1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with tech Stuff from how 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot Com. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,800 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer here 4 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 1: at how Stuff Works in not Love All Things Tech. 5 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:23,959 Speaker 1: In today's episodes, another listener request, listener Chris asked that 6 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: I do a profile on an important person in tech history, 7 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,160 Speaker 1: someone who's often overlooked by a lot of people. His 8 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: name is not terribly recognizable outside of a certain group 9 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:39,479 Speaker 1: of scientists and people who are fans of science. That 10 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 1: would be Alfred Lee Loomis. Loomis would become incredibly important 11 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:48,520 Speaker 1: to the development of technology and science in the early 12 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: twentieth century in America, and yet his name is not 13 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: familiar to many, even those who do pursue science as 14 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: a career. So Chris, here we go first. One of 15 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 1: the many resources I used while researching this episode was 16 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: a biography that was written by Louis W. Alvarez. He 17 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: wrote this shortly after Louis's death. Loomis passed away in 18 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:19,039 Speaker 1: nineteen Alvarez likened Alfred Lee Loomis to wealthy individuals who 19 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,679 Speaker 1: used their financial independence to support themselves as they pursued 20 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 1: intellectual interests. So in the days before organized science, when 21 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:32,120 Speaker 1: you had folks like Sir Isaac Newton or Charles Darwin 22 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 1: who were really pursuing these these intellectual challenges, they were 23 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,039 Speaker 1: trying to push back ignorance and really learn how the 24 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: universe works. A lot of them were independently wealthy. That's 25 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: why they were able to do this. They didn't have 26 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:49,919 Speaker 1: to work for a living because they already had money, 27 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: so they could actually pursued that. Not that they weren't working, 28 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: but they were pursuing science which didn't have a salary 29 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: attached to it. These were people who they could rely 30 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: on their fortune to give them the time and energy 31 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: to devote to pursuing knowledge. There was no need to 32 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: demonstrate that this pursuit of knowledge would ultimately produce something 33 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:13,359 Speaker 1: of financial value. That's a big problem in funding sciences 34 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: in general, especially if you're looking for government funding. A 35 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: lot of government agencies want to know what the end 36 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: result of your work is supposed to be. In other words, 37 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,959 Speaker 1: how can they apply whatever it is you are looking into. 38 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:29,519 Speaker 1: And it may be that you're doing exploratory research where 39 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 1: you don't know what applications, if any, there might be 40 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: to your work, but the work itself is still important 41 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 1: so that we can actually have a deeper understanding of 42 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: how our universe works. When you are telling that to 43 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: someone who writes the checks, they say, well, yeah, but 44 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 1: I need to have a reason why I'm going to 45 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: give you money, as opposed to a reason that's bigger 46 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 1: than just I wonder why this works the way it does. 47 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: I need a better reason than that. I need a 48 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:58,639 Speaker 1: reason like I wonder why this works the way it does. 49 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: And once I know I'm going to be able to 50 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: build you a killer robot that can lay waste to 51 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: your enemies, then I'm totally gonna fund your research. Well, 52 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,519 Speaker 1: if you're independently wealthy, you can research whatever the heck 53 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: you want and you don't have to worry about producing 54 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: results that are going to make anyone any money. You 55 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:17,920 Speaker 1: might still do that down the line, but that's not 56 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:22,079 Speaker 1: the reason why you're actually looking into things so alwardly. 57 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: Loomis kind of falls into that category. That's how science 58 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: progressed for centuries, by the way, before we get to 59 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: organize science. Once you did get to the part of 60 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:36,800 Speaker 1: organized science, you begin to actually have universities forming these 61 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: formalized scientific departments. Then you had the ability to earn 62 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: a living as a professor and still pursue science on 63 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: the side, so you could do experimental research as well 64 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:52,720 Speaker 1: as teaching. Right, you would teach in order to fund 65 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: your scientific research pursuits. Uh. So you have two different 66 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: eras the independent wealthy or maybe you found a patron 67 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: who would uh support your scientific research. Leonardo da Vinci, 68 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: for example, was someone who would get patrons and the 69 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 1: patronage would afford him the ability to think like the 70 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: smarty pants person he was. Or you got to the 71 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 1: point where you were a teacher and that's how you 72 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:24,719 Speaker 1: afforded it. Alfred Lee Lomis came from a family where 73 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: he didn't have to worry about this too much. Uh. 74 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: He was born on November fourth, seven and was born 75 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: into a prestigious and well connected family. His grandfather, also 76 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:42,359 Speaker 1: named Alfred, had been a pioneer in treating tuberculosis. The 77 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:47,280 Speaker 1: Loomis Laboratory at Cornell Medical College and the Loomis Sanatorium 78 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: in Liberty, New York were both named for Grandpa Loomis. 79 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: Alfred's father was Dr Henry Patterson Loomis, and he was 80 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:58,600 Speaker 1: also a medical doctor and a professor of Clinical medicine 81 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: at Cornell and New York Medical Colleges. In addition, Loomis's 82 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:07,120 Speaker 1: uncle on his mother's side was also a physician, and 83 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:10,479 Speaker 1: his cousin, Henry L. Stimpson, would serve as the Secretary 84 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: of State under Herbert Hoover and as the Secretary of 85 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: War during World War Two. So uh Loomis learned early 86 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: on to leverage the relationships he made throughout his life 87 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: for the benefit of many people, not just himself. Loomis's 88 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,159 Speaker 1: family was doing really well when he was a kid. 89 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: They weren't ridiculously wealthy, but they were certainly a family 90 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,680 Speaker 1: of substantial means. From the ages of nine to thirteen, 91 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:42,799 Speaker 1: young Alfred Lee Loomis attended the St. Matthew's Military Academy 92 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:46,280 Speaker 1: in New York, but at thirteen he transferred to Phillips 93 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: Academy and Over in Massachusetts, and that's a boarding school 94 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 1: that's designed to prepare students for university. Loomis became an 95 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:57,280 Speaker 1: eager student of many fields. His two big loves as 96 00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:01,680 Speaker 1: a child were chess and stage magic. Now, according to 97 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:05,080 Speaker 1: Louis Alvarez, Loomis was capable of playing two games of 98 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: chess simultaneously while blindfolded. Although Alvarez said he never witnessed 99 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:16,600 Speaker 1: Loomis playing chess personally. Alvarez was a friend of Loomis, 100 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:20,040 Speaker 1: but he did hear these stories. But apparently Loomis was 101 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:23,279 Speaker 1: able to envision both games in his mind's eye. He 102 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: didn't need to see the boards. He could keep track 103 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 1: of all the moves just in his brain and be 104 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 1: able to play both games. Uh, technically, I can do this, 105 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: but I would lose track of the pieces and I 106 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 1: would never win a game. But still I can play 107 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: chess blindfolded, not by following the rules, and I'll never win, 108 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:44,919 Speaker 1: but I could do it. I do have a feeling 109 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,159 Speaker 1: that I would have enjoyed his company at this stage 110 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:50,640 Speaker 1: in his life a great deal, because I think we 111 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:55,200 Speaker 1: would compare magic tricks. Louis Alvarez knew Loomis for thirty 112 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,239 Speaker 1: five years. He was surprised by this story about chess 113 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: because he had never seen a chess board and Loomis's possession, 114 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: but he would eventually ask Loomis's wife about the game, 115 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,280 Speaker 1: and she replied that Alfred did keep a small chess set, 116 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: but he did so for purposes of creating and then 117 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:16,720 Speaker 1: solving chess problems rather than to actually play games against 118 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 1: other people. He did keep his love of magic throughout 119 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 1: his life, though he would only perform for his children 120 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: and grandchildren, not to adults. I can respect that too, 121 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: because children delight in the performance of magic, while adults 122 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: just bug you with attempts to suss out how you 123 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 1: did it, or they ask you flat out how you 124 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: did it, which is not the point of magic. In 125 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:43,680 Speaker 1: Alfred Lee Loomis enrolled in Yale University. He studied mathematics, 126 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: but did not yet plunge himself into deep scientific studies. 127 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:51,240 Speaker 1: He did enjoy tinkering with technology and was known to 128 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 1: build gliders, model airplanes, and even remote controlled automobiles. He 129 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 1: also developed a strong interest in artillery weapons and their operation. 130 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: Oh and he would spend afternoons throwing boomerangs outside with 131 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: one of his professors while they tried to come up 132 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: with ways to create a theorem that would describe the 133 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: boomerangs flight behaviors, which I think is pretty charming and interesting. 134 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 1: After completing his initial education, he enrolled in Harvard Law 135 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 1: School to study law. He felt law was a good 136 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: spring board for numerous career opportunities and he focused primarily 137 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 1: on corporate law. His cousin, Henry Stimpson, who had a 138 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: law firm called Winthrop and stinsom Uh, promised Loomis a 139 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: space in the firm as a law clark. Right out 140 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 1: of school. Loomis graduated in the top ten percent of 141 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:40,120 Speaker 1: his class in nineteen twelve, having also served as the 142 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,960 Speaker 1: editor for the Harvard Law Review. A few years later, 143 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,920 Speaker 1: he was a successful lawyer living in Tuxedo Park in 144 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,079 Speaker 1: New York. He married Ellen Farnsworth, and together they had 145 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: three sons. When his sons reached the age of fourteen. 146 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 1: By that eight time, Loomis was a successful businessman and 147 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:02,959 Speaker 1: was making an enormous sum of money. Loomas decided he 148 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,720 Speaker 1: would grant each of his son's a big old wad 149 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 1: of cash when they turned fourteen, with the instruction that 150 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:11,960 Speaker 1: they could do with it whatever they wished, but it 151 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:16,200 Speaker 1: was meant for them to manage their own needs, essentially saying, 152 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: this is what I'm giving you. It's meant to help 153 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,319 Speaker 1: you pursue whatever career path you want, but you can 154 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 1: spend it however you like. It's your responsibility. Those three 155 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 1: sons went on to become distinguished members of society. The 156 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:33,679 Speaker 1: oldest became a financier and an accomplished sailor, The middle 157 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:37,440 Speaker 1: son became a professor of biochemistry, and the third became 158 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 1: the president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Anyway back 159 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,319 Speaker 1: to Loomis. When the United States entered World War One, 160 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:48,200 Speaker 1: Alfred Lee Loomis would join the army. He demonstrated to 161 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: his peers that he had a deep knowledge of artillery 162 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:53,439 Speaker 1: just because he had been fascinated by it and he 163 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,240 Speaker 1: had been studying it. He also had many connections in 164 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 1: the financial world, and through them he was able to 165 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 1: put together information about the equipment that each country in 166 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:05,559 Speaker 1: Europe had at their disposal during the war, just based 167 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 1: on their purchases. So he'd say, hey, based upon all 168 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 1: this information I have, I can tell you how much 169 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 1: how many UH guns this one country has artillery guns 170 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:20,720 Speaker 1: like the big big guns. This circumspect method of gathering 171 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: intelligence proved to be quite valuable, and the army assigned 172 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 1: him to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds to conduct research on ballistics. 173 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 1: He earned the title of Major while he was there, 174 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:35,000 Speaker 1: and at Aberdeen he began to work with distinguished scientists, 175 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:40,079 Speaker 1: including astronomers and physicists, his appreciation for science grew as 176 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 1: a result. Now, one thing that was a challenge for 177 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 1: ballistics experts was measuring the muzzle velocity of guns, That is, 178 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:52,199 Speaker 1: how fast does a projectile leave the weapon once it's fired. 179 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:55,840 Speaker 1: Only by knowing that information can you make precise charts 180 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 1: that will predict where a fired shell will land, how 181 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,880 Speaker 1: far away from the gun land based upon its trajectory 182 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 1: and muzzle velocity. These ballistic charts could help soldiers in 183 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:08,959 Speaker 1: the field make efficient use of their equipment, and without them, 184 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,600 Speaker 1: the matter of firing our artillery would come down to 185 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:14,480 Speaker 1: trial and error, which is not terribly safe or efficient 186 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:16,280 Speaker 1: when you're in the middle of a war zone. But 187 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:20,400 Speaker 1: this was an era before lasers, which are incredibly useful 188 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:23,600 Speaker 1: for measuring the speed of an object, particularly very fast 189 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:27,360 Speaker 1: moving objects. It was before photo electric cells, so there 190 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:30,000 Speaker 1: needed to be some way to measure the speed of 191 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:34,000 Speaker 1: those shells as they left the artillery, and Alfred Lee 192 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:37,440 Speaker 1: Loomis was about to come up with a solution. What 193 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 1: was it. I'll tell you in just a moment, but 194 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:42,920 Speaker 1: first let's take a quick break to thank our sponsor. 195 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:53,559 Speaker 1: Loomis's solution to figuring out the muzzle velocity of these 196 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 1: artillery guns was called the Aberdeen chronograph, and Loomis took 197 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 1: the problem of measuring muzzle velocity and worked backward to 198 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,680 Speaker 1: create the methodology. It was itself an improvement on a 199 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:09,160 Speaker 1: previous chronograph called the Boulange chronograph. The principle is actually 200 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 1: pretty simple. You stake out a couple of spots in 201 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:15,680 Speaker 1: front of an artillery gun. You know the distance between 202 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:18,640 Speaker 1: those two spots. You fire the gun so that it 203 00:12:18,679 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 1: passes through those two spots, and you invent a way 204 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:25,600 Speaker 1: to measure when the projectile passes through it. By measuring 205 00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 1: the difference in time between when the projectile arrives at 206 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:31,600 Speaker 1: the first spot and the second spot, you know how 207 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:35,280 Speaker 1: fast the projectile is traveling. You then know the muzzle 208 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: velocity of that piece of artillery. Now, in the case 209 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:40,720 Speaker 1: of the Aberdeen chronograph, here's how it worked. You had 210 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:45,720 Speaker 1: a pair of frames, large gigantic frames really, with wires 211 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:48,280 Speaker 1: attached to the frames and the other end of the 212 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:51,840 Speaker 1: wires went to the chronograph apparatus and a battery. Each 213 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:55,319 Speaker 1: frame had two sheets of ten and they were separated 214 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,320 Speaker 1: by a thin layer of building paper and paraffin. So 215 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,680 Speaker 1: when a projectile pierced the sheets. It would bring the 216 00:13:01,679 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 1: two layers of tin in contact with one another, and 217 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 1: this would form a circuit that would allow electric current 218 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:12,120 Speaker 1: to pass through one wire into the frame, through the 219 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:15,160 Speaker 1: other wire, and back to the chronograph. The chronograph had 220 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:17,280 Speaker 1: a metal disc on it, and on top of this 221 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: metal disc was a roll of waxed paper tape. It 222 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:24,440 Speaker 1: was spooled there and it would slowly unwind, or not 223 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:27,520 Speaker 1: really slowly, but it would unwind and the disc would turn. 224 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:30,600 Speaker 1: It moves the paper tape. As the disc turns. When 225 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 1: the incoming signal hit the chronograph, it would cause a spark, 226 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 1: and the spark would make a burn mark on the tape. 227 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:40,120 Speaker 1: So let's say you're trying to measure the muzzle velocity 228 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:43,200 Speaker 1: on a particular piece of artillery. You'd started the muzzle 229 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 1: of the artillery piece. You would measure out of space 230 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: that's fifty feet or fifteen point two four meters in 231 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 1: front of the artillery piece, and that's where you would 232 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:55,160 Speaker 1: place the first frame. You would stake it down and 233 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 1: your first frame would be right there. You would then 234 00:13:57,679 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 1: measure an additional fifty feet or fifteen point two four 235 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 1: meters further out from the gun and place the second 236 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 1: frame in line with the first, So the guns operator 237 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:11,160 Speaker 1: would aim down the sites at the frame with the 238 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 1: goal of having the shell passed through both frames through 239 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 1: its path. So you would fire the gun, the shell 240 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 1: would fly out at fifty ft, it would hit the 241 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:24,160 Speaker 1: first frame, it would continue and in another fifty feet 242 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:26,760 Speaker 1: it would hit the second frame. And each time it 243 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 1: hits it would create that electrical circuit that would cause 244 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:33,360 Speaker 1: a spark to burn a spot on the paper tape. 245 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: So then you go back to the chronograph and you 246 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 1: look at the paper tape, and by knowing how fast 247 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,280 Speaker 1: the paper tape is moving inside the chronograph, you can 248 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 1: do some math to find out how much time it 249 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:47,680 Speaker 1: took the shell to pass through each of those frames. 250 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:51,160 Speaker 1: By knowing the amount of time it took, and knowing 251 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:54,520 Speaker 1: already that the distance between those two frames is fifty feet, 252 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 1: you could then measure the shells speed. You'd say, all right, 253 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:02,440 Speaker 1: it took this amount of time to pass through fifty 254 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:05,200 Speaker 1: ft worth of space. That gives me the velocity of 255 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:10,680 Speaker 1: the shell. Loomis's improvement to chronographs was significant. His chronograph 256 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 1: became a standard piece of testing equipment for both the 257 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:17,000 Speaker 1: U S Army and the Navy. While working at Aberdeen, 258 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 1: Loomis became well acquainted with a scientist named Dr Robert W. Wood. 259 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 1: Wood's specialty, at least starting out, was an optics and 260 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: work with infrared and ultra violet light. He was famous 261 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,480 Speaker 1: for debunking the claims of prosper Rene blonde Lott, who 262 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:38,080 Speaker 1: had claimed he discovered a form of energy similar to 263 00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: X rays that he called in rays. While while Wood 264 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,880 Speaker 1: was visiting blonde Lot's lab to witness a demonstration of 265 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 1: the supposed in rays, he very quietly removed a prism 266 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 1: from blonde Lot's device, and when blonde Lot claimed to 267 00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:01,680 Speaker 1: observe the mysterious energy after activating his machine, Would calmly 268 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: pointed out that the prism, which was supposedly integral to 269 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 1: the operation of the gadget, wasn't even in it. It 270 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:12,520 Speaker 1: was absent, and therefore the effects that were supposedly observed 271 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 1: could not possibly have been there. It's essentially saying, hey, 272 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: I took the batteries out of that device, so therefore 273 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:22,200 Speaker 1: it could not have work. There was no power source, 274 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 1: so your claims are invalid. During World War One, would 275 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:29,840 Speaker 1: began to study the work of another scientist named Paul Langevin, 276 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:34,960 Speaker 1: who had been using ultrasonic frequencies in an effort to 277 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:40,280 Speaker 1: create a detection device that could detect submarines, would observed 278 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 1: that high powered ultrasonic signals would cause bubbles to form 279 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:48,600 Speaker 1: in a process called cavitation. Those bubbles would grow and 280 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:52,760 Speaker 1: eventually implode in water, and they would release a tremendous 281 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 1: amount of heat and pressure in the process. So would 282 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 1: and Loomis struck up a friendship during this time, and 283 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:02,880 Speaker 1: Loomis would later become something of a patron for Woods 284 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:07,040 Speaker 1: continued experimentation in the field of ultrasonic applications. More on that. 285 00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:10,879 Speaker 1: In just a second after World War One, Loomis entered 286 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:14,919 Speaker 1: the world of finance. He made a tremendous fortune in 287 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:18,359 Speaker 1: the process. He and his brother in law, Landon Thorn, 288 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:22,919 Speaker 1: began to cater to companies in the burgeoning electrical power industry, so, 289 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: in other words, they became financiers for public utilities. And 290 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:31,280 Speaker 1: this was during a time of rapid growth in that industry, 291 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:35,800 Speaker 1: and they earned millions of dollars all in the years 292 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:38,520 Speaker 1: leading up to the stock market crash of nineteen twenty 293 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,800 Speaker 1: nine and the Great Depression in fact, Loomas even made 294 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 1: a huge profit while millions of people were finding themselves 295 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,440 Speaker 1: out of work in the process, not in the process, 296 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:50,880 Speaker 1: but during the Great Depression. It wasn't that the two 297 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:55,439 Speaker 1: things were directly related. Loomas actually was quite concerned about 298 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:58,640 Speaker 1: the Great Depression, and he also wasn't really fond of 299 00:17:59,119 --> 00:18:01,480 Speaker 1: the whole cons of of making all this money. He 300 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 1: was really good at it, but that wasn't really where 301 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:07,679 Speaker 1: he was focused. He wasn't obsessed with making money. In 302 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:12,760 Speaker 1: nine Loomis began visiting Robert Wood's home laboratory, which was 303 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: inside a barn on Wood's property, and Loomis became a 304 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:20,080 Speaker 1: frequent visitor. Clearly he was interested in scientific pursuits, and 305 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:22,840 Speaker 1: he told Dr Wood that he would be willing to 306 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:27,480 Speaker 1: underwrite scientific experiments if Dr Wood had any projects he'd 307 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:30,040 Speaker 1: like to tackle that he otherwise would have trouble funding. 308 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:34,719 Speaker 1: So Dr Wood told Loomis about his ultrasonic experimentation and 309 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:37,760 Speaker 1: the effects that had on water, and he indicated that 310 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:41,879 Speaker 1: there could be significant applications in the fields of chemistry, biology, 311 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:45,200 Speaker 1: and physics. So Loomis thought this was a fascinating idea, 312 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: and he decided to put money behind it. So he 313 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:50,120 Speaker 1: created a lab at his home and he invited Dr 314 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:54,399 Speaker 1: Wood to work at this lab. Later, Loomis would purchase 315 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:58,679 Speaker 1: an enormous estate in nineteen seven in the community of 316 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:01,639 Speaker 1: Tuxedo Park. He was already living in Tuxedo Park, but 317 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:04,440 Speaker 1: now he built this or He bought this enormous estate 318 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,720 Speaker 1: called the Trask Estate, and he converted it into his 319 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:11,920 Speaker 1: own private laboratory. Was space to house scientists who came 320 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:15,480 Speaker 1: there to do work, so a visiting scientists might find 321 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:21,880 Speaker 1: himself with a ladging at Loomis's enormous estate. He would 322 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:25,240 Speaker 1: host various scientists working on all sorts of interesting problems. 323 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:29,360 Speaker 1: He also hosted some of the world's most famous scientific minds, 324 00:19:29,359 --> 00:19:32,280 Speaker 1: like Albert Einstein, for example. He would get involved in 325 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:35,119 Speaker 1: these pursuits as well on occasion. Among them were the 326 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:38,360 Speaker 1: ultrasonic experiments that his friend Dr Would was heading up. 327 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 1: According to Dr Wood, and I apologize for this next 328 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:43,920 Speaker 1: bit because it makes me a little nauseated. The two 329 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:48,200 Speaker 1: used ultrasonic frequencies and tested their effects on numerous fish 330 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:51,880 Speaker 1: and mice, killing a whole lot of them in the process, 331 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,520 Speaker 1: and trying to determine exactly what the mechanism was that 332 00:19:55,680 --> 00:20:00,480 Speaker 1: was killing the animals charming right, This was in a 333 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:05,480 Speaker 1: different time anyway. The point is that he was very 334 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:09,159 Speaker 1: much interested in funding scientific research, and there was a 335 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,600 Speaker 1: lot of work in various fields that would not have 336 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:16,320 Speaker 1: happened without his support. Now I've got more to say 337 00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:19,720 Speaker 1: about Loomis and his involvement with technology and science, but 338 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:21,920 Speaker 1: before I go into the next section, let's take another 339 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:32,960 Speaker 1: quick break to thank our sponsor. When Loomas turned forty three, 340 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:36,360 Speaker 1: he retired from Wall Street. The Great Depression had hit, 341 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:39,480 Speaker 1: the stock market had crashed in ninety nine, and Loomis 342 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:41,959 Speaker 1: didn't care for the political direction the US was taking. 343 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:46,080 Speaker 1: As FDR spoke out against big business, he began dedicating 344 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:48,919 Speaker 1: his time and energy to science and tinkering. One of 345 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 1: Loomis's failures was in the design of a racing yacht 346 00:20:53,119 --> 00:20:55,480 Speaker 1: that competed in the America's Cup. So this is one 347 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:57,960 Speaker 1: of those times that I have trouble reconciling things, because 348 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:00,760 Speaker 1: the Great Depression is on. People are out of where. Meanwhile, 349 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,600 Speaker 1: rich people like the Vanderbilts and Loomis are spending huge 350 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:08,560 Speaker 1: amounts of money to construct racing yachts that have no purpose. 351 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:13,159 Speaker 1: Other than to race each other. I have a problem 352 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:16,439 Speaker 1: with that, but anyway, so it was something of a 353 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:20,240 Speaker 1: custom for stinking rich people to purchase and staff a 354 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,719 Speaker 1: J class yacht at this time for the purposes of 355 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:27,520 Speaker 1: racing in the prestigious America's Cup race. A J class 356 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:31,320 Speaker 1: yacht had a single mast and had to follow the 357 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:36,399 Speaker 1: universal rule, as established by Nathaniel Hairschoff. So what is 358 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,399 Speaker 1: the universal rule? Was actually a formula, and it told 359 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: you the relationship of various parts of a yacht's dimensions, 360 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:48,280 Speaker 1: and if that relationship all fell within the same zone, 361 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:51,840 Speaker 1: then two different yachts would be said to belong to 362 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: the same class, even if they were of drastically different 363 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:58,280 Speaker 1: size and shape. So the formula goes something like this. 364 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:01,920 Speaker 1: You take the link of the boat, you multiply that 365 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:05,520 Speaker 1: by the square root of the sale area, and you 366 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 1: multiply that by point one eight. That number, by the way, 367 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,119 Speaker 1: would change over time, sometimes it was point to but 368 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:14,760 Speaker 1: point when it's a good rule of thumb. You take 369 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:17,440 Speaker 1: that product, that whole number that you just got from 370 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:20,080 Speaker 1: doing what I said, and you divide it by a 371 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:24,159 Speaker 1: third of the square root of the ship's displacement, Which 372 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:28,480 Speaker 1: sounds complicated, but the point of this whole thing was 373 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:31,760 Speaker 1: to determine what was called the rating for the yacht. 374 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:35,000 Speaker 1: Ratings are measured in units of distance, and if the 375 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:38,200 Speaker 1: yacht had a rating of between sixty five and seventy 376 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:41,960 Speaker 1: six feet, it qualified as a J class yacht. The 377 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:45,240 Speaker 1: system allowed yachts of different sizes and dimensions to potentially 378 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,520 Speaker 1: race against each other as long as those ratings fell 379 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:52,120 Speaker 1: within the same range. So it's all the different proportions. 380 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 1: If they matched up properly, you would get the same rating, 381 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,280 Speaker 1: even though they might be a very different sizes. Loomis 382 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:01,800 Speaker 1: and his business partner Thorn, wanted to use scientific principles 383 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:04,600 Speaker 1: to create a superior J class yacht. They had in 384 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:07,720 Speaker 1: mind a system in which all the yachts operations could 385 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:12,760 Speaker 1: be performed below decks using various winches and controls, and 386 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:16,399 Speaker 1: the idea was that clearing the decks of people the 387 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:20,159 Speaker 1: top deck would improve the yachts speed. They worked with 388 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:23,479 Speaker 1: the m I T. Naval Architecture Department to design and 389 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:27,399 Speaker 1: build the yacht, paying for the construction themselves. Their yacht 390 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:31,000 Speaker 1: was called the Whirlwind. It launched in nineteen thirty. It 391 00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:34,439 Speaker 1: was not a success and Ultimately, it was scrapped in 392 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,720 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty five. This I also have a problem with 393 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 1: to spend that much money on something that lasts five years. 394 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:44,720 Speaker 1: Loomis and Thorn also made another purchase together. It was 395 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:48,520 Speaker 1: more than half of Hilton Head. That's an island off 396 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:51,640 Speaker 1: the coast of South Carolina. At the time, hilton Head 397 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:54,600 Speaker 1: was undeveloped, and the two used it for their own 398 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: personal recreation, mostly riding around and hunting. Loomis's interests remained 399 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:03,760 Speaker 1: very He was particularly fascinated with time keeping and consistently 400 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:06,000 Speaker 1: was on a quest to find more accurate means of 401 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:09,680 Speaker 1: keeping the time, both in short term and long term applications. 402 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:13,240 Speaker 1: He even conducted experiments that showed the moon's effect on 403 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:17,640 Speaker 1: pendulum clocks by comparing some extremely high quality clocks against 404 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:21,879 Speaker 1: a coartz oscillator timekeeping methodology. He also worked with E. 405 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:27,000 Speaker 1: Newton Harvey to develop a microscope centrifuge. The microscope made 406 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,200 Speaker 1: it possible to observe the effect of high g forces 407 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:33,960 Speaker 1: on the deformation of cells. In other words, this device 408 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 1: would spin samples at very high speeds to simulate a 409 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:42,520 Speaker 1: strong gravitational pull, whilst simultaneously allowing scientists to observe the 410 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:45,480 Speaker 1: effects on the cells inside the samples, which is pretty neat. 411 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:48,200 Speaker 1: He also became interested in the work of a guy 412 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:52,400 Speaker 1: named Hans Burger, who had discovered the existence of brain waves. 413 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:55,359 Speaker 1: The existence of such waves was still a matter of 414 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:58,920 Speaker 1: some debate in the nineteen thirties, and so Loomis, who 415 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:02,280 Speaker 1: had a deep wallet and and inquisitive mind, set up 416 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:05,399 Speaker 1: a testing lab in his own personal laboratory with a 417 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 1: special screen cage designed to block electromagnetic interference during experiments 418 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:13,200 Speaker 1: so that they didn't have to worry about false positives. 419 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:17,359 Speaker 1: Loomis's work ended up validating Burgher's findings and paved the 420 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:20,719 Speaker 1: way for the e G. One other major project Loomas 421 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:23,959 Speaker 1: was involved in was creating the long range navigation system 422 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:27,199 Speaker 1: called Lauren l O R A N. I'll do a 423 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 1: full episode on Lauren next, but it's too big a 424 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:34,840 Speaker 1: topic to tackle in this episode. It's pretty darn cool, however, 425 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:40,840 Speaker 1: and it's a really interesting means of navigating overseas. Work 426 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:45,160 Speaker 1: continued at his private laboratory until nineteen forty. Now by 427 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:47,600 Speaker 1: that time, World War two was in full swing in Europe, 428 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:50,960 Speaker 1: but America had not yet formally entered the War, however, 429 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:54,440 Speaker 1: Allied powers were trying to advance the science and technology 430 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:58,920 Speaker 1: of radar. Robert Watson Watt, a physicist and engineer, developed 431 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:02,440 Speaker 1: the first practical aid our system in nine but while 432 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:05,359 Speaker 1: it worked, it had some big drawbacks. One of those 433 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:07,960 Speaker 1: was that the wavelengths that they were using for radio 434 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,840 Speaker 1: signals in this radar system were very, very long, and 435 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:15,359 Speaker 1: that required enormous antennas, and it limited how accurate the 436 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:18,159 Speaker 1: system was. You'd be able to detect that there was 437 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:22,199 Speaker 1: an incoming aircraft, but pinpointing exactly where it was was 438 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:26,520 Speaker 1: much more difficult. British engineers named John Randall and Harry 439 00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:31,000 Speaker 1: Boot created a technology called the cavity magnetron that they 440 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:35,280 Speaker 1: suspected would be a solution, but they needed help. Britain 441 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:38,119 Speaker 1: sent an envoy to the United States to enlist the 442 00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:42,120 Speaker 1: help of American scientists and engineers to produce radar systems 443 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,240 Speaker 1: that could take advantage of the cavity magnetron. Now, a 444 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:48,280 Speaker 1: cavity magnetron is a special type of vacuum tube. The 445 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:52,480 Speaker 1: vacuum tube has special metal cavities, and when powered, the 446 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:56,240 Speaker 1: vacuum tube begins to eject electrons. I talked about vacuum tubes. 447 00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:59,640 Speaker 1: In a recent episode of tech Stuff, these objected electrons 448 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:03,240 Speaker 1: would move have passed these metal cavities and they would 449 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:06,200 Speaker 1: be interacting with a magnetic field. And as the electrons 450 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:09,400 Speaker 1: would pass the cavities, this interaction would cause radio waves 451 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 1: to oscillate inside those cavities and produced microwaves, the frequency 452 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:17,240 Speaker 1: of which would depend upon the physical dimensions of the cavities. 453 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,720 Speaker 1: The version that Randall and Boot created could produce microwaves 454 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:24,440 Speaker 1: at a wavelength of ten centimeters. The shorter wavelengths meant 455 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,159 Speaker 1: the antenna could be smaller and the waves could detect 456 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,680 Speaker 1: smaller objects as well and with greater precision. The reception 457 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:34,040 Speaker 1: in the US was positive. They said this is something 458 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 1: that we will collaborate on, and a new lab began 459 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:40,159 Speaker 1: to take shape. Loomis had a hand in the creation 460 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:42,679 Speaker 1: of this lab, and it became known as the m 461 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 1: I T Radiation Laboratory. Loomis himself became the head of 462 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:49,479 Speaker 1: the Radar Division for the US under the newly formed 463 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:53,960 Speaker 1: National Defense Research Committee or in d r C, and 464 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:56,760 Speaker 1: he oversaw the lab. He shut down his own personal 465 00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:00,320 Speaker 1: lab in the meantime to focus solely on the RAT lab. 466 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,359 Speaker 1: As it was called. The lab was able to refine 467 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:06,200 Speaker 1: the design of radar, and the collaborative effort between the 468 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 1: English and American engineers and scientists help spawn a technology 469 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:13,680 Speaker 1: that was instrumental no pun intended in war efforts. It 470 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:16,760 Speaker 1: also eventually led to the development of the microwave oven, 471 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:22,240 Speaker 1: but that's another story. Loomiss contributions were often behind the scenes. 472 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:25,639 Speaker 1: Uh he knew the right people in business and the 473 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,720 Speaker 1: patent office to help streamline efforts and make it easier 474 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:31,720 Speaker 1: for the engineers and scientists to do their work. While 475 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:34,600 Speaker 1: he didn't necessarily get involved in the labs with the 476 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 1: research efforts, he made sure that the work could continue 477 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,680 Speaker 1: with as few obstacles in the way as possible. The 478 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:44,080 Speaker 1: rad Lab bustled with activity, but after America entered World 479 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:48,320 Speaker 1: War Two following Pearl Harbor, Loomis saw his lab rated 480 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 1: for talent. On more than one occasion, several of his 481 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:54,920 Speaker 1: bright stars were leaving to go work for another project. 482 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:58,000 Speaker 1: It was a top secret project, one with a purpose 483 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:01,880 Speaker 1: only a few people knew. It was called the Manhattan 484 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,720 Speaker 1: Project and the purpose was to build a nuclear bomb. 485 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:09,720 Speaker 1: Loomis would continue to fund scientific work, going to Berkeley 486 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:12,480 Speaker 1: to help Ernest Lawrence raise funds to build a cyclotron 487 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:16,640 Speaker 1: particle accelerator. After World War Two ended, Loomis divorced his 488 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:21,280 Speaker 1: wife Ellen, and he married Minette sil Dreer's Hobart. He 489 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 1: and Hobart had had an extramarital affair and decided to 490 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 1: divorce their respective spouses and marry each other. The whole 491 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:33,760 Speaker 1: thing was a huge scandal in New York society, and 492 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:36,960 Speaker 1: Loomis and his new wife largely withdrew from public life 493 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:39,720 Speaker 1: to move into a single household. Now, I say all 494 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:42,280 Speaker 1: this not to drag Loomis's name through the mud, but 495 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:44,880 Speaker 1: to illustrate that while he was a remarkable person in 496 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:48,680 Speaker 1: both business and science, he was by no means perfect. 497 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,600 Speaker 1: In his later years, Loomis became more interested in biology. 498 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:56,440 Speaker 1: He spent time with his son Farnie, studying hydra, for example, 499 00:29:56,680 --> 00:29:59,200 Speaker 1: and by that I mean the small organisms that demonstrate 500 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:02,520 Speaker 1: remarkable lity to regenerate from injuries. They also do not 501 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:06,959 Speaker 1: appear to age. Loomis lived long enough to tinker with computers, 502 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:11,320 Speaker 1: or at least calculators, owning a Hewlett Packard Modeled sixty 503 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:15,720 Speaker 1: five that's a handheld card programmable calculator that debuted in 504 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:19,320 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy four. It costs about four thousand dollars in 505 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:21,840 Speaker 1: today's money to buy one, and it could hold up 506 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:26,560 Speaker 1: to one instructions of six bits each. Loomis would pass 507 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:31,160 Speaker 1: away on August eleven nine, and he had very few 508 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:34,120 Speaker 1: friends at that point, not because he had alienated them, 509 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 1: but just that he naturally gravitated to a fairly small 510 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:40,800 Speaker 1: social circle. But he was known as a very generous friend, 511 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:45,880 Speaker 1: someone who enjoyed spending time with his friends and supporting 512 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:49,120 Speaker 1: scientific endeavors. In fact, he was known for funding all 513 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:53,680 Speaker 1: sorts of scientific research throughout his lifetime and became part 514 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:59,280 Speaker 1: of the UH, the whole society of scientists in America, 515 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:01,400 Speaker 1: despite the fact that he was largely known as someone 516 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:03,800 Speaker 1: who worked behind the scenes and he kind of eschewed 517 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,680 Speaker 1: the public spotlight. So, Chris, thank you so much for 518 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:09,520 Speaker 1: this suggestion. It was fascinating looking into the life of 519 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:12,520 Speaker 1: Alfred Lee Loomis, And in our next episode we will 520 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:16,680 Speaker 1: look more closely at Lauren, the long range navigation tool 521 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:20,240 Speaker 1: that he designed, and talk about how it works and 522 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:23,480 Speaker 1: the math behind it, because it's pretty fascinating stuff. I 523 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:26,360 Speaker 1: look forward to doing that because despite being an English 524 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:29,880 Speaker 1: Lit major back in my youth, I also really love math, 525 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:32,840 Speaker 1: specifically algebra, and there's a whole lot of algebra when 526 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:35,160 Speaker 1: it comes to Lauren. So I'm looking forward to talking 527 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:38,040 Speaker 1: about that. If you guys have any subjects you would 528 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:39,960 Speaker 1: like me to tackle on episodes of tech Stuff, maybe 529 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:42,640 Speaker 1: it's a technology, maybe it's a person, maybe it's a company. 530 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:44,880 Speaker 1: Maybe there's someone you want me to interview or have 531 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,160 Speaker 1: on as a guest, send me an email. The address 532 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,200 Speaker 1: to use is tech Stuff at how stuffworks dot com, 533 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:53,600 Speaker 1: or you can drop me a line on Facebook or Twitter. 534 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:55,760 Speaker 1: The handle for the show at both of those is 535 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:59,160 Speaker 1: tech Stuff hs W. Don't forget we have an Instagram accounts, 536 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:03,360 Speaker 1: so go follow that. And remember I streamed these shows live, 537 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:07,000 Speaker 1: so you can watch them live at twitch dot tv 538 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: slash tech Stuff on Wednesdays and Fridays. Just go to 539 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:11,960 Speaker 1: that u r L. You'll see the schedule there. You 540 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,280 Speaker 1: can join me and make fun of me as I 541 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:17,560 Speaker 1: tell terrible jokes to my producer Torii. I look forward 542 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:19,200 Speaker 1: to seeing you there and I'll talk to you again 543 00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:28,080 Speaker 1: really soon for more on this and thousands of other topics. 544 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:39,560 Speaker 1: Because it how stuff Works dot com