Patent Pending Blog - Patents and the History of Technology

Much Ado About 'Almost' Nothing

Hans Camenzind has written a great little book about the history of man's understanding and use of the electron, titled "Much Ado About 'Almost' Nothing".  The book is about this tiny little atomic particle, with a weight of almost nothing, and a speed near the speed of light, which has become the workhorse of our culture, in tools large and small.   The book traces the earliest observation of the actions of electrons, from pre-history to modern applications in electricity and electronics. 

The existence of electrons was theorized by the ancient Greeks, such as Democritus in 400 BC.  They were actually used for productive work by about 200 BC, with batteries used for electroplating jewelry in Iraq.  Electron's take their name from the Greek word for amber, the dried and hardened sap of trees. People found that when amber was rubbed with fur, it would attract certain small objects, such as threads, feathers, and straw.  This observation was the first notice taken of the action of electrons.  The Greek scientist Thales observed the properties of amber and of lodestone, and formulated a theory for their actions.  Thales was the perhaps the first known scientist, and worked on many different areas of science in about 600 BC. 

"Much Ado About 'Almost' Nothing" has many stories about man's very slow understanding of electrons, and focuses on the stories of the individual inventors making each tiny step of progress. At $14.95, its a great read for anyone, including scientists and non-scientists, and believe it or not, will be a book you will have a hard time putting down.  available from the publisher, Booklocker.com.  

The Douglas B-23 Dragon Bomber

In the late 1930s the Douglas Aircraft Company found a superior design for a sturdy long range aircraft in the civilian DC-2 and DC-3.  These were the finest passenger planes yet created, and also served as the basic form of military transport as the C-46 and C-47. 

The Army also wanted a better bomber than the then current bomber, and requested a bomber with twice the range and load as the current Army bomber, which was based on the DC-2 design.  Douglas responded with a redesigned airplane with a tail gun, the first for the U.S., and more power.   In addition, the stronger wings of the DC-3 were added.  The B-23s were also fitted with the new top secret Nordon bomb sight, said to be able to place a bomb in a pickle barrel from 25,000 feet.  That particular claim proved to be hogwash.   

On January 29, 1943, pilot Robert Orr and a crew of 8 were returning from bombing practice in Nevada to their base in Washington.  Low on fuel and with the wings icing up in a winter storm, Lt. Orr crashed landed his B-23 on Loon Lake in the mountains near McCall, Idaho.  The lake was frozen and the plane skidded across the frozen lake and into the trees close to the lake.  The trees sheared off the wings of the plane, and the fuselage came to rest in waist deep snow, with more snow falling and one crew member injured in the landing.

Loon Lake, (after the 2007 fire) looking across toward the bomber site

After 4 days, three of the crew decided to hike out, though they had no idea of where they were.  After six days of hiking through waist deep snow, they found a cabin with a forest service map on the wall, which told them where they were and the route to the nearest town, McCall.  At day 13 they found a CCC building, where they left an injured airman and continued toward McCall. On day 15 they had gone another 5 miles and found a Forest Service building with a phone, and called town for help . 

Meanwhile, on day 16 a local pilot spotted the wreckage of the B-23, and the next day landed at the lake and made two trips to haul the remaining 5 airmen out.  The town of McCall closed schools and stores, and greeted the rescued airmen, all of whom survived.   

In the summer of 2007, the whole area around Loon Lake for many miles was devastated with a huge forest fire.  It was with great wonder that we approached the wreckage of the B-23 near Loon lake to see if it had survived the fire.  We found that it had survived, and our crew of 3 boy scouts from Troop 100 explored the wreck.

The perfect way to end a hike to Loon Lake and the bomber, is to visit Burgdorf Hot Springs!!  Oh yeah, Baby!