The BEST episodes of Modern Marvels season 13

#1 - Renewable Energy

Season 13 - Episode 37 - Aired 9/20/2006

Take an in-depth look at the most proven and reliable sources: solar, wind, geothermal, biofuels, and tidal power. From the experimental to the tried-and-true, renewable energy sources are overflowing with potential... just waiting to be exploited on a massive scale.

#2 - Shovels

Season 13 - Episode 15 - Aired 5/3/2006

Man has always had a need to move large amounts of earth. In this episode, we profile the technological advances which have allowed shovels to become absolutely enormous, capable of carrying 200 tons of earth in one load today.

#3 - World's Biggest Machines 5

Season 13 - Episode 26 - Aired 7/26/2006

Join us for another look at big machines. At NASA's Ames Research Center, we visit the world's biggest wind tunnel, part of the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex, and one of the biggest and most complex flight simulators, NASA's Vertical Motion Simulator, or VMS. At the Joy Mining Machinery plant in Franklin, Pennsylvania, giant machine tools form, cut, and measure the enormous individual parts that make up a Continuous Miner, the biggest underground mining machine in the world. But big machines aren't limited to science and commerce. Ride with us on the biggest observation wheel in the world, the London Eye, which stands 443 feet high and provides a 360 degree unobstructed view of London. And we take a look at IMAX technology. The film, cameras, projectors, and theater screens are the largest in the world. Finally, we take a ride on every lawn tender's dream machine--the Claas Cougar, the world's biggest lawnmower.

#4 - Weird Weapons: The Allies

Season 13 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/8/2006

Modern Marvels takes a look at some of the strangest weapons used by Allied forces in WW II.

#5 - Ink

Season 13 - Episode 43 - Aired 10/4/2006

Invented by the Chinese in about 3000BC, it spread the word of God and war. It set us free and spelled out our rights. It tells stories, sells products and solves crimes. It's ink and it's everywhere!

#6 - Hi-Tech Hitler

Season 13 - Episode 14 - Aired 5/2/2006

This is the true story of the scientific feats and failures of Hitler's Nazi Germany.

#7 - High Explosives

Season 13 - Episode 24 - Aired 7/3/2006

Since the creation of black powder in China centuries ago, explosives have been decisive on the battlefield. Follow their incendiary story from ancient times right up to today's plastic demolitions.

#8 - Weird Weapons: The Axis

Season 13 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/21/2006

Examining unusual World War II weapons that were in the planning or testing stages for use by the Axis powers. Included: an assault rifle that could shoot around corners; a death ray capable of boiling people; and an army in space.

#9 - Leather

Season 13 - Episode 11 - Aired 3/8/2006

Made by the tanning of animal hides, leather has proven to be a versatile and important material. Without it, the Pilgrims may not have survived the winters in Plymouth, and the Romans may not have been able to march to the Tigris.

#10 - 80's Tech

Season 13 - Episode 17 - Aired 5/24/2006

Remember “brick” cell phones, Pac-Man, Rubik’s Cube, Sony Walkman, and the first music CDs? Remember all the new and exciting gadgets of the 1980s? Join us as we investigate the transition from Industrial to Information Age–a digital decade dedicated to ergonomics and entertainment. The microchip ushered in an era that revolutionized the way we work, play, and communicate. And we tour Silicon Valley–birthplace of some of the greatest inventions from an amazing time of change, including the modern personal computer. Steve “Woz” Wozniak tells us about the evolution of Apple computers, and we talk to Sony–makers of the Walkman, Betamax, and the first CD players. A visit to the Computer History Museum shows fun technological “artifacts”, primitive by today’s standards. At Intel, makers of the first microchips, we learn why technology moves at such a fast pace. We also take a ride in a DeLorean DMC-12 sports car–few things moved faster.

#11 - Money

Season 13 - Episode 21 - Aired 6/19/2006

How does America make money--literally? We visit the United States Mint and the Bureau of Printing and Engraving to see the secretive government facilities where our legal tender is generated. With a storied past as tantalizing as the wealth they create, these mints can spit out fortunes in an hour and keep our economy flowing.

#12 - Freight Trains

Season 13 - Episode 38 - Aired 9/20/2006

Explore the history of freight transportation from its humble beginnings as tramways in mines to complex system of rails that stretches to every corner of the nation.

#13 - Copper Kings

Season 13 - Episode 19 - Aired 6/12/2006

More than a century ago two men controlled nearly all of U.S. copper production, transforming Butte, Montana from a washed-up gold-mining camp into a global powerhouse. William Clark, a ruthless banker known for preying on the misfortune of miners and Marcus Daly, a self-made man with a knack for knowing where to dig, created huge empires and lived like kings, while fighting a ferocious, personal, battle that lasted nearly 25 years.

#14 - Snow

Season 13 - Episode 54 - Aired 12/10/2006

It is the bane of every suburban parent and the joy to every school kid. Born in a swirling storm cloud through a process called nucleation, the characteristics of snow flakes are threatened by pollution trapped in the clouds.

#15 - Copper

Season 13 - Episode 35 - Aired 9/13/2006

It transports electricity, water, and heat. It brings music to our ears and beauty to our eyes. Copper--its impressive traits, long history, and how it's mined. This versatile metal’s most famous attribute is its ability to conduct electricity.

#16 - Cotton

Season 13 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/18/2006

Tune in as Modern Marvels looks into the history of cotton, a product used in hundreds of different products, from clothing to lipstick.

#17 - Super Tools: Skyscraper

Season 13 - Episode 28 - Aired 7/27/2006

Skyscrapers are an extraordinary feat of human engineering: exposing millions of pounds of concrete and steel to the enemy forces of wind and gravity. Starting with the foundation and on through the support structures and concrete flooring, every piece of these superstructures has to be super-strong. Go behind the scenes with the five tools that make these buildings possible: the foundation drill rig, the tower crane, the impact wrench, the power trowel, and the total station.

#18 - Boneyard: Where Machines End Their Lives

Season 13 - Episode 27 - Aired 7/26/2006

Where do machines go when they die? From B-52 Bombers to massive aircraft carriers, from passenger cars to Cold War cruise missiles and remnants of the Twin Towers, all that we manufacture has a lifespan. But reaching the end of their original purposes can be just the beginning.

#19 - Nature Tech: Avalanches

Season 13 - Episode 9 - Aired 2/24/2006

Examining unusual World War II weapons that were in the planning or testing stages for use by the Allies. Included: floating tanks; pigeon-guided missiles.

#20 - Wind

Season 13 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/1/2006

#21 - Containers

Season 13 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/4/2006

They hold just about everything we need, from condiments to cargo. Made of steel, aluminum, paper and glass, they protect and preserve. They're underground and above ground, they journey around the world. They've revolutionized civilization.

#22 - Fire

Season 13 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/11/2006

Out of control it’s a monster with a voracious appetite. Properly harnessed it’s a force that has shaped our world. We’ve learned to create and exploit it, but we’ll never truly tame it. From furnaces to flamethrowers, fire testing to fireballs, now, Fire, on Modern Marvels.

#23 - Ben Franklin Tech

Season 13 - Episode 18 - Aired 5/25/2006

One of the most prodigious American inventors, Ben Franklin is credited for creating things like the lightning rod, the armonica, the Franklin stove, bifocal glasses, and the flexible urinary catheter. In this episode of <I>Modern Marvels</I>, we examine how Dr. Franklin's inventive genius extended to things like Daylight Savings Time and the voluntary fire department.

#24 - Heavy Metals

Season 13 - Episode 20 - Aired 6/14/2006

They are elements that occupy a select portion of the periodic table and are so essential to America's economic and military might that they are stored in the National Defense Stockpile in case of all-out war. We plan a riveting visit. Some of the vital heavy metals that we survey include copper, uranium, lead, zinc, and nickel. We also take a look at superalloys--consisting of steel combined with chromium, cobalt, and dozens of other heavy metals--that resist corrosion and perform increasingly elaborate functions. From Earth to space, from cosmetics to vitamins, in a million different ways, heavy metals are here to stay!

#25 - Drilling

Season 13 - Episode 16 - Aired 5/10/2006

The program features the quest to drill the deepest hole ever and the scientific drill ship expected to perform the feat, and also looks at drills used to recover ice cores that will unearth thousands of years of climate history.