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00:01Around the world, the race to win wars and explore the universe
00:05has created some of the most incredible products ever designed.
00:08And we use them every day, unaware of their amazing origins.
00:13On incredible inventions.
00:16The bow, an ancient weapon of war that's now used for sport.
00:24Ferrofluid, from NASA's rockets to cooling your loudspeakers.
00:30The billiard table.
00:32The military origins of one of the world's favorite recreational activities.
00:37We reveal the amazing history and engineering behind these incredible inventions.
01:00Archery may be an exciting Olympic sport today, but humanity has been using the bow and arrow for over 10,000 years.
01:08Believed to be originally developed for hunting, it probably didn't take long before humans used it to kill their rivals.
01:15An early example from the battlefield is the fearsome English longbow from the Middle Ages.
01:20Standing roughly the same height as its user, a group of archers equipped with this large bow
01:25fired massive volleys of steel-tipped arrowheads into the enemy, killing anyone in the way.
01:30Though simple in appearance, the longbow demands a high level of skill, resulting in the archer training at a very young age.
01:37It was their life. They began to shoot by law at a very early age, some say five, some say seven.
01:46But these youngsters would shoot for a couple of hours after church every Sunday just to build up their muscles.
01:53And then it was their father's or guardian's responsibility to get them a bigger bow as they grew.
01:59So with regards to training, it wasn't like football training where you would go to a place to train.
02:05It was constant. It was part of your life.
02:07And a good bowman would be a bit of a celebrity in the area.
02:12And of course, worth his weight in gold.
02:14Because let's face it, they could easily shoot ten good arrows off in a minute under power, no problem.
02:19Victory after victory against the French in the 14th century is testimony to the power of the longbow as a weapon.
02:26But what's the science behind its success?
02:29A traditional bow and arrow basically uses a stored energy system.
02:34The stored energy is in twofold.
02:36First, it's in the actual string that's been pulled back, which is holding the bow under tension.
02:41The bow, when it's under tension, you're pulling it back and you're storing energy within the bow
02:46because the bow would like to remain in the position it originally was before it was drawn back.
02:50That's your stored energy.
02:52When you release the string, that bow tries to immediately snap back to its original position.
02:57As it does so, the string that it's pulling on begins to pull on the arrow.
03:01And this starts to propel the arrow forward.
03:04The speed and strength of this depends greatly on the length of the bow as well as the materials involved.
03:10Because if the materials are very stiff, they can, if you pull it back far enough, you'll get a very, very strong, accurate and powerful shot.
03:18But if it's much more flexible, you may be able to get potentially more accuracy, but you cannot look at the distance that you're looking for.
03:24Modern compound bows incorporate exotic materials such as carbon fiber and pulley systems.
03:29These allow the archer greater accuracy when firing.
03:33But other types of bows still in production hark back to more traditional methods.
03:38For example, the laminate bow is made with layers of wood and other materials.
03:42A method that can trace its origins back to the Mongol composite bows of the 13th century.
03:48Striker bows have been making long bows in Minister, Ohio since 1997.
03:54Their unique designs are still produced by hand and built piece by piece.
04:00First, a suitable block of dried birch wood is chosen.
04:05Four strips, or veneers, are cut from the birch block using a band saw.
04:11Sanding down to a thickness of 30 thousandths of an inch, any remaining saw marks are removed.
04:17Later, these veneers will be stuck together to form a strong yet flexible bow.
04:23The thickness of each veneer is checked using a dial caliper to ensure consistency.
04:28Then, bamboo strips are used, providing the bow with a strong core.
04:35Two strips run down the length, and they are sanded to a point to form a seamless joint, which is then glued together.
04:42Another birch block is selected to make the handle, or riser, of the bow.
04:49Using a template, the riser is then cut with a band saw.
04:54The riser is fabricated from three separate sections, separated by decorative veneers.
05:02These three sections are also sanded, removing cutting marks and creating an even surface for the application of adhesive.
05:12Decorative green veneers are sandwiched between the layers of the riser, with all of the separate pieces being glued together using a strong epoxy resin glue.
05:27Held tight with clamps, the riser is placed into a heat box to dry.
05:40Once dry, the riser ensures that all the veneers are flushed to the surface, and then sanded smooth to clean off any residue.
05:46The inner edge of the riser is cut to a template, before being ground and finessed with a belt sander.
05:59Next, a coating of epoxy resin glue is applied to the birch veneers and bamboo cores, as well as a strip of fiberglass, which provides strength and reinforcement.
06:11The three layers are bonded together in a sandwich.
06:17The process is repeated with the construction of a second sandwich.
06:24These two sandwiches are then assembled in a custom-made press surrounding the riser.
06:29The assembly is clamped tight shut, with force being applied using a compressed air hose to ensure even pressure along the entire length of the bow during the setting process.
06:39The press is heated to 165 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour and a half until the glue has hardened.
06:46The bow is then sanded to remove any glue residue and smooth out the surface.
06:51The riser section, which forms the handle of the bow, is shaped and profiled using a variety of sanders, while the tapered ends of the bow are also shaped.
07:03The striker logo is applied using a transfer, and as a final touch, the manufacturing date is handwritten on the bow.
07:19Once completed, the bow is sprayed with a protective lacquer.
07:35So there you have it, a beautifully crafted longbow, pretty much unchanged since man started hunting.
07:41Truly, an incredible invention.
07:44From hitting the bullseye to keeping your speakers cool.
07:49Next on Incredible Inventions.
07:51The modern speaker, booming with sound.
08:06But what you may not know is that this noise creates heat.
08:10Luckily, we have a magnetic substance developed by NASA called ferrofluid to keep your sound system cool.
08:17A ferrofluid, as the name might suggest, is a fluid that has fine particles of iron suspended in it.
08:24This is very useful because if you pass a magnet nearby it, the particles will start to align.
08:29And if you have a stiff fluid, you can start to make the fluid react in the way that you want to.
08:33So you can turn a magnet on and off if you have an electromagnet, so you can make the liquid jump and move about as you want.
08:40In the early 1960s, NASA engineer Steve Papel invents ferrofluid while researching alternative ways to control rocket fuel onboard a spacecraft.
08:49It was hypothesized that in the weightlessness of space, it might be possible to control the flow of fuel around a spacecraft using electromagnets powered by solar energy.
08:59Nearly completely free of moving parts, a technology like this could be far more efficient than the current system of using mechanical pumps.
09:07The key to this process would be a magnetic liquid, and Papel's ferrofluid seemed to be the answer.
09:14In space, you have no gravity, so your fluids naturally don't just settle at the bottom of a container.
09:20You want to be able to control them.
09:23Otherwise, you could ordinarily use pressurized systems, but a magnetic system would have no moving parts and could potentially be more effective.
09:30You could use magnets to control a liquid, and if it's a very viscous liquid, it won't move anywhere.
09:36It won't evaporate, it won't go anywhere. You can choose to control it how you want.
09:41In the end, it was actually eventually abandoned because pumps and other systems could work a lot more effectively.
09:48But that's not the end of the road for ferrofluid.
09:51Sound speakers would provide a new home for its novel characteristics.
09:56It all has to do with how a speaker works.
09:59In order for us to hear sound, we need to have a pressure wave generated.
10:03When we speak, that is effectively what we do.
10:06We generate a pressure wave through the air, and our ears pick up that pressure wave, and we understand it as speech.
10:12In order to recreate this with a speaker, a cone exists, and this cone pulsates back and forth.
10:20All speakers have magnets in them.
10:23What happens is you have a coil of wire that goes around past the magnet.
10:26And if you pass electrical currents through a coil of wire wrapped around a magnet, that coil of wire starts to move.
10:32If you attach that wire to a cone, that will start to move the cone back and forth,
10:37which starts to produce the pulsating air that you need in order to hear sound.
10:42Keeping these highly vibrating pieces of kit cool is where ferrofluid comes in.
10:48In order for a speaker to work, this vibration has to happen 20 to 20,000 times per second to reproduce what a human being can hear.
10:56At 20,000 times a second, that's quite fast, and that can generate potentially a lot of heat,
11:01because you're cycling a lot of power back and forth through the speaker.
11:04If you put a ferrofluid around it, the ferrofluid will stay in the presence of a magnet.
11:11The magnet can act as a massive heat sink, and if the coil is passed through the ferrofluid,
11:16this ferrofluid can then act as a means of wicking away all the heat, passing it through the magnet,
11:22and then out to any other heat exchangers, so your speaker doesn't get too hot at high power usage,
11:29while still producing the sound and the high quality that you desire.
11:32Developed to control rocket fuel, but now used to keep speakers cool.
11:37Ferrofluid, truly an incredible invention.
11:41We've just seen how NASA's amazing ferrofluid utilizes the characteristics of magnetism.
11:51But now it's our intrepid tester's turn as he attempts to construct his very own levitation device.
11:57What you will need?
11:59A flat piece of wood, eight long wood screws, two small neodymium magnets, a pushpin, a screwdriver, scissors, four ferrite speaker magnets, and some plastic sheeting.
12:12To begin, screw the eight screws into the wood.
12:16Space them out so that two screws support each magnet, giving us two parallel lines of four screws each.
12:22Leave approximately eight inches between each row.
12:26Next, carefully place the speaker magnets on the nails facing each other.
12:31You will have to check the polarity of the magnets to make sure that each pair are repelling and definitely not attracting the other.
12:39Now, put your base to the side and cut a thin strip from the plastic sheet, wide enough to wrap a tube around the neodymium magnet.
12:47Next, check the polarity of the magnet to be placed in the tube.
13:00Lightly hold the small magnet above one of the pairs of speaker magnets and make sure you can feel it being repelled by the others.
13:07Now, carefully create the tube around the magnet, leaving about half an inch at the end.
13:13Repeat the procedure at the other end of the tube.
13:16In the gap at the top of the tube, fix the pushpin.
13:19Trying to get the balance right between the magnets is very tricky,
13:23and the pushpin is going to be used as an anchor to stop our levitation device shooting off.
13:28We are now ready.
13:30This block of foam cannot support the weight of the tube on its own.
13:36So, let's use magnetism.
13:39Our intrepid tester carefully places the tube over the magnets, with the pin gently resting against the foam.
13:46And, success!
13:48Our tube is levitating just by the repelling power of the magnets.
13:52And for the cynics among you, our tester just uses his finger to balance the tube this time.
13:57And, again, our tube is floating.
14:00And the science?
14:01The fields of the magnets are providing just enough force to counteract gravity.
14:06So, our tube has reached an equilibrium and appears to float in the air.
14:11Brilliant!
14:12We have our own magical magnetic floating tube.
14:16Rack'em up!
14:18Incredible Inventions shoots some pool, next!
14:34Recognized worldwide as an informal pastime and as an official sport,
14:39the billiards remain a popular pastime.
14:42Played at home or in a bar, pool and snooker are the two most popular variants of this game.
14:47But, did you know that billiards has a military connection?
14:51And that one British Army officer played his part in the creation of this popular recreational activity?
14:56Billiard sports, or cue sports as they're also known, encompass a wide variety of skill games,
15:02usually played using cue sticks to knock billiard balls around a cloth-covered table.
15:06So, where did this tradition of table sports begin?
15:10These kind of table games have been around for hundreds and hundreds of years.
15:14We first know of instances from as early as the 14th and 15th centuries,
15:19when they were played as a kind of evolution of outdoors croquet.
15:24And the green covering of the billiards table is actually there to mimic the grass outside from when you used to play croquet.
15:31And slowly, slowly, over the years and over the centuries,
15:34this table game developed into what we would recognize today as billiards or pool.
15:39Snooker is a hugely popular form of billiards and owes its existence to the British Army officer Neville Chamberlain.
15:46In 1875, in the Indian town of Jubalpur, an officer named Neville Chamberlain was playing billiards in his officer's mess.
15:56At that time, a new cadet was known as a snooker.
16:00And as he was playing this game of billiards, and they were trying to understand the rules,
16:06he remarked that everyone playing it were just snookers, they were novices.
16:12And the name snooker really stuck.
16:15Since then, table sports have proved an important addition to army barracks and mess tents worldwide,
16:21giving soldiers and officers much needed downtime and a chance to bond.
16:25With snooker and pool especially growing into competitive sports played at a professional level,
16:31the equipment used must be of the highest quality.
16:35And the craft of a good billiard table has been honed over centuries.
16:39Today, slate is used on the table to give an even playing surface.
16:43If you're talking about a pool table, you want something that's nice and flat, but doesn't flex.
16:48And that's great, and it means that the table, if you shoot something hard,
16:53the vibrations don't necessarily pass through the table because they go straight into the ball
16:57because the cue table doesn't actually move.
17:01So you can make one shot in one corner of the table,
17:04and the balls in the other area don't vibrate or don't move.
17:08The production of a good billiard table is a highly skilled job,
17:12giving players the perfect surface to play this ever-popular sport.
17:16After the break, we take a look at what goes into the creation of a billiard table.
17:21Thurston billiard table manufacturers are a family-run business that can trace their history back to 1799,
17:40making them the oldest billiard firm in the world.
17:44Today, they use tried and tested methods to produce their tables that have changed very little in 120 years.
17:51With a focus on handcrafted care and precision,
17:54the production of a Thurston table begins with the careful selection of the timber to be used in its construction.
18:01Traditionally, the wood used would be mahogany, oak or walnut,
18:05though today Thurston uses ethically sourced hardwood with similar properties.
18:10The wood is then cut down to the relevant sizes for the frame.
18:15Once this has been completed, the planks need to be reduced to the required thickness using a planer.
18:21To ensure the frame is held in place, holes are drilled into the planks,
18:25while positioning dowels are fitted along with bolts set into the side, middle and end rails of the frame.
18:31The legs of the table are made up of two units.
18:45The first is the turned leg section, shaped in a process called turning,
18:50which involves spinning the wood while the shape is chiseled out.
18:53The second section is the leg square, which has holes for the frame's dowels and bolts to fit into,
18:59before the turn section is added.
19:01The leg is then sanded to remove the turning marks and ensure it is ready for polishing.
19:08It is then time to assemble the table.
19:10At this point, the table can be leveled if necessary,
19:13and any adjustments are made using a shooting plane.
19:16Once this has been done, the slate bed can be fitted.
19:23There are five sections of slate to make up the bed of the table.
19:26The slate is pre-finished, ready to be installed onto the table.
19:30When assembled, the slate bed is twelve feet long, over six feet wide, one and three quarters inches thick,
19:36and weighs over a ton.
19:38Once the slate has been fitted, the table is dismantled,
19:41and the frame is then sprayed to the color requested by the customer.
19:45The table cushions require careful and precise cutting.
19:50A template is used to ensure that the shape is correct and meets the specifications for official sports play.
19:57The cushion can then be fitted with the pure wool billiard cloth.
20:01This is a highly skilled job, as it is important to ensure that the nose of the rubber is kept level,
20:07and the cloth is completely smooth and wrinkle-free.
20:10The pocket leathers are then fitted into the brass plates,
20:14and the pocket nets are sewn on.
20:17Once this is completed, the table cloth is tacked into place.
20:20Again, careful attention is paid to ensure the cloth is smooth and tight.
20:27The table is marked out to regulation measurements, and then ironed one last time.
20:34The final stage of the production of a Thurston table is to fit the cushions.
20:39Once this is complete, the billiard table is ready for play.
20:43Centuries old and still just as popular with players worldwide, the billiard table is truly an incredible invention.
20:52So there you have it.
20:53A glance through the hidden history and super science of some amazing products that you use every day.
20:58The bow, ferrofluid, and the billiard table.
21:04They may seem common and ordinary.
21:06However, these products help change the world one incredible invention at a time.
21:11The bow will be trash at a time.