Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-08-25

in close vicinity of a steel-hulled
ship. Magnetic amplifiers, with
special magnetic materials re.
placing vacuum tubes, are
rugged, dependable, and virtu.
ally trouble-free.
A primary purpose of this re.
search at White Oak is to i'm.
prove and develop new mag.
nett materials. Alloys of iron.
the basic magnetic material
with such other metals as
nickel, cobalt, and aluminium.
produce materials with special
magnetic properties.
Magnetics
Not only magnetic materials
but the effects of magnetism
are the subject of much impor.
lance at MOL. In one special
area is the worlds largest mon.
magnetic pole" built for basic
research in the field.
The buildings in the Magnetic
Research Area are, paradox.
cally, as free from magnetism
as science can make them. The
area itself is situated well awav
from other groups of buildings
on the Laboratory grounds.
Iron and steel were completely
eliminated from the building
materials used in construction.
Nails are copper; light switches
are porcelain; drains are tran.
site; building beams are wood.
The very sand that went into
the mortar was screened to
make certain it di6 not contain
the most minute particles of
iron oxide.
The buildings are equipped
with coils of varying sizes
through which electrical cur
rent can be sent. The natural
terrestrial magnetic field can
be negated and the field of any
part of the world can be dupli-
ca,ed. In the magnetic ship
model measurements labora.
tory, the magnetic Characters
tics of any Navy ship can be
determined by measuring those
OF smaller-scale model of the
vessel. This knowledge is then
used to "de-gauss" the real ship
as protection against magnet.
ically-fired weapons.
Environment Stimulation
Most of White Oaks scien.
lists create something-but not
the environmental testers. They
try to break things. 1t is their
job to test the ruggedness, DUR
ability, and operability of any
item designed by their col
leagues, under conditions far
more trying than any which
said item might expect to meet
in normal service.
In environmental testing, the
whole strength of a weapon is
not necessarily the sum of the
strength of its separate parts.
Therefore, each part, each sub
assembly, and finally the COM
plete weapon is put through
routines fiendishly designed to
strike at any weak point in ma
terial, design or function.
Since vibration can play
havoc with sensitive electrical
circuitry, MOL experts can and
do simulate the wire-snapping
tremors these circuits may en-
counter in any mode of trans
portation. Several vibration
tables accomplish this. A rough
handling tester Stimulates the
Earring shocks of being acciden-
tally dropped during transfer
fro dock to ship or magazine
to loader.
A weapon may be exposed to
a combination of damaging eff
fects from the elements-salt
spray, sleety rain, steamy
jungle heat, or the dry heat Of
a storage depot under a blazing
tropical sun. Carried aloft in
the belly of a plane or under
its wings, or soaring from a
launching pad, the weapon will
be travelling at high speed
through literally thin air where
temperature is many degrees
below zero. Temperature and
humidity test chambers and vac
uum chambers, some large
enough to accommodate full
scale weapons, are used to
bake steam, freeze and de-pres-
surized ordinance from $50" F.
above zero to 80 below.
Air guns subject components
to the tremendous shock of ac-
celeration. Water entry shock is
ingeniously simulated on scale
models by giant sling-shot de-
vice housed in a freight eleva.
tor. When the mode is released,
1t plummets into a tank of
water. Water entry angle in the
tank is simulated by thin plas-
tic film sealed across the water
surface at the desired angle.
A test pond on the Laboratory
gr' unds can test large-scale
models of missiles.
Sea Pressure Tested
An unusual test facility is