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362 Transactions of S.M.P.E., Vol. XIII, No. 38, 1929
though there is a military need which could be very satisfactorily solved b}^ a motion picture taken in the air, developed and dropped to a headquarters where it could be projected at once and thus give the commander or his staff a graphic representation of country in advance of their troops. There has been some talk of television being used exactly in this manner. The commander, always several miles in the rear of his most advanced line of scouts, must rely entirely upon maps for accurate knowledge of the country into which his force ma}^ be penetrating. Sometimes the maps are faulty or absent altogether. If a practicable system could be devised which would permit an airplane to fly far in advance, spying out the country and transmitting motion pictures of it to a commander many miles in the rear, certainly the operations of military forces so equipped would be made much easier and safer.
In closing, I wish to state that it is a pleasure to me to acknowledge my gratitude for the opportunity to present to this influential body of scientists a brief statement of the activities of the Army in the field of motion pictures. The Society of Motion Picture Engineers, in my opinion, is performing a distinct and valuable public service and it well deserves the increasing regard in which it is held by those connected with the great motion picture industry.
DISCUSSION
Mr. Crabtree: In connection with the preservation of film, there are two aspects of the problem, namely :
(a) Prevention of decomposition of the film; and
(b) The protection of the film in the case of an external or internal fire.
The rate of decomposition of nitrocellulose is dependent almost entirely on the temperature at which the film is stored. Traces of impurities such as exhausted fixing bath not washed out of the film will tend to accelerate the decomposition, but the important thing to remember is to keep the film cool. In Washington the summer temperature averages around 80° F. so it is imperative that the Government cool the film vaults if they expect to have any records fifty years from today. The image on positive film deteriorates more quickly than that on negative because the positive image is finer grained and more readily attacked by oxides of nitrogen which are products of decomposition of the film base.