1952 Engineering developments

AS THE YEAR 1952 draws to a close with the national defense program in high gear, many noteworthy engineering developments and trends have taken place. Twenty technical committees have reported advances in all five broad divisions of Institute activities. The rapid increase in the applications of computing devices in the field of communication switching systems is reported where an air-travel reservation system has been installed, an improved fully automatic teletypewriter message switching system has been placed in service, and a new accounting machine has been inaugurated in the Bell Systems known as AMA (automatic message accounting), where telephone message records for billing purposes are mechanically processed. An analogue computer also has been used for the fast solution of carrier-current transmission problems. The application of computing devices to the quality control of production also has been reported, which brings the age of push-button production control a step nearer. In the field of electric welding, both arc and resistance welding equipment have been improved. In the field of mining operations, there has been an increase in the use of automatic equipment and the application of remote communication and remote control as well as the experimental use of a remotely controlled robot mining machine. In the field of power generation, over 41,000,000 kw will be added to utility systems in the United States during the years 1952–55, and there is a trend toward larger and larger steam turbines of 250,000 kw using 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit steam. The use of aluminum for conductors and the sheath of power cables has been the subject of investigation as well as its experimental use in several types of transformers. Great expansion of transmission systems at all voltage levels is taking place and particular attention is being given to higher voltage systems in the order of 300–400 kv. In the field of science and electronics, there have been many - oteworthy developments with primary attention still focused on the transistor. This device is out of the laboratory stage but experimental work to develop new circuitry and economical methods of production continues at an accelerated pace. During the year, the magnetic amplifier has been more widely accepted through a better understanding of saturable core devices as stable, reliable system control elements.