01x10 - Holograms/Package Printing/Skin Culture/Canned Corn

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: Today

on "how it's made"

holograms --

projections for the future

package printing -- how

to make an impression

skin culture -- it

definitely grows on you

and canned corn --

we hope you're all ears.

Holograms aren't just

beautiful and fascinating.

They have a certain

high-tech mystique about them.

Well, stay tuned to have

the mystery revealed.

Holograms are simply

layered variations of an image,

each one causing light

to reflect in a different way.

A hologram is a

3-dimensional photograph

produced by the interference

of two laser beams.

A laser emits light

-- this light ray.

The color of the light varies

according to the wavelength.

A shutter, when activated,

either blocks the light

ray or lets it pass through.

Here the beam splits in

two at a 90-degree angle.

The interference

of the two beams

is clearly visible

on this screen.

It has very defined fringes.

The beams need great stability

because the pattern

of interference

projected on the screen

is extremely sensitive

to minute vibrations.

A light tap on the table

can easily spoil it completely.

The team will create a hologram

from this sculpture

made of modeling clay.

The sculpture is

positioned on a support

with a magnetic base that

adheres to the metallic table.

Then they place a glass

in front of the object.

Here's the exact point

where the light beam passes.

The table has to

be perfectly stable,

so it's made of a

2.4-ton block of steel,

which rests on 18 air tubes.

The table and laser

are thus well-insulated

from all vibrations.

The beam splitter

separates the beam in two,

directing one behind the

object and the other in front of it.

One part of the beam

heads toward the

front of the sculpture.

The beam first passes

through an objective lens

that diffuses the light.

Then it's reflected

by a parabolic mirror,

which prevents it from

losing too much of its intensity.

As in photography,

film is required.

This holographic film is

attached to a glass plate

with adhesive tape.

Then another

glass plate is added

so that the film will not move.

A vibration of 1/10 of the

laser's wavelength is tolerable.

The laser is turned on.

The intensity of its light ray

reaches about 250 milliwatts.

The normal exposure time

of the model to the beam

is about one second,

but some holograms

made with a pulsed laser

are exposed to the

light for 12 nanoseconds,

an infinitely short

period of time.

Here we see the reference beam

coming from the

parabolic mirror.

And here we see it

from another angle.

As in photography, the

film has to be developed.

These trays contain

different chemical solutions

and the developer.

First the film is soaked in

the developer for two minutes.

This solution

blackens the silver salts

that have reacted to the light.

Then the film is soaked

in a solution called bleach

to completely eliminate the

silver salts that blackened it.

Now the film is rinsed.

This step is used to eliminate

the acids in the emulsion

and so as not to

contaminate the next solution.

The film gently

becomes transparent.

It's then rinsed in clear water.

And it's soaked for one

minute in a wetting agent

which eliminates

all water spots.

The film is then dried,

and it reveals its secrets,

and here's the hologram

created from the sculpture.

A hologram really creates

a 3-dimensional illusion.

Some holograms can be animated.

They are generated from

a series of still holograms.

Depending on the

complexity of the project,

a hologram can be produced

from between one and five hours.

Narrator: Your average

product packaging

is crammed with

so much information,

it's hard to see the artistry

behind the instructions

and ingredients.

An incredible amount of thought

goes into making

packaging that's unique,

instantly identifiable, and

attractive to the consumer.

All consumer

products are packaged,

and the making of these packages

starts with the burning of an

aluminum plate like this one.

This animation illustrates

the burning process --

the transfer of an image

onto an aluminum plate.

The plate is placed

onto a cylinder,

and, using a laser,

the burning begins.

The image appears

in six minutes.

This plate will make

the printing impressions

on packages.

The laser that did the burning

has to be perfectly

calibrated using this test plate.

The plate is now ready

to make impressions

via the offset method.

Printing involves ink,

and it requires

selecting the right one.

If the desired

color does not exist,

it has to be made up from a

mix of various other colors.

An ink trial is

done with a spatula,

and, using this small manual

press, color ink tests are done.

The ink is spread onto paper

and the color compared with

the one called for by the customer.

If the two match, the

presses can be started up.

This is a 6-color offset

process printing press

with a 28x43-inch capacity.

The press is fed by a

suction and friction process

devouring 8,000 sheets an hour.

Now the printing plate is

placed onto the press cylinder.

This plate will contact inking

rollers of the ink reservoir.

To prevent it from drying,

ink viscosity is maintained

with this oscillator.

The press starts up and

reaches a production rate

of 8,000 impressions

in 60 minutes.

The press comprises

individual color printing units.

The paper sheet passes

from one unit to another,

receiving a new

color at each step.

Here they register the colors --

that is, the quality of

the superimposition

of the different colors.

The final step is the folding

and gluing of the boxes.

This grooved plate

makes folding-point

marks on the carton.

And this machine does

the cutting, the embossing,

and stripping of the sheets

at a rate of 6,000 an hour.

The cutting die cuts

the carton sheets

and, together with the grooved

plate, makes the folding joints.

This sheet is slid

behind the cutting die

to equalize the

cutting of the sheets.

This enormous pile of 3,000

sheets is ready to be cut.

The embossing press feeder

handles between 6,000

and 8,000 sheets an hour.

Rollers guide the sheets

in the direction of the press.

And here the sheets are

embossed by the machine.

The precision of the

embossing is then verified.

Next comes the

cutting of the sheets.

They cut 8,000 an hour.

The cutting unit strips and

removes the unnecessary pieces,

and the carton scraps are

sucked up for eventual recycling.

The scraps can also be cut

away manually using a hammer.

The carton end pieces

are sent off for recycling.

All that remains is the

assembly of the packages.

This high-speed gluing unit

can make up to 30,000

to 40,000 per hour.

Gluing begins with

the folding of sheets

following the folding marks.

The sides of the formed

box are then glued together.

An average of between

five to eight steps are needed

to fabricate a packaging box.

Every day this plant produces

between 1 and 2 million boxes,

requiring almost 4,000

tons of cardboard annually.

Narrator: For people

who've suffered severe burns

there's hope.

They can be treated

with skin grafts

using human skin that's

been cultured in a lab.

Patients who

receive these grafts

tend to develop less scarring

and usually heal in

a fraction of the time.

Culturing of skin allows

us to save many lives.

To grow skin, epidermis

cells have to be isolated

and made to multiply.

It all begins with the removal

of a small skin sample.

The 10 million

cells in this piece

are enough to make a culture.

The skin soaks

in a medium containing

penicillin and gentamicin,

antibiotics which protect

it from bacterial infection.

Now a piece of skin is cut

and delicately sectioned

on a petri dish with a scalpel.

The fat is gently

detached from the dermis

since it will not be

needed in the culturing.

The skin is cut into thin

strips because thermolysin,

the enzyme that separates

the dermis from the epidermis,

acts more efficiently

on the small surfaces.

Then an enzyme

destroys the links

uniting the dermis

and the epidermis cells.

This procedure is carried out

in this incubator over three hours

at a temperature

of 98.6 degrees,

or body temperature.

Once incubation is over,

the petri dish is removed

from the incubator.

Only the epidermis cells,

also called "keratinocytes,"

are retained.

The epidermis is detached from

the dermis with great precision.

Now the strips are placed

in a trypsination unit.

Trypsin, an enzyme,

will destroy the links

uniting the epidermis cells

in order to isolate them.

This operation signals

the cells to multiply

now that they're in

a favorable medium.

In order to increase the

effectiveness of trypsin,

the trypsination unit is

placed on an agitator.

The cells do not have to remain

in extended contact

with the trypsin.

They're inhibited with a

medium containing serum.

Then the liquid containing

the cells in suspension

is drawn off.

Now the liquid is centrifuged

to obtain two fractions.

The base fraction

containing the desired cells

is at the bottom of the tube,

while the upper floating

fraction containing the trypsin

has to be removed.

This upper fraction is drawn

off with a vacuum system.

In order to eliminate

all traces of trypsin,

the culture medium is

added to the base fraction,

and the whole is put

back into suspension.

Now the cells from the small

skin sample have to be counted

before being centrifuged

a second time.

The cells are counted by

hand using a microscope

or with this apparatus.

The exact number of cells

obtained during the extraction

via a biopsy is determined

as well as the number of

cells that will have to be seeded

for maximum growth.

The bottom portion

of keratinocytes

is divided in these flasks

containing a culture medium

whose composition

resembles that of blood.

The cells will multiply

over a week in these flasks,

placed in an oven at 98.6

degrees and at 8% oxygen.

The medium in which

the cells are immersed

is changed every two days.

In less than a week,

the cells have almost covered

the entire surface of the flask.

They can now be trypsinated anew

and thus reseed some 50 flasks,

which in turn will be placed in

the oven for about one week.

Skin strips carpet the

inner surface of the flask.

They are then

detached with a spatula.

The flasks are cut in two

with a heating unit

resembling a soldering iron.

To make handling easier,

gauze is placed on the skin strips,

whose thickness is less

than 1/10 of a millimeter.

The graft is placed

on the wound.

Clamps and the gauze will

be removed after 10 days.

A patient can be skin-grafted

in less than two weeks.

Narrator: When it

comes to vegetables,

there's nothing like

fresh corn on the cob.

But when that's not available,

corn is also great

right out of the can,

and anyone with an appetite

for feats of engineering

will appreciate the whirlwind

journey from cob to can.

Throughout man's history,

food preserving has

included smoking, freezing,

drying, and salting.

In the early 19th century,

Nicolas Appert built a factory

to preserve foods in

hermetically sealed glass jars

and to sterilize

them by boiling.

But glass was

breakable, and so in 1810,

an englishman named

durand invented the tin can,

first used by the military,

and soldiers, it seems, first

developed a handy can opener.

The corn that's

canned is harvested

from mid-August

until mid-October.

Canning is done very quickly.

Less than four hours pass

between harvesting

and canning procedures

so as to conserve much

of the nutritional value

of the product to be sold.

The unloading of many

trucks of this size will be needed

for the 150,000 tons of corn

that are canned here annually.

The cobs are transported

into the plant on this conveyor.

They will first have to pass

through a kernel remover.

Equipped with several

counter-rotating cylinders,

this unit removes the leaves and

the silk which surround the cob.

With only a few seconds,

the cob is completely

stripped of its covering.

Once cleaned, the

cobs fall into this chute

en route to the next

processing step.

Here they're lined up,

ready to be handled

by the kernel remover.

The kernels are

removed from the cobs

by going through the machine

where knives remove the kernels

in a fraction of a second.

Each of these units remove

1.5 tons of kernels per hour.

Twice a day the machines are

stopped to inspect the blades,

to clean, and sharpen them.

The corn kernels

fall into the middle

while the cobs themselves

are moved to the sides.

Both kernels and cobs move along

on their separate

ways in the process.

The kernels are entered

into this rotating drum,

which removes any particles

larger than the kernels.

Nothing is wasted

in the processing.

Corn residues, leaves, and cobs

will all be used

later as animal feed.

Now the kernels fall into

a mix composed of water

and of a fluid that's obtained

when cutting the corn kernels.

This liquid mix allows for

the transporting of the kernels

without damaging them.

Next the kernels

flow along this belt

and are placed on this conveyor

toward the following

processing step.

Bleaching is done

in this huge cylinder.

A worm screw brings the

bleached kernels to the surface.

A visual inspection verifies

the quality of the kernels.

All that remains is to pack

them into these leakproof cans.

Thousands of cans of every size

are carried to the

filling department.

Filling the cans is done from

this rotating filling machine.

This filling machine can

handle 300 to 450 cans a minute.

The kernels that

fall to the side

are gathered up

later in this cylinder

and returned

to the filling line.

Here a brine solution

composed of water,

salt, and sugar is added.

Covers are securely

attached onto the containers,

but the canning

is not yet finished

because they have to proceed

with some very important tests.

They perform tests

in this laboratory

that assure the

quality of the product.

First they check the

watertightness of the cans.

They also control

the filling weight

and the quality of the kernels.

Meanwhile,

cans continue winding

their way through the plant.

One step remains

-- sterilization.

Sterilization takes

place in this oven

at 250 degrees

and lasts between

4 to 6 minutes.

This is a crucial step

because it guarantees

that the product is reliable

and that it will remain

so for 18 months.

Now they taste

samples of the product

to determine that it

conforms to quality standards.

Cans are labeled as

customers' orders are filled.

In this facility,

they produce an amazing

total of 43 million cans of corn.

If you have any

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