Rockwell International Corporation

Ronald M Govan

William W Ho

Freeman B Jones, Jr

A gaseous medium containing aerosols is drawn through a quartz sampling tube and a filter located therein, with the aerosols becoming entrapped on the filter. The filter is located at the geometric center of a microwave cavity, and the principal resonance of the latter is tracked with the aid of an adaptive electronic circuit. The time rate of change of the resonant frequency is a function of the rate of deposition of particulate matter on the filter, and principally of the liquid water content of those aerosols. Water in the vapor phase passes through the filter and does not affect the measurement; solid particulate does affect the frequency shift but in a second order manner and is readily compensated for after measurement of total aerosol mass deposited and the determination of the dielectric constant of the solid species therein. In a preferred embodiment a pair of microwave cavities is utilized to compare the resonant shift with the resonant frequency indicated for the same air sample after removal of the aerosol.

Microwave aerosol waterometer

An accelerometer comprising a first glass plate mounted in a fixed position, a second glass plate mounted in spaced relation with said first plate and movable with respect to said first plate, an aligning agent coating the facing surfaces of said plates, a nematic liquid crystal mixture filling the space between said plates, means applying an electrical potential between the coated surfaces of said plates, and means for detecting optical characteristics within said liquid crystal mixture.

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Camarillo, CA, United States of America

Ronald M Govan