An Interactive Graphics System for Nuclear Data Acquisition

The graphics terminal described was developed for low-energy nuclear-physics data acquisition and control, and is currently in use at the Yale University Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory as part of an IBM System/360 Model 44-based system. It is comprised of dual cathode ray tube displays, a light pen, and function keyboard, and includes character generation, display simulation, and photographic facilities. It is capable of plotting 200,000 points per second with variable intensity. The display programming structures, which support highly interactive communication between physicist and computer, are discussed in detail. A data acquisition programming system permits the creation and manipulation of self-describing global data and display entities. Examples of the resultant increased experimental sophistication and efficiency are presented.