Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

THE ATOM'S CHALLENGE (Continiifd from page 5J who have preceded you from Beth- any and from other colleges throughout the country, have opened pathways that led to nevf livelihood and new comforts for the people. That is why America, as a land of freedom and opportunity, has made such steady progress. By way of illustration, vivid in memory is my own experience, when, as a boy of nine, I came to these shores from a foreign land, unable to speak the English tongue. That was at the turn of the cen- tury. There were few automobiles and electric lamps, no radio broad- casting, no airplanes or movies. But I could sell papers, deliver tele- grams and learn the Morse code! That was opportunity. As we look back in the light of scientific prog- ress, we appraise those years as undeveloped. But fifty years from now our descendants will appraise 1946 as a dark and backward period in history. What we marvel at today will be commonplace or obso- lete tomorrow. It will always be that way. Therefore, no matter how bleak the world may appear at close range, never lose faith in America or in yourselves. There will always be new problems to solve and new trails to blaze. New treasures will be found between the earth and sky as well as beneath the ground. Those of you who are young in science face a world in which radio- active elements, nuclear research and electronics offer endless oppor- tunities in biology, medicine, chem- istry and physics, as well as in radio and aviation. Within the mind of a youth today may be the impor- tant engineering information that will make it possible for atomic energy to serve mankind—to power automobiles, airplanes, ships, loco- motives and factories. Classics Will Be Guides Those of you who have achieved your degree in the liberal arts may go out into the world to teach, to preach or become industrial leaders with an opportunity for influence as universal as that of the scientist. From your study of the classics may come the precepts that will guide the .scientists for generations ahead. All these represent magnificent opportunities for you and those who follow you. Work, study and be thorough in everything you do. Confidence in yourself and your purpose, clear thinking, competent work, tempered by healthful recre- ation and rest, should enable you to reach your goal successfully. It is a fundamental concept of our Constitution that American principles are based on the dignity of man and freedom of the indi- vidual. These basic principles are footprints imbedded on the path of human progress for more than 150 years, and have never been lost in the shifting sands of synthetic ideologies. They have guided our Government and our people. They are basic to the growth of this Na- tion and its institutions. These concepts must be preserved, and they can be preserved only in a Nation that is free. Through peace and war democracy has proved its ability to cultivate and to defend this American way of life. The roots of democracy spread deeply through the soil of this con- tinent, but we must be ever vigilant lest some perversive force attempts to destroy the principles for which Americans have always lived and fought. Today, the Bachelor of Science and the Bachelor of Arts stand to- gether on the horizon of a new international era, envisaged as "One World". May your learning here at Bethany inspire you to help man everywhere to find a better life free from drudgery, scarcity, oppression and fear. In such serv- ice to mankind you will find your own greatest happiness and the surest way to preserve our freedom and prosperity. Engineers Study Television A four weeks course in television theory and operation, designed ex- pressly for engineers of broadcast- ing stations was conducted during June by RCA Institutes, Inc., in co- operation with the National Broad- casting Company and the RCA Vic- tor Division, George F. Maedel, Jr., Assistant Superintendent and Chief Instructor of the Institutes, an- nounced today. The course, which opened June 3 was a repetition of similar courses instituted in 1944 and 1945. In previous years, enrollment in the television courses was limited to engineers of stations affiliated with the NBC network, but representa- tives of any station in the United States and Canada were eligible to enroll in the 1946 course. Following a curriculum prepared by George F. Maedel, Jr., Assistant Superintendent and Chief Instruc- tor of the Institutes, classroom in- struction was supplemented by lab- oratory periods at RCA Institutes, RCA Laboratories at Princeton, N. J., and the experimental labora- tories of the RCA Victor plant, at Camden, N. J. In addition, stu- dents attended lectures by televi- sion specialists from the engineer- ing staffs of NBC and RCA. Although basic television theory received substantial treatment, the course as a whole was directed toward an understanding of circuits and operations involved in commer- cial transmitters and receivers. NBC television engineers con- ducted students through the WNBT transmitter installation in the Em- pire State Building and to the main control room and film projection studios in Radio City. At Camden, television develop- ment engineers demonstrated the most recent station equipment in- cluding operating models of the latest transmitters and film projec- tion apparatus. Lectures at Princeton covered re- search developments in pickup tubes, sideband filters, color televi- sion, studio acoustics and high fre- quency television transmission and reception. [RADIO AGE 25]