New - Electronic Razor
April 1962 Radio-Electronics

April 1962 Radio-Electronics [Table of Contents] Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio-Electronics, published 1930-1988. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

The date approacheth when, according to Western customs, every body needs to stand a vigil against the attempt of another body to make him or her a fool. That date is of course April 1st, aka, April Fools' Day. Many of the technical magazine we grew up with - and some still today - engage in the ruse. Innovator and publisher Hugo Gernsback, who's long list of accomplishments includes this Radio-Electronics magazine, often contributed his own wit to the April editions. The usual scheme is to make the article just authentic enough to be possibly real, while including features outrageous enough to clue the read that he is being "had." Experienced subscribers knew that the Mohammed Ulysses Fips byline was sure to deliver an April Fools delight. Here, Mr. Fips expounds on the newfangled "Electronics Razor."

New - Electronic Razor

By Mohammed Ulysses Fips, I.R.E.*

I have a very thin facial skin and a very stiff beard. Consequently, practically every day I cut myself with my razor; then I have to use alum and styptic sticks to repair the bloody damage. This can become very annoying over the years.

Well, you might ask, why not use an electric shaver? A good question, but I have tried many and found them wanting, particularly with my heavy, stiff beard. None of them give me the clean, close shave I demand.

I began to think deeply for a long time, and study the entire razor subject from A to Z because I became convinced that there must be something better than present-day razors. Well, there is.

A few years ago I read in a Radio-Electronics editorial a piece that impressed me greatly. This was the August, 1957, issue and the story was entitled "Electronmechanics" (Page 29).

It pertained to a newly-issued patent by R. H. Steigerwald (Patent 2,793,281; May 21, 1957) . The device is chiefly a cathode-ray oscilloscope (CRO) generating powerful cathode rays. Says the editorial:

"It uses the kinetic energy of a concentrated electron beam to drill fine holes of the unprecedented order of 0.1 millimeter. Yet these microscopic holes can be drilled in the hardest materials, such as steel, stone, glass, tungsten (and its carbides), molybdenum, and even diamonds!

"Using the same means, unbelievably fine holes with a diameter of only .001 millimeter can be drilled in these same substances in times measured in seconds. Nor are the holes drilled through thin foils. They have a depth of several millimeters. Also, the holes can be drilled conically, if desired.

"While the term 'drilling' is constantly used in the description of the invention, it should be noted that the drilling is actually done by heat. Therefore, it must be called a thermomechanical means."

This gave me the fundamental idea for my Electronic Razor. I have worked on it intensely for several years, and I have it perfected now. It will be ready for the market shortly.

Now, as all CRT technicians know, cathode rays are generated only in an evacuated tube. Hence all CRT's, particularly those that generate powerful streams of rays, do so only in a high vacuum. Thus the glass wall of a TV cathode-ray tube absorbs practically all cathode rays.

Up to now, cathode rays could not be projected in a satisfactory manner into the atmosphere, that is outside of a cathode-ray tube.

I experimented with various thin, metallic "windows, like those of a Lenard tube, from which the cathode rays would emerge, but none proved satisfactory. Such windows were of course very small, usually less than 1/4 inch in diameter, just large enough to let the cathode rays through. But, as I discovered, the electron stream was largely absorbed by the metallic window.

Finally I started to work with semiconductor windows, and that problem. I tried silicon, germanium and others, but the ideal proved to be what is now technically called S-33, a combination of refractory semiconductors. It really is what I call a semiconductor alloy. It has a very high melting point, is hard and refractory, and makes the ideal window in that it passes a very high percentage of the powerful cathode rays. For obvious patent reasons, the actual specifications and composition of S-33 and its manufacturing processes cannot be divulged here.

If the thickness of the S-33 window is chosen carefully, the cathode ray stream that issues from S-33 will not cause burns on the skin for the following reasons.

The window shape as shown in diagram Fig. 1 is rectangular, about 1/16 inch high by one inch wide. Because the cathode ray rapidly sweeps from side to side over the full 3/8-inch arc of the window, and because the whole razor sweeps over the face, too, the cathode rays can remain over only any one point on the face for a small fraction of a second. This, however, suffices to burn off the whisker protruding above the skin, cleanly and efficiently.

Note particularly that as in all safety razors, there are metal safety shields on both long sides of the CRT. They extend a fraction of an inch ahead of the face of the CRT and prevent the "razor" from coming too close to the skin.

As the burning effect of the electron stream is confined to about 1/8 inch from the surface of the window, the metal shields keep it from harming the underside of the nose, lips or ears. This effect, as already stated is due to the correct thickness of the S-33 window.

In practice, the electronic razor gives the fastest shave of any known razor. You go over the face only once, so rapidly that the average "shave" takes only about 8 to 10 seconds! Then you use the usual aftershave lotion - that is all.

I predict that in time the electron razor will supplant all present-day razors.

For fuller explanation of the technical details of the new razor, see the illustrations in Figs. 2 and 3.

Because all the research on my new razor had been done in my elaborate laboratory at home, none of my co- workers and editors knew anything about my invention - least of all the Big Boss in the front office, who has the habit of sticking his nose into everyone's affairs.

Thus, a few weeks ago, right after lunch, when the illustrious Big Man - we actually call him Bignose - was smoking his 7-inch cigar, I went in to see him with my perfected model of the electronic razor.

I explained the principle to him in a few sentences, and as I could see that he hadn't shaved that morning, I invited him to try it out. On his agreeing, I plugged the cord in the outlet behind him, and he proceeded to "shave." He did it in 10 seconds flat on my pocket stop watch. He evidently liked it, since he smiled one of his rare grimaces.

He even offered me a high price for my illustrated article and its sole publishing rights. He was in a rare mellow mood.

Suddenly his face contorted into dark clouds, and lightning flashed from his black, beady eyes.

He slammed his lit cigar ferociously onto his glass-topped desk, which instantly caused a beautiful pattern of fireworks and shredded cigar particles.

Then he yanked the plug from its outlet and smashed the only model of my electronic razor on the hardwood floor, where it created a far from beautiful pattern as all the smashed components flew in every direction.

His face an apoplectic blue -red, he now bellowed: "Fips, you . . . you vacuum-brained nogoodnik . . . what are you trying to do to me? You know that I own thousands of shares of Hemington and Schlick Razor companies! Don't you know that that insane contraption of yours will ruin all razor companies and me, too? Out of my sight, you . . . you electronut!"

With that he took me by the coat collar and propelled me from his office. Here I collided with the cashier, who was on his rounds distributing the weekly paychecks. He handed me my check as I sailed past him.

Still stupefied from my unexpected treatment by the boss, my eyes scanned the top of the check. It read:

APRIL 1