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

and constitute the growing field of industrial television. He continued: "Wherever danger, remoteness or discomfort pre- clude the presence of a human observer, the industrial television camera can take his place. Handling of ex- plosives, pouring of castings, watching the operations of furnaces and remote power sub-stations are examples of television's usefulness to industry. "As yet only a negligible fraction of the potential of industrial television has been tapped. The major obstacle has been cost. That obstacle is being overcome by light-weight equipment using the vidicon camera tube. The dimensions of industrial television may sur- pass the growth in broadcast television we are now witnessing. "Schools, in which television sets are becoming more and more a standard classroom fixture, may employ their TV sets to bring talks and demonstrations to the entire school or to selected classes, without the loss of time or the confusion attendant upon a call to as- sembly. On college campuses the linking of the lecture halls by television will permit exchange of instruction between depanments, adding to the variety and inter- est of the courses. In biological research and technical education this form of television has proved a valuable tool. "The availability of a simple closed-circuit system will put the television microscope as a new instrument for instruction within reach of every high school and college in the country." Point-contact type transistors before and after embed- ment in plastic housing. General Sarnoflf recalled that in 1951, on the occa- sion of his 45 years in radio, when the RCA Labora- tories at Princeton, N. J., were named "The David Sarnoff Research Center," he had asked for the "three presents" for his fiftieth anniversary in radio in 1956 — the tape recorder, an electronic air-conditioner and a true amplifier of light. Recently, he said that he was given a preview at the RCA Laboratories of some pre- liminary steps toward these 1956 anniversary presents. "I was surprised at the demonstration I saw of a television program coming from New York and being simultaneously recorded on tape in the Princeton Labor- atories 45 miles away. The recording was played back instantly. The quality of the recorded picture still needs improvement — but even its present performance con- vinced me that I will have the television tape recorder before the time I specified. Tape Recordings Will Obsolete Films for TV "Tape recordings will obsolete the use of film for television and reduce over-all costs. Small degradations which mark the various steps in the production of a film, creating a cumulative effect in the final print, will be eliminated. This new method will revolutionize the entire art. As a simpler and cheaper process, it will extend into color television. And it may extend into the motion picture industry as well. "As you all know, the recording of sound on mag- netic tape already has reached a high degree of perfec- tion. When recorded sound has served its purpose it can be wiped oflF and the tape used over again. I be- lieve that we now stand on the threshold of the same service for sight." General Sarnoff said that the second "present" re- quested of RCA engineers two years ago — the all- electronic air-conditioner — is "still in the embryonic stage, but I saw signs of life!" He declared that the third "present" — the true amplifier of light — is the toughest problem to solve, but added: "As you know, the present method is first to con- vert the light into electricity, next to amplify it, and finally to convert the electricity back into light. Most of today's limitations of television are due to this complicated and inefficient method of handling light. I still believe that one of these days we shall learn how to amplify light directly." Viewing the future, General Sarnoff said: "I hold to the conviction that if we intelligently accept the challenges that spring from our opportunities, the wonders we have witnessed in the past fifty years will be dwarfed. Indeed, the advances of the next half (Continued on page 32) RADIO AGE 5