23x02 - Rawhide Lampshades, Chocolate Chip Cookies, MRI Scanners

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: you doesn't need to
have antlers over the fireplace

To bring a touch of wildlife
to your decor.

A more subtle approach

Can be a lamp
with a shade made of rawhide.

Rawhide is untanned animal skin.

The hide typically
comes from livestock,

So you get the decorative "bang"
without firing a shot.

You typically see rawhide
lampshades in rustic settings,

But they've also been known
to add an eclectic twist

To a modern decor.

This company has been
using the same techniques

To hand-craft rawhide lampshades
since 1929.

The first step is to construct
the shade's frame

Out of 3-millimeter-thick
steel wire.

They begin by cutting
the various lengths of wire

To make the component's first
shade of a particular size.

Every frame has one top ring,
one bottom ring,

And several vertical ribs
connecting the two.

After clamping the wires
alongside a measuring gauge,

They position the blade
where required and cut.

They curve the pieces
for the rings

With crank-operated rollers,

Which apply pressure
to bend the wire.

It takes a few passes
to work the steel wire

Into a full circle.

Then they spot-weld the ends
together to complete each ring.

They cool the hot weld
in cold water.

Now it's time
to assemble the frame.

They use a jig to correctly
position all the parts.

This one is for a slanted shade
with an 18-inch bottom diameter.

After laying in the bottom ring,

They position one rib at a time
and spot-weld it to the ring.

They assemble the spider --

The inner structure
of the top ring.

They take a brass washer
with four holes in it

And insert a steel wire arm
into each one.

A single strike of a 1-ton press
locks each arm in the washer.

They spot-weld the spider
to the top ring...

...then the ring
to each rib of the frame.

The frame is now
fully constructed

And ready to be coated
with baked-on paint.

This not only makes
the frame more attractive,

It prevents the steel

From rusting as it comes
in contact with the wet rawhide.

The freshly-washed sheepskin

Is the highest grade of hide
available,

So the color
is an even butterscotch --

Rarely any color variations
or spots.

They center the frame
upside-down on the skin,

Then work their way around,

Folding the skin
upward and over,

Clamping it in place
with clothespins.

Then, they flip
the shade right side up

And slit the skin at the top
with a razor blade

To release some tension.

Now they sew the skin to the top
and bottom of the frame

With rawhide lace.

However, this rawhide
is cow skin.

Once the sewing is complete,
they cut off the excess skin.

The rawhide is still quite wet,
so they dry the lampshade

In a heated closet
for about five hours.

When it comes out,

They bathe the rawhide
in a moisturizing agent

Then a finishing solution,

The specifics of which are a
closely-guarded company secret.

These treatments bring out
the butterscotch color

And seal the hide to prevent it
from drying out and cracking.

The lampshade then goes back
into the heated closet

For 24 hours.

Lampshades are often
hands-painted before this,

In which case the finishing
solution seals the oil paint

As well as the hide.

Each design is original
and signed by the artist --

A unique work of art
designed to light up a room.

Narrator: legend has it
that chocolate-chip cookies

Were invented in 1930

By an american innkeeper who
ran out of baker's chocolate.

She improved by breaking
a semi-sweet chocolate bar

Into small pieces.

Instead of melting,
the chocolate merely softened,

Dotting the cookie
with chocolate chips.

They look homemade,

And they taste homemade,

But this home is a factory.

Each ingredient goes
into an industrial-size mixer,

Starting with white sugar.

Then brown sugar.

Then butter.

The mixer thoroughly blends
these first ingredients

Until the butter
becomes soft and creamy

And the sugars
are evenly dispersed.

Then it's time
for the headliner --

Chocolate chips.

They're semi-sweet,

Which is a mixture
of bitter and sweet chocolate.

Next, flour,

Followed by baking soda
to make the dough rise

And salt to add flavor.

The final ingredients
are whole eggs, beaten,

Combined with vanilla,

Made from beans harvested
in madagascar, africa.

Mixing resume
until everything's well-blended,

Which usually
takes about five minutes.

The company
closely guards recipe specifics,

But if you're curious,

You could probably
figure them out

By multiplying the ingredients
of a home recipe

To the yield
of a production batch.

Workers transfer
the cookie dough

To a machine called the former.

It pushes the dough
through round dies,

Producing row upon row

Of round pieces weighing


One of several sizes
the factory produces.

The factory then flash-freezes
the dough rounds

For sale to food-service
customers

Such as restaurants and hotels,

Which bake the cookies
in their own kitchens.

The freeze tunnel
uses liquid nitrogen

To create
the frigid temperature.

The passing dough rounds

Solidify in approximately
five minutes.

Exiting the freeze tunnel,

The dough rounds
pass under a metal detector

To ensure they don't contain
any metal particles.

This safety measure is standard
practice in the food industry.

The packaging system
is entirely automated.

The first station
erects the box.

The second station lines
it with plastic.

A conveyer belt, meanwhile,

Feeds the frozen, unbaked
cookies onto automated scales.

Once a scale
hits the per-box weight,

Feeding pauses.

The bottom swings open,

And the cookies
drop into the box

Awaiting directly underneath.

The next stations seal
and label the boxes,

Which workers then load
onto pallets.

The pallets go
into a storage freezer,

Where they stay until it's time

To ship them out, by freezer
truck, to the customer.

This company also sells gift
tins of cookies online

And by catalog.

For that market,
they bake the cookies in-house.

Workers lay out the dough rounds


Lined with parchment paper.

This prevents sticking,
making it easy

To remove the baked cookies
without breaking them.

The dough rounds are nearly 1½
inches wide by 1 inch high.

As they bake, they flatten out
and double in diameter.

The trays remain in the oven
for seven minutes

At 300 degrees fahrenheit.

A turntable inside rotates them

So that the cookies bake
evenly throughout the tray.

A few cookies per batch go
to the quality control tester,

Who, unfortunately,

Doesn't get to conduct
the assessment

By eating the samples.

Rather, the tester
measures the diameter and height

To ensure consistency
in size and chip content.

In the online and catalogue
order assembly area,

Workers line the bottom part
of the gift tin

With a decorative
cellophane bag.

Then, they carefully layer
the correct number

Of fresh cookies inside
in a staggered configuration.

This not only creates
a nice presentation,

It also prevents damage
in transit.

They close the bag
with a gold twist tie

To seal in the freshness...

...close up the tin,

Then pack it for shipping.

This is how to give a gift of
homemade chocolate chip cookies

Without ever setting foot
in the kitchen.

Narrator: the mri scanner
was invented in 1977,

And it has revolutionized
medical diagnostics.

Short
for magnetic resonance imaging,

An mri offers an inside look
at the human body

Without surgery or x-rays.

When investigation health
problems,

It's a great way
to get the picture.

Using magnetic fields
and radio-wave pulses,

An mri can look
right through you

To determine what's going on
under the skin.

The magnet
is incredibly powerful.

It's up to 30,000 times stronger
than the earth's magnetic field.

To make an mri scanner,

They weld aluminum casing
around the magnet,

Creating a tunnel
in the center for the patient.

The seams must be
extremely tight

Because the tube
will also contain

The super-cold
liquid helium

Which will make the magnet
so incredibly powerful.

Once the welds are complete,

They cap the magnet and transfer
it to a test chamber.

They pump helium gas
into the tube

And activate a vacuum system
that sucks out the air

In the chamber.

A sensor confirms
there are no leaks

And the welds are tight.

They now construct a second
aluminum tube around the magnet.

This will act
as an insulating shield.

They wrap
and aluminized mylar blanket

Tightly around the magnet.

Aluminized mylar

Was first developed
as an insulating material

For space suits.

In this case, it will be used
to deflect heat

To keep the magnet cold.

They now insert the magnet
into a steel shell.

This is know
as the vacuum vessel.

The air will be
pulled from the space

Between it and the magnet,

Creating a vacuum which will
serve as another insulator.

They mask the mri tunnel
with plastic

And spray paint
the exterior white.

The paint will protect the steel
from rust.

Next, they install
a refrigeration unit

Knows as the cold head.

The cold head
will maintain the helium

Around the mri's primary magnet

At the incredibly chilly
temperature

Of -452 degrees fahrenheit.

This will keep the helium
in a liquid state.

Without the cold head,

Significant amounts
would vaporize and be lost.

They now pump the liquid helium
into the magnet.

It's one of the coldest things
on the planet,

And the fill nozzles
turn frosty.

Exposed to this extreme cold,

The magnet
loses all electrical resistance

And becomes a super conductor,

Generating intense
magnetic fields.

With the mri magnet complete,

They move on
to the gradient coil,

Which will control
the orientation of the image

With electrical pulses.

It starts with a fiberglass
epoxy tube

Cut to the correct length.

A worker carves grooves
in the tube

And fills those grooves
with epoxy.

He then winds copper wire
into the epoxy-filled grooves,

And it adheres,
forming the gradient coil.

The team slathers
epoxy onto the entire tube.

The epoxy seals the wire,

Preventing vibrations of
the coil when it's in operation.

They layer etched copper plates
onto the epoxy,

And they adhere.

They wrap the coil
tightly with teflon cloth.

A worker pours epoxy resin
onto the fabric.

He then winds tubing
around the gradient coil,

Which adheres
to the epoxy-coated cloth.

These are cooling lines.

They'll disperse heat generated
by the gradient coil.

Another worker now preps
the next fiberglass tube.

This one is for the mri's
radio-frequency coil.

There's much more to come
before this mri scanner

Is ready to provide an inside
look at the human body,

So stay tuned.

Narrator:
an mri scanner

Produces detailed images
of bones, organs,

And other structures
inside the human body.

It does this by generating
a strong magnetic field

That causes the body's hydrogen
atoms to align

And send a signal.

The result is a picture
that could lead to a diagnosis.

Work on the mri's
radio-frequency coil

Is under way.

A technician attaches
plastic risers

And pads to the fiberglass core.

The risers and pads

Will hold the circuitry parts
at a uniform level.

She applies
adhesive-backed strips of copper

From one band of risers
to the other.

These copper strips
are the antenna.

They'll send and receive signals
from the body

And relay them to a computer
to produce the mri image.

She presses the copper
with round-tipped tool

For better adhesion to the core.

She then dabs epoxy glue
into the riser compartments.

She inserts capacitors into
the glue-filled compartments.

These little capacitors
will store energy

And change the frequency of
the coil to match the magnets.

The technician solders the ends
of the capacitors

To the copper antenna
as she builds the circuitry.

She transfers numerous
high-voltage inductor boards

To the pads
and screws them in place.

Next up are cable-splitter
units.

Another technician installs one
near an inductor board.

She routes some of the cables
from the splitter

To the several of the inductors.

And she solders the cables
to the inductors.

She places a plastic cable track

On the side
of the radio-frequency coil

And snakes the main power cable
through it.

She solders the cable
to the antenna.

The technician
stiffens the copper antenna

With composite boards

To dampen vibrations
when the mri is in operation.

She applies epoxy
around all the cables.

The epoxy secures the cables

To keep them from moving
around and making noise.

The mri's radio-frequency coil

Is complete and ready
to be put to the test.

The next worker caps the ends
with metal domes

And bolts them tightly together.

She pumps highly pressurized air

Into the capped radio-frequency
coil.

She spray soapy water
over the exterior of the coil

And looks for air bubbles.

Bubbles in the soapy residue
would indicate a leak,

Which would disrupt airflow
in the mri.

With the radio-frequency
coil leak-free,

They now slide it
into the gradient coil,

Which has gained
an outer fiberglass shell

Since we last saw it.

The worker
connects exterior tubing

To the network of cooling lines
inside the gradient coil.

With those connections made,

They're ready to assemble
the coils to the magnet.

The worker slides the assembly

Off the cart
and into the mri magnet.

He installs a bracket
that centers the coils,

Maintaining a small gap
between them and the magnet.

He equips the mri
with microphones and speakers,

To communicate with the patient.

There's also a signaling system
here for the patient to activate

In the event
of an emergency.

Now for the ultimate test.

They energize the magnet

And send standard test objects
into the mri.

They scan the objects

And confirm
the picture is clear.

They add a metal
and plastic outer casing.

This mri scanner is now ready
to focus on diagnosis.

The next picture it takes
could be a life saver.

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