Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Vaping in a lavatory triggers massive financial fines
Lavatory smoke detectors respond to airborne particles, and vaping sends an aerosol cloud into the room. Triggering an alarm risks a flight diversion and…
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How workers moved a lighthouse with soap
Soap lubricated the path beneath the lighthouse, reducing friction as workers eased the heavy tower forward on supports. The building slid instead of grinding…
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A Roman road map stretched the empire into a strip
The surviving Peutinger map is a medieval copy of an ancient route diagram. It emphasizes roads, settlements, and connections while distorting geographical…
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Why river towboats push their barges
River towboats usually push barges because a broad, joined-up load is easier to steer from behind than a long string dragged on a line. The boat can nudge the…
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Some rockets take their first trip lying on their side
Launch systems such as Falcon 9 can move a rocket horizontally, then raise it upright at the pad. Supporting it low to the ground simplifies that particular…
Discover moreElvis turned an airliner into a flying private suite
The Lisa Marie, a customized Convair 880, had a bedroom, meeting space, and lavish bathroom fittings. Instead of using the cabin to sell rows of passenger…
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Brake pedals are intentionally wider than gas pedals
A wide brake pedal is easier to hit fast, while the slimmer accelerator helps keep a misplaced foot from launching the car. The difference is a quiet bit of…
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Light transports vast energy completely through a vacuum
Light carries energy in photons, which travel through empty space without needing air, water, or any other material to push against. Sunlight crosses the…
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A bicycle's cargo can become part of its steering problem
The UK's Highway Code warns against carrying anything that affects balance or could tangle with the wheels or chain. A large load is not simply extra weight:…
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Airline radar altimeters bounce radio waves off the Earth
A radar altimeter sends radio waves downward and times their echo back from the ground. That gives the pilot height above the terrain—not just altitude above…
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Those giant bridge cables are bundles of tiny wires
A suspension bridge’s main cable is made from many high-strength wires gathered into one enormous bundle. Builders can spin the wires across the gap and bind…
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A fighter canopy can look golden because it helps hide the cockpit
A thin conductive coating reduces radar energy entering the cockpit and reflecting from its contents. The transparent opening therefore needs to work for…
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Why toilet paper falls apart in water
Toilet paper uses short fibers that separate easily once water soaks them. That makes it break up in pipes instead of traveling as one stubborn wad—the…
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Why turbulence feels like the sky dropped
When the plane hits sinking air, the aircraft and your seat move downward together. Your inner ear notices the quick shift before your eyes see anything…
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Commercial aircraft possess highly redundant wiring
Aircraft systems route important wires along separate paths, so one damaged bundle doesn’t silence every control at once. Redundancy means a single bad patch…
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Why empty trains run on forgotten tracks
On remote or little-used rural lines, operators sometimes run empty trains to scrape rust from the rails and keep vegetation from overtaking the tracks.
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Why airplane toilets use blue liquid
The blue liquid in older recirculating toilets disinfects and deodorizes the water used to flush waste. Reusing that fluid saves space and water aboard the…
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A rocket's flight path needs somewhere safe to drop the leftovers
Staging sheds empty hardware while a launch failure can scatter debris along the route. Many launch sites send flights over open water to keep that risk away…
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An Indy 500 winner used a mirror instead of a riding mechanic
Ray Harroun's single-seat car lacked the passenger other teams used to watch approaching rivals. For the 1911 race, he mounted a mirror above the cowling to…
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Red paint doesn't raise your car insurance by itself
Progressive says it doesn't even ask for a car's color when setting the price. The vehicle, driver, location, and coverage matter; a scarlet finish isn't a…
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Consists are lineups forming a single train
Railcars and locomotives couple together into one consist, forming a single train that crews can move and manage. It’s a rolling lineup with a shared schedule…
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Some airlines let falcons fly in the cabin
Falcons travel hooded and secured on a perch, where the familiar setup keeps them calm in the cabin. Some airlines even provide a place for the bird beside…
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Roller rink floors are surfaced with smooth polyurethane
A smooth polyurethane surface gives skate wheels a consistent floor to roll across, while the tough coating stands up to repeated laps. The wheels get the…
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Why storm drains send street runoff into rivers
Storm drains are built to whisk rain off streets before roads turn into ponds. In many cities, that runoff flows through separate pipes straight to…
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