Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-11-18
Gen. Sornoff Offers a Glimpse
Of Civilization 20 Years Hence

Electr0nic Light - Electrolumi-
nescence or cold light, now emerg-
ing from the research laboratories,
will bring into being startling new
types of illumination. It win
change the appearance Of our fac
tories, streets, stores, highways and
homes. Providing light without
heat and almost without, shadow,
its fiowfAwilI subject to easy con-.
troll tor volume and color nuancesl
10 suit sfl Taste or decor. Being
sgl1t wi bout glare, 1T viii eliminate
many Of the pefiIs Of night driving
and hying 1t viii also give is
brighter and bigger Tv pictures,
and ultimately replace the TV tube
altogether with thin fiat-surface
screen that will be hung like pic
ture on the wall.
Robots for Clerical Work
C0mputers-Thee era Of electronic
computers. already begun, will
reach fruition. Recording and ac-
counting will be taken over by ro-
bots, freeing for other work the
great majority Of the 8 million
Americans now engaged in clerical
tasks. Business procedures. indus
trial operations and fiscal data will
be gathered and analysed auto
matically. New products will, for
the most part, have their perform
ance predicted by computers, Ne
moving the need for building actual
working models. High-speed writ
ing and reading will be as familiar
as high-speed arithmetic is today.
Food - Striking Developments in
irrigation and flood control, more
efficient use of solar energy, the
electronic acceleration of germina-
ton and growth, as we'll as new
chemical and biological discoveries,
will greatly expand mans food re-
sources. At the same time, the
oceans will be efficiently "farmeo"
for nutritive products. Thus all the
food needed by all the people Of the
world will become available. despite
the fact that the population will
continue to grow. These develop
ments will enable famine to be
eliminated in all parts of the world.
Health-The close ties now de-
yeloping between biology, chemistry
and physics, applying the new tool
of electronics and atomics. will
bring an avalanche of improve
ments in preventive medicine, dag
nosis and treatment of human ills.
Biochemistry will furnish disease
controlling and Misunderstanding
drugs at an accelerated rate, espe-
cially in meeting the physical prob
lens of old age. Mans life span will
be further extended, probably with
in hailing distance of the century
mark.
Boon for the Housewife
HOme-The housewives dream of
an all-automatic home will be real
lied. The days chores in the home
will be pre-scheduled. with each
of the tasks performed electroni-
cally. The temperature, humidity
and velocity of the air in each part
of the home will be automatically
kept at desired levels day and night,
and the air will be purged of bac-
terra and other communicating mat
ter. Electronic appliances will do
the cooking and the disEwashing,
and will dispose of waste. Fortu-
nateiy, we shall continue to do our
own eating.
Climate-Not only will the pre-
diction Of weather for months and
even years ahead be perfected, but
major steps will have been taken
to make and control weather as de-
sired. Ports now icebound will be
unfrozen and icebergs rapidly melt
ed. Progress will have been made
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