Highlights of NRL's First 75 Years
Highlights of NRL's First 75 Years
Highlights of NRL's First 75 Years
Produced by the Technical Information Division NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY 4555 Overlook Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20375-5333
greenway@ccf.nrl.navy.mil chill@ccf.nrl.navy.mil
Galactic Radiation Background (GRAB) (See page 10) Over-the-Horizon Radar (See page 6) Semi-insulating Gallium Arsenide Crystals (See page 26) First U.S. radar, the XAF, installed on the USS New York (See page 5) Global Positioning System (See page 3)
CONTENTS
SPECIAL HISTORICAL MOMENTS....................................................................................... SYSTEMS .................................................................................................................................. ROCKET PROGRAMS ............................................................................................................. 2 3 7
SOLAR AND LUNAR STUDIES ............................................................................................. 10 THE ASTRONOMY REVOLUTION ........................................................................................ 13 OCEAN AND THE ENVIRONMENT ...................................................................................... 16 MATERIALS FOR A BETTER FUTURE ................................................................................. 19 75th ANNIVERSARY AWARDS FOR INNOVATION ............................................................ 26
Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science Awarded to NRL Scientist
In 1993, NRL scientist Dr. Isabella Karle was awarded the Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science for her groundbreaking achievements in crystallography and molecular chemistry. In receiving the award, Dr. Karle was cited by the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia for her pioneering contributions in determining three-dimensional structure of molecules, making use of both X-ray and electron diffraction, and in particular for her definitive introduction ... of the symbolic addition method to reveal molecular structure directly from X-ray studies. The Award, presented as a memorial to Dr. Benjamin Franklin, honors outstanding achievement and innovation in the life and physical sciences and its application to service in the public good. Dr. Isabella Karle is the fourth recipient of the prize and the first woman to receive itclearly a fitting recognition of her half-century career in science and service to NRL, the United States Navy, and mankind in general.
SYSTEMS
Global Positioning System
In the 1960s, NRL and the Aerospace Corporation independently developed concepts for systems that could provide precise, all-weather, real-time, 24-hour, worldwide navigation information. The NRL concept was proven in 1967 with the launch of its Timation I satellite. In 1973, NRLs program merged with the Air Force program to form the Navstar GPS program. NRLs Navigation Technology Satellite II, launched in 1977, was the first satellite in the Navstar GPS. The GPS incorporates NRLs concept of time range, range-rate navigation and a 12-hour orbit. The developmental Block I satellites were an unprecedented success. In more than 700 air, land, and sea tests conducted between 1977 and 1979, they exceeded all performance requirements and affirmed the systems extraordinary precision. The Navstar GPS satellites transmit a constant signal generated by on-board atomic clocks, which are so precise that they gain or lose only one second every 3 million years. Users equipped with a receiver/processor simply lock onto the signals of four satellites, and then latitude, longitude, altitude, and velocity are automatically computedwithin metersby triangulation. This remarkable precision proved invaluable during Operation Desert Storm in targeting pinpoint strikes and positioning troops in featureless terrain. GPS has also been used in Operation Restore Hope to help aircraft land on makeshift Somalian airfields. Apart from its primary military function, the satellite system serves numerous peacetime functions such as air traffic control, scientific surveying, harbor navigation, and measurement of ocean waves. Today, a combination of development and production satellites is orbiting the Earth, transmitting continuous navigation signals to users around the world. The system hoped for 30 years ago has become the DoD standard and, in the process, has revolutionized the science of navigation.
SYSTEMS
COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS High Frequency Radio Equipment
NRLs development of radio equipment such as quartz crystal frequency control, high-power transmitters, and receivers led to the adoption and extensive utilization of high frequency (HF) by the Navy and had a profound effect on Naval communications for the next 50-60 years. NRLs HF radio equipment enabled the following achievements: The NRL-developed HF transmitter and receiver was carried by the Navys dirigible USS Shenandoah during its transcontinental trip in 1924. This equipment accomplished the unusual feat of remaining in communication with NRL throughout the entire trip. A NRL HF crystal-controlled transmitter communicated directly with the flagship, USS Seattle, during the cruise of the Fleet to Australia in 1925. NRL maintained regular communications with the Antarctic base and support ships of Commander R.E. Byrds expedition to the South Pole in 1929. The base and ships were equipped with radio gear designed and fabricated by NRL.
SYSTEMS
NAVY RADAR Development of the Radar Principle and Invention of the First U.S. Radar
Prior to the development of radar, Navy ships could track other ships or aircraft only by using optical techniques, sound ranging, or primitive radio direction finding. New methods of detection and ranging were necessary. In the autumn of 1922, NRL had made the first detection of a moving ship by radio waves and had, as a result, discovered the radar principle. Eight years after the initial discovery of the radar principle, NRL scientists noted that the reflections of radio waves from an airplane could also be detected. From 1930 to 1940, NRL explored the use of radio for detection and ranging, and in 1935 the Committee on Naval Appropriations of the U.S. House of Representatives allocated $100,000 to NRL for the development of radar. This led to NRLs invention and development of the first U.S. radar, the XAF (installed on the battleship USS New York in 1939), and led eventually to its commercial production form, the CXAM. By the time of Japans attack on Pearl Harbor, 20 radar units were in operation on selected vessels. These radars contributed to the victories of the U.S. Navy in the battles of the Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal.
Duplexer
The use of a pulse technique to detect aircraft and ships was proposed by NRLs Leo Young in 1933. His colleague, Robert M. Page, made important advances over the next few years in the area of transmitters and receivers. He eventually developed the highly important duplexer, which permitted an antenna to be used for both transmitting and receiving. Combined with the duplexer, the pulse technique did away with the separate receiving and transmitting antennas that early radar developers had used.
Submarine Radar
In 1940, NRL developed submarine radar. This radar enabled a submarine to rise to periscope depth and search for hostile aircraft before surfacing. Aircraft could be detected by the radar out to a range of 20 miles. At that time, this was considered adequate to allow the submarine to submerge before becoming vulnerable to the aircrafts weapons. This radar became popular with submarine skippers during World War II; units were installed in submarines as quickly as they became availablemore than 400 were produced. The Laboratory later perfected a directional radar antenna for use with the Western Electric Radar System. It was effective enough to be used as a fire-control instrument, allowing several enemy ships to be torpedoed without the submarine being seen.
Plan-Position Indicator
To provide a polar-coordinate map-like display of targets, NRL originated the radar plan-position indicator (PPI)the well known radar scope with the round face and the sweeping handbetween 1939 and 1940. The PPI is now universally used by military and commercial interests around the world for the display of radar information for such functions as air and surface detection, navigation, air traffic control, air intercept, and object identification.
SYSTEMS
NAVY RADAR Monopulse Radar
In 1943, NRL developed monopulse radar, now the basis for all modern tracking and missile control radars. The monopulse technique was first applied to the Nike-Ajax missile system, which at the time was the nations continental air defense system. Monopulse radar eventually led to the development of the AN/FPS-16, the first highprecision monopulse instrumentation radar. In 1958, this radar was used to guide the launchings of the first U.S. space satellites at Cape Canaveral. Monopulse radar is still the most widely used technique for military tracking radar because of its high accuracy and relative immunity to electronic countermeasures that degrade other tracking methods.
Airborne Radar
Prior to Americas entry into World War II and in anticipation of the German submarine menace, NRL developed the Model ASB radar. It was the first operational U.S. airborne radar to be widely used for bombing, detection of ships and surfaced submarines, and airborne intercept. This radar saw extensive use during the war, not just by the U.S. Navy and Army Air Forces, but also by the British. It was installed almost universally in U.S. naval aircraft and became known as the Workhorse of Naval Aviation. The Model ASB was the first radar to be used in carrier-based aircraft and was used in attacking and destroying Japanese ship convoys in the Pacific. It was also effective against Japanese aircraft. It has been said that the ASB was one of the most successful of all airborne surface search radars.
Over-the-Horizon Radar
During the late 1940s, NRL foresaw the need to detect moving targets, including aircraft and missiles, at distances and altitudes beyond the line-of-sight. NRL began to investigate the use of radar operating in the high frequency (HF, or short wave) portion of the radio spectrum to extend the range beyond the horizon. By 1955, NRL was operating a low-power HF radar system called Multiple Storage, Integration, and Correlation (MUSIC). By using signals reflected by the ionosphere as well as by the target, MUSIC allowed the detection of missile launches at distances up to 600 nautical miles and of atomic explosions at distances up to 1700 nautical miles. A much improved system called MagneticDrum Radar Equipment (MADRE) was developed in 1961 and was installed at NRLs Chesapeake Bay Detachment.
SYSTEMS
NAVY RADAR Identification Friend-or-Foe
In the 1930s, neither the Army nor the Navy had a device that could adequately identify targets on the ground, sea, or in the air. Identifying friendly planes returning to carriers under poor visibility was an especially serious problem. To solve the problem, NRL sought solutions through the use of radio waves. In 1937, NRL developed the first U.S. radio recognition identification friend-or-foe (IFF) system, the Model XAE, which met an urgent operational requirement to allow discrimination of friendly units from enemy units. The Mark X IFF was a later radar beacon system developed by NRL. It was essential to the military because it reduced fratricide when used with beyond-visual-range weapons. By 1958, the FAA had established the Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS), which is essentially the civil version of the Mark X. The International Civil Air Organization later adopted the ATCRBS, making the Mark X the basis of the worlds air traffic control system. In 1960, the Mark XII IFF system was developed. It was the first IFF system to use cryptographic techniques to prevent deception where an enemy appears as a friend by using a captured transponder.
ROCKET PROGRAMS
V-2 Rockets
After World War II, parts of almost 100 German V-2 rockets were brought to the United States. The U.S. Army undertook the task of assembling the rockets at White Sands, New Mexico, for research and experimentation by government agencies and universities. In 1946, NRL was invited to participate in the Armys V-2 rocket program. As an established group ready to carry out upper atmospheric research, the Laboratory became the prime agency for conducting research with the V-2 program and for developing the technology to carry out the missions. Eighty experiments were performed during the program, which lasted from 1946 to 1951. As a result, new and valuable information was gained about the nature of the Earths upper atmosphere and ionosphere. NRLs major V-2 program accomplishments include: the first direct measurement of atmospheric pressure above 30 kilometers (18 miles); the first photos of Earth from 64-, 112-, and 162-kilometers (40-, 70- and 101 miles) altitude; the first photos of the ultraviolet solar spectrum below 285 angstroms; the first detection of solar Lyman-alpha radiation; the first detection and measurement of solar X rays; and the first direct measurement of the profile of ionospheric electron density versus height. This was the birth of both space-based astronomy and the U.S. Navys space program. When it became evident that the supply of V-2 rockets would be exhausted, NRL proceeded to develop its own rocket. 8
ROCKET PROGRAMS
Viking Program
In 1946, NRL directed the development of a new sounding rocket called Viking, which was designed and built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. Viking embodied the successful, important innovations of a gimballed motor for steering and intermittent gas jets for stabilizing the vehicle after the main power cutoff. These devices are now extensively used in large, steerable rockets and in space vehicles. The engine was one of the first three large, liquidpropelled, rocket-powered engines produced in the United States. A total of twelve Viking rockets were launched from 1949 to 1954. The first attained a 50-mile altitude and Viking11 rose to 158 miles, an all-time altitude record for a single-stage rocket. Through these Viking firings, NRL was first to measure temperature, pressure, and winds in the upper atmosphere and electron density in the ionosphere, and to record the ultraviolet spectra of the Sun. NRL also took the first high-altitude pictures of the Earth. On October 5, 1954, during a launching over New Mexico, a camera mounted in an NRL Viking rocket took the first picture of a hurricane and a tropical storm, from altitudes as high as 100 miles. The picture embraced an area more than 1000 miles in diameter, including Mexico and the area from Texas to Iowa. This was also the first natural-color picture of Earth from rocket altitudes. The success NRL achieved in this series of experiments encouraged Laboratory scientists to believe that, with a more powerful engine and the addition of upper stages, the Viking rocket could be made a vehicle capable of launching an Earth satellite. This led to NRLs Vanguard project.
Aerobee
NRL participated in the development of several rockets, the earliest of which was the Aerobee. These relatively inexpensive rockets were used for 31 upper atmosphere experiments specially suited to their capability. Later redesigned into the Aerobee-Hi with an enlarged fuel tank, it was used for three flights in 1957 in conjunction with the International Geophysical Year.
Rockoon
In the 1950s, NRL used a balloon-rocket combination (Rockoon) in experiments to investigate solar radiation and cosmic rays. The plastic balloon lifted the Deacon rocket to 21 kilometers (70,000 feet) where it was fired by a pressure-sensing device. By this technique, the rocket could carry a 22-kilogram (50-pound) payload to an altitude of more than 130 kilometers (80 miles).
ROCKET PROGRAMS
Nike Booster
NRL devised systems using Nike Boosters with several different secondstage rockets. These vehicles were used primarily to study the sun during the International Geophysical Year (July 1957 - December 1958).
Vanguard Project
Between 1955 and 1959, NRL conducted the first American satellite program called Vanguard. The program was initiated to represent the United States in the International Geophysical Year (IGY). IGY was a cooperative international scientific effort to study the physical properties of Earth. The nations leaders in science decided to participate in the IGY by placing an artificial satellite in orbit. Following this decision, a competition was held to determine which U.S. government agency would build and launch the satellite. The plan submitted by NRL was selected due, in part, to its success with the Viking Program. NRLs pioneering task was to design, build, launch, place in Earth orbit, and track an artificial satellite carrying a scientific experiment. In 1957, because suitable satellite-launching facilities were not available, NRL constructed the first complete satellitelaunching facility at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Central control of this facility was maintained at the main NRL site in Washington, D.C. Critical functions involved in attaining orbit had to be performed many hundreds of miles from the launch pad. NRL had developed in 1956 the first satellite-tracking system, called Mini track, which provided the first down-range instrumentation for determining the orbit of a satellite. This system evolved from NRLs work on phase comparison and angle tracking and used a series of fan-shaped, vertical antenna beams. The Vanguard I satellite was successfully launched into Earth orbit on March 17, 1958. Vanguard I achieved the highest altitude of any man-made vehicle to that time and established beyond doubt geologists suspicions that Earth is pear shaped. It carried two radios and a temperature sensor and was the first orbiting vehicle to be powered by solar energy. Photovoltaic silicon solar cells provided the electrical power to the 6.4-inch, 3.5-pound satellite until its experiments and transmitter fell silent in 1964. Vanguard I orbits Earth today as the oldest man-made satellite and will remain in orbit well into the 22nd century. Vanguard II, launched on February 17, 1959, was the first satellite designed to observe and record the cloud cover of the Earth and was a forerunner of the television infrared observation satellites (TIROS). It was also the first full-scale Vanguard (20-inch diameter sphere, 21 pounds) to be launched. Both Vanguard I and II are still in orbit. The scientific experiments flown on the Vanguard satellites increased scientific knowledge of space and opened the way for more sophisticated experiments. Vanguard was the prototype for much of what became the U.S. space program. When the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established on July 29, 1958, the NRL Vanguard group, a total of approximately 200 scientists and engineers, became the core of its spaceflight activities. The group remained housed at NRL until the new facilities at the Goddard Space Flight Center at Beltsville, Maryland, became available in September 1960. 10
ROCKET PROGRAMS
NavSpaSur
After the Soviet launch of Sputnik I in 1957, detecting and tracking foreign satellites orbiting over the U.S. became a major national security issue. As a result, the Navy Space Surveillance System (NavSpaSur) was developed (1958-1964) by NRL on a crash basis for the Advanced Research Projects Agency to detect and track such satellites. NRL was selected to develop this system primarily because of its success in developing the Minitrack satellite tracking network for project Vanguard. Unlike the Vanguard tracking system, NavSpaSur was designed to track both satellites that transmitted signals and those that were quiet. NavSpaSur now consists of nine radar sites stretching between southern California and Georgia and comprises a radar fence capable of detecting basketball-sized objects in orbit as high as 7,500 miles above Earth. The information gathered by this system is used to maintain and update the catalogs of orbiting objects, detect newly orbited objects, and warn U.S. military units of periods when they would be vulnerable to detection by foreign satellites.
HRTS
NRLs High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph (HRTS) is a high-powered telescope that sees in the ultraviolet and has the ability to zoom in on very small features on the surface of the Sun. Since its first flight in 1975, the HRTS has recorded high-quality ultraviolet spectra of the Sun on 10 rocket flights and during extended operations on the Space Shuttle Spacelab 2 mission in 1985. 11
LASCO
The Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) was developed for flight in 1995 on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). LASCO is a wide-field white light and spectrometric coronagraph. It consists of three optical systems with nested fields of view that together observe the solar corona from 1.1 to 32 solar radii. One solar radius is about 700,000 kilometers, 420,000 miles or 16 arc minutes. A coronagraph is a telescope that is designed to block light coming from the solar disk in order to see the extremely faint emission from the region around the sun, called the corona. On December 23, 1996, the LASCO experiment on the SOHO satellite recorded images of a large coronal mass ejection. The bright ring in the center of the image represents the diameter of the visible Sun. The dark circle surrounding it is an image of the occulting disk, which blocks the glaring light of the Sun from the entrance lens of the telescope. A comet is shown on the lower left of the image. Its path curves toward the Sun, and on December 23 it disappears behind the occulting mask of the coronagraph. Coronal mass ejections are the hurricanes of space weather. SOHO is ideally placed and instrumented to report and even anticipate their origins in the Suns atmosphere. Although the Sun is supposedly very quiet at present, being close to the minimum count of sunspots, LASCO observes so many outbursts large and smallroughly one a daythat scientists are having to think again about how to define a coronal mass ejection.
EIT
The Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) is a small but powerful telescope aboard the SOHO spacecraft that has been operational since January 2, 1996. EIT uses specially coated, normal incidence reflective optics and filters to image the Sun and its unimaginably hot outer atmosphere with high precision and cadence. The EIT telescope was designed and built by an international consortium of scientists associated with many institutes. The Naval Research Laboratory developed the CCD camera and the entire electronic support package. Using EIT as a keystone for many other experiments onboard SOHO, scientists are striving to understand the nature of the mechanisms that heat the corona to temperatures far higher than the Suns surface gases, and that drive the solar wind outward at speeds of more than a million miles per hour. The solar atmosphere is layered, like the skins of an onion, with the layers marked by higher and higher temperatures as one looks at higher and higher altitudes in the solar sky of searing heat and blinding light. Unlike an onion though, the Suns surface (or photosphere, at about 6,000 degrees Celsius) and the atmospheric layers above it (the chromosphere and corona) are by no means smooth and symmetrical. On the contrary, they are pierced through and through with a lacy forest of magnetic fields that rise in giant plumes and arches, surging in constant motion, waxing and waning, and sometimes thrashing like whips or erupting with explosive violence. EIT has four optical channels, each providing images of the Sun in a different temperature regime, and therefore a different layer of the Suns outer atmosphere. 12
Clementine
On January 25, 1994, the Deep Space Program Science Experiment (better known as Clementine) was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on a mission designed to test lightweight miniature sensors and advanced spacecraft components by exposing them, over a long period of time, to the difficult environment of outer space. In addition to testing the various sensors, Clementine was given the complex task of mapping the Moon. The mission results were spectacular. By implementing the faster, cheaper, better management approach, Clementine was able to move from conceptual design to launch in only 22 months and at a cost of 80 million dollars (including the launch and mapping operations). This was the first time this particular approach was used in a space program. The costs of previous deep space missions had been significantly higher and took a great deal more time to develop. Between February 26 and April 22, Clementine was able to deliver more than 1.8 million digital images of the Moon back to the Clementine ground network, including the NRL satellite ground- tracking station located in Pomonkey, Maryland. These images were quickly accessible to the general public via the Internet and World Wide Web. When scientists reviewed the data from Clementine, they made a major scientific discovery: the possible existence of ice within some of the Moons craters. This discovery was confirmed in early 1998 by NASAs Lunar Prospector. In 1994, President Clinton cited Clementine as one of the major national achievements in aeronautics in space. He stated The relatively inexpensive, rapidly built spacecraft constituted a major revolution in spacecraft management and design; it also contributed significantly to lunar studies by photographing 1.8 million images of the surface of the Moon. The President was not alone in his praise of Clementine. In addition to the Presidents comments, Clementine and the people associated with the program were presented with the following awards: Popular Science magazine: Best of 1994s Top 100 Technologies Aviation Week and Space Technology: 1994 Laureate Award National Space Club: Nelson P. Jackson Award Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Navy Award for Group Achievement Discover magazine: 1994 Award for Outstanding Technological Innovation 1996 Induction into the Space Hall of Fame 13
Radio Astronomy
Radio astronomy came into being in the late 1940s when astronomers realized that radio waves from outer space could be used, as light waves were used, to measure the physical characteristics of objects in space and their relative distances from the Earth. Radio astronomy has been concerned with the study of the strength, direction, and variation in radio emissions from the Sun, Moon, and stars. The principal tool has been the radio telescope, which uses a large, concave metal reflector and a directive radio-receiving antenna. In 1951, NRL produced the largest accurately figured radio telescope, a 15-meter (50-foot), machined-aluminum, steerable paraboloid installed atop NRLs Building 43. Accomplishments by NRL using this telescope included: the first detection and measurement of interstellar ionized atomic hydrogen clouds as discrete radio sources (1953); the first detection of the absorption of emission of radio stars by interstellar hydrogen gas (1956); the first detection of radio emissions from Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn (1956 to 1958); the first successful measurement of surface temperatures of Venus, Mars, and Jupiter; and the first measurement of the spectrum of continuous radio emission from the Crab Nebula.
Cosmic-ray Physics
Studies of cosmic rays by NRL began in 1949. For the next ten years NRL physicists developed detectors for identifying relativistic particles in cosmic rays. The detectors consisted of stacks of sensitive emulsions, and after a particle passed through, the path could be traced and analyzed. In the 1960s and 1970s, the NRL cosmic-ray-physics program shifted from particle studies to the stars, the origin of these cosmic rays. During the Gemini XI mission, NRL had several detector trays on the spacecraft that yielded important information on the origin and history of cosmic rays. NRLs principal vehicle for studying cosmic rays, however, was the Skyhook balloon, a 283,000-cubic-meter (10-million-cubic-foot) plastic balloon that carried detectors to an altitude of 43 kilometers (140,000 feet). From April 7, 1984 to January 12, 1990, NRLs Heavy Ions in Space (HIIS) experiment flew aboard NASAs Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). The HIIS detectors were mounted on the space-facing end of the LDEF and comprised large stacks of plastic track detectors with a total geometry factor of 2.0 m2-sr. HIIS is one of the largest cosmic ray experiments ever flown. The following are some of the scientific results from HIIS: The HIIS experiment has provided the first measurements of the ionic charge state of solar energetic Fe ions at very high energies. HIIS, in conjunction with other cosmic ray detectors aboard LDEF, has provided new observations of trapped anomalous cosmic rays. In addition, the LDEF experiments have provided evidence of additional species (Mg, Si, and Fe) whose origin is not yet understood. HIIS collected a sample of ultraheavy galactic cosmic rays (UHGCRs) roughly three times larger than accumulated in previous experiments. Analysis of the HIIS UHGCRs is still in progress. 14
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Meteorology
Weather forecasting has obvious importance to Naval operations. Accurate weather forecasting depends on an understanding of weather as an atmospheric phenomenon and on increasing knowledge of the atmospheric conditions that affect weather patterns. In the late 1940s, NRL assumed the lead in developing instruments and techniques for making measurements of weather-related atmospheric parameters such as temperature, pressure, and humidity. NRLs axialflow vortex thermometer made possible the measurement of true air temperature from an aircraft at speeds up to 805 kilometers per hour (500 miles per hour). NRL undertook an ambitious series of investigations in the late 1940s with the development of instruments and techniques for studying atmospheric conditions and wind patterns using balloons. By 1952, NRL had developed the Transosonde system, a balloon-borne meteorological station for collecting data on temperature, pressure, and humidity over remote or inaccessible ocean areas at a constant elevation of 9 kilometers (30,000 feet). Radio tracking stations followed the balloons trajectory and mapped out existing air mass systems and their movements. This resulted in an increased understanding of the upper air patterns defining the broader aspects of weather and long-term weather developments. Transosonde was later complemented by Transobuoy, a free-floating weather station instrumented to measure temperature, pressure, wind speed, and direction at and near the ocean surface.
In addition, extended-range forecasts for severe storms in the central and eastern U.S. were also improved by the NORPEX observations up to 4 days in advance. The observations collected in NORPEX represent an unprecedented effort to improve prediction of storms that often develop in areas devoid of most meteorological data. Our capability to pinpoint areas of forecast sensitivity is extremely important for making the most effective use of the relatively few measurements that can be taken over an area as vast as the North Pacific Ocean. These observations of early storm structure are essential for providing the public with improved advance warnings of storm landfall, rain and snow amounts, and flooding potential.
Monsoon Variability
The Navys operational atmospheric surface winds in the Arabian Sea were validated through a collaborative project between NRL and ONR-funded scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI). The daily Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) winds from Fleet Numerical Meteorology Oceanography Center (FNMOC) were archived at NRL and used to examine the variability of the Indian Ocean monsoon surface winds on submonthly time scales. Prior to this study, the monthly averages of ship wind observations provided the state-of-the-art depiction of Indian Ocean surface winds. The figure reveals the rich structure of the daily winds relative to the very smooth monthly averages.
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Permanent Magnet
In 1980, NRLs N.C. Koon and B.N. Das were the first to examine the magnetic properties of rare earth-iron-boron (R2-Fe14-B) alloys, which showed promise for permanent magnet use. NRL scientists did the first work on these materials and hold the fundamental U.S. patents. These NRL patents have been licensed to several firms, and products are being offered commercially. Since 1983, commercial alloys based on R-Fe-B have been in commercial production; by 1985, these materials provided almost twice the magnetic energy density of the best materials previously available. These magnetic materials are eventually expected to cost much less than the older materials because they are made from less expensive and more abundant elements. They also offer relatively good corrosion resistance and are easily formed into complex shapes. These materials promise to be useful by both the military and commercial sectors for improved microwave tubes, sensors, powerful lightweight electric motors and generators, computer peripherals, and faster, more compact actuators. 20
Seamarker Development
NRL research demonstrated that the one-molecule-thick films on water were readily detectable, both visually and by radar, with radar providing nighttime and poor weather detectability. The films were useful as seamarkers because the films dampen wave action over a wide area of water surface, thereby producing a highly visible artificial sea slick under a variety of environmental conditions. W.D. Garrett and W.R. Barger patented this invention as a chemical sea surface marker in 1972. In developing this product, they made comparative studies with the standard Navy dye marker. When the sea slick and dye were used in combination, the detectability of the resulting marker was greater than that of either component used alone. This is because the dye-only marker is barely visible at certain angles of viewing where the NRL-developed marker slick is obvious. At certain other angles, where the NRL slick was difficult to see, the dye stripe could easily be observed.
Mosquito
NRL developed a thin surface film that prevents mosquitos in the pupal and larval stages from attaching to the waters surface where they breathe and feed. This causes them to drown, thus killing by physical, not toxic, means. No pesticide is required nor is a petroleum-based solvent needed to deliver the compound. The method has proven effective against mosquito genera that are carriers of debilitating tropical diseases, including malaria, encephalitis, and dengue fever. In 1984, the nontoxic mosquito-control substance gained Environmental Protection Agency approval and is currently being manufactured by a chemical company under license from a U.S. Navy patent on this invention. The substance is now commercially available to mosquito control districts across the U.S. 22
FRACTURE MECHANICS
Fracture mechanics is a field which recognizes that all structures are manufactured with, or will ultimately contain, flaws that govern the eventual failure of the structure. The study of the stresses caused by the flaws and the materials resistance to failure from them form the basis for the field of fracture mechanics. Fracture mechanics provided, for the first time, the capability to calculate the strength of structures containing defects that inevitably occur in fabrication or during service operation. The net result of these design principles increased the reliability of structures as the result of improved design capability and an improved predictive capability of in-service damage. NRLs G.R. Irwin is recognized as the pioneer of modern fracture mechanics. He developed the scientific principles for understanding the relationships between applied stresses and cracks or other defects in metallic materials. Irwin developed, around 1947, the concept that fracture toughness should be measured in terms of resistance to crack propagations. Critical values of the stress intensity describing the onset of fracture, the onset of environmental cracking, and the rate of fatigue crack growth were established later. Fracture mechanics has been applied throughout the world for the design of any structures where sudden, catastrophic failure would cause loss of life or other serious consequences. Examples include nuclear reactor pressure vessels, submarines, aircraft and missiles, and tanks for storage of toxic or flammable materials. 23
Fiber-Optic Biosensor
A fiber-optic biosensor has been developed at NRL that uses antibodies, lectins, and antibiotics on the surface of an optical fiber to achieve selectivity. The system is particularly well adapted to detect environmental pollutants and hazardous chemical or biological materials. The fiber-optic biosensor is a device that measures the formation of a fluorescent complex at the surface of an optical fiber. Antibodies, lectins, and antibiotics provide the mechanism for recognizing an analyte of interest and immobilizing a fluorescent complex on the fiber surface. The biosensor is fast, sensitive, and permits analysis of hazardous materials remote from the instrumentation. A portable sensor has been manufactured and tested on-site for detection of explosives in groundwater. Antibodies coated on the fiber are stable for up to two years of storage prior to use. The biosensor has been developed to detect explosives, pollutants, pathogens, and toxic materials.
Pilojector
In 1962, NRL developed a surgical technique for correcting intracranial aneurysms to supplant older methods of obliterating these blood-filled arterial dilations. Using a newly developed air gun, called a PILOJECTOR, the surgeon fires one or more short pig bristles into the prominence. Blood around the bristle begins to clot immediately, sharply reducing the size of the aneurysm and strengthening the arterial wall. Only slightly larger than a pencil, the PILOJECTOR offers precise control of position, injection velocity, and penetration.
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