Word: thermostat
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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This mathematics turns out to be surprisingly useful for controlling robots, machine tools and various electronic systems. A conventional air conditioner, for example, recognizes only two basic states: too hot or too cold. When geared for thermostat control, the cooling system either operates at full blast or shuts off completely. A fuzzy air conditioner, by contrast, would recognize that some room temperatures are closer to the human comfort zone than others. Its cooling system would begin to slow down gradually as the room temperature approached the desired setting. Result: a more comfortable room and a smaller electric bill...
...raise, recommended by a salary-review commission composed of wealthy Washington insiders, will automatically go into effect this week. But last week Wright, who had steadfastly refused to schedule a vote on the pay increase for Congress, judges and other high-ranking Government officials, tried to turn the thermostat down a notch. He conducted his own confidential poll of House members -- with results startlingly different from those obtained by news organizations. Nearly 60% of the lawmakers told Wright they wanted the raise to go through without a vote. Polls in which members were named and positions stated showed upwards...
...President's first weeks in office are remembered more for symbolism than for lasting achievements. Jimmy Carter turned the White House thermostat down to 65 degrees F. Ronald Reagan slapped a freeze on federal hiring. For Bush, the goal was to let Americans know that the new President, unlike his predecessor, is active and engaged. He phoned nearly two dozen foreign leaders, including Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev, to thank them for their congratulatory notes. He gave Government employees two lectures about ethics -- something hardly anyone opposes -- implying that the store is now under stricter management. Bush also reversed Reagan...
Students who are hot under the collar about the temperature of their rooms can stop steaming: as of Columbus Day, Harvard's heat will be running on a computer-controlled thermostat. And until that date, a phone call to the "Hotline" can lead to those few keypresses that make the steam flow and fingers thaw...
...Right now, however, the Japanese decision to rely on superconductors has put them well behind the Germans in development. Reason: commercially feasible superconductors can now be used only at extremely low temperatures. The Japanese magnets must be chilled to -452 degrees F before they achieve perfect conductivity. Turning the thermostat that low requires costly liquid helium and heavy compressors aboard the train to reliquefy the evaporating helium. The Japanese, who have poured $379 million of private and government funds into the maglev, have reached a speed of 323 m.p.h. on a 4.4- mile straight track at Miyazaki on the southern...