3 ms·

If you're interested in this, watch this [1] very in-depth 1943 movie called "Crystals go to War" which documents crystal oscillator manufacturing step by step.

by tedd4u 6y ago

If you're interested in this, watch this [1] very in-depth 1943 movie called "Crystals go to War" which documents crystal oscillator manufacturing step by step. Honestly, I was amazed by this. I tend to think of technology as pretty primitive in the 40s but this is a great reminder of how sophisticated technology could be even back then. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKprsCNLUlE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKprsCNLUlE

kens 6y ago
That's an amazing video. I was surprised by how many steps it took to make a crystal. Also noteworthy is how many different tests and checks they did on each crystal. The technology is an interesting mixture of sophisticated and primitive. On the one hand, they had X-ray machines to determine the crystal alignment, and lots of specialized mechanical and electronic machinery. On the other hand, people were spooning abrasive out of a pot with a dinner spoon. Everything was very manual and labor-intensive, with no automation. An interesting mix of highly-skilled precision labor and low-skill tasks.
- tedd4u 6y ago
  Would be very interesting to see a current-day behind the scenes video of 2021 manufacturing process and compare to 1943. I wonder how many humans touch current day crystals. In the video it’s at least at least a dozen.
  - kens 6y ago
    I found a video of modern quartz crystal manufacturing. It doesn't have explanation, so it's basically fancy high-tech machines doing mysterious things: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Own-5Qz_vSs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Own-5Qz_vSs It's interesting to compare the scale. In 1943 they were packing a box with a few dozen crystals, while the modern manufacturer fits probably 18,000 tiny surface-mount crystals in a box.
mhh__ 6y ago
By the end of the second world war the average Lancaster bomber was flying with beam navigation, air to ground radar, air to air radar, electronic counter-measures etc. They had pretty similar ideas to us, we can just make things smaller.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- jhallenworld 6y ago
  There is a famous book, to give you an idea of the sophistication, the "US Navy Handbook of Preferred Circuits": https://usermanual.wiki/Collections/Help-Docs/books/www.rsp-italy.it/_contents/Us%20Navy%201955-60%20Handbook%20of%20Preferred%20Circuits.pdf.html https://usermanual.wiki/Collections/Help-Docs/books/www.rsp-... There is a vacuum tube circuit called a "Phantastron"- a triggered voltage to time converter, you could do this with a 555 timer today... (or um, in 1972..). https://www.radartutorial.eu/17.bauteile/bt52.en.html https://www.radartutorial.eu/17.bauteile/bt52.en.html Here, in a three tube oscilloscope: http://www.hanssummers.com/tinyscope/tinyscopek3imw.html http://www.hanssummers.com/tinyscope/tinyscopek3imw.html

by tedd4u 6y ago

kens 6y ago

That's an amazing video. I was surprised by how many steps it took to make a crystal. Also noteworthy is how many different tests and checks they did on each crystal. The technology is an interesting mixture of sophisticated and primitive. On the one hand, they had X-ray machines to determine the crystal alignment, and lots of specialized mechanical and electronic machinery. On the other hand, people were spooning abrasive out of a pot with a dinner spoon. Everything was very manual and labor-intensive, with no automation. An interesting mix of highly-skilled precision labor and low-skill tasks.

tedd4u 6y ago
Would be very interesting to see a current-day behind the scenes video of 2021 manufacturing process and compare to 1943. I wonder how many humans touch current day crystals. In the video it’s at least at least a dozen.
- kens 6y ago
  I found a video of modern quartz crystal manufacturing. It doesn't have explanation, so it's basically fancy high-tech machines doing mysterious things: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Own-5Qz_vSs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Own-5Qz_vSs It's interesting to compare the scale. In 1943 they were packing a box with a few dozen crystals, while the modern manufacturer fits probably 18,000 tiny surface-mount crystals in a box.

mhh__ 6y ago

By the end of the second world war the average Lancaster bomber was flying with beam navigation, air to ground radar, air to air radar, electronic counter-measures etc. They had pretty similar ideas to us, we can just make things smaller.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
jhallenworld 6y ago
There is a famous book, to give you an idea of the sophistication, the "US Navy Handbook of Preferred Circuits": https://usermanual.wiki/Collections/Help-Docs/books/www.rsp-italy.it/_contents/Us%20Navy%201955-60%20Handbook%20of%20Preferred%20Circuits.pdf.html https://usermanual.wiki/Collections/Help-Docs/books/www.rsp-... There is a vacuum tube circuit called a "Phantastron"- a triggered voltage to time converter, you could do this with a 555 timer today... (or um, in 1972..). https://www.radartutorial.eu/17.bauteile/bt52.en.html https://www.radartutorial.eu/17.bauteile/bt52.en.html Here, in a three tube oscilloscope: http://www.hanssummers.com/tinyscope/tinyscopek3imw.html http://www.hanssummers.com/tinyscope/tinyscopek3imw.html