Materials Science
214 episodes · Page 5 of 9
#3985: How Your Floor Stays Up: The Hidden Skeleton Inside Every Building
The invisible chain that carries every pound from your apartment to the bedrock.
#3978: What's Actually Under the Road You Drive On
A highway looks simple, but it's a precision-layered structure engineered to last 30 years under millions of truck loads.
#3976: How a Landmine Stays Lethal for 50 Years
Why mines stay dangerous for decades — and why robots still can’t clear them fast enough.
#3958: Cracking the Code on Drop-Resistant Plastic
Why your plastic parts arrive shattered — and how to specify them so they don't.
#3955: The Hidden World of Highway Signs
What goes into making a road sign? Aluminum, reflective sheeting, and a global treaty most drivers have never heard of.
#3954: The Surprising Chemistry of Road Paint
Road markings are optical devices engineered to survive 10,000 trucks a day. Here's how they actually work.
#3951: Can You Trust That Used Plastic Container?
How to avoid bringing home a chemical-soaked container when buying second-hand industrial totes.
#3936: Tow Lines & Ratchet Straps: Two Worlds, Same Physics
From highway trailers to hand-pulled trolleys — the same three engineering problems, wildly different solutions.
#3924: Can You Make a Hi-Vis Vest for a One-Year-Old?
A dad with a toy forklift discovers why ANSI safety standards make toddler hi-vis vests mathematically impossible.
#3911: How to Spec Custom Shelving for a MAMAD
A practical guide to custom-height industrial racks for bomb-safe rooms, from dimensions to assembly.
#3898: The Box That Warps: Moving vs Storage Physics
Why your Eurobox warps under a ratchet strap — and why cardboard doesn't.
#3869: How a Bendy Stick Transmits Torque
The surprising engineering inside flexible screwdriver extensions and how they transmit torque around obstacles.
#3868: Why Your Super Glue Fails (And How a Dremel Fixes It)
A rotary tool isn't just for engraving. Discover how surface prep turns failed glue joints into permanent fixes.
#3866: What's Actually Inside Your Plastic Storage Bin?
Two bins can both say "polypropylene" — one lasts two years, the other two decades. Here's why.
#3864: How to ID Mystery Metal Before You Drill
A practical workflow for identifying unknown metals before you engrave, drill, or grind them at home.
#3863: Mohs Scale to Dremel Bits: What to Buy First
From Friedrich Mohs to your Dremel: what hardness means for engraving wood, metal, glass, and stone.
#3809: How 2.4 Million Miles of Gas Pipe Actually Works
The invisible geography under our feet: how gas moves from wellhead to kitchen burner.
#3799: Why Printers Demand PDFs (And PNGs Fail)
PDFs are shipping containers for print. PNGs are loose cargo. Here's what actually matters for large-format output.
#3798: How High Can We Really Build?
Six questions on high-rise engineering, from steel breakthroughs to whether cities sink under their own weight.
#3783: The Ice Cream Algorithm: How Ben & Jerry's Engineers Flavor
Inside the melt rate index, cocoa butter barriers, and supply chain decisions shaping Ben & Jerry's 2026 lineup.
#3685: Ruling Pens, Grease Pencils, and the Case for Better Old Tech
Why a 400-year-old drafting tool outperforms modern alternatives, and how to spot genuinely superior antiques.
#3633: How Elite Curlers Train to Sweep Like Athletes
Inside the biomechanics, training, and science of elite curling sweeping — where brooms steer physics.
#3626: Baby Mouthing Safety: What's Safe to Chew?
A materials chemist's guide to what babies can safely mouth — from plastics to metals to wood.
#3613: Paint-Fill Engraving: Permanent Tool IDs That Survive Everything
Why paint markers fail on metal tools — and how a $120 engraver plus a paint-fill trick creates markings that last.