A viscous-fluid inertia damper, which damper comprises a housing composed of a nonferromagnetic material and having a chamber therein, a seismic mass containing a permanent magnet disposed in the housing chamber and in a closely spaced-apart relationship with the internal wall surface of the chamber, means to couple the housing to a dynamic element whose energy is to be dampened, and a ferrofluid of selected viscosity in the remaining volume of the chamber, the ferrofluid distributed generally u...

A toy clock having a housing with a base portion for supporting the clock face thereof in a vertical position, the clock face having an hour hand and a minute hand proportionately coupled and rotatable, the rotatin thereof simultaneously effecting proportional rotation of a coaxial pair of co-planar disc surfaces to effect a digital readout corresponding to the position of the dials. The clock is provided with a rear compartment which houses a conveyor operated by rotation of the dials to elevat...

Dehydrogenatable hydrocarbons are dehydrogenated by contacting them, at dehydrogenation conditions, with a catalytic composite comprising a combination of catalytically effective amounts of a platinum or palladium component, a rhodium component, and a lead component with a porous carrier material. A specific example of the catalytic composite disclosed herein is a combination of a platinum or palladium component, a rhodium component, a lead component, and an alkali or alkaline earth component wi...

An etching device uses a gas activated by a plasma for etching a semiconductor element. The apparatus includes object feeding and etching chambers formed on the opposite sides of an airtight flat chamber and a support plate rotatably mounted in the flat chamber to bring the semiconductor element from the feeding chamber to the etching chamber in which the semiconductor element is etched by the vertically flowing activated gas.

The disclosure relates to a turbine having a rotor rotatable on a generally horizontal axis; the rotor being emersed in liquid and being driven upward by rising gasses on an ascending portion of the rotor and also being driven by downward falling liquid within the descending portion of the rotor and the rotor being constructed in such a manner as to provide substantial liquid sealing between the rotor and arcuate housing seal structure and walls, thereby minimizing blow-by or detour of the gasse...

A container assembly comprises a master container and a plurality of sub-containers to be carried therein. The master container and the sub-containers are of the knock-down reusable type. Each container includes foldable sides which are maintained in an erected posture by resilient band. Each container provides a pair of corner folds at each corner which are effective to withstand vertical and torsional loads. The master container and sub-containers thus collectively provide four corner folds at...

Geothermal energy is used to provide the temperatures and pressure necessary for catalytic conversion of carbon monoxide and hydrogen to methanol by lowering the reaction chamber into a geothermal well or by otherwise using geothermal fluids to supply heat and pressure to the reaction chamber.

The production of epoxide from .alpha.-olefin or .alpha.,.omega.-diene using an epoxide producing microorganism that belongs to Nocardia genus, wherein said microorganism is cultured aerobically in a medium containing more than one straight-chain .alpha.-olefin and/or straight-chain, .alpha.,.omega.-diene chosen from .alpha.-olefins having 4 to 20 carbon atoms and .alpha.,.omega.-dienes having 4 to 20 carbon atoms, or cells obtained by culturing said microorganism in a medium containing assimila...

The compound 2.alpha.-cyano-4.alpha.,5.alpha.-epoxyandrostan-17.beta.-ol-3-one and its esters are useful in disrupting pregnancy in female mammals upon oral administration.

A distance measuring system, particularly suitable for targets which are moving slowly relative to a fixed reference point, such as the upper surface of the burden in a blast furnace. A doubly modulated microwave beam is directed at the target, and the reflected beam is mixed with part of the original beam, which part has its phase varied sinusoidally at a frequency lower than the modulating frequencies. The difference frequency detected between the phase-varied signal and the reflected signal i...