Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-07-18

NEW FAST ACTION CAMERA

BY FREDERIC ]. HASK1N.

Washington. 3. c.. July 15.-How
a big shell cfawls into the arfhor
plate of q b%attleship. and how a golf
club hits a ball are two long standing
mysteries that are mysteries no longer.
The newest ULTRA rapid camera an
ayes the high speed motion of the
Shell as though it were moving al a
snairs pace. To the y the shell,
travelling at perhaps $500 feet a sec
almost simultaneously after it is
fired. The high speed camera shows
it creeping With a rotary motion
down to the arnor plate, wriEsiing it's
way into the steel. and sending bits
Of wreckage floating slowly into the
air.
The so1f club shaft is shown BY the
camera actually to Behd forward ais
it strikes the bali, That the stick ala
this was suspected by sofie players.
but there was no way of proving the
point. The camera shows that as the
club is brought down to the ball the
force of the drive bends the shaft for
ward. The head Of the club lass be-
But at the instant the clubhead con-
facts with the ball the bend in the
shaft is reversed. The greater the
power back of the stroke. the greater
the bend In the shaft.
Motions as rapid as these have
hitherto been hidden even from the
quick eyeb OF the Usual hiEh speed
notion picture cameras. WITH these,
catching 10000 pictures q minute. the
shell would burst more slowly than
normally but not slowly enough to
show It's exact action.
The new camera is the invention Of
G.. Francis Jenkins OF this city. His
machine takes 100000 pictures a min
ute. This is 100 times the speed Of
a normal speed motion picture cam
era. A motion which is performed
in one second can by Jenkins, inveh-
ton be spread out over~10t seconds
when turned into film and sh6wr On a
screen.
The race horse that you OCCASIONAL
~ see floating around a track in the
movie %pictotials can be made to 60
at 6ne-tenth h a sped BY Mr.. Jenkins.
The cameras in commercial use, how
evet. are swift enough for this sort
of thing, he says. Ills machine goes
after more elusive subjects, with
faster or more complicated action.
Invented Thirty Years Ago. =
The principle Of this catherA was
invented .by-Mr. jenkins 30 years ago,
Jul ~ WAS only last year that lie dS-
veloped It TO take hiEh speed movies;
Pc tnen ne mas mn OK
pictures 1or the army ana navy None
mas oeen puphciy shown.7
Besides wanting an answer to the
question of how a shell strikes a bat
tlAship, the navy asked Nj. jenkins to
grind out An analysis N a-seAplAhe
taking OF through water. The invet1-
tor had to film this four or five times
before camera and plane got into ac-
ton together. The whole scene had
to be filmed in four seconds. This
a more than. sufficient time since
400 feet Of film could be recorded in
four seconds. It even allowed a mar.
gin Of 100 feet OF film each side OF the
action becAuse the rush Of the plane
would fill only 400. The only prob
lem was to start the camera. 50 that
the plane would dash out within the
length Of the film. It was D. difficult
High speed picture. Sf airplane
flights horsd THAT no = had ever
8 able "a see--the hendinr ana
warping Of the ~nroneiler Under great
powers Of the engine. This has been
Of the Condition " Will lne nr s,t" nn1 les az -
the. production Of stroH eer. s1iyss
blades. $50
nv
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