Description

"Microwave Plumbing" This is a custom display of components used for S, X and K-Band Radars developed by the MIT Radiation Laboratory.

This display of components highlights the work of Division 5, Transmitter Components, of the MIT Radiation Laboratory. In particular, it is believed that it features the work of Group 53, The Microwave Group, which was responsible for the development of RF (radio frequency) components for S, X and K-band radar components.

Group 53 was organized in 1943 (when Division 5 was established). It was originally known at the RF Group and was headed by Jerrold Zacharias. Zacharias would eventually be promoted to head the Division in January 1944, replaced by Albert Hill in July 1945 when Zacharias was assigned to the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos.

The terms S-band, X-band and K-band refer to the frequency ranges of the radar sets. S-band refers to radar sets that used 10-cm wavelength frequencies; X-band referred to 3-cm wavelengths; and K-band to 1-cm wavelengths. All three bands are classified as "microwave radar." (P and L bands are classified as UhF radar.)

As work proceeded on the development of all aspects of radar systems at the Rad Lab, there was increasing appreciation for the critical importance of RF components. The RF group (later Group 53) was formed to make systematic study of this technology. In addition, the group (like the other groups in Division 5) worked with the military and the manufacturers as consultants on problems associated with production and operation but they also had to initiate procurement and set up manufacturing facilities.

The hardware developed by this group was sometimes called "plumbing" because the metal parts and pipes when assembled did remind observers of plumbing. Further, all of these parts served as conduits, albeit for electromagnetic waves instead of water.

It is not known when this display was created. The earliest possible date would be June 1944 but it could also have been created as late as 1991 for a special display at the International Microwave Symposium sponsored by the IEEE. The museum's best guess based on the components displayed is that it dates to 1945. Visitors to the 150 Lounge may be able to give additional clues as to the objects age.

For more information:

Five Years At the Radiation Laboratory, (Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1946.

J. Francis Reintjes and Godfrey T. Coate, Principles of Radar by the Members of the Staff of the Radar School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 3rd ed, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company 1952.