About this season
An insider's look at the engineering and scientific miracles behind the things that form the modern world.
Episodes (20)
1. Coordinate Blue Angels Airshows, Build An Indoor Ski Slope, Make Sushi
Aired 16 July 2009 • 22 min
How do pilots perform jaw-dropping aerobatic stunts at supersonic speeds without crashing? How can a ski slope in the desert be kept cool? And how is sushi made?
2. Produce Power from Waste, Customize Supercars, Make Super Steel Swords
Aired 16 July 2009 • 22 min
How do they turn the trash from the world's biggest St Patrick's Day parade into power, transform a luxury limo into a racing car and craft the ultimate supersteel sword?
3. Cowboys Hats, Deep Sea Dive, Inflight Catering
Aired 23 July 2009 • 22 min
How do they make the world's most famous hat, and does it really hold ten gallons? Plus, how do they repair cables on the sea floor and feed 100,000 aeroplane...
4. De-Ice Planes, Glossy Magazines, Electric Sports Car
Aired 30 July 2009 • 22 min
How do they stop planes from icing up; how is clay used to keep glossy magazines looking sharp; and how do they build an electric car that can reach 200kmph?
5. Communicate With Spacecraft, Maintain Supertankers
Aired 6 August 2009 • 22 min
How do they talk to spacecraft in orbit; how do they keep the world's biggest ships in tip-top condition; and how can they lengthen luxury limos and still provide a...
6. Operate Mega Hotels, Cut Metal With Lasers, Build A Gold Course In Dubai
Aired 13 August 2009 • 22 min
How do they provide services in one of the world's largest casino hotels, cut through metal with a beam of light, and build a golf course in the desert?
7. Drill Through Solid Rock, Produce OJ, Bend Glass
Aired 20 August 2009 • 22 min
How do they drill through a kilometre of solid rock to find the hidden riches in the desert, pick 20,000 oranges a minute for juice, and get glass to curve...
8. Service Jumbo Jets, Create Nuclear Power, Build Pianos
Aired 27 August 2009 • 22 min
How do they service the A380, the world's largest plane? Plus, how do they generate 500,000 kWh from 1oz of uranium, and build and tune a piano to concert standard?
9. Artificial Reefs, Earthquake Proof Buildings, Rocket Fuel Cars
Aired 3 September 2009 • 22 min
How do they turn an old warship into a playground for scuba divers, plan to stop San Francisco collapsing when the next earthquake strikes, and run a car on rocket...
10. Develop G-Suits, Operate The Smart Grid, Track And Stop A Stolen Car
Aired 10 September 2009 • 22 min
How do they make the magic suits that stop jet pilots blacking out when they are flying, and how can a robo-cop stop a stolen car without a high-speed chase?
11. Assembly Line Robots, Seal Wine Bottles, Desalinize Sea Water
Aired 17 September 2009 • 22 min
How do they program robots to build cars, how are wine bottles sealed, and how can sea water be transformed into fresh drinking water?
12. Airplane Parachutes, Solar Power, Photochromic Lenses
Aired 24 September 2009 • 22 min
How do they use explosive rockets to catch crashing planes in mid-air and how do sunbathing techniques help scientists catch rays of sun? Plus, the shady secrets of sunglasses.
13. Blast Through Rock, Map Earth, Provide Flowers Year-Round
Aired 1 October 2009 • 22 min
Find out how they blast 10,000 tonnes of rock, how the earth is mapped from space, and how fresh flowers are provided all year round.
14. Work In 600 Degree Heat, Make Champagne, Expand One Of The World's Largest Ports
Aired 8 October 2009 • 22 min
How do they fashion cool clothing that can withstand the heat of a furnace, and how do they turn sea into land to create artificial islands? Plus, putting the fizz...
15. Manufacture Propellers, Create Intelligent Cars, Turn Metal Into Magnets
Aired 15 October 2009 • 22 min
How have they designed a car that can call the emergency services? How is metal turned into magnets? And how are the biggest ships propelled?
16. Maintain The World's Largest Aquarium, Make Sapphire, Manufacture Bentleys
Aired 22 October 2009 • 22 min
How do they look after sharks at the world's biggest aquarium? How do they grow precious stones? And what does it take to build a luxury Bentley?
17. Mine Oil, Operate Shipping Lanes, Restore Film
Aired 29 October 2009 • 22 min
How do they avoid docking disasters when handling a thousand ships a day, how do they create a world of oil reserves from sticky forest mud, or bring old movies...
18. Make Batteries, Build Artificial Islands, Create Perfume
Aired 12 November 2009 • 22 min
How do they make batteries from brine? How do they build a tropical island from trash? And how are fragrances blended to create different types of scents?
19. Manufacture Stainless Steel, Make Paper, Monster Motorcycle
Aired 19 November 2009 • 22 min
How can steel repair itself? How do they create the world's most powerful bikes? And how is wood transformed into paper?
20. Make Military Helicopters, Design Metro Systems, Engineer Artificial Reefs
Aired 19 November 2012 • 22 min
Find out how they make military helicopters, how they design metro systems and how they engineer artificial reefs.