Episode
Modern Marvels: Vacuums
Overview
On this episode of Modern Marvels we'll see giant-sized vacuums that clean up after disasters like Hurricane Katrina and 9-11. Beneath the sea we'll meet The Super Sucker, an underwater vacuum that saves coral reefs by suctioning up invasive alien algae.
Details
- Series
- Modern Marvels
- Season
- Season 14
- Episode
- Episode 29
- Air date
- 2007-08-23
- Runtime
- 44 min
Episode context
Vacuums is Episode 29 in Season 14 of Modern Marvels. It aired on 2007-08-23. The runtime is 44 min.
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Episode 28: Bedroom Tech
We spend 1/3 of our lives in the bedroom, explore the technologies that help to ensure we wake up on the right side of the bed.
Episode 30: Traps
They're designed to capture and often kill, but they don't always harm their prey. Traps are devices as old as humanity itself. We'll trap 400 pounds Black Bears with West Virginia Division of Natural Resources biologists.
More episodes from this season
Episode 27: Chocolate
It's America's favorite flavor. We eat over three and a half billion pounds of it each year. It satiated the ancients and built modern-day empires. From the equatorial fields, to the factories of moguls, and the kitchens of artisans.
Episode 31: Nature Tech: Volcanoes
Volcano technology is examined. Included: attempts to monitor and control activity.
Episode 26: Sticky Stuff
A look at everyday stuff that is sticky including VHB tape, velcro, stealth rubber, cling wrap, and asphalt.
Episode 32: Star Wars Tech
In this episode we are presented with the technology and gadgets used while filming Star Wars. It also explores some of the real or possible technologies that were inspired by various Star Wars movies and TV shows.
Episode 25: Aluminum
This useful metal was once considered more valuable than gold. Watch as aluminum is stretched, pounded, melted and turned into foam. Did you know that aluminum is made out of a powder? Visit the widest rolling mill in the world where skins for the largest jets are made, then it’s off to NASA to observe how aluminum is used to make reflective mirrors for telescopes. Discover the process of making aluminum foil and learn why aluminum baseball bats are better than wood.
Episode 33: Extreme Aircraft II
Take a supersonic flight through a world of flying machines that are redefining our skies. Pull serious G’s in the U.S. military’s latest fighter jet: the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Riding shotgun in the lethal B-1B Lancer, and look close or you’ll miss the swarm of MAV’s (Micro Air Vehicles)–so small they are launched out of a backpack. The “vertical takeoff and landing” capable PAV’s (Personal Aerial Vehicles) may be the answer to the commuting needs of tired travelers. Then, discover how a commercial jetliner has been retrofitted into the biggest flying fire truck the world has ever seen.
Episode 24: Saws
They brought down the forests and built up the pyramids. They're a cut above for construction, salvage, demolition - and they even make music and some have used them to torture.
Episode 34: Deep Freeze
Modern Marvels: Deep Freeze takes the technology of cold to the extreme: A 12-story ice box filled with 135 million pounds of ice cream, arctic vaults that store billions of seeds and learn how scientists have mastered temperatures of minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Episode 23: Cheese
From the giant cheese factories of Wisconsin to the goat farms of Northern California, this episode explores cheese.
Episode 35: Acid
It is the most widely produced chemical in the world and possibly the most dangerous. Take a look at the many uses of acid. See how the military harnesses acid to make the explosive “Comp B-4.” Visit a sulfuric acid plant to see how acid can take the stain out of stainless steel and learn how it can be mixed to dissolve precious metal. At the Heinz vinegar plant discover why acid’s sour taste is sweet. Finally, learn how acid loving bacteria in Yellowstone National Park may hold the key to a biological industrial revolution and meet a mad scientist who will demonstrate how acid can hollow out a penny and turn a hot dog to sludge!