► HOW IT WORKS | Solar Panels, Bananas, Axes, Platinum rings | Episode 18 | Free Documentary

the shell that reveals how extraordinary items in our world our designs constructed and produced see the engineering the technology and big ideas that make the world go round find out how it works [Music] coming up held a British supermarket ship green bananas all the way from Costa Rica get them onto the shelves just as they start to ripen Swedish Vikings were famous for their love of the axe and today we'll learn about one of the oldest tools in man's toolbox and turning junk into jewelry we'll see how the Platinum from recycled computers is turned into an A List as accessories but first when you think of Sun and sand holidays in the Caribbean are usually what spring to mind but have you ever thought about solar panels instead the main ingredient that makes them work is silicon or sand which comes from rocks found in a quarry like this it's out of the quarry and into the fire the first stage is to get the silicon out of the rocks and that's done in this enormous furnace temperatures reach well over 10,000 degrees Celsius this is unbelievably hot and also quite dangerous to keep their eyebrows safe the men work they are using long poles silicon is used to make everything from window glass to the processes in your home computer and without it a solar panel just wouldn't work huge barrels are used to carry it around the factory nothing else could withstand the immense heat involved in this form in his liquid molten silicon but to make solar panels certain chemicals need to be added to it first the all needs to be crystallized which occurs here in this cooling machine the silicon is so hot it could melt right through it but the boffins have come up with a solution cold water is pumped round it as it works which acts like watery air-conditioning the super hot crystallized silicon emerges from the machine but how will this help to harness energy from the Sun solar panels are made using thin slices of silicon which have two unique layers in them these are created using two chemical processes which affect the silicon at different times during production time for stage 1 this is where the first chemical is added it will help make the silicon more conductive together to combined properly the tank is sealed into a large furnace and left for 2 days it's like cooking a big stew and the chef keeps a close eye on his recipe when the buzzer rings the cooking is complete the furnace is opened and the silicon block emerges this block would be far too big too pulling a roof which is where solar panels usually go the average roof wouldn't support it so now it needs to be cut down to size cutting solid crystal isn't like cutting butter it can be very dangerous so a protective shield is raised to keep workers safe diamond tip blades then slice through it cutting individual panel sized columns ready for the next stage the columns are now the right size but they are still far too thick to convert the sun's energy into electricity so they need to be cut down even further by this machine it has hundreds of spinning wires which slice their way slowly through each column what they leave behind is wafer thin sheets of silicon crystal perfect for solar panels the slices must be separated to be cleaned but no machine exists that's sensitive enough to do it without breaking them it must be done by hand because the panels are barely fingernail width and incredibly fragile wherever humans are part of a process contamination follows because we release millions of dust particles the freshly cut slices must now be thoroughly washed before they can be treated with this second chemical once the treatment is in place the panels are returned to the furnace and baked to create the two separate layers [Music] no this isn't a pattern for a new kind of urban camouflage it's the basic unit that makes up a larger solar panel it comes in two different colors but this isn't a fashion statement the blue shade is added so the panel can absorb more lights and make more energy the panels are also treated with an anti-reflective coating which is painted on and then baked into place any light the panel reflects would simply be wasted energy now the panels are clean properly treated and wearing this season's colors they're ready to make electricity but how do you get power out of them hide set Computers align the panels and the next machine paints a layer of this gray guns onto them it looks like bad school custard but it's actually semi liquid metal it helps conduct energy from the panel into the electricity grid and through a plug in to whatever appliance you're using [Music] [Music] we can now assemble a full-sized solar panel each wafer acts like a battery that generates its own electricity but to get power out the panels are assembled in rows connected by metallic pathways with neat rows all hooked up the machine can put all the pieces together it's like making a gigantic chip butty only the chips are made of silicon a large slice of glass makes the base followed by layers of adhesive paper the silicon panels and more adhesive to hold it in place the final layer is the frame to hold it all together even though English weather isn't always sunny solar panels can work in our cloudy conditions they just need to be cleaned installed and plugged in so as Britain's summers get sunnier solar panels will work to help us cut down our harmful carbon emissions it's official bananas are the most popular fruit in the UK and we scoffed almost 1 billion of them last year but unlike apples or pears we import our bananas from far-off places here in Costa Rica this plantation is the size of 324 football pitches the workers use a pulley system to get themselves around it's meant to transport the fruit but catching a lift saves them from walking modern bananas are sterile so each new plant must be taken from an old cutting this is pretty tough work as the plants can grow several metres tall if the workers didn't replant each year the plantation would stop producing once the fruit begins to emerge the plants must be pruned the large purple flowers at the base diverts energy that will produce bigger tastier bananas so the workers remove it the remaining bunches the point of bags coated with insecticides to protect them from being eaten [Music] to keep the insects at bay the crops are also sprayed but not by an aeroplane they use a high-tech chopper which is more agile it's controlled by satellite technology which stops local workers being covered with pesticides in their own homes these bananas have a radius of 3 centimetres and are though they're not ripe yet now is the perfect time to collect them when the fruit has reached this ideal size these guys have the job of preparing them for the packing plant their protective bags are removed and foam inserts are placed between the bunches if the fruit have even the tiniest bruises UK customers leave them on the shelf so they're protected right from the start enormous bunches are loaded onto the pulley system and join a long traffic jam of other fruit heading for the processing plant now you'd need an enormous trolley to buy a bunch of sixty bananas with your weekly shopping so now they're separated into smaller ones before being sent for a bath [Music] tough EU laws legislate for bananas size shape and even their curve so the workers must be sure there are no slip-ups with any fruit that aren't up to scratch any that fail are thrown onto the waste conveyor but they aren't discarded they'll be used to feed local livestock or sent to be processed into baby food the remaining bananas are then sent off for another bath which kills off any spiders who may be trying to hitch a ride to a supermarket near you the fruit is given its trademark branding and boxes are built to store them for their long journey across the Atlantic this plantation has produced over 270,000 boxes of bananas they're packed up and sent by the lorry load to the docks here that put onboard ships in specially cooled containers for the journey to Europe they won't be enjoying any Sun on the deck though it's an eleven-day journey and being in the Sun would ripen them too early we're now finally unloaded the bananas are still green this means they can be stored until the shops need them they're stacked in sealed ripening rooms when the stores need them these rooms will be flooded with ethylene gas this gas ripens the bananas at a regular measurable pace which means the stores know exactly when they are ready for the shelves so from the exotic fields of a Costa Rican plantation to the supermarket trolley in the UK the Brits are certainly bananas about their bananas [Music] [Music] still to come the wood axe is forged in the flames of a Swedish furnace we'll find out just how that works and you need a platinum credit card to buy a platinum ring but we'll find out how scientists can turn junk into jewelry you [Music] whether you think of roaring log fires in the outdoors way of life or is seen from your favorite horror film the wood axe is one of the oldest tools used by man this swedish axe master can make a new axe head using side steel a blast furnace and a few whacks from his industrial hammer to get the steel soft enough to shape it he feeds solid bars of it into the heart of his Forge he has to use pincers because it burns at an incredible 1,200 degrees Celsius once it's red-hot he can slice through it like soft toffee a lump the size of a fist will be enough to make an axe head but he knows he can't hang around by the 10th whack his axe is already starting to take shape successive blows help to finish it off and compress the metal for strength now even the toughest of Vikings needed a handle to wield an axe so the blacksmith has got to include a hole for one but he's working against the clock here because the metal is cooling fast he inserts a steel peg which is hammered into place it'll press the hole wide enough for the handle the same is done from the other side to ensure the hole goes all the way through as the blade head cools that red glow dies and it's becoming harder to shape it but the last blow doesn't need much power the final whack puts his personal stamp on the axe and his work is done over 50,000 axes are made here every year and that means the company has a reputation to uphold so as well as making strong access there's the small matter of making them sharp too using his full body weight the sharpen and leans each blade instead of grinding wheel giving it a razor-sharp edge conveniently it also shines up the blade so it'll clear nicely in the Sun once the sharpening is complete the blade must be hardened steel may feel tough but depending on its carbon content it can be quite soft the axe head is passed through a machine which heats it up and then it's dropped into a bath of cold water this process doubles the hardness of the steel which will help it last longer all this activity has excited the metal it's not jumping up and down in shouting a lot but the molecules in the metal are now very active when this happens the blade can become fragile so they're now placed in what's called a relaxing furnace here they are heated for an hour at 195 degrees Celsius once the blades are cool calm and collected they're ready to face the dull tapped safety test before they're ready to chop some trunks though they need a quick makeover a quick shine helps to enhance that powerful menacing look here you can see the difference it can make the first blade is the raw metal the second one has been ground down and sharpened and the final one here has been polished and it's ready to chop some firewood finally the blades are oiled is protects them from rust and corrosion all that's missing is something to hold it with funnily enough the axe that will cut down trees ends up with a wooden handle it's strong but also flexible enough to withstand the impacts it experiences the handle guy inserts a steel collar into the blade the wood has been cut to fit this but he still needs to use an air compressor to get the two together [Music] a quick test make sure it's seated properly and then a wedge of wood will be glued into the end this looks quite simple but it spreads the handle out and stops it from slipping free a tough woodsman wouldn't look so tough with his blade was to fly off and hit someone [Music] that's just time for the final trim to remove the excess wood and a quick visit to the sander before a brand new chopper is ready for action so like the actor wielding it in a horror film the woodsman's axe has been very well pampered to get it ready for its close-up if you want to show her you love her an engagement ring is a nice touch but don't be fooled by cheap imitations like ordinary gold if you really want to sweep someone off their feet only platinum will do it's expensive stuff with twice as much per kilo as gold is so it's kept under lock and key because it's also quite rare workers recycle and reuse it wherever possible and that's where this box of industrial waste comes in contained within this waste is pure platinum and the brainiac's of this chemical plants are going to separate it out from the other metals all the debris is put into this enormous glass flask the glass is important because it resists the chemicals they are about to use yes this is the fun bit of chemistry my trick acid and hydrochloric acid are poured in then the flask is sealed over the next two days the metals will dissolve until all you're left with is this acidic black suit Platinum recovery is like a big experiment only the scientists know what the outcome is going to be the next dangers to separate the platinum from the other metals and that's done with this powder the powder is added at the top of the flask and as it filters down the platinum particles stick to it leaving the other cheaper metals behind slowly it settles to the bottom and once this scientists are happy all the liquid will be drained off leaving them with a big bucket of sand light great now you might have a hard time convincing anyone that this is the most valuable metal in the world so the grit is then placed into trays and incinerated 950 degrees Celsius everything but the metal is burned off and when the boffins open up the furnace what's left looks like asphalt it's actually platinum but it's been filled with air bubbles from the furnace to turn it into the shiny metal that's so sought-after for making jewelry it needs to be reheated in an airtight furnace this powerful oven can reach 2,000 degrees Celsius and can be kept airtight while it does this the platinum slag is added in the heaters turned up and the aerated metal is melted down the lid is then closed and all the air extracted even the Terminator wouldn't survive in here [Music] what emerges has to be the most expensive brick in the world just one kilo of this precious metal is worth over twenty thousand pounds in this form it would be a bit awkward to wear so specialist at the factory turned the blocks into tubes the jeweler's can use them to make rings or any other jewelry your girlfriend might want slices are cut off the tube in a sealed environment to ensure nothing is lost and this is what you end up with gold and silver are weak so they're mixed with other metals to strengthen them but this reduces their value platinum is strong enough to be worked alone which is another reason it's so valuable sizing is quite a simple process but if the customer prefers a thinner style more metal must be carved away using a lathe lubricated with high quality oil micro fine slivers of the ring are carved away again nothing is wasted and the jeweler and a computer both keep a very close eye on what's going on [Music] [Music] because it's so rare and your girlfriend isn't gonna want any old ring platinum jewelry is often made to order only experts get to work with this precious metal and they have to know what they're doing heat is the most common tool melting the metal makes it pliable but if he keeps the flame on too long the ring will collapse into an expensive but ugly blob another tool that can be used to create a mount for jewels is this saw tiny quantities of the ring are carved away to create the setting for the gemstone to fit into it now you could try this with your black & decker workmate but we really wouldn't advise it alternatively smaller stones can be placed into ready-made settings like this one an electric hammer gently closes the metal around the stone which will hold it in place and finally the ring is polished ready to be worn gold and silver change color as they age but because of its purity platinum doesn't so like the credit card you've always dreamed of this is platinum and it's worth twice its weight in gold [Music]

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 1,422,784

Rating: 4.6846986 out of 5

Keywords: How it Works, How It's Made (TV Program), Solar Panel (Product Category), How it Works Solar Panel, Solar Panel How it Works, Solar Energy (Industry), Banana, Axes, How its made Axe, Platinum (Chemical Element), Platinum Ring, Platinum How it works

Id: 1JZnDJbQza0

Length: 23min 34sec (1414 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 28 2014