The Craftsmanship Competition of The Institute of Physics and The Physical Society

Abstract

The I963 Craftsmanship Competition, held in conjunction with the Annual Exhibition of Scientific Instruments and Apparatus, followed the same pattern as the 1962 competition. The standard of workmanship, particularly in the scientific instrument classes, was of a very high order, so that decisions as to prize awards were difficult. The first prize in Class 2(a) was awarded for a Paschen galvanometer, as this called for extreme care and skill in the mounting of the fine fibre and minute mirrors, combined with the more common machine and hand processes of traditional instrument making. In case it may be thought that these skills are rendered obsolete by the advent of thermionic and transistor devices, it is worth noting that the most sensitive current detecting device, even by today's standards, is the mirror galvanometer combined with a differential photocell amplifier. In Class I(;) (c) a sun shutter and filter drive mechanism defied the efforts of the judges to find any flaws and the accompanying drawings were of the same high standard. The use of inked curves, and pencil for straight lines, which is standard practice for some firms, very often spoils the general appearance of a finished drawing. In this case a careful matching of the two methods avoided this erect. This entry was also awarded the Silvanus P. Thompson Prize. justified a prize award. It is to be regretted that this class does not attract more entries, particularly in view of the severe competition in Class 2. as there is much scope for originality and hand craft. In the glass working classes 4(a) and (h) the high standard of previous years was maintained. It is perhaps inevitable that there should be a sameness about the entries from year to year; perhaps recent developments in electron optics may add a little variety to future competitions. In Class 3 there were few entries, but all were of the precision expected from first grade optical components. There were some interesting entries in Class 6(a) (microwave components); this is a field in which the traditional skills of the instrument maker are complementary to modern techniques. The first prize was awarded to a phase shifter and matching assembly which was a good example of this alliance. In Class 7 the march of time was well illustrated by a comparison between the first prize winner in section (a), a 50 w audio-frequency amplifier using thermionic valves, and in section (b), a matrix number generator using transistors and printed circuits. Both these entries were very good examoles of technique in their respective fields.