harold edgerton & world war ii. the edgerton team 6.933 the structure of engineering revolutions...
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Harold Edgerton & World War II
The Edgerton Team
6.933 The Structure of Engineering RevolutionsFall 2000
Roozbeh GhaffariOzge Nadia Gozum
Katherine KochAmy Ng
Hua Fung TehPeter Yang
Harold E. Edgerton
The Bullets
The Famous Milk Drop
Sports Photography
We Researched!
MIT Archives Laboratory Notebooks Published Articles, Speeches Correspondences, Conversations
MIT Museum and The Strobe Alley Dean Kim Vandiver, Dr. Jim Bales Books by Edgerton and Killian Books about MIT History
Harold E. Edgerton (HEE)
Harold E. Edgerton (1903-1990)
‘03
Born in Nebraska
‘27 ‘39 ‘47
’25 BS in EEU. of Nebraska
EntersMIT
’31 PhD
’32 Asst Prof.
’38 Assoc Prof.
Starts WWIIwork
EG&G
’48 Prof.
‘53 ‘73 ‘90‘68
Joins J. Cousteau Mary Rose
USS Monitor
’66Inst Prof.
‘75LeaveEG&G
DiedFaculty Club
’68 ProfEmrt
Cousteau Baibi HEE
Timeline
Focus: Examine the influence of World War II on Harold Edgerton’s research.
1927 196319471939Pre-World War II
World War IIPost-World War II
Roadmap
Pre-War MIT Work & Research Role during World War II– Aerial Photography Influences of the War A. Work Environment B. Scale & Magnitude C. Broadening of Applications
D. New Areas of Research
Pre-War Work & Research at MIT
His Main Technology : Basic Control Mechanism
Edgerton Encounters The Strobe ‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
MIT when Edgerton Started
1920: Save MIT from being a “trouble-shooting agency for the industry.”
1929: The Depression and consulting for the industry continued.
‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Karl Compton
Use of the Stroboscope
Overcome our inherent inability to “see” and therefore study fast motions as they occur
Electronic Control of flash duration made this possible to be run at 14,400 rpm.
Sample Applications
Pictures taken by Edgerton during His Industrial Work‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Educational Uses of The Stroboscope‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Edgerton’s Cognitive Style
Meticulous nature and incessant work ethic
Creative and innovative thinker
Demonstrations and press coverage
‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Edgerton’s Cognitive Style‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Meticulous nature, and incessant work ethic Creative and innovative thinker Demonstrations and press coverage
Meticulous nature, and incessant work ethic Creative and innovative thinker Demonstrations and press coverage
Role during World War II– Aerial Photography
Prime Candidate for War Research
Widely recognized for his pre-war work in photography
Research at a leading technological Institution– MIT
Expertise in Electronic Flash Technology
‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Airplanes took pictures of enemy territory
Enemy movements occurred at mainly at night
Need for advanced nighttime aerial photography
Aerial Reconnaissance in a Nutshell
Old System: Flash Bomb Aerial Photography
Flash Bomb Aerial Photography
Disadvantages Explosive
Bomb number limited per flight
Fixed altitude
Not effective in bad weather
Goddard Commissions Edgerton
One Saturday afternoon we were down in the lab working, and a fella came in and said ‘Where is that blinking light I keep hearing about,’’ and I said, ‘ It’s right here.’ “ - HEE
‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Major Goddard
Solution: Electronic Flash Unit
Electronic Flash Technology
Advantages:- Non-explosive- Any altitude- Reusable
Disadvantages:- Heavy- No shadows- “Fogging” of pictures
‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Architecture of Pre-War Flash
System Architecture of Aerial Flash Unit‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Black Box: Attention to System Usability
3 steps to operation:- Turn on power- Charge Capacitors- Take photograph
Abstracted flash system to “black box” for use by military personnel.
‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Technology Timeline
Quickly adapted existing technology to new, war-driven application
First test: End of 1939 (1/4 scale)
Full scale test: April of 1941
Used in Europe & the Pacific
‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Technology Timeline
Six models produced by end of war
D1: 1000 ft, 150 lb D2: 5000 ft, 500 lb D3: 20,000 ft, 5400+ lb D4, D5, D6 modified
versions of D2: D4: low altitude ops D5: used
standardized components
D6: high-speed
‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
'39 '40 '41 '42 '43 '44 '45 '46 '47 '48 '49 '50 '51 '52 '53
Development and Operation Years of Different Models
D1
D5
D6
D4
D3
D2
Crucial Role in D-Day Invasion
Complete Unit‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Influences of War
A. Work EnvironmentB. Scale & MagnitudeC. Broadening of Applications D. Post-War Nuclear Research and EG&G, Inc.
Before : Controlled Experiments
Before: Access to Resources
Field Tests
Wright Field, Ohio (‘39-’43) Italy and England (‘44)
Nature of the experiments: Uncontrolled conditions Lack of resources Each experiment cost
time and money
‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Part of the Army - Not an isolated engineer
“Doc was a man of action and always got the job done with distinction. The men at Chalgrove, England marveled at his unbounding energy as they saw him in coveralls clinging in and out of airplanes and dashing to his machine shop and about the field on personnel training schedules.”
Major Goddard
‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Influences of War
A. Work EnvironmentB. Scale & MagnitudeC. Broadening of Applications D. New Areas of Reseach
Change of Focus
From getting the detail and a close up picture…
To long range photography…
‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
From Milk Drop to Stonehenge‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Change of Scale for Edgerton‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Energy Released Per Flash
0.135 3423200
32000
Strobotac D-1 Flash D-2 Flash D-3 Flash
Wat
t-S
eco
nd
s
How powerful?
Change of Scale for Edgerton‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Energy Released Per Flash
0.135 3423200
32000
Strobotac D-1 Flash D-2 Flash D-3 Flash
Wat
t-S
eco
nd
s
12 lb 5400+ lb500 lb
150 lb
Influences of War
A. Work EnvironmentB. Scale & MagnitudeC. Broadening of Applications D. New Areas of Research
Ballistics Photography‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Ballistics Photography‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Aircraft Beacons
Both Edgerton and Air Corps saw need for landing beacons
New, non-photographic application for strobe technology
‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Influences of War
A. Work EnvironmentB. Scale & MagnitudeC. Broadening of Applications D. New Areas of Research
What is EG&G, Inc.?
Key government contractor for multitude of projects, usually involving weapons technology
Company co-founded by Edgerton in 1947
Started out doing nuclear testing Nothing like what Edgerton had
done before
From Hummingbirds to Atomic Bombs?
Early roots of EG&G, Inc.
Other 2 founders: Kenneth Germeshausen and Herb Grier
Thesis students under Edgerton Consultants / Troubleshooters for industry
Used stroboscopic means to observe machinery
War Effort Splits Partners up
DRAPER LABRADIATION
LABAERIAL STROBE
Vital Link: The Raytheon Connection
AERIAL STROB
E
LOS ALAMO
S
RAYTHEON
Edgerton
Grier
Oppenheimer
Continued Involvement After The War
Atomic Energy Commission saw a need for continued nuclear research
MIT wanted to shift focus away from military-funded research
Group moved out and formed EG&G, Inc. to continue the work
‘27 ‘63‘47‘39
WWII
Result: Lateral Expansion of Research
New Research scope
Clientele / Cause
Security considerations
Concluding Remarks…
What was the influence of World War II on Harold Edgerton’s research?
1927 196319471939Pre-World War II
World War IIPost-World War II
Influences of War:Change of Work Environment
Influences of War:Change of Scale & Magnitude
Influences of War: Broadening of Applications
Influences of War:New Areas of Research
MIT
web.mit.edu/6.933/www/edgerton/www