Evening star., 1944-07-17
. "THE EVENING STAR. Washington .. G.
MONDAY, ",
DR.. Ketiering SCOTS
AT 'Super-Gadgets'
As Pure Bunk

Despite widespread advertising OF
The super-gadgets to come, there is
precious little" experience in an
inventive way gained from war re-
search that can be used to make
life more pleasant in postwar years,
according to DR.. Charles F. Ket-
tering. chairman of the National
Inventors Council
DR.. Kettering, who also is vice
president in charge Of research for
General Motors Corp. said in an
interview that the development of
things to make the world a more
comfortable place has been set back
tremendously in recent years.
.. He described as pure bunk the
idea that great things may be ex-
pected as result of high-powered
war research and the rebirth of
inventive thought caused by the all
out conflict.
So few of the things learned in
war research can be put to practical
peacetime use. Far greater prog
fess would have been made, he said.
In developing things for everyday
life had it been possible to direct
the scientific resources of the Ma
hon to that end.
-. Cites Auto as Example.
=. AS an example, DR.. Kettering said
the automobile for several years to
come will be much the same ma
Chine as it is now. When manu-
|facture is resumed, automobiles will
be 1912 models and few important
changes may be expected for long
time.
% Although great progress has been
attained in developing fast and
powerful war planes. these achieve
ments will benefit little the citizen
who dreams OF operating his own
plane when peace returns.
~ DR.. Kettering gave his specifica-
tions for the popular planes which
ere the result of considerable study
by General Motors. He said it must
be a passenger craft with
plenty of space for luggage and a
cruising speed of $50 miles an hour.
It must sell for less than $4,000
War experience has helped little
In development of such a family
model.
War Economics.
War economics, the fact that cost
means nothing in time of crisis, is
a leading factor in retarding de-
velopment of the popular aircraft.
DR.. Kettering said that such thirgs
as air radio equipment and an en-
eine powerful enough to give re-
quired performance still are so ex-
penSive that the cost of his plane
would be prohibitive.
There has been much talk of the
great postwar possibilities of the
use of such light metals as alum
mum and magnesium. Aluminium
"a ks. strength, DR.. Kettering
pointed out. So much aluminium
would have to be employed in auto
mobile manufacture to attain the
desired strength that there would
be no saving in weight. Long ex-
perlmentation in the use of mag
nesium has failed to overcome the
corrosive failings of the metal, he
added, while most plastics are too
brittle at low temperatures.
DR.. Kettering said years would
be required to develop an air-con-
ditioning system really satisfactory
for home use He added that most
conditioning systems now operate
on the erroneous principal that
cooling is all that is necessary for
comfort. In getting the air suffi-
ciently cool humidity is raised to
an uncomfortable degree. Present
conditioning systems make you
feel like wet clam he commented.
Things Now Familiar.
Il am sorry can't tell you to ex-
pect those super -gadgets you have
been reading about Dr. Kettering
said, Industry for long time after
the war will be making only the
things that now are so familiar"
The noted inventor declared he
did not think any new industries
would be necessary Immediately aft
er the war for full employment of
the Nations manpower resources.
He added that the automobile in
dustry, for example. will have to
produce at $50 per cent of the pre-
war level to meet the great demand
for new cars. Even at such an &C
eelerated pace, it will take the in
dustry eight years to fill the tre-
mendous backlog of orders caused
by wartime prohibition on manu-
facture
we have been too busy with war
work to give much thought to de-
velopment and production of the
things that would make life easier .
concluded Dr. kettering I'VE
haven't had the manpower. ma
terials or the time to experiment.
The scientific resources of this
country are SDread very thin