Abstract: This invention is an apparatus and an associated method with which a person may self-apply concurrent spinal traction and lateral spinal flexure. The apparatus comprises a mobile carriage with ankle grips, long handles and flexible links to a floor pad that is held in place by the weight of the user's upper torso. The user applies arm pressure to the handles so as to urge the carriage and the user's ankles away from the user's torso. This force on the user's ankles applies a stretching force (traction) to the user's lower spine. Alternating a slightly greater force on the handles causes the carriage, constrained by links to the floor pad, to swing to and fro in a lateral arc. The concurrent application of user-induced traction and lateral spinal flexure is but one advantage of the apparatus and is a novel combination in the field of exercise and therapeutic devices.

Abstract: The present invention is a plasma antenna that uses an acoustic mechanism to accelerate the ions of the plasma, causing them to radiate electromagnetic energy. A resonant acoustic chamber surrounds the plasma body to produce acoustic pressure waves of very high amplitude and ion accelerations sufficient to generate significant radiation. The resonant chamber is made of a material that is relatively transparent to electromagnetic radiation. Communications information in the form of a modulated frequency is imposed on the signal generated by the plasma by adjusting the resonant frequency of the chamber by changing a parameter of the chamber such as its length or wall stiffness. Varying the acoustic driving force may be used to modulate the amplitude of the radiated signal. Phase modulation may be implemented by lining the ends of the chamber with a material that can quickly alter the position of its reflective face.

Abstract: This invention offers the capability to passively detect and classify missiles, aircraft, and units with gas turbine engines and rocket motors. It does so by measuring the electromagnetic radiation from ions in the exhaust gas. These emissions are low in frequency and propagate beyond the visual horizon with little attenuation other than through wavefront spreading in the earth-ionosphere waveguide. Acoustic and mechanical processes in combustion chambers and turbines modulate the ion signals in a deterministic manner that makes the engine type classifiable. The proposed passive detection and classification device can sense and identify aircraft, missiles, and potentially ground vehicles and gunfire. This capability will reduce vulnerability of forces to threats and reduce fratricide among friendly units.

Abstract: This invention is a method for determining when combustion cans or turbine blades are failing in gas turbine engines. It measures the specific ions emitted by hot spots of can and blade material when they have failed or are failing. The invention relies on the electromagnetic energy radiated by ions that are created as combustion gas erodes and ionizes the materials in these hot spots. Acceleration by the earth magnetic field and by acoustic and mechanical forces normally present in combustion machinery cause these charged particles to radiate identifiable electromagnetic emissions. The frequency of the radiation, being a function of the charge and mass of the particles, allows free ions in the exhaust stream to be identified. The device operates by measuring the electromagnetic spectrum and relating detected frequencies to the mass of the ions from can liner and blade materials. The device can be used in fixed installations such as power plants, ships and aircraft.

Abstract: This invention is a composite acoustic lens that can be steered internally through electrical control. It can collect and direct acoustic energy from a plane wave to focus it on a transducer. It can also take the nearly omnidirectional output from a standard acoustic transducer and direct its energy in a plane wave. In the receive role the lens increases the effective signal-to-noise ratio of the array; in the transmit role it reduces the output energy that is responsible for reverberation. The lens is steerable by virtue of its material: it is electrorheological. Its bulk modulus, and the resulting speed of sound, can be changed electrically. Controlling the gradient of the index of refraction allows the steering to be adjusted precisely, continuously, and quickly. It is held by a container of plastic material that matches the acoustic impedance of water and minimizes the presence of near-field scatterers.