Process of recording

Claim 1

A PROCESS OF MAKING A VISIBLE RECORD AS RAPIDLY AS POSSIBLE AND INDEPENDENTLY OF WET PROCESSING ON A FILM WHICH WILL RAPIDLY PRODUCE A VISIBLE IMAGE ON BEING EXPOSED TO RADIANT ENERGY, SAID FILM COMPRISING, AT LEAST IN PART, AN EMULSION COMPOSED, AT LEAST IN PART, OF PARTICLES OF A SILVER SALT, WHICH PROCESS INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING STEPS IN SEQUENCE: UNIFORMLY PRE-EXPOSING FOR AT LEAST HALF AN HOUR THE ENTIRE RECODING SURFACE OF THE FILM TO LOW-INTENSITY RADIANT ENERGY OF AN INTENSITY WHOSE MAXIMUM IS SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THAT OF THE LIGHT FALLING ON A SURFACE ONE FOOT FROM A FORTY WATT INCANDESCENT LAMP AND HAVING AN EFFECTIVE WAVELENGTH WITHIN THE RANGE OF FROM 350 TO 4000 MILLIMICRONS WITH A PEAK AT ABOUT 1000 MILLIMICRONS, PRODUCING THEREBY A PALE, VISIBLE FOG COMPOSED OF THE MOST SENSITIVE, LARGEST PARTICLES AND TRIGGERING AT LEAST THE MEDIUM SENSITIVITY AND MEDIUM SIZE AND LARGEST QUANTITY PARTICLES AND AT LEAST SOME OF THE LOWEST SENSITIVITY AND SMALLEST PARTICLES; EXPOSING A PORTION OF THE RECORDING SURFACE OF THE SO-TREATED FILM TO A BEAM OF RADIANT ENERGY MOVING RELATIVELY TO SAID FILM TO FORM AN IMMEDIATELY VISIBLE TRACE, SAID BEAM INCLUDING EFFECTIVE WAVE LENGTHS WITHIN THE RANGE FROM 280 TO 510 MILLIMICRONS WITH A PEAK AT ABOUT 420 MILLIMICRONS AND OF HIGH INTENSITY RELATIVE TO SAID LOW INTENSITY RADIANT ENERGY, WHICH HIGH INTENSITY RADIANT ENERGY PRODUCES THE TRACE, DARKENS AND THEN FADES ALL OF THE MOST SENSITIVE PARTICLES WITHIN THE TRACE AND BRINGS THE MEDIUM SENSITIVITY PARTICLES WITHIN THE TRACE ONLY TO THE THRESHOLD OF VISIBILITY; AND UNIFORMLY POST-EXPOSING FOR APPROXIMATELY 1/10 OF A SECOND THE ENTIRE SURFACE OF THE FILM TO RADIANT ENERGY OF MEDIUM INTENSITY AND INCLUDING EFFECTIVE WAVE LENGTHS WITHIN THE RANGE FROM 400 TO 460 MILLIMICRONS, WHICH MEDIUM INTENSITY RADIANT ENERGY IMMEDIATELY COLORS THE PARTICLES FORMING THE TRACE AND CARRIES THEM THROUGH THE FADING STATE QUITE RAPIDLY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY COLORS THE FOG PARTICLES IN THE TRACE AREAS MORE INTENSELY, SAID MEDIUM INTENSITY RADIANT ENERGY CORRESPONDING IN INTENSITY TO THAT WHICH WOULD BE PRODUCED AT A DISTANCE OF ABOUT 12 INCHES FROM A HIGH PRESSURE MERCURY VAPOR LAMP HAVING AN 0.012 INCH DIAMETER ARC.