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THIS WEEK IN… 1956
PRIZE CROSSWORD For The Engineer Brainteaser subscribe to our email newsletter at www.theengineer.co.uk
When completed rearrange the highlighted squares to spell out a domain of materials
science. The first correct answer received will win a £20 Borders voucher. Email your
answer to jon.excell@centaur.co.uk
Across
1 Destructive sea waves (8)
6 Having low density (4)
8 Instrument for scraping the skin after a bath (7)
9 Convert information into a cypher (7)
11 Typesetting equipment (8,7)
12 Compound formed by replacing hydrogen in an acid by a metal (4)
13 An invention that is not protected (10)
17 Event to get rid of unwanted household goods (6,4)
18 Repetition of a sound due to reflection (4)
20 System that keeps an area cool (3-12)
23 Document received for the completion of a course of study (7)
24 Something unusual — perhaps worthy of collecting (7)
25 Flow in a circular current, of liquids (4)
26 Speculate about (8)
Down
2 Mechanical device that sprays water on a fire (9)
3 Show to be false (6)
4 Pools used for powering a water wheel (9)
5 Water at boiling temperature diffused in the atmosphere (5)
6 Used again after processing (8)
7 Lines from the centre of a circle to it’s edge (5)
8 Protection against splattering liquids (6,5)
10 Battleship with big guns (11)
14 Structurally different form of an element (9)
15 Property of being cohesive and sticky (9)
16 Application of soil and plant sciences to land management (8)
19 Fuse with a metal alloy (6)
21 Characterized by speed (5)
22 Draw up an outline or sketch for something (5)
AUTOMATIC ANNOUNCER
In a report that heralds the dawn of a more irritating age, this article details the
invention of the ‘automatic announcer’, a bulky forbear to the automated PA
systems that today assault rail travellers’ ears across the UK.
The Engineer wrote that the device, developed by General Electric, ‘can
reproduce any one of 25 recorded announcements or signals for relaying over a
loudspeaker system’.
It was initially installed at Stratford station where, according to the article,
‘the platform announcements for passengers are automatically initiated by the
trains themselves, first as they approach the station and then again as they come
to a standstill at the platform.’
Explaining the system’s operation, The Engineer wrote that ‘the messages are
recorded side-by-side on a special loop of magnetic tape, 3in wide and the
appropriate message is selected by push button when required. To make the
system fully automatic, particular announcements such as shift changes, meal
breaks or other messages can be triggered by a master clock mechanism.’
The system could also be operated remotely: ‘the push buttons can be
mounted remotely from the instrument so that announcements or emergency
calls, such as fire alarms, can be initiated from other parts of the premises.’
Jon Excell
Last issue’s solution
Across:1 Cage, 3 Dead weight, 9
Extract, 11 Magneto, 12 International,
14 Condorcet, 16 Tenon,
17 Reset, 19 Undercoat, 21 Unintelligent,
24 Danseur, 25 Segment,
26 Takes apart, 27 Asks.
The solution to the Prize Crossword will appear in the next
issue of The Engineer. Last issue’s winner is Douglas Angus who
wins a £20 Borders Voucher
Down: 1 Credit card, 2 Get it on,
4 Extra, 5 Dim-witted, 6 Engineturning,
7 Gremlin, 8 Tool, 10
Airworthiness, 13 Institutes, 15
Clutter up, 18 Sputnik, 20 Openers,
22 Laser, 23 Adit.
Highlighted solution: ASPIRATOR
the EnGIneeR 2–15 JUNE 2008
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