r o p e r mobility of filaments and yarns w h e n t h e fabric is subjected to t h e m e chanical action of automatic washing a n d d r y i n g machines, says Peterson.
• A n e w tool for studying n u c l e a r d i s i n t e g r a t i o n is under investigation b y E . Ambler and R. P. Hudson, National B u r e a u of Standards, and G. M . T e m mer of Carnegie Institution of Washington. Samples of three radioactive elements— cerium-139, cerium-141, neodymium-147—were cooled to 0.003° K;. t h e effects of thermal agitation b e c o m e s o small that atomic nuclei line u p in a given direction within the crystal lattice. A corresponding directional effect can then be observed in t h e emitted radiation, By measuring the d e g r e e of this directional effect, valuable information can be obtained concerning the decay scheme of t h e nuclei, a n d a n insight can b e gained into t h e mechanisms controlling such processes. • The resistance of m o l d e d phenolic r e s i n s to electric arcs can b e increased b y a s much as 1000% b y a d d i n g inert material to t h e dry resins so that t h e . particles are dispersed during mixing a n d formulating of the plastic. R. F . Sterling of Westinghouse Research Laboratories finds t h a t the inert materials—silicon dioxide and oxides of such m e t a l s as aluminum, titanium, and zirconium—break up t h e continuous p a t h a n electric arc normally travels across electrical insulation on or near its surface. As little as 1% shows beneficial effects. • Gallium is being tested as a substit u t e for mercury a s a metal b a s e for t o o t h fillings. Research has so far b e e n confined to removed teeth a n d has not b e e n tested in intact teeth in t h e h u m a n mouth. According to George C. Paffenbarger, American Dental Association research fellow working at the National Bureau of Standards, it proved the most likely successor t o mercury in a two-year study of a range of p o w dered metals. Gallium appears unlikely t o cause as severe an electrolytic reaction as mercury does in t h e mouth. Added t o powdered tin and copper and mixed t o a workable mass, it h a r d e n s after being shaped a n d worked into the tooth cavity. Laboratory tests indicate i t becomes somewhat h a r d e r and stronger than the conventional amalgam.
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