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00:00Around the world, the race to win wars and explore the universe has created some of the most incredible products ever designed,
00:08and we use them every day, unaware of their amazing origins.
00:14On Incredible Inventions, the nylon stocking, why does a dainty fashion item cause riots during World War II?
00:23The LED, exactly how is this tiny light helping NASA astronauts explore the stars?
00:30The Rowlett-Rutland Toaster. What has toast and World War II got in common?
00:36We reveal the amazing history and engineering behind these incredible inventions.
01:00Throughout history, humans have developed clothing for practicality, warmth, and to look good.
01:07Though there is one revolutionary item that stands out for its effect on the U.S. economy.
01:12The Nylon Stocking.
01:18At the beginning, stockings were made from silk and from cotton.
01:22Until the 18th century, it was worn only by men.
01:27And only in the 19th century, the women started to wear stockings.
01:32Everything changed in the 20s.
01:35Because of the revolution in fashion, and because of that, that showing the legs became socially acceptable.
01:44However, originally, the fabric is not so appealing.
01:47Until 1935, when Wallace Carruthers, a chemist at DuPont Labs, introduces a new durable alternative to silk.
01:56Nylon.
01:57This new material proves to be extremely useful.
02:01It's durable, waterproof, mold-resistant, fast-drying, and can be spun into fibers.
02:06DuPont recognizes its enormous potential and decides to use it as a clothing fabric.
02:10Because of its almost transparent appearance and high durability, nylon stockings become incredibly popular.
02:22They're the fashion statement of the 1940s, with 4 million pairs sold on one day alone.
02:28DuPont helps create the perfect product for the new nylon material.
02:32Then, in the dark days of World War II.
02:34Nylon was needed during the war, particularly to replace silk.
02:37Because when the Japanese entered the war, they took over the supply lanes and took over a lot of the supply from silk in Southeast Asia.
02:44DuPont ceases the production of nylon stockings in order to manufacture rope, airplane cords, and parachutes.
02:51This leads to riots breaking out across the U.S. from August 1945 to March 1946.
02:57All for the prized possession of a good pair of stockings.
03:00When DuPont resumes production of the nylon garment in 1946, 30 million pairs are shipped every month.
03:07A popular item worth fighting for, born in a chemist's lab that revolutionized fashion all over the world.
03:13The nylon stocking is, without a doubt, an incredible invention.
03:17The Adrian Tights factory in Poland has been making stockings and tights since 1984.
03:28We have stockings, tights, holds up, knee highs, and socks.
03:33The factory uses the latest in modern machinery to design and manufacture high-fashion hosiery in a wide range of patterns and colors to the highest quality standard.
03:41It is the second largest hosiery factory in Poland, producing almost one million pairs of tights and socks per month.
03:50We have fashion collection, maternity collection, plus size collection, wedding, and even collection for a man.
04:02The process of manufacturing tights starts by placing yarn on the stands of the machine.
04:07The threads are fed to the cinder of the machine from four different sites.
04:14The leg section of the tight is made inside the cylinder.
04:18Upon a single rotation of the cylinder, four rows are formed at a time.
04:23The process of manufacturing knitted fabric is fully automated.
04:28Usually the knitting machine contains from 300 to 420 needles.
04:34After approximately three minutes, the finished leg section is transferred by pneumatic beater into the back.
04:43One knitting machine can produce approximately 150 to 400 pairs of tights a day.
04:52Tights are checked by stretching them on the control mall.
04:56The operator inspects the item and looks for potential faults in the fabric.
04:59In each production batch, the product parameters are controlled by the gauging device.
05:10It checks longitudinal and lateral stretchability of the product,
05:13as well as checking that the size conform to the company standards.
05:20Next step, the toes of the tights are sewn together.
05:23The operator puts the products against a tube and sucks the stocking inside by using compressed air.
05:35Next, the machine automatically turns the tights inside out.
05:40It then sews the toes of the tights together.
05:42Then the product is automatically turned outside in and discharged by the automatic feeder.
05:46During an eight-hour shift, a single machine sews together approximately 4,000 pairs of tights.
05:58Once the toes of the tights are sewn, the single leg is sliced apart at the top
06:02and then made into pairs by sewing two uppers together,
06:09while at the same time sewing an additional piece of cotton-knitted fabric called a gusset,
06:14which improves the comfort of the tights along the midsection.
06:18Here, the elastic crochet tape is also sewn on.
06:24Finished tights are packed into bags and placed in the dyer,
06:28a machine that dyes the tights the selected color.
06:32Depending on the color intensity, the dyeing process takes between four and eight hours.
06:39Several randomly selected samples from each batch are taken to the lab,
06:44where they are tested for conformity to the color standard in different types of lighting.
06:52After the residual moisture has been removed, the process of stabilization or ironing starts.
06:59The operator places the tights on metal molds,
07:02which is then transferred into a high-pressure chamber.
07:05When the product leaves the high-pressure chamber,
07:10it passes to the drying chamber with a system of infrared radiators.
07:16The drying temperature is approximately 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
07:22After the stabilization process,
07:24tights are checked and finished manually,
07:26for example, by threading on all the metal strings.
07:29Next, the product is folded and packed in the film pouch
07:35that provides additional protection from damage.
07:38The pouches are then placed in decorated cardboard envelopes,
07:41which are labeled with barcodes and information about the model, color, and size.
07:48Finished and tested tights are packed in bulk cartons and shipped to customers.
07:52Nylon stockings certainly had a great impact on fashion and World War II,
07:56just as LED lights play a role in space exploration.
08:00But exactly how may surprise you.
08:12The light behind the latest flat-screen TV reminds you that you've left a device on.
08:20LEDs, or light-emitting diodes,
08:22are the tiny little lamps that are lighting up our world.
08:25These tiny, bright dots have become a familiar part of our everyday lives.
08:30But their connection to pioneering space travel is not widely known.
08:37LEDs are developed in Dallas, Texas, in the early 1960s,
08:40and emit light through a phenomenon called electroluminescence,
08:44which describes light being produced by a material
08:46as an electric current or field passes through it.
08:49This scientific behavior is first discovered in England over 100 years ago by Henry Joseph Round.
08:58But it's not until the introduction of the LED in 1962 that electroluminescence finds its commercial use.
09:05The first LEDs only emit infrared light that's not visible to the human eye.
09:09Think of the little LED on the front of a remote control.
09:14But research has found that using different materials and compounds changes the light frequency,
09:19which in turn translates to different colors emitting from the LED.
09:23Soon, the race is on to develop semiconductors made from a variety of exotic-sounding combinations.
09:28Pretty colors is where the connection with space travel comes in.
09:34Space is vast, and space travel lengthy.
09:36For instance, it took nearly three days for the Apollo missions to reach our nearest cosmic neighbor, the Moon.
09:42Mars, our next nearest world, has an estimated travel time of nearly two years.
09:47So how do you keep your crew fit and healthy for this length of time?
09:50Fresh food and the development of those little LEDs that you come in contact with every day
09:58are being used by NASA to enable future Mars explorers to grow food in the unforgiving vacuum of space.
10:04The best possible use of LEDs in space is to actually grow food.
10:07You can provide a continual source of light.
10:10You can provide it cheaply.
10:12The components are actually very efficient and very reliable.
10:16And you can protrude them to produce exactly the colors you want.
10:19But why is a constant source of light so important for healthy plant growth?
10:25As you probably know, a plant grows by a process called photosynthesis.
10:30Plants contain a pigment called chlorophyll that usually gives a plant its characteristic green color.
10:35Chlorophyll captures the sun's energy and uses it to make sugars out of carbon dioxide from the air and water.
10:42The sugars fuel the plant's roots, stems, and leaves, so the plant can grow.
10:47And light is a key ingredient to make this happen.
10:50In 2014, the International Space Station begins experimenting with growing plants using NASA's VeggieGrow system.
10:58The VeggieGrow is comprised of an array of LED lights with pillows that contain the seeds, fertilizers, clay, and water
11:04that lead to healthy lettuce being grown high above the Earth's atmosphere.
11:08But NASA's expertise with tunings and LED color doesn't stop at growing plants.
11:16NASA has found a use for that nasty red light, too.
11:21It's called red light therapy and is being used to aid the recovery of a wide variety of conditions
11:26by aiding the body's ability to repair itself.
11:29Red light therapy can help repair tissues on a much quicker level by stimulating the circulation
11:36and in turn will increase the chemical messengers called cytokines to stimulate the fibroblasts,
11:42which is cells that can help produce collagen and hence repair tissue quicker.
11:47The application of this red light technology is used in areas as diverse as pain relief in cancer patients
11:53to the treatment of sports injuries and anti-aging regimes.
11:58So the next time you use your remote, turn your car headlights on, or watch your flat-screen TV,
12:04the same technology illuminating your world may one day be healing a wound or growing food on a spaceship
12:11as it hurtles toward Mars.
12:13The LED, truly an incredible invention.
12:18Coming up, a special experiment that puts the LED light to the test.
12:23So, how efficient is an LED light?
12:41Well, we are going to put it to the test.
12:44The experiment?
12:45We are going to take a glorious zesty lemon and turn it into a natural battery
12:50with enough electric juice to light up our low-voltage LED.
12:56To begin, we will need a lemon.
12:59Actually, maybe a few.
13:01Electric wires with crocodile clips, copper pieces, zinc-coated nails, and finally, our little LED.
13:09Next, we gently crush and roll the lemons to release the juice inside.
13:13Then, a wire is connected to a piece of copper, and another to a zinc-coated nail.
13:23The copper and nail are then pushed into each end of the lemon.
13:29This process is repeated until we have three fruity lemon battery cells.
13:33Now, the technical bit.
13:38We connect the wires attached to the copper to the wires linked to the zinc nails.
13:43To form a chain,
13:45we then connect a crocodile clip wire from the last remaining copper end,
13:52and another crocodile clip wire on the zinc-coated nail at the other end of the chain.
13:56Connect the zinc nail to the negative terminal on the LED,
14:01and the copper nail to the positive terminal,
14:03and let there be light.
14:07And the science?
14:08The energy to power the light does not come from the lemon,
14:11but rather a chemical change in the zinc
14:13as the surface of the galvanized nail starts to dissolve from the juice inside the lemon.
14:19This is called oxidation,
14:21and the energy released produces electricity.
14:23The metal provides the power,
14:26and the lemon merely provides an environment where this can happen.
14:31Does a fruity future await us?
14:33Probably not,
14:34as it would take over six million lemon cells
14:36to create the same power as an average car battery,
14:39which demonstrates how energy-efficient this little light is.
14:46The Rowlett Rutland Toaster.
14:48It's a humble kitchen appliance with a military connection.
14:51But before we explain how,
14:54let's understand the history behind making toast.
14:57It's thought the Egyptians developed the basic formula
15:00for the type of bread we know and love about 3,000 years ago.
15:04But they encountered the same problem that we still have.
15:07How to stop bread from quickly going stale?
15:11Historically, when people made bread at home,
15:14when you make bread at home today,
15:15you'll notice your bread will go staler a lot quicker
15:18than the stuff you'll buy in a supermarket
15:20purely because the stuff in the supermarket
15:21is pumped full of sugars, also preservatives.
15:24The only way that bread tastes good when it's stale
15:26is if you whack it in the toaster,
15:28and really there is nothing better than stale bread for the toaster
15:30because it's lost all that moisture anyway.
15:33It becomes even crispier,
15:34and even toastier, and even tastier.
15:36Before toasters,
15:38toasting isn't an exact science.
15:39But now there is real science
15:42behind what makes a perfect platform
15:43for your hot, buttery treat.
15:45Scientifically, when we toast bread,
15:47we have what's known as the Maillard reaction.
15:49That's when amino acids interact with producing sugars,
15:52and they kind of have a bit of a party,
15:54and you get all these beautiful, like,
15:55tastes and flavors coming out.
15:57You get a sweetness from that chemical reaction.
16:00It's an item found in kitchens all across the U.S.
16:03But how is it made?
16:05Find out when we return.
16:09So, what is the military link with the toaster?
16:22Rowlett Rutland's founder, Ted Rutland,
16:24started making toasters using the same tools
16:27that had been making components for tanks
16:28during World War II.
16:31As an added bonus,
16:32there was a surplus of a particular material after the war.
16:35The first toasters had a large amount of aluminium in them
16:41because after the war,
16:42there was a surplus of high-quality aluminium,
16:44which was to make aeroplanes,
16:46and so everything was made of aluminium.
16:48It became quite cheap.
16:50Rutland toasters have been the power behind
16:53the perfect toast since 1947,
16:55and they are still going strong today.
16:57They are also the proud makers
17:00of the king of all toasters,
17:02a six-foot-long, 34-slot monster
17:04which holds the current record
17:06for the longest toaster in the world.
17:09So, how are these shiny marbles made?
17:12The manufacturer of the toaster's case
17:15is the first stage in the process.
17:18A sheet of stainless steel
17:19is placed in the CNC machine,
17:22and the toaster's sides and air vents
17:24are punched out
17:24to leave all four sides
17:26as one continuous steel strip.
17:32Next, the toaster has its corners
17:34formed by the steel strip
17:35in a machine called a press brake.
17:39In press brake forming,
17:41the sheet is positioned over the die block,
17:43and the die block presses the sheet
17:45to form the corner shape.
17:47The steel sheet is now starting
17:49to resemble the actual toaster,
17:51but the sides still need to be connected,
17:53and this worker uses an air gun
17:56to rivet the sides together.
18:03The toaster case is now powder-coated
18:05to give it a tough and smooth finish.
18:10While the toaster case is being finished,
18:12the assembly of the internal workings,
18:14called the inner screen, begins.
18:17To start, a metal screen with a heat shield
18:20and both end panels are riveted together.
18:23The toaster's guard wires are then slid into position
18:27and the remaining screen lined up over the wires
18:29with another heat shield riveted together
18:31to form a metal box.
18:35The finger bar, which the toast rests on,
18:38and a retaining strip
18:39are then fixed onto the bottom of the inner assembly.
18:41Then, the heating elements are inserted into the toaster.
18:49The element is a critical part of the toaster.
18:53The toaster must provide heat, but not melt, while in use,
18:56so microwires wrapped around mica sheets
18:59are the foundation of the heat source.
19:01Mica is a natural silicon mineral
19:03and has fantastic heat-resistant properties.
19:05The electrical properties of the four elements
19:08used in the toaster depend on where they are positioned.
19:11We've put 400-watt elements at the end of the toaster.
19:15That's only going to toast one side of the bread,
19:17so it's slightly lower in value than the middle elements,
19:20which are 500-watt.
19:21Finishing with a 400 at this end as well.
19:24They're all in.
19:26Then we're going to link them together
19:27with these copper links.
19:28The inner screen is now finished
19:34and can be fixed into the toaster case,
19:36which has now had a timer and electric wires fitted.
19:40A polished metal cover is carefully placed on top of the toaster
19:44and then screwed into place.
19:47The toaster is then flipped over
19:49and a handle connected to the finger bar
19:51to allow the user to manually pop the toast up.
19:56Toaster wires are then connected
19:58to the heating elements.
20:00The next stage is for the toaster to be inspected.
20:03To begin, it is carefully checked for scratches, dents,
20:06and to make sure all knobs and rivets are in place,
20:08and the timer and finger bar operate successfully.
20:13The toaster is then given an electrical check
20:15to make sure that all the wires and elements
20:17are functioning correctly.
20:20The toaster is nearly ready.
20:22In the packaging area,
20:23a bottom plate crumb drawer and feet
20:25are secured to the underside of the toaster.
20:28The toaster is then wrapped and boxed,
20:35ready to be sent out to toast lovers all over the world.
20:38It's just a design which you can't really improve on.
20:44You know, it works.
20:45It makes perfect toast.
20:46You can't make it any differently.
20:48It's just, it ain't broke.
20:50Don't fix it.
20:53So there you have it.
20:55A glance through the hidden history and super science
20:57of some amazing products we use every day.
21:02The nylon stocking,
21:04the LED,
21:05and the Rowlett Rutland toaster.
21:07They may seem common and ordinary.
21:08However,
21:09these products help change the world
21:11one incredible invention at a time.