- 21 hours ago
High-speed X-rays let researchers see exactly what happens during a collision. Also on the show: plastic-eating worms, a sailboat for ocean research, and why women in soccer run farther and play harder than men.
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00:00Shattered glass, crumpled metal, wrecked cars.
00:10There's an entire science behind breaking things.
00:13Now researchers are taking crash tests up a notch
00:16with real-time X-ray technology.
00:19It's loud and chaotic, but it helps make cars safer for everyone.
00:23All this and more on DW's Science Show.
00:30Welcome to Tomorrow Today.
00:35Sometimes, scientific progress begins with a bang.
00:40A few hours earlier, the researchers and engineers
00:44were preparing for a special kind of crash test.
00:47Ralph Boehrmann is in charge today.
00:49We'll position the car, pull it back, and hook it into the system.
00:56It then has 25 meters to reach a collision speed
01:00of about 27.5 to 28 kilometers per hour.
01:05It's the first time that the scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute
01:09for High-Speed Dynamics have brought their high-speed X-ray system
01:13out of the lab and into the open air.
01:15Our X-ray technology lets us look inside the structure,
01:22much like a doctor would do.
01:25We can see what's happening inside the vehicle
01:27and how the floor behaves.
01:30We're doing this for the first time outside,
01:32and we're excited to see the results.
01:34This technology can capture 1,000 X-ray images per second, a world-first.
01:41That's 450,000 volts,
01:44something you'd expect in a thunderstorm, not a crash test.
01:49But we need it to generate the X-rays.
01:52This here is a digital radiography plate,
01:55like you'd see in a doctor's office.
01:57We put it here so that we can see exactly what happens in front of the pole.
02:06This one single switch sets it all in motion.
02:13Next door, meanwhile, an industry conference is underway.
02:17Experts from science and industry are debating
02:20how to build the next generation of crash test dummies.
02:23During today's premiere, a dummy rides in the passenger seat.
02:28In future tests, X-ray diagnostics could reveal in real time
02:32what happens to occupants and vehicle systems in a crash.
02:40The car hits the pole at 30 kilometers per hour.
02:44Slowed by high-speed cameras,
02:46the split-second crash can be studied in detail.
02:48When I look inside, I can see that the carpet over the floor
02:54is badly deformed.
02:57I'm curious to see what shows up in the X-ray images.
03:03Tests like this can accelerate the development of new car models,
03:07providing feedback on nearly every structural component.
03:10Imagine I'm no longer facing forward.
03:15I'm sitting at a table with a laptop.
03:18In that position, an airbag can't deploy the usual way.
03:23That creates new challenges,
03:24and we'll need new systems to address that.
03:27If X-ray technology helps answer those questions,
03:31we can move fast.
03:33While the crash footage is being analyzed,
03:36engineers recover the dummy.
03:40Our dummy can be injured,
03:44and here it definitely was.
03:47We remove it very carefully to avoid additional damage.
03:51That way we know the injuries came from the crash,
03:53and not the rescue.
03:56Until now, crash test dummies weren't X-rayed
03:59until after the crash.
04:01This dummy is built like a human,
04:03with soft organs, muscles, and bones.
04:06It actually has an internal skeleton,
04:11just like a human.
04:13And like a human,
04:14it has a double S-shaped spine
04:16that's fully mobile and can rotate.
04:22Studying the crash also helps the Fraunhofer researchers
04:25refine the X-ray system.
04:27The dynamic behavior is what's fascinating.
04:33Before, we only saw the before and after.
04:36Where the dummy ended up,
04:37and what broke.
04:39But how did it happen?
04:40What did it hit?
04:42How did it move?
04:44What exactly caused the injury?
04:46Seeing that in motion would be incredibly valuable.
04:49The new X-ray system captures the entire crash in full detail.
04:59And that, in turn,
05:00could allow developers to fine-tune their crash models
05:03in record time.
05:05We can see what happened down here.
05:08This structure didn't move,
05:09so everything here bent a bit,
05:11almost like a flutter.
05:12And over here,
05:15this image lets us identify the location of this hole.
05:19I'm pretty sure this buckling,
05:20this bend, shouldn't be here.
05:22These detailed images let us identify
05:24exactly what part this is.
05:28Right now,
05:29this innovative technology
05:30is only available at the Fraunhofer Institute.
05:34Crashing a car on purpose
05:35is really something.
05:37It's fun.
05:38We smash something,
05:39see something interesting,
05:40and figure it out
05:42using a one-of-a-kind high-tech system.
05:46And because it's so much fun,
05:47the visiting engineers
05:48make sure to catch a look at the real thing.
05:55Did you know that women face
05:57a higher risk of injury in car crashes?
06:00One reason is that,
06:01until recently,
06:03almost all crash test dummies
06:05were modelled on male bodies,
06:06not female ones.
06:09And in many other areas
06:10of life,
06:11women still have to adapt
06:13to conditions designed for men.
06:16Take football, for example.
06:19If men played under the same conditions as women,
06:22how would they cope?
06:24A one-of-a-kind experiment
06:26shows why women are the real heroes on the pitch.
06:29This may be the biggest football pitch in the world.
06:41It wouldn't fit inside a stadium,
06:43so it's being marked out on a polo field instead.
06:49Even the goals are supersized,
06:51about 25 percent larger than usual.
06:54Everything's set for two Super League youth teams
06:57here in Switzerland
06:58to give it a test.
07:00They take a look at the oversized setup.
07:03Too big.
07:06It'll be a challenge.
07:10To put men under the same conditions
07:12that women face,
07:13everything has to scale up.
07:15This pitch is 132 meters long
07:20and 84 meters wide.
07:23A standard pitch
07:24is just 105 by 68 meters.
07:29These numbers come from research
07:31conducted by Ragnar Stahlsberg
07:33and A.V. Roland Pedersen
07:35at the University of Trondheim.
07:37I just calculated the first things on paper,
07:41with pen on paper,
07:42and found out how big would the goal be.
07:49That was the first thing.
07:51If it would be the same for a goalkeeper,
07:55a woman goalkeeper, as for a man.
07:59Women play football under the same rules as men,
08:02even though they don't share the same physical traits.
08:05For example, on average,
08:08women are shorter
08:08and have less muscle mass.
08:12This experiment aims to close that gap
08:15by flipping the conditions.
08:18So how do these two youth teams cope
08:20with what women deal with in every game?
08:23They're covering far more ground than usual,
08:26so the pace picks up slowly.
08:28And the ball is bigger
08:29and 200 grams heavier.
08:31Another layer of challenge.
08:35The ball was custom-made for this experiment,
08:41based on the Norwegian study's specs.
08:44On the right, for comparison,
08:46a standard ball,
08:47used by both men and women,
08:49which is noticeably smaller and lighter.
08:53It takes 56 minutes, not 45,
08:56to reach halftime.
08:58The players are exhausted.
08:59That was awful.
09:03What women go through is crazy.
09:07My legs can really feel it.
09:09It was tough.
09:11Especially the ball.
09:12And the size of the pitch, it's huge.
09:16Women's football absolutely deserves our respect.
09:19And on it goes with the second half.
09:27At least the oversized goal
09:28means more scoring chances.
09:30With shots this high,
09:32the goalkeeper doesn't stand a chance.
09:36For women, goals like this are standard.
09:39You can see it when goalkeeper Tamara Biedermann
09:42trains on a regular-sized goal.
09:43And it's not just the height that matters.
09:47You can see it here.
09:49A man might reach that with his foot.
09:50She has to dive for it.
09:52Using her foot isn't an option.
09:58Now, they flip the setup.
10:00A smaller goal, scaled for women,
10:02who average 1,70 m in height.
10:04It measures 6,76 m wide
10:09and 2,25 m high,
10:12about 15% smaller than standard.
10:17And sure enough,
10:18with a fairly sized goal,
10:20it's noticeably harder
10:21for the coach to score.
10:30You can tell it's smaller.
10:32It's cool.
10:33You can save balls
10:34you normally wouldn't reach.
10:38Even though it's fun,
10:40this goalie still prefers
10:41the bigger goals.
10:47Back to the men
10:48on the giant pitch.
10:50The final whistle
10:52after 112 minutes.
10:54But the score is tied.
10:56So now it's penalties
10:57on the mega-goal.
10:59Yeah!
11:01Yeah!
11:03Game over.
11:05What's the player's verdict?
11:07It was fun, but exhausting.
11:13So...
11:14We show the Norwegian research team
11:16the super-sized experiment.
11:18What do they think?
11:20It's so difficult
11:21to get the ball to move.
11:24This is not only about football.
11:26It's also about
11:27being fair to women.
11:30We were just making a point,
11:32making a statement
11:34so that people would understand
11:36about the differences.
11:37A fresh perspective
11:40on women's football,
11:42something this unique experiment
11:43definitely delivers.
11:48And now to a discovery
11:50that made headlines
11:51around the world.
11:53An Italian biologist
11:54accidentally found out
11:56that certain worms
11:57can eat plastic.
11:59And they might help tackle
12:00our growing waste problem.
12:02We visited the scientists
12:05to find out what it takes,
12:07beyond a stroke of luck,
12:08to make a discovery like this.
12:13Everything about these animals
12:15is fascinating.
12:16They seem resistant to everything,
12:18to lack of oxygen,
12:20to cold.
12:20I mean,
12:21this is not scientifically proven yet.
12:24These are just observations.
12:26But if you keep them
12:27at four degrees Celsius
12:28for many weeks,
12:30they don't die.
12:31They survive,
12:32and they recover.
12:36For people who don't work
12:37with insects,
12:38to be honest,
12:39they're not very appealing.
12:41They look like the fly larvae
12:43you'd use for fishing.
12:46But once you explain
12:48what they're capable of,
12:49people start to soften.
12:51They get curious.
12:54At some point,
12:55you stop seeing the worm
12:56as just a worm,
12:57and you start seeing
12:58the potential behind it.
13:02I'm Federica Bertocchini.
13:04I'm a biologist
13:05and co-founder of a startup
13:07called Plastic Entropy,
13:09based here in Rheims.
13:12I work on plastic degradation
13:14using biological systems,
13:17specifically a worm
13:18commonly known
13:19as the wax worm.
13:22They can help us solve
13:24the problem
13:25of all this plastic around us,
13:27to get rid of it,
13:30transform it into something
13:31that isn't a poison for us,
13:33for humans.
13:34I realized the worms
13:37were making holes
13:38in the plastic.
13:39And not just holes,
13:40I could make those
13:41with my finger,
13:42but actually transforming it
13:43into something different.
13:46I've always liked the environment.
13:47Maybe it's a way
13:48to escape the lab,
13:49where you spend your entire life
13:51at the microscope.
13:51So I developed this hobby,
13:55beekeeping.
13:56I'm an amateur beekeeper.
13:59And as it happens,
14:01beehives are often plagued
14:03by an insect,
14:04the wax worm.
14:04One day,
14:07I was cleaning a beehive
14:08and tossed the worms
14:10infesting my beehive
14:11into a plastic bag.
14:13Within 40 minutes,
14:14half an hour,
14:15I noticed holes in the bag.
14:17Then my curiosity
14:18became unstoppable.
14:19I had to investigate it.
14:20We found enzymes
14:24which the worms
14:25have in their saliva.
14:27And when these enzymes
14:28are isolated
14:29and reproduced in the lab,
14:30they can actually
14:31break down plastic.
14:33The major achievement
14:35was the discovery
14:36of those enzymes.
14:37And now we'll start
14:38producing the protein
14:39in the lab.
14:40That's when you feel
14:41really happy.
14:42When we made
14:43the first discovery,
14:44I wasn't employed.
14:46We managed to secure
14:48some funding,
14:49but it took two years
14:50to start again.
14:51Those two years
14:52and a bit were tough.
14:55We all know
14:55what's happening
14:56with plastic.
14:57There's no real solution.
14:59Most of it is burned
15:00or left to accumulate
15:01in the environment.
15:04Only about 9%
15:06is recycled
15:07all over the world.
15:08And even then,
15:09the technology
15:10as it is now
15:11isn't good enough.
15:12You can recycle it
15:14only a couple of times.
15:16I never advocate
15:17for using worms directly.
15:19Yes, they can chew
15:20through plastic,
15:22but when you look
15:22at their feces,
15:23you find tiny,
15:24molecular,
15:25microplastic residues.
15:28You don't want to release
15:29millions of worms
15:30in an uncontrolled way
15:32because then you have
15:33to collect the feces.
15:34You need a highly
15:35controlled environment
15:36to do that.
15:38That's why I advocate
15:39for the enzymes.
15:43Industry wants a solution
15:45in six months,
15:46something economically viable.
15:48But we can't provide that.
15:50We can't compete
15:51with incineration,
15:52with burning.
15:56It's been tough.
15:57Knowing what I know now,
15:59maybe I would have
15:59thought twice.
16:01It's been a real challenge.
16:05Worms, proteins,
16:08polymers, degradation.
16:09I didn't know anything
16:10about those topics.
16:12And when I don't know
16:13something,
16:14I collaborate.
16:16I'm not afraid
16:18to make a mistake.
16:19Sometimes I make a mistake
16:20and think,
16:21wow, that wasn't great.
16:22But it doesn't matter
16:23because you learn from it.
16:25My connection with Rams
16:26started a few years ago
16:27when I came here
16:28to give a TED Talk
16:29at Sciences Po near Rams.
16:31That was interesting.
16:33Eventually,
16:34we moved here.
16:35We're based in an incubator
16:36and get a little bit of funding,
16:38environmental funding.
16:39We should all work together,
16:41really stick together
16:43because there are only
16:43a handful of these animals
16:45and we're still finding more.
16:47But there's no coordinated field.
16:49We've never had a meeting
16:51to get all of us together.
16:52That's what we need
16:53because everyone working
16:54on their own
16:55won't get us anywhere.
16:56It won't get anywhere.
16:57Working together
17:08is also vital
17:09for adapting
17:10to climate change.
17:11For example,
17:12how can we keep
17:13permafrost from melting?
17:15When it thaws,
17:17frozen ground
17:17turns soft and unstable,
17:19posing a real risk.
17:21But there's a technology
17:22that could help
17:23make mountain peaks
17:24safe again.
17:27High in the Swiss Alps,
17:30the ground is thawing
17:32and earth that should be solid
17:33is starting to shift.
17:35To keep the summit station
17:37on Pisner safe and stable,
17:40a crew is drilling
17:41for a thermosiphon,
17:43a system designed
17:43to slow the melting
17:44of the permafrost.
17:46It's the first of its kind
17:47in the Alps
17:48and still untested.
17:50To stabilize the permafrost
17:56beneath the building
17:57and the cable car station,
17:59we'll drill relatively
18:00shallowly.
18:02Then we'll insert
18:03the thermosiphons,
18:04which will freeze the ground.
18:06It's tricky work
18:07because shallow drilling
18:09like this is unusual.
18:14Thomas Brunner,
18:15the cableway's
18:16technical director,
18:17is overseeing the work.
18:19After years of planning,
18:21the team is finally
18:22getting down to business.
18:25Now we'll align the rig
18:27to bore
18:27at the correct angle
18:28and direction safely.
18:31We're at four meters deep,
18:32so this is our last chance
18:34to make adjustments.
18:38The drilling continues,
18:4045 meters beneath
18:41the summit station,
18:43which is still in operation.
18:44Is Brunner worried
18:46about the station?
18:49No, not at all.
18:51Seeing how well
18:52this is working
18:52shows that the summit station
18:54should stay safe
18:55for decades.
18:58Next,
18:59the thermosiphon
19:00will slide
19:01into these boreholes.
19:02Its job
19:03is to prevent
19:04waste heat
19:04from the station
19:05from damaging
19:06the permafrost.
19:07The sealed pipes
19:10contain compressed
19:11carbon dioxide.
19:13In the winter,
19:14when the ground
19:14is warmer than the air,
19:16liquid CO2
19:17at the bottom
19:18heats up,
19:19evaporates,
19:20and rises as gas.
19:22Above ground,
19:23the condenser
19:24cools the gas,
19:25turning it back
19:25into liquid,
19:26which flows down again.
19:28This cycle
19:28continuously draws
19:30heat from the ground,
19:31and just a few degrees
19:32colder makes
19:33all the difference.
19:36The thermosiphon
19:38uses no external energy,
19:40so it's cost-effective
19:41and eco-friendly.
19:43But it only works
19:44when the air
19:45is colder
19:46than the ground.
19:49In the winter,
19:50the ground
19:51should cool down enough
19:52so that the temperature
19:53there stays below
19:54the freezing point,
19:55and the ice
19:56survives the summer.
19:59This system
20:00gives nature a boost.
20:02By removing heat
20:03from the ground,
20:04making the ground
20:05colder than it
20:06would naturally be.
20:08That's why the ice
20:09can survive the summer.
20:14The Pizner project
20:15is turning heads
20:16in the cable car industry
20:17and among scientists.
20:20Permafrost researcher
20:21Marsha Phillips
20:22believes the concept
20:23could be applied
20:24to other mountain regions.
20:27I find this project
20:29fascinating.
20:31As far as I know,
20:32it's the first of its kind
20:33in Europe.
20:35Awareness of the problem
20:36has grown
20:37because we can now
20:38see the consequences.
20:41It will make it cost more
20:44to build on permafrost,
20:46but it's worth it.
20:48The structures
20:49will last much longer.
20:53Here in Pizner,
20:54the team is planning
20:55for the next 30 years,
20:57investing about 2 million euros
20:59in this underground
21:00cooling system.
21:02Weather,
21:02and how well
21:03it works in the Alps,
21:05will only become clear
21:06once next year's data
21:07comes in.
21:11Climate change
21:13in the ocean
21:14means rising water
21:15temperatures,
21:16less oxygen,
21:17and dying fish
21:18and corals.
21:19Fighting this
21:21is a race against time,
21:23something that
21:23Boris Herrmann
21:24knows well.
21:26The professional sailor
21:27competes in races
21:28around the globe,
21:29collecting scientific data
21:31for ocean research
21:32along the way.
21:34And now,
21:35he's turned a sailboat
21:36into a very special
21:37research vessel.
21:38The Cote d'Azur
21:42in the south of France.
21:44Boris Herrmann's
21:45research sailboat,
21:46the Malizia Explorer,
21:47is on its maiden voyage.
21:49Friends, supporters
21:50and scientists
21:51are on board,
21:52along with a skipper
21:53in his special
21:54mission gear.
21:56We're designing
21:57our own work outfit.
21:59This patch
22:00has all the flags
22:01of the countries
22:01we plan to visit
22:02in the first year
22:03of our mission.
22:04The sailboat
22:08threads its way
22:09past rows
22:10of motorized
22:11luxury yachts.
22:12Boris Herrmann
22:13loves the variety
22:14of boats here.
22:16The Yacht Club
22:17is a founding partner
22:18of a sailing team
22:19and now the setting
22:20for the boat's
22:21christening.
22:22It takes a firm swing
22:24to finally send
22:25the champagne
22:26down the hole.
22:28The ship's godmother
22:29is 89-year-old
22:30Sylvia Earle,
22:31an American pioneer
22:32of ocean research.
22:35We know
22:36that we're in trouble,
22:37that the ocean
22:37is in trouble.
22:39We've seen
22:39about half of the life
22:41extracted from the ocean
22:43during my lifetime.
22:46That's not good news.
22:47The only good news
22:48is we know this.
22:50We can measure it.
22:51The new research vessel
22:53is a labor of love.
22:54It's 26 meters long
22:56and has an aluminum hole.
22:58Helmann gives us a tour.
23:00The stern can fold
23:01all the way open,
23:02which gives us
23:03a big loading platform.
23:06The yacht has room
23:07for three crew members
23:08and eight scientists.
23:10It's designed for missions
23:11all over the world,
23:12even in polar regions.
23:16Here's the navigation table.
23:18We've got radar,
23:19infrared,
23:20and electronic charts.
23:22And right here,
23:24a workstation
23:24for scientists
23:25at this screen.
23:27Behind me
23:28are two large cabins,
23:29each for three people,
23:31complete with their own
23:32shower and toilet.
23:34So we can live here
23:35together in comfort.
23:38We were able to buy
23:39this vessel secondhand.
23:41It's 20 years old,
23:43but our team
23:43has knocked it into shape,
23:45ready for the missions ahead.
23:49French researcher
23:50Léa Olivier
23:51from Germany's
23:52Alfred Wegener Institute
23:53is the first scientist
23:55on board.
23:56She heaps an eye
23:57on the readings
23:57from the ship
23:58measurement station,
23:59which continuously
24:00records temperature,
24:01salinity,
24:02and carbon dioxide
24:03levels in the seawater.
24:05I am a big expert
24:06on the CO2,
24:07for example,
24:08and one of the things
24:09that keep changing
24:09is that the values
24:10keep getting higher
24:11and higher.
24:12So I'm always scared
24:13that it's my machine
24:13that is not working,
24:14but I realize
24:15that it's not my machine
24:16that is not working.
24:17It's that because
24:17we keep increasing
24:19the concentration
24:19of CO2 in the atmosphere,
24:21it's also translated
24:22in the ocean.
24:23The findings are unsettling.
24:25The oceans appear
24:26far more affected
24:27by climate change
24:28than we thought.
24:29Olivier is planning
24:30the vessel's
24:31first big mission.
24:32She's convinced
24:33that sailboats
24:34have a real future
24:35in ocean research.
24:37They can go
24:38very close to shore,
24:40they can go
24:40very close to icebergs,
24:41for example,
24:42but also when we're
24:43a climate scientist,
24:45it's very important
24:45to reduce carbon footprint,
24:48and so using sails
24:49is very important for me
24:52because we can do
24:53our research
24:54at the lower climate coast.
24:56Hamann has brought
24:57many renowned marine institutes
24:59on board as partners.
25:01Research funding
25:01and sponsorships
25:02are meant to cover the costs.
25:06The first mission
25:07will focus on the southern ocean
25:09and Antarctica,
25:10but first the crew
25:11wants to use the sailboat
25:12to raise awareness
25:13for climate protection.
25:17They head out
25:18from their glittering
25:19home port of Monaco
25:20on their first voyage
25:21to help protect the climate.
25:27What are stars made of?
25:29How many colours
25:30can butterflies see?
25:32Could robots
25:33have babies one day?
25:35Do you have
25:36a science question?
25:38Then send it to us
25:39as a video,
25:40text or voice message.
25:42If we answer it
25:43in the show,
25:43then we'll send you
25:44a little gift
25:45as a thank you.
25:46So just ask.
25:51That's all for now,
25:53but we hope you'll join us
25:54again next time
25:55for more exciting stories
25:57from the world
25:57of science and technology
25:59here on Tomorrow Today.
26:01Bye-bye.
26:02Bye-bye.
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