Pictured: a low-pollution turbine installed in 1972.
Standby electric generators are an important adjunct to the operations of a central office. Working with the manufacturer of this 2,500-kilowatt gas turbine unit, AT&T modified the turbine's combustion chamber to minimize pollutants. To measure the pollutants precisely — which was essential to the turbine's redesign — Bell Labs researchers used several state-of-the-art techniques including chemical luminescence for nitric oxide, flame ionization for hydrocarbons and an acousto-optic method for carbon monoxide.
Thirty-six years later, we again celebrate Earth Week.
