1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,060 My Outro For My 20th Birthday 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:41,800 Coming up on Destination Tomorrow, painless dentistry becomes a reality with a new dental 3 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:45,600 probe designed by NASA to detect periodontal disease. 4 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:50,040 We'll also see how future technologies might allow planes to fly like a bird. 5 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:54,520 And we'll meet the man who enabled efficient supersonic flight to become a reality. 6 00:00:54,520 --> 00:01:01,160 All this and more, next on Destination Tomorrow. 7 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:02,800 Hello everyone, I'm Steele McGonigal. 8 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,520 And I'm Kara O'Brien, and welcome to Destination Tomorrow. 9 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:11,000 This program will uncover how past, present, and future research is creating today's knowledge 10 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:14,360 to answer the questions and solve the challenges of tomorrow. 11 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:19,040 We begin with an issue that affects all aircraft that fly in our atmosphere. 12 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:23,160 The formation of ice on airplanes is not only an issue on the runway during cold weather, 13 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:25,840 but can form on airplanes in flight. 14 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,400 This problem can be a dangerous situation for any piloted aircraft. 15 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:34,440 Fortunately, NASA has been conducting research on icing with a unique wind tunnel facility 16 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:37,600 that creates icing conditions on aircraft. 17 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:42,480 Jennifer Pulley takes Destination Tomorrow behind the scenes to see how this icing research 18 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:53,120 tunnel is helping engineers combat icing conditions on aircraft. 19 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:54,120 Thanks for the ice. 20 00:01:54,120 --> 00:02:01,880 You know, there's nothing like a beverage chilled with ice during a long flight. 21 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,320 Inside an airplane, ice is something passengers desire. 22 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:11,160 However, outside an airplane, ice can be dangerous, especially if it forms on the wings or engines. 23 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:17,000 I had the opportunity to speak with Judy Foss-Vanzanti at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, 24 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:18,000 Ohio. 25 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:22,640 She's researching the effects of icing on aircraft at a unique facility called the Icing 26 00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:24,280 Research Tunnel. 27 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,680 Researchers at this facility study the formation of ice on the exterior of aircraft. 28 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:33,240 So while flying, the only ice you'll need to worry about is the ice inside your cup. 29 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:37,040 Well, I'm standing right here in the Icing Research Tunnel. 30 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:41,480 Right here, we create on Earth what it's like for an airplane to fly through an icing cloud 31 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:42,480 up there. 32 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,320 To do that, we've got to make it windy, cold, and wet. 33 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:48,140 Now, right now, I'm standing in front of the fan. 34 00:02:48,140 --> 00:02:51,880 We have the fan to create the wind, and in the test section, which is a much smaller 35 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,800 cross-sectional area, we can get winds up to 400 miles per hour. 36 00:02:55,800 --> 00:03:00,280 So that's about as fast as a plane might fly through in an icing environment. 37 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,880 We create the cold with our heat exchanger, 1,700 ton. 38 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:05,800 It can cool 500 homes. 39 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:07,140 That's how big it is. 40 00:03:07,140 --> 00:03:12,560 We can get from zero Celsius down to about minus 20, which is where the icing might occur 41 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:13,560 in nature. 42 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,760 And we have spray bars. 43 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,040 The spray bars is what makes the icing tunnel. 44 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:20,440 We create the rain. 45 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:23,720 We create a mist that the airplane would fly through. 46 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:28,280 Now, the thing about the spray bars is the researchers need to control both how much 47 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:34,440 water is in the cloud, the liquid water content, we call it, and how big the drop size is. 48 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,800 And we have spray bars specially designed to create those conditions. 49 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:41,840 So in our test section, we create what it's like for an airplane to fly through an icing 50 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:42,840 cloud. 51 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,320 So why did NASA build an icing research tunnel? 52 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:53,040 As it turns out, during World War II, the Allies lost more aircraft to icing than enemy 53 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:54,040 fires. 54 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:56,400 They were trying to fly supplies over the Himalayas. 55 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:01,200 So the Air Corps turned to NACA, that's NASA's predecessor, and asked them to build an icing 56 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:05,400 research tunnel so we could understand what was going on and how to fix the problem. 57 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:09,160 So what do you test in the icing research tunnel, or the IRT? 58 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:12,040 What we test in the IRT is what makes sense to test. 59 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:16,280 Now, if you think about it, if you're in an airplane flying through an icing cloud, what 60 00:04:16,280 --> 00:04:18,960 surfaces are most critical to keep ice free? 61 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:23,120 Well, it's the wings, which provide the lift, get you off the ground, and it's the engine 62 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:25,760 inlet, which provides the forward thrust. 63 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:30,980 So we typically can test just those components, just the wing or the engine inlet. 64 00:04:30,980 --> 00:04:34,920 So what happens when ice forms on an airplane's wing? 65 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:41,220 Well, ice can disrupt the airflow over a wing and will eventually cause the airflow to separate. 66 00:04:41,220 --> 00:04:46,620 This separation of airflow creates more drag and less lift. 67 00:04:46,620 --> 00:04:51,900 If ice continues to form, the wing will no longer produce the appropriate amount of lift 68 00:04:51,900 --> 00:04:54,680 needed to keep the airplane in flight. 69 00:04:54,680 --> 00:05:01,340 In some cases, ice creates airflow separation over movable parts, like an aileron. 70 00:05:01,340 --> 00:05:07,080 This could create handling or control problems, and the plane could suddenly roll. 71 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:11,360 As the wing is flying through the air, the ice only accumulates around the leading edge. 72 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:15,760 So that's why ice protection systems only wrap around the first part, the front part 73 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:17,760 of the wing. 74 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:22,080 The biggest factor in how the ice grows is temperature. 75 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:26,120 So if it's really cold, the water droplet comes in, hits the front part of the wing, 76 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:30,840 and freezes on impact, and you get this nice, pointy, rhyme shape. 77 00:05:30,840 --> 00:05:35,320 The more dangerous ice comes during warmer conditions, those closer to freezing, where 78 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:39,640 the water comes in, hits the leading edge, and actually runs back a little bit. 79 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:43,800 If that happens, the next droplet might come in, see that droplet that is frozen, and start 80 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:44,800 to grow. 81 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,760 So you might get these ram's horns that grow upstream. 82 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:52,960 Now that significantly disrupts your airflow, and that is not, that's way off design, and 83 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:53,960 that's very bad. 84 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,920 Judy, tell me a little bit more about the icing protection system. 85 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:58,560 Do all planes have it? 86 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:02,840 There's what we call an anti-ice system, where you don't allow the ice to grow at all. 87 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:07,520 Ice, if you've got a very hot leading edge, you see that in jets, and there's a de-icing 88 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:12,080 system which has pneumatic boots, that the boots will wrap around that leading edge, 89 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:15,800 they'll inflate and pop the ice off, so you let the ice grow, and then you've got to get 90 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:16,800 it off. 91 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:21,360 The pneumatic boots are typically what you see with turboprop aircraft. 92 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:25,480 Does icing affect planes in, say, a warm climate? 93 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:27,240 Icing occurs everywhere. 94 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:29,200 You've got to be aware of it. 95 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:34,120 I've got a pilot friend who told me the worst icing he encountered was flying from Florida 96 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:39,200 to the Caribbean in July at 16,000 feet, the worst icing he ever saw. 97 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,000 But icing really can occur anywhere and anytime. 98 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:47,120 One of the things we do here at NASA is to have better designs, so maybe a system that 99 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:51,800 would automatically turn on the ice protection system if a sensor goes off. 100 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:57,720 The short-term solution is to train the pilots and educate them about how to detect icing, 101 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:02,200 how to be aware of it, train them how to get out of the icing environment if and when 102 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:03,200 they need to. 103 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:08,520 Ideally, icing is a non-issue in the future, and we're working to get there. 104 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:13,560 In 1987, the Icing Research Tunnel was designated an International Historical Mechanical Engineering 105 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,600 Landmark for its leading role in making aviation safer for everyone. 106 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:22,040 Coming up, we'll see how a new dental probe designed by NASA will make going to the dentist 107 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:23,040 a little easier. 108 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:28,360 But first, did you know that during World War II, the Allies lost nearly 1,000 planes 109 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:31,440 over the Himalayan Mountains due to icing? 110 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:34,880 Flight conditions here were so treacherous that pilots called this dangerous route the 111 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:40,560 Hump, or the Aluminum Trail. 112 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:44,480 When you hear the word dentist, what word immediately comes to your mind? 113 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:45,480 Pain? 114 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:49,760 Unfortunately, pain and dentistry have always been synonymous with each other. 115 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:54,120 Throughout history, dentists and engineers have attempted to make dentistry more comfortable 116 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:57,160 by making tools and equipment more patient-friendly. 117 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:01,760 Now NASA and its research partners have made pain-free dentistry a reality. 118 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:05,560 Jennifer Cortese examines how a new dental instrument, which was originally designed 119 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:12,240 at NASA, will finally make a trip to the dentist a painless experience. 120 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:21,760 Have you ever had this experience at your dentist? 121 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:25,360 It seems most people do not like to visit their dentist regularly. 122 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:26,360 Why? 123 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:27,360 Pain. 124 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:33,200 To some people, the sight of dental instruments often invokes feelings of anguish and fear. 125 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:38,320 In fact, most dental instruments are not pleasing to the eye, or to your mouth. 126 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:39,520 Until now. 127 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:43,840 NASA and its partners have developed an instrument that will help keep periodontal disease, which 128 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,120 is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults, in check. 129 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:51,320 This technology was originally designed to help detect cracks in airplanes, but is now 130 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:56,960 currently being used to design and manufacture a revolutionary dental instrument called the 131 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,880 Ultrasonographic Periodontal Probe. 132 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:03,240 The technology that's in the probe is ultrasonics. 133 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:10,520 These are the sound waves that we use to probe inside materials, such as the aircraft wings. 134 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:14,000 Ultrasonics is very high-frequency sound. 135 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:19,160 We at NASA use high-frequency sound to actually look inside materials. 136 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:25,080 We like to be able to assess the health of a material, just like a physician would assess 137 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:27,160 the health of a person. 138 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:33,120 When you look with ultrasound inside a material, you can find defects. 139 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:36,480 Defects such as internal damage. 140 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:42,520 Defects such as corrosion that would lead to a loss of strength of a material that might 141 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:44,080 cause a mission failure. 142 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:48,680 Now, how did you discover the specific problems that the probe solves? 143 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:54,600 The specific problem was actually discovered while we were trying to assess the integrity 144 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:56,320 of aircraft. 145 00:09:56,320 --> 00:10:01,800 Ultrasonics could characterize the desponds and micro-cracking that occurred near rivets 146 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:03,160 on aircraft. 147 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:09,840 That same ultrasonics could be used to find desponds between the teeth and the gums. 148 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:12,520 In other words, periodontal disease. 149 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:16,080 Periodontal disease is an infection of the tissues that help anchor your teeth. 150 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:18,840 If left untreated, it can lead to tooth and bone loss. 151 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:23,360 Currently, the most widely performed method to measure periodontal disease is not the 152 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:24,360 most comfortable. 153 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:29,400 It involves the insertion of a small, blunt probe between your tooth and gum to measure 154 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:31,840 the depth of the periodontal pocket. 155 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:36,320 This process is highly invasive, uncomfortable, and inconsistent. 156 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:40,840 This new instrument, developed by NASA Langley and its partners, uses ultrasonic sound waves 157 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:45,280 that interact with your teeth and map the periodontal pocket. 158 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:52,040 NASA works very closely with medical people during the technology transfer that allows 159 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:57,760 us to take what we have learned in studying materials and apply it to materials that are 160 00:10:57,760 --> 00:10:58,760 human tissue. 161 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:02,440 We've had many people contribute to its success. 162 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:05,320 One of those individuals is John Companion. 163 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:09,680 John worked at NASA Langley Research Center for 27 years and now works in the Applied 164 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:12,800 Science Department at the College of William and Mary. 165 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:17,440 We met up with John at the Dental Hygiene Research Center at Old Dominion University. 166 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:23,040 The new probe simply touches the surface of the gum and slides along. 167 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:26,760 The only coupling between the gum and the probe is just water. 168 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:33,520 So it's totally non-invasive, doesn't hurt at all, should provide more information because 169 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:38,020 of the way the information is gathered, and it should be faster. 170 00:11:38,020 --> 00:11:42,400 The problem that you have with the current technology is one, obviously, that's highly 171 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:45,240 invasive and this hurts. 172 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:46,960 Ultrasound doesn't. 173 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:49,520 No sensation, no penetration. 174 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:54,560 They simply run it just along the edge of the gum and you get a nice little image on 175 00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:57,960 the screen of a computer that shows you a map. 176 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:01,920 All the information retrieved by the probe can be archived on a computer. 177 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:06,920 A physician can then compare real-time data and past data to diagnose the condition of 178 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:07,920 the patient. 179 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:13,920 And the nice thing that dentists like about this is they can show the map to the patient 180 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:17,040 so we can actually see what's going on in the gum. 181 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:22,040 And of course, if you can evaluate the disease, you can also evaluate the treatment. 182 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:26,360 So when they start treating it, you can go back and you can check on it and see is this 183 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:30,120 particular treatment doing any good, do we need to modify it, do we need to do something 184 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:31,120 different here. 185 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:35,280 And because this will all be computerized, you only need one person to do it. 186 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:38,640 Right now you have to have one person to take the measurement, one person to write down 187 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:39,640 the measurement. 188 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:43,080 There's time savings, there's money savings. 189 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:44,080 Patients like it. 190 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:45,240 I liked it. 191 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:47,280 I've actually used myself as a guinea pig. 192 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:52,360 I've had all three types of probing done by several different dentists now and let 193 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:55,160 me tell you, the ultrasound is the only way to go. 194 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:59,600 The use of ultrasound in dental diagnostics provides an alternative approach to conventional 195 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:01,180 probing. 196 00:13:01,180 --> 00:13:05,560 Patient discomfort and the need for drugs like Novocain are virtually eliminated. 197 00:13:05,560 --> 00:13:14,880 This technology could eventually touch every person who visits the dentist regularly. 198 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:19,280 Today many planes break the sound barrier with relative ease, but it wasn't too many 199 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:25,080 years ago that the sound barrier was just that, a seemingly impenetrable invisible wall. 200 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:30,320 In fact, many aerodynamicists thought that the sound barrier may never be broken by man 201 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:36,280 until one man named Richard Whitcomb developed a theory called area rule that enabled efficient 202 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:40,440 supersonic flight to become a reality. 203 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:46,280 Before October of 1947, attempts to break the sound barrier usually ended in disaster. 204 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:52,720 That was until Chuck Yeager and the X-1 flew through the sound barrier on October 14, 1947. 205 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,160 The sound barrier had finally been broken. 206 00:13:55,160 --> 00:14:00,200 But there it was what I call a brute force approach in the sense that your rocket just 207 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:05,200 rammed that airplane through the speed of sound, but the drag was so high that they 208 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:08,780 used up all the fuel in just about five minutes. 209 00:14:08,780 --> 00:14:14,460 So it was not practical supersonic flight, but it did accomplish breaking of the barrier. 210 00:14:14,460 --> 00:14:18,260 There needed to be a more efficient way to break the speed of sound. 211 00:14:18,260 --> 00:14:20,740 Dick Whitcomb set out to find a way. 212 00:14:20,740 --> 00:14:25,580 Whitcomb found that when a plane reached near supersonic speeds, the drag around the wings 213 00:14:25,580 --> 00:14:28,900 would increase by as much as a factor of five. 214 00:14:28,900 --> 00:14:34,300 He saw that much like a bullet, the fuselage was extremely aerodynamic without the wings, 215 00:14:34,300 --> 00:14:39,940 but when the wings were added, an aerodynamic bump was causing incredible amounts of drag 216 00:14:39,940 --> 00:14:42,180 that was slowing the plane down. 217 00:14:42,180 --> 00:14:47,500 It became obvious to him that he had to find a way to take the bump out of the equation. 218 00:14:47,500 --> 00:14:52,860 Whitcomb's tests showed that when he added the entire area of wings and fuselage together, 219 00:14:52,860 --> 00:14:59,340 the drag, or aerodynamic bump, was exactly the same as the drag of a fuselage with wings. 220 00:14:59,380 --> 00:15:04,580 He worked tirelessly to find a solution, when one day, as he was thinking about the problem, 221 00:15:04,580 --> 00:15:07,380 the solution hit him like a bolt of lightning. 222 00:15:07,380 --> 00:15:12,300 He must indent, or pinch in, the waste of the fuselage. 223 00:15:12,300 --> 00:15:17,060 This new shape of the fuselage would closely resemble the shape of a Coke bottle. 224 00:15:17,060 --> 00:15:22,200 Whitcomb was astonished to find that by changing the shape of the fuselage, he took the bump 225 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:27,500 out of the equation and allowed the plane to become as aerodynamically smooth as a fuselage 226 00:15:27,500 --> 00:15:29,020 without wings. 227 00:15:29,020 --> 00:15:33,100 This very simple fix came to be known as the area rule. 228 00:15:33,100 --> 00:15:38,980 I had the idea, then we built some models to try and demonstrate it. 229 00:15:38,980 --> 00:15:46,060 We built airplanes with Coke bottle shaped fuselages, and lo and behold, the drag of 230 00:15:46,060 --> 00:15:47,860 the wing just disappeared. 231 00:15:47,860 --> 00:15:51,460 Now there was when I was really thrilled. 232 00:15:51,460 --> 00:15:56,700 That was far, that was a year or two before anything flew, but there the wind tunnel showed 233 00:15:56,700 --> 00:15:59,420 that it worked perfectly. 234 00:15:59,420 --> 00:16:05,540 It was not some oddball theory, it was a practical means of reducing drag. 235 00:16:05,540 --> 00:16:10,940 When the area rule concept was flight tested on the newly converted F-102 fighter, the 236 00:16:10,940 --> 00:16:14,220 plane soared through the sound barrier with ease. 237 00:16:14,220 --> 00:16:19,100 Whitcomb's discovery revolutionized the way that supersonic fighters, bombers, and transports 238 00:16:19,100 --> 00:16:21,460 were built from the 1950s through today. 239 00:16:21,820 --> 00:16:27,580 In fact, the area rule concept is still used on many modern planes, including the B-1 bomber 240 00:16:27,580 --> 00:16:30,380 and the Boeing 747. 241 00:16:30,380 --> 00:16:35,660 Dick Whitcomb's intuition and daring led to a revolution in air technology that has forever 242 00:16:35,660 --> 00:16:40,420 changed the history of flight. 243 00:16:40,420 --> 00:16:44,140 For his effort in developing the area rule concept, Dr. Whitcomb won the prestigious 244 00:16:44,140 --> 00:16:48,900 Collier Trophy, which is awarded annually for great achievement in aeronautics and astronautics 245 00:16:48,900 --> 00:16:49,900 in America. 246 00:16:50,340 --> 00:16:54,340 Coming up, we'll see how NASA researchers are working on a morphing technology that 247 00:16:54,340 --> 00:16:56,700 will allow future aircraft to fly like birds. 248 00:16:56,700 --> 00:17:01,860 But first, did you know that Jacqueline Cochran was the first woman to break the sound barrier? 249 00:17:01,860 --> 00:17:06,660 Cochran broke the barrier May 18, 1953 in an F-86 Sabre jet. 250 00:17:06,660 --> 00:17:12,020 At the time of her death in 1980, she held more speed, altitude, and distance records 251 00:17:12,020 --> 00:17:15,300 than any other pilot, man or woman, in history. 252 00:17:20,900 --> 00:17:26,060 Imagine how most people felt the first time they heard that one day man would be able 253 00:17:26,060 --> 00:17:30,260 to fly, or that we hope to actually land a man on the moon. 254 00:17:30,260 --> 00:17:34,940 Those ideas seemed pretty crazy at the time, but today we know just about anyone can fly 255 00:17:34,940 --> 00:17:39,220 in an airplane, and we have astronauts actually living in space. 256 00:17:39,220 --> 00:17:44,820 Now, what if I told you that one day we would be able to fly in an aircraft that could bend, 257 00:17:44,820 --> 00:17:47,540 twist, and maneuver just like a bird? 258 00:17:47,540 --> 00:17:48,540 Sound crazy? 259 00:17:48,540 --> 00:17:52,540 Well, I spoke with Anna McGowan at the NASA Langley Research Center, who's working to 260 00:17:52,540 --> 00:17:56,780 incorporate something called morphing technology into aircraft. 261 00:17:56,780 --> 00:18:02,580 And these morphing technologies could turn those crazy ideas into reality. 262 00:18:02,580 --> 00:18:07,340 Morphing is looking at really advanced materials and other technologies that will make airplanes 263 00:18:07,340 --> 00:18:08,820 even better than they are today. 264 00:18:08,820 --> 00:18:13,460 We got the word morphing actually from the word metamorphosis. 265 00:18:13,460 --> 00:18:18,500 The word morph means to change, and we're using a lot of advanced materials and technologies 266 00:18:18,900 --> 00:18:23,140 to make airplanes change from one configuration to the other. 267 00:18:23,140 --> 00:18:26,740 Our task at NASA Langley is to look 20 years into the future. 268 00:18:26,740 --> 00:18:31,540 Some of our challenges are making the airplanes even safer, making them more efficient, meaning 269 00:18:31,540 --> 00:18:37,140 you could fly farther on the same tank of fuel, or carry more passengers, for example. 270 00:18:37,140 --> 00:18:41,500 And we're working on making airplanes as versatile as a bird is. 271 00:18:41,500 --> 00:18:44,800 So we're taking some lessons from nature. 272 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:49,000 To get aircraft to perform with bird-like agility, first you have to understand how 273 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:50,760 birds fly. 274 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:55,700 Efficient wing design, feathers, and hollow, lightweight bones allow birds to fly better 275 00:18:55,700 --> 00:18:57,720 than any man-made machine. 276 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:02,840 By drawing on the inspiration of birds, Langley researchers are hoping to develop technologies 277 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:06,680 that will enable aircraft to perform with bird-like agility. 278 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:12,720 For example, synthetic jets will cover parts of the wing and replicate the effects of feathers. 279 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:17,800 These technologies can alter the airflow over the wings for superior maneuverability. 280 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:24,000 Microspheres will replicate the bird's hollow bones and allow lightweight wings to be manufactured 281 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:26,920 for increased performance and efficiency. 282 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:31,440 Sounds like science fiction, but in fact, these technologies are real. 283 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:36,780 We make airplanes as efficient as birds by trying to replicate or mimic some of the characteristics 284 00:19:36,780 --> 00:19:37,780 birds have. 285 00:19:37,780 --> 00:19:42,480 As an example, birds use feathers to control the airflow over the wings. 286 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,760 We are doing that by using what are called synthetic jets. 287 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:51,880 Synthetic jets suck in their own air and then pump it out very quickly, creating a fluctuating 288 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:52,880 plume of air. 289 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:56,960 This little plume of air basically simulates what a feather would do. 290 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:02,200 On a bird, the feathers are used to adjust the airflow over the wing of the birds so 291 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:06,000 that the bird flies optimally no matter what the air conditions are outside. 292 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,360 Now, on an airplane, we do the same thing. 293 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:12,520 We put these jets inside the wing of the airplane and say, for example, we had a gust 294 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:14,200 of wind coming into the airplane. 295 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:19,040 We would turn on very specific jets at the right time and at the right frequency. 296 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:23,640 And by doing so, then we can adjust the airflow over the wings of the airplane, thereby making 297 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:28,200 the airplane very stable and comfortable and maneuverable at all flight conditions. 298 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:33,440 We also want to be able to mimic the porous inside section of a bird bone because that 299 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:38,000 porous inside section is lightweight, but it adds extra strength. 300 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:42,360 We do that by using what are called tiny microspheres. 301 00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:47,880 You would take these microspheres and actually inject them into a composite material. 302 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:51,440 And once we inject them in, we would use heat to fuse them together. 303 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:56,040 So therefore, we could achieve a lightweight structure that is also very strong, which 304 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:58,440 is the same thing that birds use when they fly. 305 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:02,280 Anna, besides birds, are there any other designs inspired by nature? 306 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:06,200 Well, we're also looking to the water for some inspiration from nature. 307 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:11,040 Fish and shark and whales swim very efficiently in the water. 308 00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:16,360 And the flow of water over the skin of a shark is very similar to the flow of air over the 309 00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:17,360 wings of an airplane. 310 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:21,640 If you look at shark skin under a microscope, you'll actually see a bunch of little teeny 311 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:22,840 grooves. 312 00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:27,320 So our hope at NASA Langley is that perhaps our material scientists can create the same 313 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:31,500 groove-like material and we can apply that to the skin of airplanes and make them much 314 00:21:31,500 --> 00:21:33,080 better flyers. 315 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:37,000 We're also looking at flapping wing airplanes, believe it or not. 316 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:39,600 This design was inspired by the wings of a hummingbird. 317 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:44,240 If you use an airplane that does not have flapping wings, you have to have two things, 318 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:46,840 an engine and wings. 319 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:48,800 Flapping wing airplanes do not need an engine. 320 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:53,560 The wings will provide you forward motion or thrust, as well as lift, which goes up. 321 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:57,520 So Anna, tell me how you design a flapping wing without using an engine. 322 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:03,240 We actually use what are called smart or active materials instead of using an engine. 323 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:05,280 And why is it referred to as smart material? 324 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,440 Well smart materials actually move on command. 325 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:13,080 These are materials that when you apply a stimulus, like electricity or heat or in some 326 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:15,240 case magnetism, they actually move. 327 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:21,160 Another very common one that we've just developed is called a macrofiber composite. 328 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:25,800 The macrofiber composite works by when you apply electricity to it, it will move in the 329 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:27,640 direction you'd like it to move. 330 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:32,440 So what we would do is when we adhere this, or if you were embedded inside an airplane 331 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:37,200 wing or the tails of a fighter airplane, it would actually absorb the vibration. 332 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:40,800 As a consumer, you can put these in your washing machine to absorb vibration. 333 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:41,800 You can put it in your cars. 334 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:44,400 You can even use it to absorb sound. 335 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:48,440 So we think that these materials like this one are really going to revolutionize how 336 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:50,440 we build things in the future. 337 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:53,280 We're also looking at a material called a shape memory alloy. 338 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:56,960 We would use this material to bend and twist airplane wings. 339 00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:59,600 Now you might wonder why we'd want to do that kind of thing. 340 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:03,480 Well birds also bend and twist their wings in flight. 341 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:07,520 Now being able to bend and twist airplane wings is really difficult because airplane 342 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:09,640 wings tend to be very stiff. 343 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:14,800 If you bend this material, this shape memory alloy, it will actually go back to its original 344 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:15,800 shape. 345 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:19,280 So if you bend this, I'll show you what it looks like. 346 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:23,480 Now I'm going to apply this lighter to it, and you can watch it go back to its original 347 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:24,480 shape. 348 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:29,640 Now this simple little material can pull around 700 pounds. 349 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:35,060 So by placing a couple of these in an airplane wing, we can make the airplane bend or twist. 350 00:23:35,060 --> 00:23:40,080 We hope that by flying more like a bird does, we can save a lot of money on fuel, as well 351 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:43,640 as reduce the complexity of the mechanisms within the airplane wing. 352 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:48,440 So we're using a lot of these biologically inspired materials and technologies to make 353 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:53,200 aircraft and spacecraft a lot safer to fly. 354 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:57,320 Ground and wind tunnel testing are currently underway in the morphing program to bring 355 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:00,960 these fascinating technologies to fruition. 356 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:03,120 Sensor technologies have been around for quite some time. 357 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:06,040 In fact, sensors are virtually everywhere. 358 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:07,040 But what are they? 359 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:08,040 And how do they work? 360 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:16,160 For some answers, we turn to Johnny Alonzo. 361 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:18,160 Sensors. 362 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:19,160 Sensors. 363 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:20,160 Sensors. 364 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:21,160 Sensors. 365 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:22,160 Sensors. 366 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:23,160 Sensors. 367 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:24,160 They're just about everywhere. 368 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:25,160 Most people probably couldn't live without them. 369 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:27,160 Have you ever slammed a snooze bar on your alarm, opened your garage with a remote control, 370 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:31,320 set your car alarm, or changed the channels on your television with a remote? 371 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:32,720 Sure you have. 372 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:34,840 They're all controlled by sensors. 373 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,920 With today's technology, most sensors are extremely small or invisible to the naked 374 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:39,920 eye. 375 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:46,080 Heat, light, sound, pressure, or a particular motion can trigger a sensor to perform a specific 376 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:47,080 action. 377 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:52,360 There are sensors in our cars, our homes, offices, even in our own bodies. 378 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:54,880 But what exactly is a sensor? 379 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:56,440 And how does it work? 380 00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:00,640 For some answers, I spoke with Dr. Gary Gibbs at NASA Langley Research Center. 381 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:06,600 A sensor is a device that detects physical phenomena such as light, heat, air flow, pressure, 382 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:08,520 temperature, even sound. 383 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:10,760 And generally speaking, how do sensors work? 384 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:14,680 They work through a mechanism called transduction, where we're converting one form of energy 385 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:15,680 into another. 386 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:20,000 Maybe a form of energy that's less useful into, say, electrical energy. 387 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:24,320 And an example would be like a solar cell, where it takes energy from the sun and converts 388 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:26,440 it into electrical energy that we can use. 389 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:31,160 All sensors utilize transduction to convert energy such as light or heat into typically 390 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:32,160 electrical energy. 391 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:36,680 Another example might be a telephone button, which when pressed, converts mechanical energy 392 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:41,440 from your finger into an electrical signal in the form of a tone. 393 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:45,160 So Gary, what are some typical examples of sensors that we use every day? 394 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:46,160 Sensors are around us everywhere. 395 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:50,400 In fact, when we go to the grocery store, there's barcode scanners to detect the barcodes 396 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:51,400 on products we buy. 397 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:56,400 In fact, in our car, there's sensors to detect a crash, to open airbags. 398 00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:01,320 And in fact, the telephones that we use every day have sensors called microphones that sense 399 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:02,520 the sound of our voice. 400 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:06,720 So it would be safe to say that there are millions of sensors out there, right? 401 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:07,720 Absolutely. 402 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:08,720 Really? 403 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:09,720 Do they all work the same? 404 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:10,720 No, they actually work quite differently. 405 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,200 We've got quite a few examples of microphones today, and they were designed for different 406 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:15,200 reasons. 407 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:18,680 In fact, the first item we see here is an ancient telephone from the 50s. 408 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:19,680 I love it. 409 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:25,640 And you can see here a typical microphone from a CB radio or intercom type system. 410 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:26,640 Sure. 411 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:30,080 In fact, this is a microphone like you might see on your home computer, and we have a cell 412 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:34,820 phone here that even has a very tiny microphone that senses the sound of your voice. 413 00:26:34,820 --> 00:26:38,880 And they all sense the same kind of phenomenon, but each one is designed specifically for 414 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:40,360 a particular purpose. 415 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:42,960 They're all configured quite differently. 416 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:44,440 So a microphone is a sensor? 417 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:45,440 Yes. 418 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:46,440 Okay. 419 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:47,440 So how does a microphone sense sound? 420 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:51,900 Well, we have a laboratory-grade microphone here connected to an oscilloscope, which is 421 00:26:51,900 --> 00:26:56,120 a device that shows the electrical signal produced by the microphone. 422 00:26:56,120 --> 00:27:01,320 And you can see when I whistle, it displays a sine wave. 423 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:05,560 A microphone is constructed with two plates, one thick and one thin, and the sound from 424 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:10,200 our voice, for example, strikes the thin plate, causing it to vibrate. 425 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:13,960 That vibration produces an electrical signal similar to what we saw in the oscilloscope. 426 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:19,400 Okay, so earlier I mentioned biological similarities between sensors and human senses. 427 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:20,400 Right. 428 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:21,400 Okay. 429 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:22,400 How is a microphone similar to the human ear? 430 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:27,560 That's pretty interesting, because sound travels through the ear until it strikes the eardrum, 431 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:32,080 causing it to vibrate, similar to the plates in the microphone we talked about earlier. 432 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:37,680 This vibration is transferred through tiny bones to the cochlea, which contains small 433 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:42,920 hair follicles that vibrate, producing an electrical impulse, similar to the microphone. 434 00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:44,720 So the hair follicles are like sensors? 435 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:45,720 Yes. 436 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:47,920 Well, Gary, thanks for your time and for showing us how sensors work. 437 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:48,920 Sure. 438 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:49,920 Thanks for coming out to the National Atlantic Research Center. 439 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:50,920 No problem, man. 440 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:51,920 No problem. 441 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:52,920 I guess that's a wrap. 442 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:53,920 Hey, is this thing still on? 443 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:54,920 Sure. 444 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:55,920 Yeah. 445 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:58,480 Thanks for joining us on this edition of Destination Tomorrow. 446 00:27:58,480 --> 00:27:59,680 I'm Steele McGonigal. 447 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:00,680 And I'm Kara O'Brien. 448 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:03,320 And for all of us here at NASA, we'll see you next time.