47:36 | DivX | 20.1 GB
Genre: Documentary
1. Mega Plane - Air Force Transport
The episode profiles the C-5 Galaxy, one of the largest aircrafts in the world, and the operations of the crew of the mega-plane. The episode includes a look at how the C-5 Galaxy transports millitary equipment over to the troops in Iraq from America's Dover Air Force Base.
2. Autobahn
What began as a racing track, and thanks to Adolf Hitler’s World War II propaganda efforts, the track grew into a sophisticated high-speed road system, linking to almost all the major cities in Germany. The Autobahn boasts of having super thick road beds, 4% or less grades, wide lanes, and build on layers of technology. The Autobahn allows vehicles to travel at speeds exceeding 160km/h for roughly 2/3 of its roads. The episode profiles the operations of the highway cops, and their reliance on technology in training, monitoring of roads and various methods of arrest. It also looks at the ADAC, an automobile club, which provides on the spot road assistance. Nicknamed ‘The Yellow Angels’, they also provide air medical rescue. The system of maintenance of the Autobahn is also examined. All this infrastructure makes this mega structure into one of the world’s most safest super highway.
3. Beijing Water Cube
In Beijing a building like no other has emerged. It is a bold experiment in architecture and a cutting-edge vision of construction eco-engineering. When Beijing hosts the 2008 Olympics the eyes of the world will be riveted on this building. Its official name is the National Aquatics Centre but in the world of mega-architecture it is reverently known as the Water Cube. It's a brilliant fantasia of steel and plastic – a honeycomb of 22,000 steel beams supporting pillows of high tech plastic inflated onto shimmering translucent bubbles. Go behind the scenes to learn more about the vision that saw the creation of a building destined to become one this century's leading architectural feats.
4. Berlin's Grand Central - Train Terminal
Berlin's Grand Central will, literally and figuratively, reconnect East and West Germany, ushering in a new era of unification. Step into this megawork-in-progress as engineers race to complete Europe's largest train station before millions arrive for the World Cup football tournament. Can they pull off the last feat in time?
5. Boston's Big Dig
Boston, Massachusetts had a world-class traffic problem, an elevated six-lane highway called the Central Artery that ran through the center of downtown. When it opened in 1959, the Central Artery comfortably carried about 75,000 vehicles a day. It has carried upwards of 200,000, quite uncomfortably, making it one of the most congested highways in the United States.
6. Brick
One of civilisation's first building materials today continues to create structures that amaze. From driveways to fireplaces and chimneys, bricks are a part of daily life. But when thousands or millions of these simple blocks are stacked together, people have changed the course of history. See how a modern brick factory is able to churn out tens of thousands of bricks an hour while a traditional brick-maker uses centuries-old techniques to fire lumps of clay into rock-hard building materials. Then visit some of the greatest brick structures on the planet, from the awe-inspiring Great Wall of China to the legendary Markets of Trajan in Rome.
7. Bridge Breakdown
A young demolition team must lower an historic bridge to recycle 25,000 tons of steel, concrete and rebar (steel bars used to reinforce concrete), all while testing their limits, fighting the elements and racing against a ticking clock.
8. Building The World
Tonight's instalment looks at the construction of a group of islands in Dubai in the shape of the world map. Large enough to be seen from space, these artificial land masses represent an extraordinary engineering challenge, as construction teams race to meet an incredibly tight deadline.
9. China Ultimate Port
One of the biggest construction projects on Earth is in the middle of the ocean. More than 30 kilometres out to sea off the coast of Shanghai, China’s Yangshan Port will be the biggest deep water port ever built. When completed in 2020, its wharves will be an awesome 20 kilometres long, with berths for 50 ships, capable of handling 25 million shipping containers a year. A huge feat considering when the project began, only 40 percent of the port’s island existed. A Mega-dredge has already moved enough mud to fill more than one million Olympic swimming pools, but there is still 13 billion cubic metres of mud that need to be dredged to complete the project. To make this port viable against its high profile rivals, construction requires not one, but two Megastructures to be built. In addition to the actual port, a 32-kilometre bridge must also be constructed connecting Yangshan to the mainland. More than 12 times longer than the Golden Gate Bridge, the Donghai Bridge is the second longest ocean spanning bridge in the world. Many of the more than 600 concrete spans used to build the bridge are so big, they must be constructed on land and then towed to sea.
10. Concrete
Concrete: It is the most widely used building material on Earth. It was a building block of the Roman Empire, and is a material of choice for a new generation of gravity-defying skyscrapers. This show breaks open the unique history of concrete, a material too often taken for granted.
11. Impossible Bridges - Denmark to Sweden
The Oresund, spanning 10 miles in length, is the longest bridge in the world. The bridge links countries Denmark and Sweden, and Megastructures chronicles the history in it's design and construction.
12. Diamond Diggers
On the edge of the Canadian Arctic, the frigid Ekati Diamond Mine is one of the most remote mines on earth. To work in this brutal sub-Arctic land, Ekati demands some of the world's fiercest digging tools: a DeMag 655 hydraulic shovel so powerful that it scoops the weight of 900 school buses every hour, a Cat 793C haul truck so strong that it can carry the weight of three dozen elephants in one trip and enough explosives to demolish 50,000 tons of frozen granite in a single day. Diamond Diggers explores the volcanic history and incredible discovery of the frozen Ekati Mine, the inner workings of its monster machines that move mountains of gem-studded earth, and the extreme conditions braved by workers to unearth nearly five million carats of diamonds each year.
13. Dubai's Palm Island
An enormous project is underway in the Arabian Gulf that will change the face of the coastline. It is so vast that it can be seen from space. Palm Jumeirah, one of the most audacious engineering projects the world has ever seen, is an artificial island in the shape of a massive palm tree. A breathtaking megastructure and an ambitious engineering feat, Palm Jumeirah is part of an even bigger plan to transform Dubai into one of the world's premiere tourist destinations. But with only a few years to create this paradise island, it's a race against time. Besides the construction of the island, there is also the challenge of building a small city, including 4,500 luxury houses and apartments, 29 hotels, miles of roads, and all the utilities required by the thousands of people who will be living on and using this island including water, electricity, gas and sewage. The project is due for completion in 2008 - are they on course to meet their deadline? And what other megastructures has the Sheikh planned for Dubai?
14. Future Trains - MagLev
Speeding at 430 kph, a futuristic magnetic levitation train links the Pudong International Airport with Shanghai's Longyang Road Station. The 30 km journey between air strip and financial district is now only an eight minute joyride. As the world's first commercial electromagnetic levitation train system, MAGLEV combines the technology of conventional rail and the time advantages of air travel to produce a safe, energy efficient and low-maintenance form of transport that could change the face of 21st century travel.
15. Garbage Mountain
It's big, it's nasty but it's more than just a hole in the ground. Puente Hills is Los Angeles' dirtiest suburb. Mammoth machines trundle around a pile of trash twenty stories high. Man and technology are pitted in battle against a tidal wave of waste. Some landfills take in 2,000 tons of trash a day but America's largest active dump takes in that amount each hour. Take a spin in the 15,000 lb Bomag Compactor with its 55-inch garbage crushing steel wheels. Puente Hills powers over 100,000 homes and a fleet of vehicles with the landfill's methane gas. Sift through the gargantuan world of garbage and find out what happens to your trash when you're not looking.
16. Golden Gate Bridge
In 1906, an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 rocked San Francisco. An earthquake of similar or greater proportions is expected to occur in San Francisco again, and soon. The episode takes a look at the efforts that are being made to retrofit and strengthen America’s most recognized bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, before the next big earthquake happens. It also gives a brief history about the construction of the suspension bridge, and the people who were involved in its construction.
17. Impossible Bridges Greece - Rio-Antirio Bridge
The Rio-Antirio bridge is a cable-stayed bridge near Patra on the Peloponnese, linking the towns of Rio and Antirrio on the western mainland Greece, thus connecting with the rest of Europe.The bridge dramatically improves access to and from the Peloponnese, which could previously be reached only by ferry or via the isthmus of Corinth at its extreme east end. It has a length of 2252 m (2882 m including the access bridges); as it consists entirely of five cable-stayed spans and four pylons, and it is one of the world's longest cable-stayed suspended decks. Its width is 28 meters -- it has two vehicle lanes per direction, an emergency lane and a pedestrian walkway.
18. Hawaii Super Ferry
Designed to forge new routes between the Hawaiian islands, the massive Hawaii Super Ferry combines innovation with stability and speed. Can this ambitious design be turned into a functional ferry?
19. Hoover Dam
Throughout human history, mankind has built monuments to its ingenuity and skill. In Egypt it was the Pyramids. Rome, built the Colosseum. The Greeks built the Acropolis. The great cathedrals of Europe raised the skills of their builders to unequalled heights, creating awe inspiring structures. In the Americas, the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde and the high mountain city of Machu Pichu speak to the skill and ingenuity of their builders. In the modern era, it's buildings that reach near half a mile into the sky, bridges that stretch enormous distances in a single span, and machines that extend mankind's reach far into space. One monument that must surely be counted among the great achievements of mankind is Hoover Dam.
20. Ice Hotel
The Ice Hotel Sweden is built from blocks of ice gathered from the Torne River, as well as bulldozers, chainsaws jackhammers.
The building process starts in mid-November when the snow guns start humming and large clouds of snow start to drift along the Torne River.The snow is sprayed on huge steel forms and allowed to freeze. After a couple of days, the forms are removed, leaving a maze of free-standing corridors of snow.In the corridors, dividing walls are built in order to create rooms and suites. Ice blocks, harvested at springtime from Torne River, are now being transported into the hotel where selected artists from all over the world start creating the art and design of the perishable material.
21. Icelandic Super Dam
Documentary series that lifts the lid on some of the most incredible structures and machines in the world. This instalment looks at the Karahnjukar Hydroelectric Project in Iceland - an audacious engineering feat that includes the building of Europe's highest dam, the drilling of 30- mile-long tunnels and the construction of a gigantic underground power plant.
22. Itaipu Dam
In the Paraná River of South America, lies the Itaipú Dam. Costing 20 billion dollars, the Itaipú Dam is the world's largest and most powerful hydroelectric power plant. It is a representation of the efforts and accomplishment of two countries, Brazil and Paraguay. The episode examines the efforts undertaken and the sacrifices made to construct the dam, including how the largest diversion channel was constructed to divert water from the world’s 7th largest river away from the main construction site.
23. Kansai International Airport
Located 5 km off the coast of Osaka, Japan, is the Kansai International Airport. The airport is built entirely on a man-made island, 4 km long and 1 km wide. The only link between the island and Osaka is by the world’s longest 2-tiered bridge. Although the airport is built to withstand earthquakes and typhoons, the artificial island itself is sinking faster than anticipated. The episode looks at the various measures that are taken to keep the airport ‘afloat’, and the various facilities and services available to keep the airport running.
24. Impossible Bridges - China
Go inside the construction of China's three ultimate bridges: the Lupu, the world’s longest arch bridge; the Runyang, China’s largest suspension bridge; and the Sutong, soon to be the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world. The engineering challenges? Building them tall enough for huge cargo ships and strong enough for earthquakes and typhoons.
25. Millau Bridge
It is the world’s tallest bridge, at 343 m tall at its highest pillar, the Millau Viaduct in Southern France is almost a third taller than any other bridge in the world. A freeway in the sky, the bridge crosses the river Tarn in France and can save travelers almost an hour of travel between France and the Mediterranean. It also removes the traffic congestion once faced in the town of Millau. The episode documents the difficulties that the crew had to faced, and the challenging processes that were used in its construction. The documentary contains a few words from the mayor of Millau, Jacques Godfrain, the bridge architect, Norman Foster, and designer, Michel Virlogeux.
26. Money Factory
Ever dreamed of making a fortune? Unlock the vaults of the US Treasury, the agency which powers the American economy, manufacturing $650 million in bills and coins every day.
27. High Tech Prison
Technological marvels?they will protect prison guards and revolutionize rehabilitation programs for inmates. See the secret control rooms, remote-controlled cameras, and impenetrable steel doors, the latest engineering feats that offer new safety from?and hope for?the most dangerous criminals.To be completed by 2007, Maryland?s North Branch Correctional Institution will be one of the world?s most hi-tech prisons. The design and construction of the facility and some of the improved security features installed are explored in this episode.
28. Panama Canal Unlocked
Meet the mother of all megamovers: the Panama Canal. Lifting 14,000 ships a year over a nine-story mountain range, this trickiest of waterways relies on some of the mightiest machines: gargantuan locks, a colossal crane, and the world's largest dipper dredge.
29. Petronas Towers
The 450-meter Petronas Towers, the tallest twin towers on the planet, pushed the outer limits of construction technology and stand as a symbol of Malaysian pride and modernity. But building the towers was a construction challenge like no other, and the six-year endeavor turned out to be a high-risk project with a hugely ambitious schedule.
30. Port of Rotterdam
The Port of Rotterdam is a marine freeway and one of the busiest ports. And on this particular day, the Harbour Control's skills and machines are put to the test when three most challenging ships in the world: 'The Berge Star', 'The Savana Express' and 'The Mighty Servant III', respectively known as 'The Mega Deep', 'The Mega Wide' and 'The Mega Tall' are received.
31. Power Tower
Witness the Bahrain World Trade Centre. Two 50-storey glass ""sails"" rise over 240 metres into the sky along the shores of the Persian Gulf. This unique architectural marvel is powered in part by a revolutionary new means for a building this size - wind. This is the world's first large-scale integration of wind turbines into a skyscraper. Three massive turbines supply clean power to the buildings. Explore the science behind the concept and discover how engineers and construction crews tackle this audacious project. In an oil-rich region of the world, the team transforms the vision to reality and looks to the future, committed to a renewable energy source of mega proportions.
32. Queen Mary 2 - Superliner
This episode looks at the colossal RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) superliner - the longest, tallest and broadest ship ever built at the time of its completion in 2003. Featuring recollections and insights from naval architect Stephen Payne, oceanographer Simon Boxall and QM2 captain Ronald Warwick.
33. Sears Tower
For 20 years, the Sears Tower held the record for the world’s tallest building. Completed in 1973, the 110 stories high building is almost half a kilometer tall. And it still holds the record for having the world’s highest antenna. John Zils, structural engineer and designer of this mega-structure shares some of the secrets about the tower. And get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the various systems and controls that are vital to the building, like security monitoring, the elevators, and the water and power distribution to the various levels, and even the machines that cleans the windows.
34. Shanghai Super Tower
What do you get if you take sixty thousand tons of steel, 260,000 cubic meters of concrete, 500 dedicated Chinese workers and the best design brains in the business? The Shanghai World Financial Centre. At 101 floors high it will not only be the tallest building on the Chinese mainland but one that can withstand the toughest challenges Planet Earth can throw at a skyscraper... and even deadlier human threats.
35. Sinking An Aircraft Carrier
This programme follows a specialist demolition team as it attempts to sink the USS Oriskany aircraft carrier in a bid to create the largest artificial reef in the world. Battling through thick steel plating and hazardous waste, the divers, marine architect experts, demolition teams, engineering units and local authorities discover the secret of sinking such a huge vessel and, in the process, write a new chapter in marine demolition.
36. South Pole Station
The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is the southernmost continually inhabited place on the planet. Its name honors Roald Amundsen who reached the South Pole in December 1911, and Robert F. Scott who reached the South Pole the following month.It was constructed in November 1956 to support the International Geophysical Year in 1957, and has been continuously occupied since then. It currently lies within 100 meters (330 ft) of the Geographic South Pole. Because it is located on a glacier, the station drifts towards the pole at the rate of about 10 meters per year. Although the US has continuously maintained an installation at the South Pole since 1957, the central berthing, galley, and communications units have been constructed and relocated several times. Each of the installations containing these central units has been named the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
37. Spy Fortress - NORAD
Spy Fortress - NORAD: Documentary looking at NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command) and its headquarters at Cheyenne Mountain, located under two housand feet of granite.
38. Steel
Steel is one of the strongest materials on earth. It has altered civilisations and changed the course of history. From the soaring skylines in a vast metropolis to dinner tables across the world and razor sharp tools responsible for medical miracles: steel has helped sculpt life as we know it. Come face to face with this alloy's marvellous simplicity and the grand and innovative structures it has given birth to, such as the Brooklyn Bridge and Empire State Building.
39. Super Pipeline
Megastructures: Super Pipeline looks at one of the gas industry’s riskiest projects ever undertaken. By 508, Britain will be connected to Norway via a 1,50 km super pipeline. It’s composed of over one million tonnes of steel and equating to a 1/3 of the world’s combined pipeline production company. Yet all of the work must be completed by robots working 3 km under the North Sea against harsh underwater currents, sub-zero temperatures and abysmal wind and wave conditions.
40. Tau Tona - City of Gold
Located near Johannesburg, South Africa, the Tau Tona is a gold mine. The Tau Tona is the main economic life blood of Johannesburg, supplying half the world’s gold needs. It is the deepest and largest working mine in the world. Its main shaft is 3.6 km deep and consists of 800 km of tunneling. This episode gives viewers a tour of the dynamic systems involved in maintaining a working environment deep in the earth. It also provides a glimpse of what life as a mine worker is like in Tau Tona. Risking heat exhaustion, and with 10 earthquakes a day, the miners work through narrow tunnels to extract gold from a 25 cm thick gold vein.
41. The Ultimate Roller Coaster
Kingda Ka breaks all world records for roller coaster speed and height, becoming the tallest and fastest roller coaster on Earth.This jaw-dropping thrill ride launches riders from 0 to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds before catapulting them 456 feet (45 stories) into the sky!
42. The World's Biggest Shredder
At first thought this seems to be a program about some sort of metal shredder for recycling cars. Spanning the length of two 747s, this monster machine eats at the heart of Britain’s recycling industry. This is the biggest shredder in the world.This metal-chomping monster takes up the floor space of an entire factory and it can reduce the equivalent of 450 cars an hour to little more than pulp.
43. U.S.S Ronald Reagon
Meet the United States Navy's newest monster of the sea. Powered by two nuclear reactors, the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan can operate for 20 years without refueling. Learn what went into this feat of engineering, and discover what life is like for the 6,000 inhabitants on board.
44. Ultimate Oil Rigs
The world is desperate for oil and gas. But dwindling energy supplies are forcing oil rigs to drill in some of the harshest environments on the globe. It takes a megastructure oil rig, like the Noble Piet, to withstand the fury of nature and keep on drilling. Follow a skilled team of roughnecks as they battle the elements of the North Sea in pursuit of an untapped reservoir of natural gas worth 350 million dollars. But there's a shortage of oil rigs like the Noble Piet. So the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore is designing and building an impressive cluster of 23 rigs at once. Can this shipyard build rigs fast enough to keep up with exploding demand and which will be tough enough to endure the punishment of drilling in the open sea?
45. Ultimate Skyscrapper NYC
In the city that never sleeps, one architect's dream for a greener future has been realised. The One Bryant Park building in New York City is not only going to be the second tallest building in the city, but is set to be one of the most energy efficient skyscrapers in the world. Richard Cook and his team take on an exhilarating challenge to transform the modern approach to green technology. His vision to break new ground in the arena of environmentally conscious skyscrapers is a significant step forward in a city known for massive energy consumption. Follow the trials and triumphs of erecting a skyscraper whose blueprints might just map out a new design for our planet's future.
46. World Trade Centre Bahrain
Three skybridges connect the towers; each holding one large wind turbine with a nameplate capacity of 225kW each, totalling to 675kW of wind energy production. These turbines, each measuring 29 m (32 yd) in diameter, face north, which is the direction from which air from the Persian Gulf blows in. The sail-shaped buildings on either side are designed to funnel wind through the gap to provide the maximum amount of wind passing through the turbines. This was confirmed by wind tunnel tests, which showed that the buildings create an ‘S’-shaped flow, ensuring that any wind coming within a 45° angle to either side of the central axis will create a wind stream that remains perpendicular to the turbines. This significantly increases their potential to generate electricity.[2] The wind turbines are expected to provide 11% to 15% of the towers' total power consumption, or approximately 1.1 to 1.3 GWh a year. This is equivalent to providing the lighting for about 300 homes annually.[3] The three turbines were turned on for the first time on 8 April 2008. They are expected to operate 50% of the time in a day.
47. World's Biggest Casino
World's Largest Casino follows the construction of the world's biggest casino and its second biggest building. It's being sited in Macau, in Southern China, which is being groomed to be Asia's capital of gambling. The Venetian is to be built by the Sands Corporation of Las Vegas, and is to feature a giant hotel with 3000 suites, a 15,000 seat arena, a theatre, event halls, 350 shops along indoor canals hundreds of metres long, an outdoor lagoon for gondola rides, and above all, a huge casino floor the size of eight football pitches. We follow the reclamation of land between two islands for this project, and watch it fly up in record time due to special working methods being devised – from on-site factories, to having prefabricated parts trucked in from China. We see how the ambitious designs are brought to reality, despite the pressures and an environment that's very different from America, both in terms of climate and culture. We go in-depth into the amazing concern for detail in the outfitting and decoration which will turn a giant concrete conglomeration of structures into a place designed to entice people to stay as long as possible. Andwe meet the people responsible for putting the project together, and see how they co-operate to get the resort open on time. But will the public come to visit this US$2.4bn megastructure? There's no guarantee.
48. World's Biggest Cruise Ship
MS Freedom of the Seas is a cruise ship owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International. It is the namesake of Royal Caribbean's Freedom Class of cruise ships, and can accommodate 3,634 passengers[3] and 1,300 crew on fifteen passenger decks. In addition to two sister ships, Freedom of the Seas will keep the title of the largest passenger ships ever built (by gross tonnage) until construction of the Oasis Class ships in 2009, also owned by Royal Caribbean International.
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