Word: diagramer
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David Greenglass, the only American among the top spies, was far less important to the Russians. He furnished Russia with mechanical details of the bomb, most importantly the high-explosive lenses used in the Nagasaki-type bomb, and a diagram of the bomb itself. But, the committee noted, he had nothing like Fuchs's fund of scientific principles and information...
...scientist (at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute he flunked eight courses out of eight), and some of his testimony made little scientific sense. He did reveal, however, the important fact that the bomb was set off by an "implosion"; i.e., an explosion that directs much of its force inwards (see diagram...
...itself does not move; mounted rigidly in the airplane, it is eight feet high, has a focal length of 48 in., weighs about 1,500 Ibs. Protruding below the plane's belly is a 90-lb. prism that rotates across the airplane's line of flight (see diagram). The prism, acting like a swinging mirror, throws into the camera lens a constantly changing view of the ground below. First the prism looks at the horizon on one side; then its glance sweeps under the airplane, then up to the horizon on the other side...
...trouble with radar is that it is subject to blind spots. Its waves go out in straight lines, like television waves; they cannot duck down behind buildings, hills or other obstacles, and they cannot follow the curvature of the earth (see diagram). So a radar station works best against high-flying airplanes. It can pick them up as far away as 150 miles, but if attacking bombers fly low, they can keep behind the bulge of the earth and get much closer before they are detected. With mountains or other obstacles to give them shelter, they are even harder...
...poetry to lowbrow science fiction, the historical novel is often as minutely researched as a Ph.D. thesis. Merchant of the Ruby, a fearsomely thorough drenching in the 15th Century Wars of the Roses, is a prime example. Readers of the Merchant need a refresher course in history, an elaborate diagram of royal genealogy, and a passionate interest in the problem of which English kings were legitimate and which were...