Archive for October, 2008

Bullet proof

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

 

 
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We’re going to take a shot at understanding how bulletproof vests save lives. Today on Engineering Works!
Everybody knows about armor. You know, the metal suits knights used to thrash around in. You’d expect that kind of armor to stop bullets. Using armor made of cloth to protect yourself from gunshots sounds a little odd. But [...]

Atomic clocks

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

 

 
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We’re going to do this one on time. Come along with us as we figure out how. Atomic clocks, today on Engineering Works!
Time never stops. We’ve been keeping track of it for a long time, and we’ve done it a lot of different ways – sundials, dripping water, candles with marks on them, springs and [...]

Cosmic rays to the rescue

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

 

 
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It’s cosmic rays to the rescue – seriously. We’ll find out how. Today, on Engineering Works!
Here’s a question for you. How would you find a nuclear bomb in the millions of trucks and cargo containers that come into the United States every year? The answer worries anti-terrorism experts a lot. Nobody knows.
Cosmic rays may help. [...]

Neutrons on the case

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008

 

 
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The TV show CSI and its spinoffs have turned forensic scientists into pop heroes. We’ll look at how engineers turned science into a tool forensic scientists use to catch the bad guys - today on Engineering Works!
CSI fans know that forensic scientists can find out a lot from tiny bits of stuff at crime scenes [...]