Modern Marvels

From the unimaginable power of nuclear bombs to microscopic anthrax spores, we reveal who possesses these nightmare weapons and explore the danger posed by terrorists with deadly technologies. Using the latest computer technology we see an on-screen representation of the radioactive plume that would result from a mock dirty bomb attack in Seattle. We will learn how bio-agents are discovered and understand the technology currently used to identify and prevent suicide bombings. Weapons of mass destruction have made the world a dangerous place but we will find out how technology can assist us as we strive for lasting solutions.

Barbarians and technology, maybe they’re not such a contradiction after all. It’s the bow that nearly brought down Rome, and the suspension system that revolutionized the chariot. Barbarians built the forts that held out invaders, and forged the axe that named a country. We’ll see inside the shop of one of the world’s finest metal workers as he shapes iron ore into a classic Celtic sword. With 21st Century animation we’ll rebuild a 2600 year-old hill fort–and show that protecting a village was as easy as digging a ditch. Finally, the designers of “Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion” reveal how they devised a system that accurately recreates the great barbarian battles. Which weapons scored best? The results may surprise you.

They block the force of a river, produce enough electricity to power cities, move water over hundreds of miles and irrigate fertile valleys. Dams prevent floods and produce “green” energy. We’ll visit a hydroelectric dam, the most technologically advanced type of dam, and a dam in Brazil that is five times the size of the Hoover Dam. At the Utah State University Water Research Laboratory Hydraulics Lab in Logan, Utah, we watch a model of a dam crumble beneath tons of water and discuss how future dam failures can be averted. We will learn how dams adversely affect river systems and as a result, there are many proponents of dam removal.

In the 21st century, turf grass is the number one crop grown in the U.S. When suburbia exploded after World War II, turf became the defining characteristic of nearly every yard. First, it’s off to the research greenhouse facility at The Scotts Company to learn how grass seed is bred for special characteristics. Then pay a visit to the Toro Company, a big name in lawnmowers. The Rain Bird Company and its automatic sprinkler systems is the life giver to thirsty lawns across the country, and The Davey Company specializes in moving trees in excess of one million pounds. Finally, take a trip to California Waterscapes and watch as a crew installs a waterfall and koi pond.

Soldiers, machines, and supplies are only effective if they arrive at the battlefield in time. Explore the history and the technology behind the machines that do the heavy moving in times of war. The V-22 Osprey is designed to combine the best qualities of a helicopter with the best qualities of a fixed-wing aircraft. For all of its ingenuity and promise, the Osprey has had a tumultuous development period. These controversies will be examined as Osprey advocates explain how the aircraft’s shortcomings have been worked out. Take a look at the Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter–a versatile, twin engine, tandem rotor, heavy lift copter that is a major military workhorse. Also spotlighted are LMSRs, which are some of the largest non-combatant ships in the military. Reaching nearly a thousand feet in length, they are capable of carrying an entire U.S. Army task force.

Discover how essential space travel technologies have journeyed back to Earth with surprising and indispensable commercial applications. For example, paint that can withstand the heat of reentry now protects our steel-framed high-rises from collapsing in a fire. Batteries that can take a sports car from zero to 60 in four seconds also keep our satellites in orbit. The oxygen tank used by firefighters to save countless lives is just like the one used by our astronauts during the Apollo missions. These and many ordinary objects are traced back to their NASA roots, where they originally had the right stuff.

Take a groovy ride back to the freewheeling days of the 1960s and recall the technological happenings that helped shape the decade. Television went from black and white to color. Satellite broadcasting made coast-to-coast live broadcasts possible. Transistors made radios portable, computers downsized and telephones began switching from rotary to touch-tone. The 60s also brought along the Ford Mustang and other hot wheels. For fun, there was slot car racing, etch-a-sketch, the superball, and lava lamps. The decade gave us quite a technological rush, with the introduction of concert sound, psychedelic light shows and the birth of the rock festival.

What does it take to rate as “the world’s strongest”? Watch as life-saving boron carbide body armor, strong enough to stop 9mm machine gun bullets at point-blank range, is put to the test. Visit the world of Monster Trucks and watch BigFoot in car-crushing action. For a demonstration of lifting might, head dockside with a super-strong mobile crane capable of hoisting a 600-ton mega-yacht and toting it through a boat yard without a scratch. The Super-Shredder is a metal recycling monster that can gobble up 6 junked cars a minute.

To err is human… But when the error results in the loss of life, it’s a disaster. Learn about one of the most mysterious maritime disasters of the decade–the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Was it possible that the nation was on the brink of war due to a faulty circuit board? What caused the Buffalo Creek Dam disaster in West Virginia? Finally, delve into the explosion of a super tanker in Los Angeles harbor. With the aid of 3-D animation, forensic engineering experts, and footage of the actual disasters, an in-depth look can be taken of what went wrong, and how the disasters have led to industry improvements.

The 1970s were a decade of excess. Dust off your mirror ball, put on your leisure suit, and rediscover the gadgets of the era. Play PONG with its inventor and learn how this simple game created a billion dollar empire. Texas Instruments engineers explain how the technology behind the Speak & Spell ended up in our cell phones. Discover how Mr. Coffee became America’s favorite breakfast buddy, and how Polaroid engineered a film that magically developed right before your eyes. Climb aboard the Concorde and learn how Britain and France trumped the Soviet Union and the United States in a race for supersonic air supremacy.

Catering to more than twenty million truckers, truck stops are bigger and better than ever. These mega-pit stops are essential to the trucks and truckers that haul eight billion tons of freight annually. Tour the world’s largest truck stop that offers fuel, food, parking, private showers, a movie theater, a dentist office, and a barbershop. Look at how 18-wheelers can power up their rigs with a high tech parking lot hookup called IdleAire; complete with heat, air conditioning, a telephone line, a computer with high speed internet, and of course satellite TV. We’ll also see how 30,000 gallon underground diesel storage tanks are manufactured. And we’ll weigh and inspect a truck while it’s barely slowing down. In an interview with Willie Nelson, we’ll explore one of the most unique truck stops in the United States and the revolutionary fuel it sells: biodiesel.

Fertilizer–without it two thirds of the world would starve. It makes our lawns grow greener and our crops grow taller. Take a tour of the places where the essential nutrients that feed the soil are harnessed. Dig deep in a phosphate mine, sniff around a sewage treatment plant and get dirty in a trough teeming with seven million worms. Finally, learn about a war that was fought over the control of bat poop!

Sink your teeth into the razor sharp world of saws. Cut across the centuries to discover how the Egyptians arduously sawed stone as compared to modern saws that slice through limestone like butter. Saws have been used as instruments of torture and tools for surgery. They are imperative for construction, salvage, demolition, and they even make music. Whether they have teeth of steel, carbide or diamond, you will be on the cutting edge of successful sawing.

Bees do it. Chemists do it. Even Photocopiers do it. And if it’s not done enough, the world will become unglued…literally. From Velcro hooks to Gecko feet, making things that stick is no easy task. Come revel in the oozing, seeping mystery of a sticky rubber–25 years in the works–that lets an athlete climb a 200 foot stone wall; or a roll of tape so strong it sticks together skyscrapers, even in winds of 240 MPH. We’ll also see how electrostatics makes cling wrap cling, bee glue stuck ancient mummies together, and how the tar that trapped Woolly Mammoths now seals our roofs.

Trapping black bears with West Virginia Division of Natural Resources biologists; trapping and releasing feral cats left stranded in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Take a look at the technology of cold. Think your home freezer is “cool”? Try spending some time in a 12-story unit filled with 135 million pounds of ice cream. Enter Arctic vaults that store millions of different seeds and learn how scientists have mastered temperatures of -200 degrees F and below. Explore how the cold not only preserves and chills, but also shatters rubber tires, strengthens steel, and fuels rockets. Finally, visit Alcor, where researchers keep cadavers on ice in hopes of future revival.

It’s time to slice and dice! Take a cutting-edge look at the most amazing blades in the world, from the legendary sword of the samurai warrior with an edge sharp enough to sever a man’s arm in a single swipe, to industrial shredder blades capable of gobbling anything from a sofa to a fridge, to the precision slicing power of lasers and plasma.

Take a look at the innovations designed to hold off a global warming meltdown. Visit giant solar energy towers in Spain, install a rooftop wind turbine and ride in a car that runs on air. Will a daring attempt to remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere by dumping iron in the ocean really work? Discover how everyone can go green with the flick of a switch.

From the Stone Age to the Space Age, our world has been built from rocks. Visit the Johnson Space Center in Houston to examine America’s horde of moon rocks to determine how the planets were formed, and how old the solar system is. See how marble and granite are extracted, cut and polished. Do some blasting at a gravel pit, watch ore turn into steel and finally, learn how the Geysers in Northern California harness heat from rocks to create energy for 85,000 homes.

Can fast food get any faster? Fast food joints in the US pull in $150 billion dollars in annual sales. Their mantra is “fast, consistent, and inexpensive.” Learn how they grow it, process it, freeze it, ship it, track it, fry it, flip it and pack it. Watch as hundreds of burgers, fries and shakes fly across counters and drive-thru windows at Carl’s Jr., Jack in the Box, Wendy’s and McDonald’s. Visit a potato-processing plant for the scoop on how fries are made and learn how Taco Bell’s founder developed the fast-food hard shell taco. Find out what the future holds for fast food technology.