Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Singapore's cable car stops inside an office tower
At HarbourFront Tower 2, passengers board on the 15th floor before traveling toward Mount Faber or Sentosa. The station is woven into the building rather than…
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Why sleeper trains loosen between cars at night
Some sleeper trains use couplings that loosen the connection between cars at night, absorbing jolts and slamming that can keep passengers awake.
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The strange vehicles that drive into rivers
Amphibious vehicles use wheels on land and a sealed hull with a propeller in water. They drive down the bank, then swap roads for rivers without changing…
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Why the Suez Canal has no locks
Because the Mediterranean and Red seas are at nearly the same level, ships can pass through the canal without being raised or lowered by locks.
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Automatic transmissions use planetary gears
Planetary gears pack several gear ratios into one compact assembly: small planet gears orbit a central sun gear inside a ring. Clutches hold different pieces…
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Most air in a modern jet engine goes around the fire
In a high-bypass turbofan, the front fan sends much of the incoming air around the hot engine core. The core powers the fan through a turbine and shaft; that…
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Rigid airships contain internal metal frameworks
A rigid airship gets its shape from a metal skeleton, not from gas pressure alone. The frame supports separate gas cells and spreads the ship’s weight across…
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Catamarans feature two parallel hulls for stability
Two hulls spaced far apart give a catamaran a wide base, so a sideways shove has to fight a long lever arm before tipping it. It stays steady by standing with…
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Jet engine fan blades withstand immense centrifugal force
A jet fan blade spins so fast that its own mass tries to fling it outward. Strong, carefully shaped blades and a stout hub hold the spinning row together—the…
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Sailboat rigging utilizes complex tension networks
A sailboat’s ropes are a tension network: some brace the mast while others pull the sails into useful shapes. The whole arrangement turns loose fabric and a…
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The scratch pad inside an astronaut’s helmet
A small rough patch inside the helmet gives an astronaut somewhere to rub an itch. With pressurized gloves and a sealed suit between hand and face, the…
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Rocket engine bells expand gas for maximum thrust
A rocket’s throat squeezes hot gas, then the widening bell gives it room to expand and rush out faster. That exhaust blasts backward; the rocket gets shoved…
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Windshield wipers use a four-bar linkage
A small motor turns a crank, and the wiper’s four-bar linkage converts that spin into a side-to-side sweep. The blade gets a broad arc from a motor that only…
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Modern passenger drones function as massive quadcopters
Several electric rotors provide lift without wings; changing their speeds tilts the aircraft and sends it in a direction. Scale up a quadcopter and the drone…
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Barges lack built-in engines and rely entirely on tugs
A tug supplies the push or pull, while the barge devotes its space to cargo instead of engines and fuel. The barge brings the load; the tug brings the…
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How firefighting planes refill from lakes
The aircraft skims a lake and lowers small scoops beneath its hull. Water pressure forces lake water into onboard tanks as the plane speeds along, so it…
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Hot air balloons inflate using a powerful ground fan
A balloon starts as a heap of fabric, so a powerful fan fills it with air and raises its envelope off the ground. Only then does the burner heat that air…
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Pilots communicate using a specialized phonetic alphabet
Pilots say “Alpha,” “Bravo,” and “Charlie” because letters like B, D, and P blur together over a crackly radio. The alphabet swaps each for a distinct word,…
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Why seaplane floats have a step underneath
The step breaks the water’s grip on the float as the seaplane gathers speed, reducing the surface dragging beneath it. With less water clinging on, the…
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Why gliders carry water they later dump
Water ballast adds weight to a glider, helping it fly faster between rising columns of air. Before landing, the pilot releases the water to shed weight and…
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The hidden turbine that powers a plane on the ground
A small auxiliary power unit—a turbine tucked in the tail—supplies electricity and compressed air while the plane sits at the gate. It also helps start the…
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Why rotary engines use a spinning triangle
The triangle-shaped rotor turns inside a close-fitting housing, and its three sides form chambers that take in fuel, squeeze it, burn it, then push out…
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A gasoline engine turns tiny sparks into your commute
A spark plug ignites compressed fuel and air inside a cylinder. The burning mixture expands, pushes the piston, and turns the crankshaft through a connecting…
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How school-bus-sized spacecraft fit in rockets
The rocket’s nose cone is narrow, so spacecraft fold their broad parts—solar panels and antennas—against the body for launch. Once the rocket releases them in…
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