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October 1969 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.
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New & Timely
Readings Indicate Gravity Phenomena
Simultaneous readings on instruments 600 miles apart suggest a new phenomena
- gravity waves - have been detected. Recordings were made near Chicago and College
Park, Md. by Dr. Joseph Weber, a physicist, and his colleagues. The detectors for
gravity waves are aluminum cylinders 5 feet long encircled with quartz piezo-electric
crystals that generate electric pulses when the cylinders oscillate. The cylinders
are cushioned against tremors originating in the earth.
According to relativity theory, the cylinders should oscillate as the gravity
waves pass through the space-time continuum. The oscillation frequency is about
1660 Hz. in this experiment.
Further observations and confirmation of the discovery may help to resolve conflicting
theories on the origin of the universe and the distribution of matter.
Magnetic 'Bubbles' Move in Rare Earths
Murray Hill, N.J.-A new technology involving magnetic "bubble" movement in crystalline
materials is being studied at Bell Labs for use in logic, memory, switching and
counting functions.
The magnetic bubbles, seen as light dots in the photo, are about 0.004 inch in
diameter, and move through the magnetic material in which they are formed. The circuit
pattern in the photo is etched on the surface of a thulium orthoferrite sheet, a
rare-earth iron oxide, and signals applied to the circuit magnetically control the
paths of the bubbles. The bubbles can also be directed with external magnetic fields.
Much smaller bubbles, the size of a few wavelengths of light, can also be manipulated,
and may lead to memory densities of 1 million bits per square inch. In applications
such as shift registers, data rates of 3 million bits per second have been demonstrated.
The presence or absence of the bubbles can be detected, they respond to each
other's proximity (attracting or repelling) and can be combined or separated with
no change in their size. Bell, who was granted a patent for the discovery, suggests
"a computer on a slice" may become practical after more work is done with the technique.
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