MODIFICATION OF THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF FREEZE-DRIED RICE NASA Case No. MSC-13540-1 Great Britain, France, Canada, Address inquiries to: Mail Code: AM Houston, TX 77058 [Corresponding to U.S. Patent No. 3,692,533] The method steps include first cooking rice over a low simmering heat until it is tender and edible. Then it is frozen and thawed for two complete cycles. Thereafter, the rice is again frozen and freeze dried in a vacuum sufficient to remove water from the rice by sublimation. Rehydration is accomplished by placing the rice in water at an elevated temperature and normally requires only a minute or so. The cycle of first freezing and then thawing appears to change grain porosity and permits easy and rapid sublimation of the water vapor. An air cushion lift pad has been developed which utilizes an air cushion of pressurized air to support a device above a surface. The pad includes an upper wall which slopes upwardly from a center portion. Should the pad tend to tilt, the vertical lift force component acting on the inner wall will tend to decrease on the high side and increase on the low side, thereby producing a torque tending to stabilize the pad along the horizontal. A plurality of pads may be used and the design achieves a very stable device with no flutter, vibration, heaving or pitching. The lift pad may be employed to support an object, vehicle, etc. above a surface. Although the surface may be rough or unprepared, stability is achieved. PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING DIAMONDS NASA Case No. MFS-20698 Canada, France, Address inquiries to: Marshall Space Flight Center Attn: Patent Counsel Mail Code: A&PS-PAT Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812 [Corresponding to U.S. Patent No. 3,632,2421 Diamonds of industrial grade may be fabricated from graphite by this simple but effective apparatus. An exponential horn is vertically positioned with its small end in a graphite receiving pocket. A magnetic hammer above the horn, generates a shock wave in the exponential horn and due to the horn geometry, the velocity of the shock wave is amplified and the shock wave energy concentrated so that all of the energy arrives simultaneously at the small end of the horn. This energy is transferred to the graphite in the anvil pocket and results in pressure and temperature levels that causes the graphite to be transformed, in part, to diamonds. GRAPHITE-REINFORCED ALUMINUM COMPOSITE AND METHOD OF PREPARING THE SAME Graphite-reinforced aluminum composite material is prepared by coating high strength, high modulus, and low density graphite fiber with nickel, aligning the coated fibers between and in contact with aluminum sheets in a stacked array, and bonding the array into an integral body by application of heat and pressure. The resulting diffusion-bonded composite shows favorable mechanical properties, the graphite fibers remaining intact during the preparation process. Damaging reactions at the graphite surface are prevented by the protective nickel coating. The graphite-reinforced material prepared by the above method can be subjected to shaping or forming operations without breaking the fibers. 10. 12 U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1973 O 725-916 (117) -13 51 |