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

200th Electron Microscope Instrument instalied at Numerous Moances Made A MILESTONE in the applica- tion of electronics to scientific research was reached on December 9 when the 200th RCA electron microscope was completed at RCA Victor's Camden plant and turned over, with appropriate ceremonies, to a representative of Northwest- ern University. Only a few days earlier, at the annua] convention of the Electron Microscope Society of America, Dr. James Hillier of RCA Laboratories, a co-inventor of the microscope, re- ported on RCA's latest achievements in electron microscopy. Recent im- provements, Dr. Hillier said, have made possible magnifications up to 200,000 diameters. Of greater im- portance, this order of magnifica- tion can now be achieved "relatively frequently", and magnifications of 100,000 diameters can be achieved in more than fifty per cent of the exposures on suitable specimens. W. W. Watts, Vice President in charge of the RCA Engineering Products Department, presided at the ceremonies in Camden when the 200th microscope was formally de- livered. Dr. P. E. Klopsteg, Director Northwestern University Embodies Through Electronics Research Since 1940 of Research at the Technological Institute of Northwestern, accepted the instrument in behalf of the Uni- versity. The presentation was made on the factory floor, where workers had just completed the final adjust- ments and tests. The first commercial RCA elec- tron microscope was started in 1940 and took nearly a year to complete. The first seven microscopes were produced on a model shop basis, but mass production was achieved to a limited extent after the War Pro- duction Board, recognizing the in- strument's importance as a tool of war industries, assigned it a high priority and placed it on strict allo- cation. However, since each micro- scope consists of nearly 10,000 separately manufactured parts, in- volving extremely close tolerances, the scale of production has been limited. Using a beam of electrons in place of light to make possible use- ful magnifications of invisible par- ticles of matter far beyond the range of the optical microscope, Mr. Watts said, the electron microscope is an increasingly vital tool of mod- T. A. SMITH OF RCA VICTOR ENGINEERING PROD- UCTS DEPARTMENT EXPLAINS DETAILS OF THE 200th ELECTRON MICROSCOPE TO DR. P. E. KLOPSTEG OF NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY. ern science, industry, and educa- tion. It enables scientists and engineers to peer deep into the sub- microscopic mysteries of metals, chemicals, foods and drugs, disease- causing organisms, and other sub- stances, and study details of struc- ture and reactions never before observed. It can magnify a single tuberculosis germ to the size of a saucer, a human hair to the breadth of a giant redwood tree, or a blood corpuscle to the dimensions of a sofa pillow. It has enabled scien- tists to see for the first time the viruses which cause influenza and infantile paralysis. Mr. Watts pointed out that many important advances in electron mi- croscope design have been made since the completion of the first instrument six years ago. These have simplified its operation, re- duced the time required for various processes, and increased its utility in numerous ways. "The history of this symbolic 200th unit is just beginning," Mr. Watts said, "but with it, we know, the great research and educational institution receiving it will explore new mysteries of nature and open new scientific frontiers for the ben- efit of humanity." RCA Dividends Declared At the conclusion of a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Radio Corporation of America held in New York December 6, 1946, Brigadier General David Sarnoflf, President of RCA, announced the following dividends had been de- clared : On the outstanding shares of First Preferred stock, SlYz cents per share, for the period from Oc- tober 1, 1946, to December 31, 1946, payable in cash on January 2, 1947, to holders of record of such stock at the close of business December 16, 1946. On the outstanding shares of Common Stock, 20 cents per share, payable in cash on January 29, 1947, to holders of record of such stock at the close of business December 20, 1946. [26 RADIO AGE]