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From: mcdaniel@uicsrd.UUCP
Newsgroups: sci.research
Subject: Army Research
Message-ID: <42000001@uicsrd>
Date: Thu, 11-Jun-87 18:58:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: uicsrd.42000001
Posted: Thu Jun 11 18:58:00 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 14-Jun-87 04:06:24 EDT
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Nf-From: uicsrd.CSRD.UIUC.EDU!mcdaniel    Jun 11 17:58:00 1987


Recently, someone sent me "The US Army Materiel Command; 1984-1987;
'The Thompson Years'", which appears to be an unclassified report of
some accomplishments in research, management, et cetera.  Here, I will
list some excerpts, with questions I have.  I would appreciate any
answers.  Quotes are set off with "=".

Foreign nationals, stop reading here!  :-)

= 2-4.  In 1986 photonic computers were transitioned from the
= laboratory bench to field testing.

That is the paragraph in its entirety.
Does "photonic" mean "optical"?
What is the current state of progress in optical computing?
Is there any hope for government tech writers?  :-)

= 2-6.  Significant promise has been demonstrated that a practical
= system can be achieved which can extract sufficient potable water
= from the engine exhaust.

"Sufficient" for what?  In other words, for those who know more
chemistry than I, at most how many liters of H2O can be produced from
one liter of gasoline (or diesel fuel)?  Assume no inefficiencies or
impurities like incomplete combustion or combustion with something
other than oxygen, and assume standard commercial grades of fuel
(whatever THAT is).

= 2-10.  Natick has demonstrated the feasibility of developing
= calorically dense (7.1 kcal/cc), nutritional sustainment modules
= components, based on Infusion, Compression, and Extrusion
= technologies, and having high acceptance.

Translation: they've developed super granola bars that people like.
Sigh.  "Dear, could you pass the Calorically Dense Nutritional
Sustainment Modules?"

= 2-12.  The investigation of a novel material of potentially
= tremendous significance to ballistics has supported the hypothesis
= that a collection of triplet helium atoms could be contained and
= exploited as a medium of energy storage, the capacity of which is
= three orders of magnitude greater than those of secondary explosives.

What is a "triplet helium atom[s]"?  I know that there have been
rather unstable chemical compounds made from noble gases (xenon
hexaflouride?), but they were of atoms with higher atomic weights.

= 2-15.  Through an intensive in-house effort optical processing has
= been taken from the laboratory bench to a fieldable test-bed capable
= of intercepting and exploiting advanced modulation communication
= signals.  An effort to develop advanced optical signal processing
= modules for utilization in "smart" responsive jammers to counter
= enemy frequency-agile (hopping) radio nets has been launched.  A
= concept for a bistatic radar system which provides a real time,
= self-registered, covert surveillance capability and is inherently
= immune to anti-radiation missiles has been developed and
= demonstrated. . . . Significant advances have taken place in the
= area of acousto-optic signal processing reggedization.  Several
= processors have been designed, built, tested, and in some cases
= incorporated into test-bed signal processing systems.

More on "optical processing".
What is an "advanced modulation technique"?
What is a "bistatic radar system"?  I assume it is a passive system
that observes radio waves generated elsewhere.
What is "acousto-optic"?

Any reader-generated review and analysis would have high acceptance. .
. . Oh no!  Infection with Mil-Speak has been established!
Ameliorization of end-user condition is indicated . . . <gag> <choke>
<arrrrrgh> . . .

--
Tim, the Bizarre and Oddly-Dressed Enchanter
Center for Supercomputing Research and Development
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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