Article Abstract:
Japan's economic rise after World War II was particularly cumbersome because of the restrictions imposed by the Allied Occupation Forces General Headquarters on military production. This was disclosed by the Working Group of the Committee of High Technology and International Environment, a team of Japanese historians and engineers who are holding hearings to relate their experiences in converting from a military economy. According to Jun-ichi Baba of Mitsubishi Electric Corp, it was the Japanese people's unity and determination to succeed which propelled the country to its superpower status. For Shigeru Nakajima who served at Japan Radio Co, success came through sales of a fish detector based on ultrasonic technology. Masahiko Fuketa, however, remembered a lesson on standardization of mass equipment. His company, presently known as Nikon Corp, survived a backlash against a 35 mm camera it sold.
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Article Abstract:
Engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, attempt to unsnag the high-gain antenna on the Galileo space probe. Launched in 1989, the space probe has been gathering speed for its trip to Jupiter by orbiting Venus and Earth. The engineers believe they have little time left to correct the snag. The problem is that the restraint pins on three of the probe's umbrella ribs are stuck in their receptacles, which is located on Galileo's central support tower. After other techniques to free the pins failed, the engineers are now pulsing the deployment motors on and off, which should apply double the force to unstick the pins as was applied in other attempts. The problem and its correction will delay plans for Galileo's time-lapsed global mosaics of Jupiter.
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James F. Blinn, associate director of Project Mathematics at the California Institute of Technology (Pasadena), finds that going back and forth between the details and totality of a problem is a successful way for him to do graphic design for computer animation. The work enables him to combine interests in art, education, mathematics and the sciences. Blinn finds that solitude and silence are vital to his successful work, that the process he employs to solve problems gives him the feeling of accomplishment as some concrete details are resolved and that insights arrive at unexpected moments. Details of Blinn's life and accomplishments are discussed.
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