By Wiebe E Bijker
p283
Ultrasound in Medical Diagnosis
In 1928 the Soviet physicist S. Y. Sokolov suggested that ultrasound could be used to reveal discontinuities in metals, for example, a flaw in a welded seam. It was 1940 before the physicist Floyd A. Firestone, at the University of Michigan, developed and patented what he called a supersonic reflectoscope. This work was done with funds from General Motors and Sperry Rand. The device was actually produced in 1940 and patented in 1942, but it was not publicized until 1944; papers describing it appeared after the war, when it became apparent that Desch and his colleagues in great Britain had independently developed similar equipment (Firestone 1945).
(ed note: The first industrial Ultrasonic Flaw Detector was invented by the physicist Floyd A. Firestone and his US-Patent 2 280 226 "Flaw Detecting Device and Measuring Instrument" from 21st. April 1942.)
Died 1986
Floyd Alburn Firestone (1898–1986) was an acoustical physicist, who in 1940 while a professor at the University of Michigan invented the first practical ultrasonic testing method and apparatus. He was granted US Patent 2,280,226 for the invention in 1942. Manufactured by Sperry Corporation, the testing device was known variously as the Firestone-Sperry Reflectoscope, the Sperry Ultrasonic Reflectoscope, the Sperry Reflectoscope and sometimes also just as a Supersonic Reflectoscope, the name Firestone had originally coined for the instrument. The technology is not just used in quality control in factories to reject defective parts before shipment, but also revolutionized transportation safety. For example, ultrasonic testing is used for safety maintenance inspection of railroad cars, particularly axles and wheels, aircraft, particularly fuselages, and other transportation vessels for material fatigue. Dr. Firestone’s ultrasonic pulse echo technique for metal defect testing was also later applied in medical diagnosis, giving birth to the field of Echocardiography and to the field of Medical Ultrasonography, generally. Dr. Firestone was the editor of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America from 1939-1957. Among Firestone’s many other inventions in his field are in a single year an “automatic device for the minute inspection of flaws”, “a new and useful improvement in hook-up of electrical apparatus”, and “ at an unknown age device for measuring noise”, and, even, later a “musical typewriter”.
In 1933 Firestone proposed an alternative to the mechanical-electrical analogy of James Clerk Maxwell in which force is made the analogy of voltage (the impedance analogy). Firestone's analogy (now called the mobility analogy) makes force the analogy of current. In this work he introduced the concept of "through" and "across" variables and demonstrated that there were analogies for these variables in other energy domains, making it possible to treat a complex system as a unified whole in analysis. Firestone's analogy became popular amongst mechanical filter designers because it had the property of preserving network topologies when transforming between the mechanical and electrical domains.4
Floyd A. FIRESTONE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ALUMINUM COMPANY OF AMERICA, Electro Circuits, Inc. and Curtiss-Wright Corporation, Defendants-Appellees.
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
November 22, 1960
285 F.2d 928
Floyd A. Firestone, Dobbs Ferry, N. Y., in pro. per.
Titles and Terms:
Event Type: Birth
Event Date: 21 Sep 1898
Event Place: Marysville, Union, Ohio, United States
Registration Date:
Registration Place:
Gender: Male
Age:
Race:
Birth Year (Estimated):
Birthplace:
Christening Date:
Christening Place:
Christening Age:
Father's Name: Arlo Wallace Firestone
Father's Titles and Terms:
Father's Birthplace:
Father's Age:
Mother's Name: Myrtle Bonnette
Mother's Titles and Terms:
Mother's Birthplace:
Mother's Age:
Paternal Grandfather's Name:
Paternal Grandmother's Name:
Maternal Grandfather's Name:
Maternal Grandmother's Name:
Note:
Certificate Number: 95
Reference ID:
GS Film Number: 000573773
Frame Number:
Digital Folder Number: 005253688
Image Number: 00082
Citing this Record: "Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003"
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q23D-7FT7 : 13 March 20181,5,6
Sheet 20B, 23 Newburn Street
(enumerated with mother, Arlo W Fareston)
59, 230, 401, Fareston, Floid, Daughter*, W, F, Sep 1898, 1, S, , , , Ohio, Ohio, Ohio, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
(*Floid/Floyd is male)1
Sheet 1A, Main Street
(enumerated with father, Arlo W Firestone)
34, 13, 13, Firestone, Floyd A, Son, M, W, 11, S, , , , Ohio, Ohio, Ohio, , , English, None, , , , , Yes, Yes, Yes, , , , , , ,2
Event Type: Draft Registration
Event Date: 1917-1918
Event Place: Richland County, Ohio, United States
Gender: Male
Nationality: United States
Birth Date: 21 Sep 1898
Birthplace: , , United States
Affiliate Publication Number: M1509
Affiliate Publication Title: World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards
GS Film Number: 1851086
Digital Folder Number: 005257148
Image Number: 00382
Citing this Record: "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918"
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6N3-1LK : 13 March 20187
Sheet 8B, Main Street
(enumerated with father, Arlo W Firestone)
88, 32, 33, Firestone, Floyd A, Son, , , M, W, 21, S, , , No, Yes, Yes, Ohio, , Ohio, , Ohio, , Yes, None, , ,8
Sheet 4B, 1666 Broadway Street
85, 76, 91, Firestone, Floyd A, Head, R, 65, , No, M, W, 31, M, 26, No, Yes, Ohio, Ohio, Ohio, , 59, , , , , Yes, Physics Teacher, University, 8794, W, Yes, , No, ,
86, 76, 91, Firestone, Mary L, Wife-H, , , , No, F, W, 26, M, 21, Yes, Yes, New Hampshire, New Hampshire, New Hampshire, , 51, , , , , Yes, None, , , , , , , ,
87, 76, 91, Firestone, David C, Son, , , , No, M, W, 4 6/12, S, , Yes, , Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire, , 62, , , , , , None, , , , , , , ,9
Titles and Terms:
Event Type: Residence
Event Date: Mar 1954
Event Place: Connecticut, United States
Gender: Male
Nationality: USA
Education Level: Ph.D., Sc.D., Ed.D., And Other Doctoral Degrees (When Not Honorary)
Birth Year: 1898
Employer: Private Industry, Self-Employed
Military Status: Not On Active Duty
Society Name: American Institute of Physics
Educational Major: Physics
Year Obtained Degree: 1933
Institution Granting Degree: Michigan The University of - Ann Arbor, MI
Affiliate Publication Title: 1954 National Register of Scientific and Technical Personnel
Affiliate ARC Identifier: 622629
Citing this Record: "United States National Register of Scientific and Technical Personnel Files, 1954-1970"
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KLW3-GMB : 7 July 201710
Sheet 3A
36, 111, R, 120, No, Firestone, Floyd A, Head, 0, M, W, 42, M, No, C5, 80, Ohio, 59, , Same Place, , , No, x0x0, Yes, -, -, -, -, 1, 44, , Professor, University, GW, v10|91|2, 39, 5000+, No,
37, 111, , , No, Firestone, Myrtle B, Wife, 1, F, W, 37, M, No, C5, 80, Ohio, 59, , Same House, , , , , Yes, -, -, -, -, 1, 40, , Principal, School, GW, v34|91|2, 39, 2500, No,
38, 111, , , No, Firestone, David, Son, 2, M, W, 14, S, Yes, H1, 9, Mich, 62, , Same Place, , , No, x0x0, No, No, No, No, S, 6, , , , , , , , , ,
39, 111, , , No, Bexan, Bonnie Lou, Step-daughter, 2, F, W, 14, S, Yes, H1, 9, Mich, 62, , Same House, , , , , No, No, No, No, S, 6, , , , , , , , , ,11
Birth Date: 21 Sep 1898
Death Date: Jan 1986
Social Security Number: 128-28-5498
State or Territory Where Number Was Issued: New York
Death Residence Localities
ZIP Code: 10522
Localities: Dobbs Ferry, Westchester, New York5