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The innovative Maglev train can move up to 431 kilometers/267 miles per hour using magnetic levitation.
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A Train that Levitates
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Chicago engineers took railway innovations to new heights when they created some of the first elevated train stations in the early 1890s.
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Chicago’s Historic L Train
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Kansai International Airport was Japan’s first ever 24 hour airport and, at the time, was the longest building in the world. Check out the cool innovations engineers added to make it withstand an earthquake.
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Impossible Engineering
Earthquake Proofing an Airport
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This building may not look like much, but back in 1796 it was an innovative skyscraper. This was the first time an iron frame was used in a multi-story building, paving the way for modern day architecture.
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Impossible Engineering
The World’s First Skyscraper
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The architects that built these pagodas hundreds of years ago made each floor flexible enough to survive earthquakes.
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Impossible Engineering
The Secret Behind the Pagoda’s Design
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The Netherlands has always fought to keep the North Sea at bay. As the country’s population began to expand, there were fewer and fewer dry places for people to live and farm on.
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Impossible Engineering
How Windmills Saved the Dutch
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NASA’s Orion Spacecraft will travel farther than any other crew exploration vehicle in history. Its destination? Mars.
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5 Incredible Facts About The Orion Spacecraft
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As we travel farther up through the atmosphere, air gets harder to breath because pressure goes down and the oxygen molecules are more spread out.
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Impossible Engineering
How Do High Altitudes Affect Your Body?
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Robert Goddard built his rockets using liquid propulsion, a mixture of gasoline and oxygen. The higher the temperature, the greater the thrust.
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Impossible Engineering
Goddard’s Rocket Innovations
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Orion’s ginormous solid rocket motor generates 3.6 million pounds of thrust! That’s the equivalent of 14 jumbo jets operating at maximum power.
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Impossible Engineering
Orion’s Space Launch System is the Most Powerful Yet
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The Severn Bridge is one of Britain’s most iconic engineering marvels. Its key to combating high winds is its unique bridge deck shape.
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Impossible Engineering
How Do Bridges Withstand High Winds
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Polytetrafluoroethylene also known as PTFE is the non-stick coating used on pans. This demonstration shows how PTFE can help reduce friction.
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Impossible Engineering
How Does PTFE Make Things Slippery?
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The Millau Viaduct was built over one of the deepest, widest, and windiest canyons in the world. The two ginormous bridge deck pieces were slid together and assembled like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
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Impossible Engineering
Assembling the World's Tallest Bridge
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The Millau Viaduct is the tallest bridge on Earth. It measures 1,125 feet tall, 1.5 miles long, and the bridge deck sits nearly 900 feet above the ground.
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Impossible Engineering
Top 3 Facts About the World's Tallest Bridge
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Engineer Gustave Eiffel completely revolutionized bridges when he proposed an arch that sat underneath the bridge deck. The design was later a key part of his most famous creation, the Eiffel Tower.
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Impossible Engineering
This is the Innovation that Changed Bridges Forever
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The stadium’s twin arches soar over 300 ft above the playing field. Together, they distribute 19 million pounds of thrust into four concrete abutments.
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Impossible Engineering
How was this Incredible Football Stadium Constructed?
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Using advanced robotics and 6,000 workers, Tesla's factory can produce 2,000 electric cars per week.
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The number one rule of submarine escape is "never ever hold your breath."
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The "Tortoise" was built by William Grey Walter in 1948 and used sensors for light and movement to form a simple nervous system.
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The World's First Decision-Making Robot
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Modern submarines can dive up to 240 meters underwater. When the crew is ready to submerge, external tanks that are normally filled with air, open to receive water. This makes the ship slightly negatively buoyant.
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Kevlar's strands form hydrogen bonds that stick like glue.
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Why Kevlar is Stronger than Steel
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Special chemicals give even water what looks like magical properties.
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How Fiber Optic Cable Bends Light
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The Shard is the tallest building in Western Europe at 309.6 meters. It has enough glass panels to cover 130 basketball courts!
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Facts About the Shard Skyscraper
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A hidden catapult launch system propels the 10-ton coaster up a 90-degree incline.
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How Kingda Ka Catapulted to the Title of World's Tallest Roller Coaster
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The Shard skyscraper in London is taller than the Eiffel Tower. In order to construct this beastly building, engineers used a giant slipform rig.
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Constructing the Shard
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Upstop wheels apply friction under the tracks to prevent roller coasters from derailing during zero-G drops and turns.
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Impossible Engineering
Why Don't Roller Coasters Fly Off the Tracks?
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In the 1880's, Minneapolis was known as the flour capitol of the world. To keep up with production needs, engineers designed the ultimate silo.
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Impossible Engineering
The World's First Concrete Silo
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Harmony of the Seas is as tall as London's Tower Bridge and as wide as a soccer. It required 50 thousand tons of steel to build!
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This Ship is as Long as 5 Jumbo Jets
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A safe’s lock has 1.2 million possible combinations to choose from. Good luck cracking that code!
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Cracking Open a Safe
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Over 100 precision components help this wristwatch keep time.
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Machines: How They Work
What Makes a Wristwatch Tick?
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With just a little over 40 components, toilets are able to flush and reset in four seconds flat.
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Machines: How They Work
Toilets: Behind the Flush
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The blisteringly cold metal jacket within this ice maker can freeze water in mere seconds. Did you know one of these machines can chill over 7,000 drinks per day?!
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The Inside of an Ice Maker is Pretty "Cool"
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