More and more of us now have devices that allow us to control things in hour home using just our voices. Hannah Fry, The Secret Genius of Modern Life s1e3: Virtual Assistant
Alexa isn’t alone. There’s now a virtual assistant in about half of UK homes. ibid.
The days of the internal combustion engines are clearly numbered. The future of driving is clearly electric. Hannah Fry, The Secret Genius of Modern Life s1e4: Electric Car
The beating heart of every electric vehicle: the motor. ibid.
The first commercial car with an electric motor was invented in 1884. ibid.
When it comes to the car battery it’s all about energy density – what gives you the most bang for your buck. ibid.
Lithium iron batteries are the lifeblood of every modern electric car. ibid.
Are electric vehicles really the environmentally friendly car they are often held up as? ibid.
More and more of us are wearing these devices that are tracking our every movement. But these things are also getting increasingly sophisticated. The Secret Genius of Modern Life s1e5: Fitness Tracker
More than a third of the UK population owning a fitness tracker. ibid.
The accelerometer is the thing that tracks your movement. ibid.
The trainer: these food-shaped miracles of engineering are packed full of some of the most innovative tech on the planet. The Secret Genius of Modern Life s1e6: Trainer
We are a nation of trainer lovers. We spent almost £3 billion on them last year. ibid.
‘We try to be as minimal and as precise as possible of where we place the out-sole.’ ibid. Adidas researcher
The passport: some of the most extraordinary experiences are documented in here … So what does it take to make one of the world’s most secure documents? The Secret Genius of Modern Life s2e1: Passport
The polycarbonate page … embossed seals … hologram … biometric chip … sophisticated technical marvels. ibid.
It’s the vacuum cleaner … These things definitely made our lives more easier. The Secret Genius of Modern Life s2e2: Vacuum Cleaner
The dust collector … The filter … The suction motor … ibid.
The smartphone … a supercomputer, we’re got this one single device that all your life goes through. The Secret Genius of Modern Life s2e3: Smartphone
Samsung: this brand actually begun before the electronic age. ibid.
Car phones: They actually rolled on to the scene in the 1940s. ibid.
Building a massive antennae infrastructure wasn’t that easy. ibid.
Antenna-gate: iPhone 4. ibid.
There is a box in your kitchen that uses high-end particle physics to beam invisible radiation around. The Secret Genius of Modern Life s2e4: Microwave
So what does it take to make a microwave? … Four key components from the turntable to the timer ... [and] the cavity magnitron … Faraday Cage … The microwave needs a turntable. ibid.
In 1947 Raytheon launched the world’s first commercial microwave oven. ibid.
Headphones: These things are nothing short of a minor miracle of science and engineering. It’s the story of an electrocuted opera singer, helicopter pilots in the Korean War, and a 1960s jazz trumpeter. The Secret Genius of Modern Life s2e5: Headphones
The bit that turns electricity into sound – the speaker. ibid.
It’s the lift … You are standing in a metal box that is suspended from the sky. But the thing is behind those metal walls there is actually an entire labyrinth of mechanical complexity that is working to make your ride as smooth and as safe as possible. The Secret Genius of Modern Life s2e6: Lift
They are actually the safest mode of transport there is. ibid.
In the secretive world of espionage, spies work with the latest cutting-edge technology and devices to gain the upper hand on the enemy. When a spy’s mission is to collect information by planting bugs, secretly snapping a photo, or stealing documents, they turn to their tech ops to create the perfect device. Spy Craft IV: Clandestine Collection, Netflix 2021