Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Snowboard binding highbacks transfer calf pressure to the heel edge
Press your calf into the snowboard’s highback and it pushes the board onto its heel edge. The tall plastic piece turns a small lean into a firm steering…
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An airline timetable measures more than flying time
The published duration includes movement on the ground as well as time in the air. Taxi queues, congestion, and schedule buffers can make a trip look long…
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A trolleybus follows a road—and a second route overhead
Two poles collect electricity from overhead wires, which guide its power supply through junctions. The tires steer on ordinary pavement while the poles must…
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Monobobs are standardized single-person racing bobsleds
In monobob, every racer gets the same standardized sled, so nobody arrives with a secret equipment advantage. The contest shifts to the athlete’s push,…
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Fuel pump handles feature tiny clips so you can walk away
A clip props the trigger open while fuel flows. Near the nozzle tip, a little air passage senses when gasoline reaches the filler neck and releases the…
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Heavy derricks balance massive loads via counterweights
A derrick’s load pulls one way on its boom, so a heavy counterweight pulls the other way. That opposing force reduces the boom’s tipping torque and lets the…
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Freight rail moves a ton almost 500 miles per gallon
That U.S. industry average spreads a train's fuel use across the freight it carries; it does not mean a locomotive travels 500 miles on one gallon. Low…
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Pompeii's worn curbs preserve clues to ancient traffic direction
Archaeologist Eric Poehler examined the marks carts left in paving and curb stones. Wheel ruts reveal heavy use; wear at corners helps reconstruct how…
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Your rearview mirror can dim itself
Sensors spot bright headlights behind you and trigger an electrochromic layer in the mirror to darken. The glare gets turned down without moving the…
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Potholes form when underground moisture expands
Water seeps into cracks beneath the pavement; when it freezes, it expands and pries the road layers apart. Thawing leaves a weakened patch, and passing tires…
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Taxi partitions exist purely to protect the driver
A partition puts a solid barrier between the driver and the back seat, limiting a passenger’s reach and shielding the driver during a robbery or assault. It…
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The giant sail that pulls boats downwind
A giant kite sail flies high above the boat, where the wind is stronger and less disturbed by the water. Its pull has a forward component, drawing the vessel…
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A seatbelt saves you partly by giving way
The belt gives a little under load, stretching to slow your body over more time instead of stopping it in a brutal instant. That controlled give softens the…
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Paddlewheelers push water with a giant bucket wheel
The wheel’s paddles push water backward, and the boat moves forward in response. Some paddlewheelers use bucket-shaped blades to keep each paddle working in…
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Gondola cabins are clamped directly onto a moving cable
A grip clamps each cabin to the moving cable, carrying it along at the cable’s speed. The cabin doesn’t need its own motor; it simply hangs on to the…
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Driving backward won't lower your odometer
The odometer counts wheel rotations, not your progress toward home. Reverse gear still turns the wheels, so the mileage keeps climbing—your car logs the…
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Stroller under-seat baskets have strict weight limits
The basket sits behind the stroller’s wheels, so too much weight there can tip the whole rig backward. Its limit keeps the center of gravity in a safer place.…
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Early hot-air balloons needed a ground crew
Early hot-air balloons needed people on the ground to hold the fabric, manage the ropes, and help keep the balloon pointed into the wind during inflation. The…
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Thermal airships use standard heated air instead of helium
Heating the air inside the envelope makes it expand and grow less dense than the cooler air outside, so the airship rises. The lifting gas is ordinary air;…
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Your steering wheel is a handrail you rarely think to clean
Hands repeatedly transfer material to the wheel, then return to it throughout a journey. Studies of car interiors have found bacteria on these frequently…
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Transit trains run through massive automated washing bays
The train rolls through a fixed wash while jets and brushes clean its long sides in one pass. Because the whole train moves through the equipment, the wash…
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A diesel engine ran on peanut oil at the Paris exposition
At the 1900 event, the Otto company demonstrated a diesel engine running on peanut oil at the French government's suggestion. Compression heated the air…
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Gibraltar's runway used to stop the road traffic
Cars once queued while aircraft crossed Winston Churchill Avenue. A tunnel opened in March 2023 to take ordinary motor traffic around that conflict, while…
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Why recumbent bikes are fast—and hard to see
A recumbent rider sits low with legs stretched forward, presenting less body to the wind. That cuts air resistance and helps the bike speed along—but also…
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