23x01 - Motion Sensors, Belt Loaders, Pheasant Breeding, Diving Helmets

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: tiny motion sensors
known as accelerometers

Are at the heart
of much of today's technology.

Built into a smartphone,

For example, the sensor
detects both movement

And the angle at which the phone
is being held

To trigger the rotation
of the screen.

This little chip is

Why a smartphone
knows when it has moved.

These motion sensors are tiny,

But smart, because they
can detect every move.

They start with silicon disks
called wafers.

Each wafer will be used to make
thousands of motion sensors.

A technician aligns the disks
in a cassette,

Using the flat part of each one
as a reference point.

Once properly aligned,

A mechanism lowers the silicon
wafers onto a carrier

Made of quartz, which can
withstand intense heat.

The technician loads the wafers
into the furnace.

Inside, the 2,000-degree heat
and steam cause an oxide

To form on the surface
of each wafer.

It'll act
as an electrical insulator.

Then it goes into what's known
as a sputter system.

Here, inert gas ions
bombard aluminum,

Causing it to sputter
onto the wafer

Until an even layer accumulates.

This aluminum layer will serve
as a conductor of electricity.

The next machine deposits
a light-sensitive chemical

Onto the wafer.

The wafer spins,

Allowing the chemical to flow
evenly across the surface.

This all happens under the glow
of yellow light

To prevent the untimely
activation of the chemical,

Which reacts to bright light

Just like an unexposed
photographic negative would.

They're now ready
for that bright light.

U.v. Light beams through tiny
patterns on a glass plate

To activate
the light-sensitive chemical.

The patterns transfer
to the wafer's surface,

Forming an outline
for thousands of motion sensors.

Another chemical then
flows onto the silicon wafer

To further develop
these miniscule images.

Next, lasers
locate the wafer's flat edge,

Signaling a chuck

To spin into its proper position
for plasma etching.

The etching creates thousands
of free-moving 3-d structures.

Each one is a motion sensor.

After etching,

A sprayer blasts the surface
with carbon dioxide.

It's the only way
to clean it without damaging

The now-movable sensors.

At the next station,

A robotic arm
flips the wafer into position.

A tray moves under the robot
and places the wafer on it.

The tray retracts
and loads the wafer

Into a clamping system.

It then collects
a second silicon wafer

And places it
on the first one in the clamp.

The second wafer acts
as a lid

To protect
the individual sensors.

Held in the clamp, a machine
heat-seals the two wafers,

And the bond is complete.

Next, a computerized saw cuts
grooves into the top wafer only,

While a steady stream of water
keeps the dust down.

The saw exposes the aluminum
layer on the bottom wafer,

Something that will allow
each sensor

To make an electrical
connection.

A platform now moves the wafer
a millimeter at a time

So that a probe
can test each sensor

And confirm
it performs correctly.

This continues
until every sensor on the wafer

Has been tested.

From a plain silicon wafer

To a unit that contains
thousands of motion sensors --

This process takes three weeks.

After the individual sensors

Have been cut
and encased in plastic,

They're ready for a final test.

A robot loads each sensor
into a test socket.

The socket both tests
the sensor's performance

And programs it
to customer specifications.

A robot packages the sensors
for shipping.

And once installed
in phones, tablets,

And computers,

These motion sensors
will be ready for action.

Narrator:
if you've been to an airport,

You've seen mobile belt loaders
on the tarmac.

They drive from the terminal
to the aircraft,

Align
their built-in conveyor belt

With the entrance
to the cargo hold,

Then load baggage or cargo
on board.

When an aircraft arrives,

They do all that in reverse
to unload baggage or cargo.

A turn of the control handle

Adjusts the height
of the front of the belt loader,

Enabling it to reach
the cargo hold

Of even
the tallest aircraft.

The rear height
is also adjustable

So the airport baggage handlers

Can set it at a level
comfortable for loading.

The vehicle and the conveyor
belt are separate units.

In this part of the factory,

Workers construct
the conveyor's steel frame.

They weld together
all the steel parts

Then grind
all the weld seams flat

So that the belt will move
over the frame smoothly.

Workers install a crossmember

Just past the midpoint
of the frame.

It will connect with two sets
of lift arms

Installed in the vehicle --

One which raises and lowers
the front of the conveyor,

The other which raises
and lowers the rear.

Workers insert alignment pins

To position the crossmember
on the frame correctly,

Then weld it into place.

The vehicle's chassis
is also made of welded steel.

Workers blast the chassis

And conveyor frame
with a metal abrasive.

This removes rust
and other debris,

Prepping the surface for paint
to adhere properly.

The caulk all the unwelded seams
to prevent corrosion,

Then spray a coat of primer

Followed by a coat
of industrial-grade paint

In the color the customer
requested.

Once the paint dries,
assembly can resume.

On the conveyor frame,

They install the motor,
which drives the belt.

There are two options
available --

This hydraulic motor
powered by the vehicle's engine

Or an electric motor

Powered by battery.

The motor rotates two
large metal rollers --

One at the front of the frame,

The other at the rear.

The belt wraps
around these rollers so that,

When they turn, the belt moves.

Between the end rollers,

Running the entire length
of the conveyor,

Workers install 58 smaller metal
rollers.

These form the floor
of the conveyor

And can support
up to a ton of cargo.

The motor runs these rollers
forward or in reverse,

Depending on whether the belt
is loading

Or unloading the aircraft.

The belt itself is made of
high-strength tire-grade rubber

With an antiskid texture
on the surface.

To be long enough to loop
around the 25-foot-long conveyor

Plus the end rollers,

The belt is 50 feet in length.

The ends have teeth which fit
into each other like a zipper

And fasten with a metal pin.

Elsewhere in the factory,

Technicians install components
on the vehicle chassis.

First, the front
and rear axles...

...then on each axle, two wheels
with tires specifically designed

For long life
on the airport tarmac.

At the rear of the chassis, they
install the hydraulic cylinder,

Which raises and lowers the rear
lift arms,

Then the vehicle's engine,

Which can be either gas,
diesel, propane,

Or electric powered.

The vehicle drives
at a maximum speed

Of just 25 miles per hour,

But that's more than sufficient

For traveling between
the terminal and the aircraft.

After installing
the power-steering system,

Technicians run wiring

For the lights
and other electrical components,

Run hydraulic hoses for
the brakes and lift cylinders,

And install the controls
for the conveyor.

They install
the hydraulic cylinder,

Which raises
the front lift arms,

Then connect the fluid hoses
to the hydraulic pump.

Next, they install
the front and rear lift arms

Along with a safety brace
underneath

To use when mechanics are
working beneath the conveyor.

They attach the lift arms
to the front and rear cylinders,

Which expand to raise the arms
and retract to lower them.

Now workers hoist the conveyor
over the vehicle

And bolt the front and rear lift
arms to the crossmember

On the conveyor's
underside.

The two units
are now one mobile belt loader,

Ready to roll off the line
and hit the tarmac.

Narrator: the pheasant is one of
the most sought-after game birds

In north america,

But populations
in the wild have dwindled.

To replenish them

And also supply a market
for pheasant meat,

Farmers raise breeding stock
and incubate their eggs

To make it more likely
they'll yield chicks.

With stunning plumage and
an ability to both run and fly,

No wonder
the pheasant struts around.

Each pheasant lays
approximately four eggs weekly,

April through to july.

Farm workers
collect the eggs daily

Before the pheasants
have an opportunity to nest.

With their intervention,

The hatch rate
will get a big boost.

It will go from 40%
to at least 75%.

The farmer washes the eggs
in water and special soap

To remove dirt and bacteria

That could infiltrate the shells

And harm
the growing chicks.

She inspects the eggs

And rejects any cracked
or very large ones

That would contain
a double yolk.

Eggs with cracks
or double yolks won't hatch.

One last dip,

And she sets the eggs
aside to drip dry.

Once dry, she taps eggs together
systematically and listens.

If the tap sounds like
fine china clinking together,

They're suitable for hatching.

But if the tap sounds dull,
there's likely a crack.

By listening, she
finds one or two cracked eggs

She missed
with the visual inspection.

She places the eggs
in an incubator rack

And transfers it
to a cooling room.

The pheasant eggs chill
here for a few days.

The cooling
slows down cell division

Until the farmer is ready to put
the eggs in the incubator.

Chick production is timed
for two hatches weekly.

When the time is right,

She transfers the eggs
to the incubator.

The incubator is
a toasty 100 degrees fahrenheit

To mimic the warmth
of a hen's body.

She latches the racks
onto an automated system

That gently rocks
the long cradles back and forth

To turn the pheasant eggs.

Turning the eggs
routinely is something

That nesting hens do naturally,

And it's important.

Without it, the developing
embryo could stick to the shell,

Causing abnormal growth.

The farmer monitors
the incubator temperature

And humidity
several times daily.

Three weeks later,

She removes the rack

And places it on a tray
lined with cheesecloth.

She opens each cradle,

And the eggs
spill softly onto the tray.

At this point,

There are tiny pits
on the shells

Caused by the chicks' beaks as
they attempt to break through.

Once on the tray,

She arranges them close together
in a figure-eight configuration.

This way, the chicks
can feel each other moving,

Cuing them to break
out of their shells.

She pumps water onto the tiers
of the hatcher now.

The hatcher is warmer
than the incubator.

She covers the trays
with screens to keep the chicks

From jumping onto other trays.

As the water heats up,
the humidity increases.

This causes the shells
to weaken,

Making it easier
for the pheasant chicks

To break out of their shells.

After a couple of days,

The eggs have hatched.

After drying off, the chicks
are fluffy and lively.

The farmer packs them
in ventilated cardboard boxes.

Freshly hatched,

They'll survive 60 hours
without food, giving the breeder

Enough time to ship them
anywhere in the world.

That's why pheasants
are easier to ship

When they're chicks.

Some customers
prefer more mature birds,

So the farmer raises some chicks
in wire frames for a week,

Until their
legs become stronger.

Then they move those chicks
to other heated buildings

Until they're ready to thrive
outdoors.

Some will be kept
as breeding stock.

Others will be sold as food.

The rest will be introduced
into the wild and just fly away.

Today's diving helmets

Are produced primarily
for history buffs

And divers performing
underwater work,

Such as welding
the submerged parts of bridges.

Unlike a scuba tank,

Which carries a limited amount
of oxygen,

A helmet connects to an air pump
at the surface,

Providing an unlimited
air supply.

A diving helmet
is completely watertight

So the diver doesn't
need a mouthpiece to breathe

And can speak to people
at the surface

Via a built-in transceiver.

This helmet is the design
the u.s. Navy used

From 1916 until 1984.

At the factory, they
make the helmet's head portion,

Called the bonnet,
from a copper sheet

About a millimeter and a half
thick

That's been
spun on a lathe into a dome.

They buff it smooth,
then, using a template,

Mark where to cut openings
for the various components.

It takes a good month and a half

For the factory
to machine all those components

And assemble the helmet.

With a hammer and punch,

They dimple the copper
at the marked spots.

This will give the saw

A foothold on the otherwise
slippery surface.

Then they apply cutting oil
to prevent the saw

From overheating
as it bores through the metal.

The first cut is a 6-inch-wide
hole at the front

For the bonnet's
hinged faceplate.

They saw eight openings for
the bonnet's other components,

Including three windows.

Next, with tin-and-lead solder,

They fuse a threaded neck ring
to the bottom edge.

This ring attaches the bonnet
to the helmet's breastplate,

Which bolts to the collar
of the diver's dry suit.

Then they solder a base
to the faceplate opening.

Like all the helmet's
components,

It's made of red brass,

Which is more durable

Than standard brass due to its
higher copper content.

Next, through a template,
they drill holes

Into a banana-shaped
brass exhaust tube.

It enables the diver's
exhaled air to exit the helmet.

They solder the exhaust
to the bonnet,

Positioning
the non-perforated end

Over a hole
near the diver's mouth

And the perforated end
at the rear.

This directs air bubbles
behind the diver

So as not to obstruct the view.

Then they solder
on the remaining components,

Including three window bases.

Just as one does when installing
a window in a building,

They apply glazing to
the faceplate and window bases

To seal the three-inch thick
acrylic pane against leaks.

For underwater safety,

They screw a brass guard
to the base.

This prevents the pane
from popping out

Should too much air pressure
build up inside the helmet.

Now they install the transceiver

And feed its wires
through a brass elbow,

Which will ultimately
attach to a communications cable

Running to the surface.

With the bonnet complete,

It's time to shape
the helmet's breastplate.

They lay a copper sheet

Onto a breastplate-shaped
mandrel,

Clamp on
a breastplate-shaped form,

Heat the copper with
a torch to make it malleable,

Then, with a wooden mallet
soaked in brine

To keep it from splitting,

Pound the copper for
about 45 minutes,

Until it assumes the shape.

Then they chisel out
the neck opening.

Once the copper has cooled,

They transfer the breastplate
to a form

And begin reinforcing the bottom
with a brass strap.

After clamping the strap
in position,

They hammer the copper
around and over its outer edge.

Then they remove the clamps

And solder the copper
to the strap.

Once the soldering's done,
they grind the surface smooth

And drill 12 holes
into the strap

For the custom-made bolts

That connect the helmet to the
collar of the diver's dry suit.

Then, after flipping
the breastplate upside down,

They wrap solder
around the bolts,

Drop them in the holes, and melt
the solder to lock them in.

They polish the metal

And solder on the last
breastplate components --

A threaded neck ring
for connecting the bonnet

And, at the front,
a pair of brass eyes

For lashing the air-
and communication hoses

Off to the side

So they won't get in
the diver's way underwater.