A review of progress in gas lubrication

Abstract

The past decade has witnessed a rapid evolution in the technology of gas lubrication which has been accompanied by the application of gas bearings on an increasing scale. Before 1960, existing applications were restricted to two specialized areas: gyroscopes for inertial navigation and gas circulators in nuclear reactors. Now they are widely employed in manufacturing industry, in grinding machines, drilling machines and hand tools and in a wide range of medical and scientific instruments. This progress has been made possible by the solution of two or three major technical problems and the assimilation of myriad minor advances in structural design, materials and manufacturing techniques.