]] Narrator: the pipe cleaner
Was invented early in the
A wire core with tufts of yarn,
It could be bent and twisted
In any tight space, making it
Useful for cleaning a lot of
Things besides pipes.
Its flexibility also offers
A creative opportunity for those
With a crafty bent.
Today many pipe cleaners never
Get dirty.
Instead of cleaning pipes,
Kids bend them and shape them
To create crafts.
The core component of every
Pipe cleaner is, of course,
The wire made of malleable
Steel.
There are two wires in every
Pipe cleaner.
The wires will become
Intertwined with tufts of yarn,
And it will all happen on
A machine like this.
But first here's a look at the
Two wires twisting together
Without the yarn.
This wire core is the heart
Of the pipe cleaner.
Without the tight twist,
The yarn would just slide off.
The spools of yarn unwind at
The same time as the wire and
Head towards the machine.
They'll use cotton yarn for
Pipe cleaners destined for
Actual pipe cleaning because
It's absorbent.
For the craft market, polyester
Fibers are more suitable.
The colors are brighter.
This orange yarn and the
Wire travel over tension disks
To prevent slackening that would
Cause messy entanglements as the
Pipe-cleaner materials all head
Toward the forming machine.
The yarn in the wire are totally
In sync as they feed into
The machine.
The pile yarn rapidly winds
Around a metal former to coil
It.
At this point, the diameter of
The pipe cleaner is set by using
Metal formers of different
Sizes.
A sharp rotating blade cuts the
Coils to produce a series of
Short tufts.
They stop the process briefly
To give us a look inside.
At the same time, the wires run
In grooves around rotating
Rollers, and those yarn tufts
Now become trapped between
The two wires.
Together the wire and yarn
Tufts then travel over other
Rollers into a device called
A flyer.
The flyer was invented for
Twisting yarn.
Each time the flyer rotates,
It inserts one turn into the
Pipe cleaner.
Bobbins then wind up the
Pipe cleaner.
It all happens so fast,
It's a bit of a blur.
At the next station, numerous
Bobbins of pipe cleaners unwind
Simultaneously.
They travel between a series
Of rollers.
The rollers straighten the
Pipe cleaners, eliminating
The curl created when they were
Wound onto the bobbins.
A clamp then locks the
Pipe cleaners in position, and
A carriage pulls them forward.
The carriage moves in measured
Increments so a guillotine-style
Blade can cut the pipe cleaners
To a precise length.
In this case, it's 6 inches,
A popular length for the craft
Market.
The machine ejects the completed
Pipe cleaners, and a worker
Packs them up for retail.
Each bag contains all the colors
Of the rainbow and then some.
For thicker, fluffier
Pipe cleaners, they use a
Slightly different machine.
Bobbins of polyester yarn
Rotate in the carousel to wind
The yarn around the former and
Coil them.
A sharp rotating blade cuts
It into tufts.
A carrier wire is used here
To keep the pile under tension,
After which the two core wires
Trap the tufts just as before.
Another clamp twists the core
Wires and tufts as it pulls
Them forward.
This transforms them into one
Thick and fuzzy pipe cleaner,
Which is then cut to any length
The client orders.
Production now focuses on
Pipe cleaners for medical
And engineering cleaning jobs.
Heat g*ns melt the fibers at
The ends to seal them, ensuring
They won't shed lint or fibers
During the cleaning of sensitive
Equipment.
You can see the difference this
Makes in the pipe cleaner on
The right.
Pipe cleaners today are
No longer just for pipes.
They're used to clean all kinds
Of things like bicycle gears
Or any gear at all.
They can also be used for paint
Touch-ups, odd jobs in the
Garage, cleaning r*fle barrels,
Wrapping electronics cables,
And cleaning any long tube.
But, of course, it's not all
Work and no play.
There's always arts and crafts
Time.
That's when things take
A creative twist and
Pipe cleaners become anything
You want them to.
]] Narrator: stilton is a creamy
And crumbly british blue cheese
Whose roots date back to the
Early 1700s.
It tastes mellower and less
Salty than many other varieties
Of blue cheese.
Always produced in an 18-pound
Cylinder format, it has veins
Of blue mold radiating from
The center outward.
The production of stilton is
Strictly regulated.
Only half a dozen dairies
In the world located in three
Specific english counties are
Licensed to produce it and only
From locally produced
Pasteurized milk.
It takes 20 gallons of milk
To make each 18-pound cylinder
Of stilton.
They begin by pouring milk
In a vat.
Next, they add starter culture,
Laboratory-grown natural
Organisms.
Then they mix a blue mold
Culture called
Penicillium roquefort
With distilled water and add
This to the milk, as well.
After about three hours, they
Stir in enzymes that coagulate
The milk fat.
After about 90 minutes,
Workers run a wire knife through
The now-gelatinous milk,
Separating the fat, called
Curds, from the liquid, called
Whey.
Then, overnight, they drain
The whey out of the bottom of
The vat.
The next morning, the firm curds
Go through a mill, which breaks
Them up into a crumbly
Consistency.
Workers weigh out portions
Of 24 pounds, each of which
Will become an 18-pound cylinder
Of cheese.
After adding salt -- the company
Won't disclose just how much --
Two workers gently hand-mix
The portion, two different
Mixing styles blending the
Ingredients more thoroughly
Than one.
Then they funnel each portion
Into a cylindrical plastic
Cheese mold called a hoop.
The curd still contain whey.
So workers stack the hoops
For five days.
Typically, cheeses are pressed
To drain the whey -- not
Stilton.
Here gravity does the job.
The cheese drains under its own
Weight.
Workers flip the hoop once
Daily to drain through both
The top and bottom.
After five days, they remove
The hoop.
The cheese, now drier, stands
On its own, while, with a knife,
They perform a critical
Procedure called rubbing up.
They rub the entire surface with
A flat blade, sealing all the
Holes so that air can't
Penetrate and cause premature
Internal mold growth.
Now the cheese goes on to
A stillage, a type of trolley,
And begins its journey through
The climate-controlled bluing
Rooms, named for the color
Of the internal mold growth
Which occurs there.
Workers flip the cheese daily
To prevent its cylindrical shape
From distorting under its own
Weight.
Within a week to 10 days,
Grayish white, sometimes
Orange, naturally occurring mold
Begins growing on the outside,
And from that point on, when
The cheese acquires a certain
Amount of mold, they move it
To the next level room, then
To the next one, and so on.
At about the five-week mark,
They mount the cheese on the
Turntable of a piercing machine.
With each press of a foot pedal,
The turntable rotates slightly,
And long, stainless-steel
Needles pierce the cheese.
These tiny holes permit oxygen
To enter and kick-start the
Penicillium roquefort blue mold
Culture that the dairy put in
The milk earlier on.
Before long, blue mold gradually
Grows from the center of the
Cheese outward.
To monitor the extent of the
Blue-mold growth, the dairy's
Cheese graters draw samples
Using a tool called a cheese
Iron.
The iron reaches all the way
To the core of the cylinder.
When the sample shows that
The bluing runs right through,
The cheese is ready, more or
Less.
The timing's actually a bit
Tricky.
Stilton is a relatively young
Cheese, best eaten between
The dairy does its best to
Coordinate shipping so that
The cheese is at its optimum
Quality when it reaches
The customer.
Therefore, it ships 8- or
Stores and 7-week-old cheese
To international customers
So that the blue stilton will be
An ideal 8 or 9 weeks of age
When it arrives at its
Destination.
]] Narrator: smart meters
Are electricity meters that
Don't have to be read by
A person.
Instead, they wirelessly send
Your home's electricity use
To your utility in real time.
Your bill then shows how much
Electricity you used and when,
Making it easier to better
Control your energy use.
Old technology meters require
A human being to take a meter
Reading once each billing
Period.
Smart meters can report
Consumption in real time
By wireless transmission.
Inside the smart meter are
Three different electronic
Circuit boards, the brains of
The unit.
They're built on large, blank
Fiberglass panels.
One panel yields six or eight
Identical circuit boards
Depending on the meter model.
In the first machine, for
Tracking purposes, a laser
Etches a serial number for
Each future circuit board.
The next machine applies
A stencil on the pattern
Of the components to be mounted
On the board, then spread solder
And paste form across it.
The board now wears solder paste
Shaped in position exactly to
Receive the upcoming components.
The next machine's two lasers
Verify that the solder paste
Application is perfect.
Depending on the size of
A specific circuit-board
Component, there can be anywhere
From 5 to 20,000 of them stored
On a tape reel under a
Transparent, protective strip.
Workers mount the rail for each
Component on what's known as
A pick and place machine.
This computer-controlled
High-speed device peels back
The protective strip and picks
The required parts off each
Reel, then places them in their
Designated solder-pasted
Position on the board.
Bulkier components are stored
On a different-sized reel, which
Workers mount on another type
Of pick and place machine.
It does the same operation as
The previous one, only slower
Due to the larger-sized
Components.
The boards now travel through
A soldering oven.
The precision-controlled
Temperature, peaking at
Then cools the solder paste,
Fusing all the components
To the board.
Next, each board undergoes
Testing.
This machine applies electricity
To ensure each and every
Component meets specifications.
When the board gets the
All clear, it moves to the next
Machine, which cuts it into
Separate circuit boards.
Meanwhile, robots assemble
The meter's digital display.
They take a plastic half-circle
Housing and install a liquid
Crystal display into its
Rectangular window.
At the next station, a robot
Uses a vision system to align
Snaps to attach a circuit board
To the liquid crystal display.
Assembling the meter body begins
With a plastic base plate.
The first station prints
A serial number on the bottom.
The next station then flips
The base plate upright and
Installs the components of
The remote disconnect switch.
This switch enables the electric
Company to switch power on
And off from any location.
A switch cover closes up
The base.
The protruding wire will
Connect to a circuit board.
The next station installs two
Terminals through the switch
Cover.
These function as part of
The switch operation as well as
Part of the meter's measurement
Of electricity consumed.
Once those terminals are in,
An automatic screwdriver secures
The switch cover.
Now the first of three
Circuit boards.
This one, the metrology board,
Measures energy consumption.
The unit comes off the automated
Line, and a worker completes
The assembly.
He attaches a connector to the
Digital display circuit board,
Installs the display, then
Connects the switch wire to the
Display's board.
The metrology board sends its
Measurements to the display
Circuit board, which interprets
The data and sends it to
A third circuit board, which
Transmits it by radio frequency
To the utility.
Once workers have fully
Assembled the housing, they
Install a metal tamper-evidence
Seal.
Every meter undergoes rigorous
Final testing.
An automated station verifies
The display using a vision
System.
It checks that the remote
Disconnect switch operates
Properly, that the meter
Measures electricity accurately,
And successfully transmits and
Receives messages.
]] Narrator: the telescope was
Invented by a dutch optician
Four centuries ago.
Before that, it was believed
The earth was the center of
Everything.
The theory that it actually
Revolved around the sun was
Discounted.
In the hands of italian
Astronomer galileo, the
Telescope brought reality
Into focus.
Modern telescopes are
Light-years ahead of those
Early versions, and through
Their eyepieces, the universe
Continues to unfold.
A reflecting telescope bounces
And concentrates light with
Mirrors.
Production begins with the
Machining of cylindrical metal
Parts.
These are baffles, and when
Screwed together, they'll block
Stray light that would interfere
With the telescope's operation.
More tools transform a solid
Aluminum disk into a ring with
Spokes.
This part, called the spider,
Is a framework for supporting
The telescope's secondary
Mirror.
After coating the metal parts
With a protective oxide, they
Plunge them into a vat of black
Dye.
The dye soaks into the oxidized
Pores and seals the surface of
The parts.
Next, this molded disk of
Thick low-expansion glass
Will become the telescope's
Primary mirror.
A diamond-edged tool rotates
On a calculated tilt to make
The glass slightly concave.
To improve the concave profile,
A worker coats the glass with
Abrasive.
He adds a weight to a precisely
Curved cast-iron disk and spins
It.
The weighted iron disk bears
Down on the abrasive coated
Glass to fine-tune its
Curvature.
A worker then examines the
Finely ground surface for
Scratches, and using a
Calibrated gauge, he measures
The radius of the disk to
Confirm that the concave
Profile is precisely what
It needs to be.
The glass now spins while
A cylindrical cutter aims
Dead center to cut out a hole.
This center hole is sized to
Accommodate the baffles we saw
Earlier, and it will also enable
The mirror to be held securely
In the telescope.
Next, the glass disk oscillates
As an automated tool rubs a
Compound against it to polish
It.
A worker then applies some of
The compound onto a polishing
Disk and works the surface of
The glass against it repeatedly.
This hand polishing improves
The surface considerably.
In the laboratory, a technician
Compares the primary mirror
Glass to a grid to verify that
The dimensions are accurate.
He aims a laser at the glass.
A computer analyzes
The reflected light.
If the angle is off by 1,000th
Of the width of a hair,
The telescope's image could be
Blurry.
The glass is now ready for its
Mirror finish.
They lock it facedown in
A vacuum chamber.
They add small amounts of
Titanium oxide, silicon
Monoxide, and aluminum.
They close the chamber, tightly
Encasing the contents, and then
Pump out most of the air,
Creating a partial vacuum
Inside.
They activate a 6,000-volt
Electrode.
This sparks a glowing discharge
Of ions onto the now rotating
Glass disk.
These ions blast any lingering
Contaminants from the glass
To give it a serious cleaning.
They heat the aluminum,
Titanium, and silicon pellets,
Which evaporate into a cloud of
Vapor.
Atoms condense landing on
The surface of the glass
To form a glossy mirror surface.
It takes just minutes for this
Highly reflective coating to be
Applied.
This telescope mirror is now
Ready to reflect light from
The stars and planets in the
Sky.
Next, a technician screws lights
Into the metal housing for the
Primary mirror.
He adds a mount mechanism for
The eyepiece, complete with
Knobs for focusing.
He flips over the assembly and
Slides the precision-made mirror
Onto the housing.
A cork ring cushions the mirror
So a retaining ring can be
Installed without a scratch.
The telescope's primary mirror
Is now secure to the housing.
He pieces together the
Three-part baffle, then screws
It to the lens holder protruding
From the center of the telescope
Mirror.
He joins the baffle and mirror
Assembly to the telescope tube.
The tube has already been
Equipped with a secondary mirror
That will bounce reflected
Images from the primary mirror
Back for magnification and
Viewing.
It's taken about six weeks
To build this telescope.
And now it's ready to help
Unravel the mysteries of
The universe.
If you have any comments about
The show or if you'd like to
Suggest topics for future shows,
Drop us a line at...
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