Episode
Modern Marvels: Engineering Disasters 3.
Overview
When design flaws fell projects, the cost is often exacted in lives as we see in this look at engineering disasters. Why did the Tower of Pisa begin to lean by as much as 17 feet; what caused the first nuclear accident in 1961 in Idaho; what killed three Soyuz 11 cosmonauts aboard the world's first orbiting space station; how did a winter storm destroy the Air Force's Texas Tower Radar Station, killing 28; and what errors led to NASA's loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter and the Mars Polar Lander?
Details
- Series
- Modern Marvels
- Season
- Season 8
- Episode
- Episode 13
- Air date
- 2001-05-07
- Runtime
- 44 min
Episode context
Engineering Disasters 3. is Episode 13 in Season 8 of Modern Marvels. It aired on 2001-05-07. The runtime is 44 min.
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Episode 12: Computers
From colossal devices designed to save the world to mind-expanding, world-shrinking machines, we trace the evolution of mice and menus. Learn about the world’s most powerful computer, IBM’s ASCI White, that operates at 12-trillion calculations a second. See how the first room-sized computers, such as ENIAC, changed the world. Bite into Apple’s history, the machine that made computers a household appliance. And peer through a microscope to see the molecular computers of the future.
Episode 14: Chemical And Biological Weapons
This episode of Modern Marvels examines the history and technology of chemical and biological warfare, which can be traced back at least four-thousand years, to the wars of ancient India, when soldiers used toxic fumes against their enemies.
More episodes from this season
Episode 11: Lighthouses
From the earliest known lighthouses, such as the Pharos of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, to modern-day automated buoys and solar-powered lantern rooms, this history of lighthouses is rich with personal stories of lighthouse keepers, daring construction efforts, and ingenious optical discoveries. Today, as lighthouses are usurped by more efficient aids to navigation, these elegant structures are being converted to bed-and-breakfast inns and environmental retreats.
Episode 15: International Airports II
In this history of international airports, we focus on several airports to illustrate the developments and technology of their construction and operation, beginning with Miami’s Dinner Key and including New York City’s LaGuardia and JFK, London’s Gatwick, Dulles near Washington, D.C., Los Angeles’ LAX, Denver International, Japan’s Kansai, and Korea’s new Inchon. It all began on a farmer’s field near a flat beach–the next step may see them expand into interplanetary platforms!
Episode 10: Monster Trucks.
Ride shotgun in our rollicking history of the Monster Truck, and meet the father of the mythic beast, Bob Chandler, whose EM Bigfoot /EM gave birth to the sport in a cornfield years ago! Weighing 10,000 pounds, the behemoths entertain using brute force. Thrill to breathtaking stunts in California, Indiana, and Florida, as mounted cameras demonstrate the shakes, rattles, and rolls drivers experience; and meet the men who race these mechanical mammoths in one of the world's fastest-growing motorsports.
Episode 16: Codes.
Whenever a culture reaches a level of sophistication in literacy, science, and language, codes spring up spontaneously. As the social life of a community increases in complexity, the demands for private communication between two or more people inevitably lead to cryptology–a system of secret symbolic messages. We explore the rich history of communicating with secret symbols–from Egyptian hieroglyphics to Caesar's encrypted directives, from WWI and WWII codebreakers to cyberspace.
Episode 9: Hadrian's Wall
Leonard Nimoy hosts half hour documentaries which explore unusual natural and supernatural phenomena. In this episode, he takes a look at Hadrian’s Wall.
Episode 17: The M-16
The most powerful assault rifle ever used in combat, the M-16 became the symbol of our lost war–Vietnam–and can easily be called America’s most unloved gun. Yet, 30 years after its introduction, it stands as a potent icon of U.S. military strength worldwide. We’ll explain how it almost ended up on the scrap heap!
Episode 8: Construction Machines
Feel the earth move under your feet and dig into the fascinating story of earthmoving equipment–from the simple spade to today’s powerful steam shovels. Meet legendary giants like John Deere, Jerome Case, and the founders of Caterpillar, who helped forge America’s monolithic construction industry. Ride on specialized behemoth dump trucks, delve below sea level to view dredging equipment, and leave the planet altogether to explore earthmoving space equipment in this 2-hour special presentation.
Episode 18: The Colosseum
Modern Marvels brings the heart of the Roman Empire back to life through the rich history of this famous amphitheater. Built in 70 AD, the Roman Colosseum seated 80,000 people, boasted a retractable roof, underground staging devices, marble seating, and lavish decorations. To this day, it serves as the prototype for the modern stadium. The complexity of its construction, the beauty of its architecture, and the functionality of its original design made the Colosseum the perfect place for massive crowds to congregate for the bloody spectacles it was built to contain.
Episode 7: Garage Gadgets
The household garage serves as the at-home sanctuary for the modern American male. Most men consider themselves to be “handy around the house”. Fathers and husbands see it as their role to provide for and take care of the family’s home and possessions. From lawn care products to snow removal and outdoor cooking, the Garage Gadgets of Do-It-Yourselfers have evolved over decades to face the ever-changing challenges of maintaining a home.
Episode 19: The World Trade Center
An historical look at the technological engineering of the World Trade Center. The special was completed and the interviews took place before the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Rather than remake the program to reflect the horrors of that day, our program stands as an historical record to the wonder it once was–from the construction of this technological feat to the daily working of its complex system. The program offers some of the last interior footage of the Twin Towers.