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O TTIK1E
by DR.
de FOREST as told to Alfred Balk
RACK
The Father of Radio" looks to the
Dr. Lee de Forest, often referred to as "The
Father of Radio," is one of the United States' most
famous scientists. In 1906, 11 years after Marconi
introduced wireless telegraphy, de Forest devised
the audion tube, which made transmission of the
voice possible.
Now retired and living in Hollywood, Calif., he
made the survey which resulted in the accompany
ing exclusive forecast for Family Weekly.
A half-century ago, after my introduction of the
. audion tube, a professor and I began speculating
on what the world of the future would be like. I
won't recall our ideas, for time has proved us quite
unimaginative. I, for one, never foresaw that radio,
which the audion tube made possible, would evolve
into the force it did and lead to television.
Yes, science seems to move so fast nowadays it
even surprises scientists. In 1951, one of my col
leagues, Brig. Gen. David Sarnoff, asked research
ers for three "gifts" for his 50th anniversary in elec
tronics, then five years off. The developments were
major ones a magnetic tape recorder for black-and-white
TV, an electronic air conditioner with no
moving parts, and an electronic amplifier of light
but five years later they were realities.
More and more, such research "miracles" have
become commonplace, and from what scientists in
many fields have told me, we will see the world of
tomorrow sooner than we think. Before this cen
tury has ended, for example, it seems to me these
"dreams" will be realities:
Space Exploration
Men will have orbited around the earth and moon
many times over. Space platforms outside the
earth's atmosphere will be in use as relay stations.
We will have landed on the moon and established
a base there. Instrument-equipped missiles will be
fired millions of miles into space, and will return
to earth with data on the planets and other bodies
of our solar system.
Communication
You will have portable telephones no larger than
a king-size cigarette pack (transistor radios of that
size already are being built) . Walking down a street
in Boston, you can call your family at home, or
phone a friend in Los Angeles or even abroad.
A miniature TV. screen will let you see the per
son you are phoning. (By accepting a less-detailed
image than that of home TV, we already can send
such pictures over telephone wires and narrow
radio bands.) You can also see items you may be
considering for purchase, from small products to
pieces of real estate.
When you phone a foreign country, electronic
translating equipment, built on the principle of
today's computers, will translate your conversa
tion instantaneously. If, for example, you are call
ing Japan, answers will come back translated from
Japanese.
World-wide television, both color and black-and-white,
will be common. Atmospheric disturbances
never will disrupt it; relays will be possible through
communications satellites or use of the atmospheric
"scatter effect" which reflects some TV waves over
phenomenal distances even now.
Miniature TV sets, completely portable, and flat
surface sets hung like pictures on your wall will
be old-hat
Transportation
Cars will have "automatic pilots." After enter
ing an expressway, you can relax and ride an in
visible beam. It will keep your car at a safe dis
tance from other autos, and radar automatically
will apply your brakes as required.
Passenger - carrying helicopters helibuses will
take you up and over congestion, turning the sky
into radar-controlled, multilevel highways which,
incidentally, will be much less costly than those on
the ground. Inexpensive private, airplanes equipped
for vertical take-off and landing also will fill the air.
Atomic-powered missiles will carry freight and
mail between cities and continents within min
utes. Jets and missiles will be commonplace for
passenger flights.
Downtown streets will have moving conveyor
type sidewalks. They will carry you from one store
or office to another as you sit on a portable golf
type stool if you like.
Light
Electroluminescence, or "cold light," will revolu
tionize the appearance of homes, industries, and
entire cities. With no heat, shadow, or glare, this
lovely "glow" will usher in a new era of comfort and
safety in individual rooms, at airports, and on high
ways. A touch of a button will permit changes of
color nuances for entire wall panels.
Power
Nuclear energy will be a practical power source
for industry, autos, ships, missiles, trains, and
planes. One "shot" of atomic fuel will last years,
even decades. A single atomic battery will produce
all the electricity needed for years in homes or fac
tories in isolated regions.
Devices which will catch and store energy from
4 Family Weekly, January 17, 1960