1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,960 Humans are always trying to be better, brighter, faster, stronger, 2 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:07,240 tougher. It is one of the things that makes us human. 3 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:11,240 But Nature has spent 3.5 billion years producing 4 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:14,720 ingenious answers to life's questions. 5 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:18,160 So a lot of the problems we're trying to solve 6 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,880 have already been solved by evolution. 7 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:26,440 Meaning the animal kingdom is teeming with bright ideas. 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,360 'Like how to survive a fall from space...' 9 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:34,120 Yes, it's gone! 10 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:35,920 '..avoid ever getting wet...' 11 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:38,840 I am staggered! 12 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:43,200 '..or withstand an impact of 1200G.' 13 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:46,640 Oh, that feels pretty harsh! 14 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:51,240 'In this programme, we'll reveal some amazing animal abilities.' 15 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:56,120 That's astonishing! 'I'll discover how those same animals have inspired 16 00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:00,320 'a series of human inventions at the very frontiers of science.' 17 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:04,080 Yeah, it's driving itself. It's brilliant! 18 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:06,440 'We'll have to go around the world 19 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,920 'and into some pretty unlikely situations.' 20 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,680 Oh! Oh, my God! 21 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,760 'Because you never quite know what surprises the animal kingdom 22 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:19,000 'has in store for you.' 23 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:20,640 It's the waiting that gets you. 24 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:26,400 It's all part of the miracle of nature. 25 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:44,880 If you're going to look to nature for inspiration, 26 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:51,240 and we have ever since cavemen first used warfare and used bone tools 27 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:54,080 as substitute teeth and claws, 28 00:01:54,080 --> 00:02:00,000 then you're always going to come up against one big, ultimate dream 29 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,440 that happens in the natural world. 30 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:05,160 Flying. 31 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:23,800 In 1485, 32 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:28,840 Leonardo da Vinci designed a flying machine by studying birds. 33 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,360 It's the obvious thing to do, to look to the skies for inspiration 34 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:36,000 and to admire creatures like these Greylag geese, 35 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,880 who do so gracefully what we can't. 36 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:46,360 You would think that by now, 37 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:48,960 more than 100 years after we first invented aircraft, 38 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,760 after airliners and jet fighters and spacecraft, 39 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:55,480 there wouldn't be much left we could learn from birds 40 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,240 about flying...but you'd be wrong. 41 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,520 And it's all about their bodies and the way they're built. 42 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:13,480 In general, the bigger the bird, 43 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,080 the bigger the wings it needs to get it up into the air. 44 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,040 It all makes perfect sense. 45 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:28,080 Until you get to this guy... 46 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,120 ..whose big body and relatively small wings make him look 47 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:39,160 about as capable as graceful flight as I am. 48 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,560 But this bird's unique characteristics have helped 49 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,800 inspire a revolutionary new form of human transport... 50 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:54,360 ..that might just transform the way we explore our planet. 51 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,120 This is Cody, and he is a cape vulture. 52 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,640 And these are not being worn for fashion reasons. 53 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,320 That's a really big beak 54 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,960 and eyes are kind of tempting, apparently. 55 00:04:18,840 --> 00:04:22,360 'But to find out what makes cape vultures like Cody 56 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:26,600 'so special, I'm going to need to get higher. 57 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:30,160 'Quite a lot higher.' 58 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:46,520 It's about 500 metres down there. 59 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:51,040 And shortly, I shall be jumping off the edge 60 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,840 with nothing but the contents of that man's rucksack. 61 00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:58,120 between me and certain doom. 62 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:00,200 That's assuming he's brought the right rucksack 63 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,760 and we don't jump off the edge with his flask and some sandwiches. 64 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:10,000 'Walter Nesser is a vulture expert. 65 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:15,920 'Unfortunately for me, he also happens to be an expert paraglider.' 66 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:19,400 Oh, now I feel secure. 67 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:21,880 That's it. That's it? Yeah. 68 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,760 For the take-off, what I want you to do is cross your arms over your chest 69 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:34,640 onto these straps here, so you just... Yeah, that's it. 70 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:36,640 Is everything attached? Yeah, everything. 71 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:40,280 That's connecting you to this. That's connecting me to this. 72 00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:42,160 Is the first bit the worst and then 73 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:45,200 suddenly it's all kind of sedate and beautiful? 74 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:47,840 Yeah, the anticipation is really the scary part. 75 00:05:47,840 --> 00:05:50,960 Yeah, it is pretty bad. Especially when it looks like this. 76 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:54,560 I mean, this isn't your average paragliding site, is it? 77 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,880 I don't want to wait too long, Walter, I really don't. 78 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:00,920 Just don't... I just want to... Oof! 79 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,600 All right, the wind is really good, are you ready? No. 80 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:06,080 Let's go. 81 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,400 Oh! My God! 82 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:22,240 Whoa! 83 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:24,800 Wow! 84 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:29,800 All right, now you can sit back in the harness. Oh, sitting back in the harness? 85 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:35,080 Quite close to this rocky cliff sides! Look at the drop! 86 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,080 Ah-ha! I don't want to be a vulture! 87 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:58,880 You doing all right? I'm scared...on an Olympic scale. 88 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:01,200 All right, have a look up to your left. 89 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:02,920 Whoa! 90 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,360 There's millions! 91 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:08,400 How do we get in amongst them? We really need a thermal. 92 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:12,320 'A thermal is a column of warm rising air, 93 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:16,160 'created as ground heats up unevenly in the sun. 94 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,360 'Which sounds kind of gentle. 95 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:21,120 'It's not.' 96 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:22,240 Wow! 97 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:25,080 Whoa! 98 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:26,440 Oh, I love it when it does that. 99 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:31,760 I love that, Walter, that's nice. Oh, that's nice! 100 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:35,480 Do you mind if I get changed? 101 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:38,680 I didn't bring any spare jeans with me! 102 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:40,120 Holy...! 103 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:43,640 'But the rewards are worth it.' 104 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,800 Look at them now, they're coming to join us! 105 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,480 We are circling with them, it's astonishing! 106 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:52,640 We're in the same thermal that they are. 107 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:56,240 Ah, this is incredible. 108 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:06,120 This site is home to a third of all the world's cape vultures, 109 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:09,480 and right now it seems like every last one of them 110 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:10,920 is flying alongside me. 111 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:22,800 I wouldn't have believed that those birds I saw 112 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:25,720 flapping about on the ground so inelegantly 113 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:29,160 were capable of circling with such grace. 114 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:34,120 And yet, here they are doing it - elegantly, beautifully. 115 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:38,760 It sounds impossible, but they make it look easy. 116 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:42,680 And up here, I suddenly realise something - 117 00:08:42,680 --> 00:08:46,520 that's why we're used to seeing vultures circling in the movies - 118 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,440 it's because they're in a thermal. 119 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,640 So, this is all about being able to exploit the exact same thermals 120 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:55,000 that we're exploiting now. 121 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,120 Yeah. They've got these reduced spans, 122 00:08:57,120 --> 00:08:58,960 but still with good performance. 123 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,480 And you need to be really manoeuvrable. 124 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:05,520 So, you need to be able to turn inside this tight bubble of air. 125 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,240 And that could be why their wings are so small - 126 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:14,240 so they can turn quickly enough to stay inside the column of warm air. 127 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:18,720 By locking their wings in position, and using the thermal's lift, 128 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,760 they can fly with next to no effort at all. 129 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:29,640 And by hopping from one thermal to another, the vultures' short, 130 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:34,840 rigid wings can carry them more than 100 miles in a single flight. 131 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:39,720 And it's those astonishing abilities 132 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:43,240 that have inspired an entirely new form of human transport. 133 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:56,520 This is the Super Aviator. 134 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:04,600 But it's not what you think. 135 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:10,640 Despite the name and the aerodynamic appearance, 136 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:14,320 this is a plane that will never leave the ground. 137 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:17,200 Got my head in a fruit bowl, that's nice. 138 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,800 Because it's not designed for the skies. 139 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,400 It's built to go underwater. 140 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:37,560 The Aviator's owner, John Jo Lewis, 141 00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:42,800 has offered to take me for my first flight beneath the waves. 142 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,160 Forward thrust. 143 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:47,320 Commencing our dive. 144 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,160 We just dived under the sea! Woo! 145 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:11,480 So, Rabbit. I have to call you Rabbit, yeah? We've got handles and everything. 146 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:14,200 Yeah, that's right. We try and pick a two syllable word, 147 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:18,160 and I've been Rabbit for quite a while. OK, Rabbit. 148 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:21,040 What am I? You're Hamster now. Nice. 149 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:23,320 Thanks. Actually, you've always been Hamster. 150 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:26,320 Yeah, OK. That's familiar. All right, so we are now... 151 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:28,600 Let me get this right - flying 152 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:31,320 even though we are under water. Exactly right. 153 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,800 And literally, our wings are on upside down, 154 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:35,920 it's as simple as that. 155 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,520 That's right. Rather than keeping us up like an airplane, 156 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:41,640 it keeps us down... like a flying submarine. 157 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,920 'And down is where we're going. 158 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:47,880 'Down to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.' 159 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:52,720 You've put us in a descent down into a valley. 160 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:56,880 'Which is a little bit nerve-wracking.' 161 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:58,360 I've just had a drip of water 162 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:00,520 on my left arm, Rabbit, should I be worried? 163 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:03,360 No, that's just condensation. I knew that. 164 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:05,120 I've got a special towel here, 165 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:07,760 my submariner's anti-condensation towel, 166 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:11,680 because every time it drips on my left arm, I have an urge to scream. 167 00:12:11,680 --> 00:12:15,360 'Luckily, I soon get side-tracked.' 168 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:20,200 Oh, look, there's a big ray off to our rear right. 169 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:22,080 You're kidding! No, it's beautiful. 170 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:23,520 Wow! 171 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:29,480 'But we're not here to chase wildlife, 172 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:32,480 'because Rabbit is taking me down 173 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:34,920 'to a shipwreck on an artificial reef - 174 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:36,760 'a sort of sunken playground 175 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:40,360 'where he can really put the Aviator through its paces.' 176 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:43,840 And there we go. 177 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:03,760 This is magnificent! 178 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:21,600 'Impressive, but it's still not obvious what this submarine 179 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:23,080 'has to do with a vulture.' 180 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:27,440 So, what we are is an upside down vulture under the sea. 181 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:30,480 And the reason we're like a vulture is we have quite a large body 182 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:33,080 in proportion to which, quite small, stubby wings. 183 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:36,880 Yeah. They're short which keeps us manoeuvrable and allows us to go 184 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:39,640 into tight places, manoeuvre around wrecks 185 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:41,640 and not bump into anything. 186 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:45,080 In the same way that a vulture needs to have short wings 187 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:48,320 so it can be manoeuvrable and turn and stay inside those thermals. 188 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:51,240 You couldn't do this with long wings on your flying submarine. 189 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:55,080 That's right. That really is what allows us to have 190 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:56,880 the manoeuvrability that we do 191 00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:59,680 and be able to exploit the wings to their fullest capability. 192 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:07,280 We've swapped the lift of a thermal for the buoyancy of water. 193 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:11,800 It's a mirror image of what happens in the air. 194 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:15,360 Like the vulture, the Aviator needs quite a lot of energy to get 195 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:17,360 it away from the surface. 196 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:21,000 But once it's down there, that vulture technology 197 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,040 enables it to simply glide. 198 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:29,320 And now a big old climb starts. 199 00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:33,600 Steep ride back. 200 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:37,240 Oh! That feels pretty harsh. 201 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:40,080 100 feet. 202 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:41,480 Oh, yeah. 203 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:44,440 80 feet. 204 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:46,760 That's a pretty a extreme feeling 205 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:49,560 when you see the top, the surface of the sea getting closer 206 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:54,520 and closer. 50 feet. It's like driving into a wall. 20 feet. 207 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:57,160 I'm prepared to broach. 208 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:02,720 And there is the surface! That's... Ah! 209 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:03,960 It feels pretty good. 210 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:12,280 A submarine based on the way a vulture flies. 211 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:15,320 Not the most obvious of links, I'll grant you, 212 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:20,120 but inspirations from the natural world are often unexpected. 213 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,920 Sometimes it's just like a light bulb going on. 214 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:32,760 Because evolution has given us all of this for inspiration. 215 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:40,360 10,000 species of bird, 216 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:44,200 close to 30,000 species of fish, 217 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:47,520 8,000 species of reptile... 218 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:51,040 ..over a million species of insect... 219 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:57,400 ..and at least 4,500 species of mammal. 220 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,440 Bodies of all shapes and sizes. 221 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:06,120 Some of these bodies are truly remarkable, 222 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:09,600 not just for how they look, but for what they can do. 223 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:13,160 Bodies that could help us humans accomplish things that previously 224 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:16,680 were just plain impossible. 225 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:25,000 With the aid of technology, we're now able to propel 226 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:29,160 our bodies through the air with incredible speed and agility. 227 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:34,880 But we're still limited by one critical problem - gravity. 228 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:39,480 Because as pilots throw their planes through ever more violent twists 229 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:44,720 and turns, it's as if the force of gravity becomes magnified. 230 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:51,520 Magnified to such an extent that it pulls all the blood 231 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:54,760 away from their head and they lose consciousness. 232 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:57,560 And that's not good. 233 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:04,160 Jet fighters have, of course, continued to advance 234 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:07,360 and become capable of ever more extreme manoeuvres. 235 00:17:07,360 --> 00:17:09,960 Apart from one part of them - 236 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:13,360 the pilot, the human element, because the human body, well, 237 00:17:13,360 --> 00:17:15,560 that's stayed pretty much the same. 238 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:18,160 And who'd have thought that when scientists turned to nature 239 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,400 for inspiration, the one creature that could help us withstand 240 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:24,600 this high-tech, high speed, dynamic, dangerous environment 241 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:26,760 would be...the giraffe. 242 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:39,960 The giraffe has to be one of the most recognisable animals on Earth. 243 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,600 There's no mistaking that distinctive long neck. 244 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:58,800 But giraffes hold a secret that might just be the key 245 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:01,480 to the pilot's life-or-death problem. 246 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:06,240 And it's a secret that's hidden in that long neck. 247 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:13,680 Because, by rights, when the giraffe lowers its head down to take 248 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:18,440 a drink, the consequences should be catastrophic. 249 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:23,000 There is a critical issue here - pressure. 250 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,000 As I shall now demonstrate with this giraffe. 251 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:29,400 Don't worry, it's not a real one, it's actually a model built 252 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:31,640 to roughly the scale of a small giraffe. 253 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:33,960 The important thing is, this represents the heart. 254 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:35,400 There is actually a pump in there 255 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:37,960 that is going to pump this, representing the blood, 256 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:42,000 along these arteries all the way up to the giraffe's head there. 257 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,320 In other words, the same way blood works in the human body. 258 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,480 But the giraffe's head is so high, 259 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:53,160 it takes far more pressure to get it up there. 260 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:56,000 That was a human's blood pressure. Straight past that. 261 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:59,240 In fact, the giraffe has roughly twice our blood pressure. 262 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:01,920 It's the highest blood pressure of any living thing. 263 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:05,680 But that high blood pressure is only down by the heart, 264 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:08,200 where the pump is working furiously. 265 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:13,520 Up at the head, the pressure is much the same as ours. 266 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:16,120 And that is how it stays. 267 00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:19,000 Until it decides to lower its head to have a drink, 268 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,280 then everything changes. This is the right place to do this 269 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:25,000 because giraffes actually do come here to drink. 270 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:26,240 So, let's give it a go. 271 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:29,080 As I turn the handle, 272 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:33,960 all that blood starts going down towards the ground - 273 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,000 just like with the jet pilots. 274 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:39,760 Straightaway, watching my metre on the blood pressure, 275 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:41,880 it's rising back up again. 276 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:44,680 Quite quickly. And now it is rising more because now the head 277 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:46,560 is getting lower than the heart, 278 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:48,400 and suddenly, everything has changed. 279 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:51,160 It's not pumping all the way up there any more, gravity is helping 280 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:53,120 and it's flooding down to the head. 281 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:55,840 That blood pressure is going way past 282 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:59,160 what it should be, and now it's into the danger zone for our giraffe. 283 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:03,080 And things are looking bad. Very bad. 284 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:11,000 Obviously, its head doesn't really fly off. 285 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,960 In reality, as the blood pressure rises, the head comes down 286 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,840 and gravity steps in, a giraffe's head would... 287 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:19,480 Well, it would explode. 288 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:22,160 But they don't explode every time they come to drink, otherwise 289 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:24,160 this place who be littered with bits of them. 290 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:25,640 So, what's happening? 291 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:35,080 Well, there's only one way to find out - 292 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:37,200 by attempting to measure the blood pressure, 293 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:40,000 not of a model giraffe 294 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:41,960 but of a real one. 295 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:56,200 This team of vets and surgeons from a Danish university 296 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:58,360 are already doing just that. 297 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:10,200 And they hope that what they find out might just help 298 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,200 the millions of us who suffer from high blood pressure. 299 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:17,040 First, they open up the neck. 300 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:24,000 Inside, is part of the giraffe's secret. 301 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,840 Its arteries actually contract to cope. 302 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:31,600 And valves in the neck stop the blood being dragged down by gravity. 303 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:40,240 To assess just how effective this system is, the Danish team 304 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:43,920 are aiming to measure the giraffe's blood flow just the same way 305 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:46,280 I did on my model - 306 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,400 by putting pressure sensors at both the head and the heart. 307 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:03,120 Safely recovered from the operation, the giraffe is released... 308 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:09,320 ..undamaged, but now Wi-Fi enabled. 309 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:16,120 This is the first time a giraffe has ever had its blood pressure 310 00:22:16,120 --> 00:22:18,360 monitored in this way. 311 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:21,920 But what will happen to the readings 312 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:24,320 when the giraffe bends down to drink? 313 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,000 As soon as the head lowers, 314 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:34,920 the giraffe's arteries constrict automatically. 315 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:44,600 And though the pressure continues to rise, the giraffe's blood 316 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:48,440 doesn't suddenly rush to the head but stays where it's needed... 317 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:53,760 ..leaving the patient completely unharmed. 318 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:56,560 Which takes us back to jets. 319 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:04,640 Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting for one moment 320 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:07,840 that giraffes would make good fighter pilots. 321 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:11,080 But they are, as we have seen, very good at controlling 322 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,600 blood pressure and distribution of blood around the body, 323 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,360 and that's very important in here. 324 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:22,800 Because this capsule is designed to recreate the forces 325 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,880 that a fighter pilot experiences whilst flying. 326 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:29,960 And those forces are immense. 327 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,040 The faster they accelerate, brake or turn, 328 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,200 the greater the effect of G-force on the body. 329 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,720 At 2G, you feel you weigh twice as much as normal, 330 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:44,680 and breathing is twice as hard. 331 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:48,520 At 3G, the effects are tripled, 332 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:51,520 and blood starts to struggle to get to your brain. 333 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:53,920 Go further, 334 00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:56,800 and you lose your peripheral vision, 335 00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,280 then all sense of colour. 336 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:04,000 Finally, around 4 or 5G, your vision disappears entirely 337 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:05,920 and you lose consciousness. 338 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:11,280 Today, in here, using technology that mirrors very closely 339 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:16,240 what happens in a giraffe's neck, we're hoping to see 9G. 340 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:19,560 Five seconds of that is enough to go through all of those stages 341 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:21,240 to unconsciousness. 342 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:24,120 And I'm not doing it. 343 00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:25,560 I'm getting out. 344 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:30,440 The German Air Force, who run this place, 345 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:32,880 require three months of rigorous medical testing 346 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:36,240 before they'll approve a pilot. 347 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:42,040 And this man, Ralph, is the lucky winner. 348 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:47,560 Ralph has been chosen as the guinea pig for a completely 349 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:50,400 new form of flying suit. 350 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,400 It's called the G-raff. 351 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:57,080 A series of valves and chambers stop the blood 352 00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:59,800 pooling by compressing the body, 353 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:03,560 just like the constrictions in the giraffe's neck. 354 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:07,280 And the result... 355 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:10,440 Well, it looks pretty damn impressive. 356 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:13,120 What? 357 00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:15,240 Oh, this? Yeah, you noticed. 358 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:18,960 Andreas, I'll be honest, no offence, this is your invention, I know, 359 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:20,960 I feel a bit silly right now. 360 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,480 But this is the first incarnation of your G-raff suit. 361 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,840 What have I and a giraffe got in common right now? 362 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:29,320 It starts with some muscles here. 363 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:35,320 There are fluid muscles to contract the fabric if they are blowed up. 364 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:40,360 Then we are creating a tension to compress the body. 365 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:43,160 I've actually got a little thing here, I can inflate myself. 366 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:46,840 Oh! I can now feel that squeezing down here. 367 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:50,480 There are various pockets where air gathers, 368 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:53,280 that then tensions the material, yeah? 369 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:55,480 Absolutely. And it starts on the feet 370 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:59,320 and then we bring down... up the blood 371 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:03,360 back to the right place, to your heart, and especially to your brain. 372 00:26:03,360 --> 00:26:07,120 So, this would be squeezing me like a giant tube of toothpaste. 373 00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:08,600 That's true. 374 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:10,560 It's like a...I would say, 375 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:13,040 it's opposite milking, that's what you're doing. 376 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:15,960 In Switzerland, to milk, it's more or less the same thing 377 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:17,120 but the opposite way. 378 00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:22,760 Luckily for our pilot, the new version of the G-raff suit 379 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:26,520 all those tubes and chambers are hidden discreetly away. 380 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:31,160 They are now so small that a tiny amount of air should be enough 381 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:36,080 to activate them and stop the blood draining from the pilot's head. 382 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:42,200 But will giraffe technology be enough 383 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,760 to stop Ralph losing consciousness? 384 00:26:56,560 --> 00:27:00,640 This is the world's largest and most powerful centrifuge. 385 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:05,040 That arm is capable of spinning that capsule around this cavernous room 386 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:07,680 37 times in a minute. 387 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:11,240 Which works out roughly that the capsule itself is travelling 388 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:14,800 at the best part of 90 miles an hour that way. 389 00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:17,080 But it's not that speed that's important. 390 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:21,440 It's what that speed generates in this direction, G-force. 391 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:27,160 And that G-force will pull the pilot's blood downwards, 392 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:30,040 just as gravity did to the giraffe. 393 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:38,560 What I've been told is, Ralph, 394 00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:41,440 who's in the pod, is going to fly himself with a joystick. 395 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:44,960 And he'll subject himself to 9G. 396 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:50,720 Ralph has monitors taped all over him. 397 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:53,320 So, just like with the South African giraffe, 398 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:57,560 they can monitor the blood pressure at both his heart and his head. 399 00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:01,840 Are you ready? 'Yes, I am.' 400 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:05,240 It will be fine. 401 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:07,120 I'm glad he's confident, 402 00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:10,400 because he's launching himself into unknown territory. 403 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:13,280 Three, two, one... Go. 404 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:22,880 Right now, as he slowly increases and tightens the turn, 405 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,600 the blood is going to have a harder and harder time 406 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:28,000 getting up to Ralph's head. 407 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:33,520 And from here on in, it's only going to get worse. 408 00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:36,200 Now I'm going up. 4G. 409 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:41,080 A little bit more. Just to 5G. 410 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:44,360 Six. 411 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:50,840 Now we have seven. 412 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:53,640 8G. 413 00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:59,520 Now go up to 9G. 414 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:03,040 9G. 415 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:11,400 He just did 9, whilst chatting. 416 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:14,680 But the test isn't over. 417 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:21,000 With Ralph still at 9G, Andreas takes the controls. 418 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:25,200 And decides to push it just that little bit further. 419 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:26,240 It feels fine. 420 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:39,760 Not only is Ralph not struggling, he appears to be enjoying it. 421 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,600 Wow! Whoa! Nice! 422 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:49,320 So much so, that he has a little surprise for us. 423 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:51,280 SPEECH MUFFLED BY NOISE 424 00:29:56,840 --> 00:30:00,040 His face might be ending up stretched over his knees 425 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:03,640 but he's managing to do a Rubik's cube at 9G. 426 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,000 I can't do those at 1G. 427 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:11,360 Thank you. It's finished. 428 00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:13,000 THEY LAUGH 429 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:18,920 I mean, giraffes don't do this. 430 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:21,960 But it is linked directly to how giraffes' necks work. 431 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:24,000 HE SPEAKS GERMAN 432 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,120 Who knew? Who'd have thought? 433 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:34,040 If the G-raff suit passes the rest of its testing process 434 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:36,560 so convincingly then, thanks to the giraffe, 435 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:41,320 G-force might be one less thing for fighter pilots to worry about. 436 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:54,040 It goes without saying, 437 00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:58,040 for a species to survive it needs to be able to protect itself. 438 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:01,280 Turtles do it by retracting into a shell. 439 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:05,280 Bighorn sheep do it by having specially reinforced skulls. 440 00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:10,880 Because when they fight, it's more like a car crash. 441 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:16,720 Which is appropriate 442 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:19,240 because the only time a human being is likely to encounter 443 00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:22,720 that sort of impact is if they are unlucky enough to be in a crash. 444 00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:25,840 Anyone who rides a bike or races a car, 445 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:28,280 their best hope of protection is a helmet. 446 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:32,120 I should know, I owe my life to that one right there. 447 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:45,600 This is a state-of-the-art crash helmet, 448 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:48,440 the sort worn by Formula One drivers 449 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:51,960 Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. 450 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:55,480 Like all helmets, it's made of two layers, 451 00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:59,800 a flexible lightweight shell, and a soft inner foam. 452 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:05,160 To insure it meets safety regulations, 453 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:08,680 each helmet is subjected to a drop test. 454 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:12,440 And not just any old drop. 455 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:17,080 A drop from the top of the highest helmet drop tower in Britain - 456 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:21,800 50 feet straight down onto a solid steel pipe. 457 00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:35,520 It's like hitting a lamppost at 60 miles per hour. 458 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:38,200 And amazingly, the helmet survives. 459 00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:41,000 But is that good enough? 460 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,520 Somewhere in the natural world, 461 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:46,080 there might just be a better solution. 462 00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:04,520 TAPPING NOISE 463 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:06,760 And there it is. 464 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:11,600 It is a great spotted woodpecker. 465 00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:15,520 And it's the biggest head banger on the planet. 466 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:27,160 It drills a hole up to four inches deep through solid wood 467 00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:30,520 to get at the larvae of wood-boring beetles. 468 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:36,560 Which puts its head, and its brain, through an astonishing pounding. 469 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:46,080 The thing is, and this is an incredible figure, 470 00:33:46,080 --> 00:33:50,000 every time the woodpecker's beak strikes the tree, 471 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:54,120 its head is subject to 1,200G. 472 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:56,480 Which is enormous. 473 00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:00,640 In a crash, a human could only survive a fraction of that, 474 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:02,320 even with a helmet. 475 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:09,160 So how come it's able to do this without its brain turning to mush? 476 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:20,920 Unlike the crash helmet that has two layers to protect against shock, 477 00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:23,400 the woodpecker has four. 478 00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:25,920 The first is this hard 479 00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:29,840 but flexible beak that absorbs some of the initial impact. 480 00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:34,080 The second is a springy layer that starts at the base of the tongue 481 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:36,320 and extends right around the skull. 482 00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:40,680 Then the skull itself provides a second rigid layer. 483 00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:45,480 Finally, this filling of spongy bone between the skull and brain. 484 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:48,840 These four elements combined allow the woodpecker 485 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:52,840 to withstand impacts that would more than likely leave us dead. 486 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:59,600 So how can we adapt the woodpecker's astonishing ability? 487 00:35:04,240 --> 00:35:07,520 Engineer John Powell is attempting to recreate those 488 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:12,360 shock absorbing elements into an innovative new man-made system. 489 00:35:12,360 --> 00:35:15,520 John, I'll be honest, it looks nothing like a woodpecker. 490 00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:18,800 It doesn't look like a woodpecker but we have replicated the entire 491 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:22,600 woodpecker brain support system in our little cylinder here. 492 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:26,800 OK. Essentially, we've got this outer carbon fibre layer. 493 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,440 That's the beak that'll flex when it's impacted. 494 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:32,160 Hopefully not transferring loads through 495 00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:34,560 this isolating layer of cotton wool. 496 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:38,120 That hopefully is keeping everything away from being transferred 497 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:41,240 to this inner layer. This is our woodpecker skull. 498 00:35:41,240 --> 00:35:44,560 This is fibreglass, so yet another fibrous material like bone, 499 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:47,480 but it's more rigid so any impacts that come into the side 500 00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:50,960 are transferred to the centre like the woodpecker brain case, 501 00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:52,800 where they have the outer shell 502 00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:56,040 that doesn't allow anything to transfer to the inside. 503 00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:58,120 So if anything reaches that, this doesn't flex. 504 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:00,760 This is a bit more rigid. Right, that's the barrier. 505 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:02,240 What's after that? 506 00:36:02,240 --> 00:36:06,240 We use the beads, replicating that inner bone that the woodpecker has. 507 00:36:06,240 --> 00:36:09,160 That sort of spongy bone stuff? Yes. Where did these come from? 508 00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:11,320 These actually come from airport pillows. 509 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:14,200 You know those U-shaped pillows you put around your neck? Yeah. 510 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:15,560 That's what in them. 511 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:21,680 So now all we need to do is organise some sort of drop test. 512 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:41,880 To find out just how good this container is, 513 00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:45,920 we are going to drop it with something delicate inside it. 514 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:47,920 Something like this. 515 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:53,720 Not this. 516 00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:57,360 This. 517 00:36:57,360 --> 00:37:01,120 A bulb. Now that IS delicate. 518 00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:05,120 We've got glass, thin glass, and the filament inside. 519 00:37:05,120 --> 00:37:08,480 I can't get these things home from the store without breaking them. 520 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:12,720 I wouldn't expect this to survive a fall from a kitchen work surface 521 00:37:12,720 --> 00:37:16,520 but, today, we are going to drop it from space. 522 00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:37,680 Here is the precious cargo. 523 00:37:37,680 --> 00:37:41,640 John, I mean, this... It's not a specially prepared bulb or anything. 524 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:46,120 No, this is a regular light bulb we bought from the hardware store. 525 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:47,920 It's just off a shelf? Yes. 526 00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:50,640 I've delivered it to you safely, we've got that on record. 527 00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:53,360 We are just going to wrap it in a little piece of excelsior here. 528 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:55,040 Right. 529 00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:57,520 Then it goes in its little home there. 530 00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:00,160 John, all this other stuff that you've put in with it, 531 00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:01,600 the GPS stuff and this unit, 532 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:04,200 isn't that going to be the equivalent 533 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:08,080 of putting a light bulb in a tumble dryer full of bricks? 534 00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:11,960 Yes. Right. Which makes it even more challenging. Yes. 535 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:15,280 The real trick is to get everything not to move. 536 00:38:15,280 --> 00:38:18,280 Everything takes a lot of shock if it can't move. 537 00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:20,800 Then it can't come over towards the light bulb. 538 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:24,360 How confident are you at this stage? 539 00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:28,720 I'm completely confident that the bulb is going to survive. OK. 540 00:38:28,720 --> 00:38:32,680 The extra added bit, the glory that we're shooting for, 541 00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:36,600 is will the filament in the bulb. I believe it will. 542 00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:40,120 The filament is the most delicate part. It's just a small thin wire. 543 00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:41,960 They can break in your shopping bag! 544 00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:46,120 And often do. Oh, yeah! Hopeful, that's a good word for this mission. 545 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:48,200 Ambitious and hopeful. 546 00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:51,320 John isn't just in charge of our canister, 547 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:54,480 he runs this whole space mission. 548 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:58,320 And he wants to see if woodpecker technology can help him 549 00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:02,800 protect the vital components he attaches to his command modules. 550 00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:07,080 But we can't blame him for this whole crazy light bulb thing. 551 00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:08,400 That was our idea. 552 00:39:10,720 --> 00:39:12,560 OK, so here is how it's going to work. 553 00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:14,800 Still can't quite believe I'm saying this. 554 00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:18,440 Our canister containing the light bulb will be suspended underneath the module. 555 00:39:18,440 --> 00:39:21,520 That in turn will be suspended underneath that weather balloon, 556 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:24,240 which is filled with helium, which is lighter than air 557 00:39:24,240 --> 00:39:25,840 so that will take the whole lot up. 558 00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:27,640 And up. And up. 559 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:31,720 Right beyond the edge of the Earth's atmosphere and, well, into space. 560 00:39:31,720 --> 00:39:34,880 I know it sounds silly when you say it, but that's where it's going. 561 00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:38,120 When it's there, down here on the ground in mission control, 562 00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:39,880 which is that van over there, 563 00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:42,320 they will press a button that will release our module 564 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:46,320 and it will fall all the way back down to Earth with our light bulb. 565 00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:48,640 And then, well, we'll just see what happens. 566 00:39:48,640 --> 00:39:52,320 It's equipped with GPS so they can find it. We'll have a look. 567 00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:54,840 We're going into space. HE GIGGLES 568 00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:57,080 'Commencing launch procedure. 569 00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:03,080 'Ten...nine... 570 00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:05,840 '..eight...seven... 571 00:40:05,840 --> 00:40:08,160 '..six...five... 572 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:11,160 '..four...three... 573 00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:13,960 '..two...one.' 574 00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:24,800 It's up. It's going that way. 575 00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:26,360 It's climbing. 576 00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:39,120 Bye-bye, light bulb. 577 00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:42,840 Good luck on the way back down. 578 00:40:50,240 --> 00:40:53,560 The balloon carrying our woodpecker canister 579 00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:55,800 rises astonishingly quickly - 580 00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:58,240 around 1,000 feet a minute - 581 00:40:58,240 --> 00:41:01,680 and it's already out of sight from the ground. 582 00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:05,600 Time to get myself to mission control. 583 00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:07,760 Look at that shot. There it is. 584 00:41:07,760 --> 00:41:11,240 Is that curvature of the Earth I'm seeing or is that an optical effect? 585 00:41:11,240 --> 00:41:15,000 That is curvature of the Earth. That IS curvature of the Earth? There it is there. Yes. 586 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:18,160 So this light bulb that we bought off the shelf in a store... 587 00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:20,680 It was just there next to all the other light bulbs. 588 00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:22,480 That one was chosen. 589 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:24,600 That one is now experiencing space. 590 00:41:24,600 --> 00:41:28,000 It's the ultimate light bulb adventure. It is. 591 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:30,440 CLATTERING Oh, the awning... 592 00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:33,000 Er, I think our E-Z UP just flew away. 593 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:34,800 Down, down, upside down... 594 00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:37,480 Is anybody going to say, "Houston, we have a problem"? 595 00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:40,520 Everybody OK out there? I'm not sure my nerves can stand it. 596 00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:42,960 This is the most tense thing I've ever been involved in. 597 00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:46,080 I'm in the middle of a space mission here and we've got problems! 598 00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:47,720 You all know where that goes! 599 00:41:47,720 --> 00:41:50,600 Everybody OK out here? Yeah, we're fine. 600 00:41:50,600 --> 00:41:54,680 Just 2,000 feet to go till our designated drop point 601 00:41:54,680 --> 00:41:59,120 and then our canister containing our precious light bulb cargo 602 00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:02,680 begins its Mach 1 journey back towards Earth... 603 00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:06,160 and a substantial crash landing, which, hopefully, it will survive, 604 00:42:06,160 --> 00:42:10,960 thanks to a technology derived from that of a woodpecker's head. 605 00:42:10,960 --> 00:42:13,480 If you've just joined us, that's what's happening. 606 00:42:13,480 --> 00:42:19,120 If this works, we'll see the cylinder break away and begin its... 607 00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:21,160 You just say, "Go," and I'll try it. 608 00:42:21,160 --> 00:42:23,400 There it is. Go. 609 00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:28,120 Yes! Yes! There it goes! It's gone! 610 00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:32,440 Within seconds, the canister is going fast enough 611 00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:34,960 to break the sound barrier. 612 00:42:34,960 --> 00:42:38,360 If there WAS any sound in space, that is. 613 00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:41,600 Yet even at 700-odd miles an hour, 614 00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:45,640 the descent is going to take a remarkable 15 minutes - 615 00:42:45,640 --> 00:42:48,440 now THAT is what I call a drop test. 616 00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:53,680 With the canister now out of sight, 617 00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:57,000 the team remotely detonate the weather balloon. 618 00:42:59,880 --> 00:43:01,960 A parachute launches automatically, 619 00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:05,920 floating the transmitters and cameras safely back down to Earth. 620 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:10,480 The canister isn't so lucky. 621 00:43:13,280 --> 00:43:15,160 As it hits the atmosphere, 622 00:43:15,160 --> 00:43:17,920 the on-board camera is forced back in its housing. 623 00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:29,040 No woodpecker has ever travelled at 700 miles per hour. 624 00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:34,920 No woodpecker has ever plummeted 85,000 feet. 625 00:43:36,440 --> 00:43:39,480 But right now, we're relying on the way a woodpecker 626 00:43:39,480 --> 00:43:43,000 protects its brain to keep that light bulb intact. 627 00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:49,120 CRASH 628 00:43:53,240 --> 00:43:57,480 With the canister down, we head out as quickly as we can to retrieve it. 629 00:43:59,120 --> 00:44:02,680 Unfortunately, those same winds that blew our awning over 630 00:44:02,680 --> 00:44:05,720 have taken the canister way off course. 631 00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:11,920 And when we finally get there, 632 00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:16,800 we find the radio signals seem to make no sense. 633 00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:22,960 As night falls, we're still no closer to finding our canister. 634 00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:30,000 So let me tell you where we are. 635 00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:33,880 The guys are pretty sure that the canister landed in a canyon. 636 00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:35,560 That's good. Less good - 637 00:44:35,560 --> 00:44:38,680 the GPS on board has broken, which is a worry. 638 00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:42,080 It does have a radio beacon - that's great. And they've found a signal. 639 00:44:42,080 --> 00:44:44,840 The problem is, the signal is bouncing around, they think, 640 00:44:44,840 --> 00:44:46,040 off the walls of the canyon. 641 00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:48,400 When I was with them, we went to try and find it, 642 00:44:48,400 --> 00:44:50,360 we were going one way and the next way. 643 00:44:50,360 --> 00:44:53,280 The signal is coming in everywhere. So here's the solution. 644 00:44:53,280 --> 00:44:55,800 They think what we've got to do now 645 00:44:55,800 --> 00:44:59,800 is wait for the battery in the radio beacon to run down a little bit, 646 00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:02,200 so it's a weaker signal - it won't bounce off the walls. 647 00:45:02,200 --> 00:45:04,800 They'll be able to zone in and find it. 648 00:45:04,800 --> 00:45:07,320 But that could take five or six days. 649 00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:09,280 I haven't got time. We've got to move on. 650 00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:12,680 So they're going to look for it and if, WHEN they find it, 651 00:45:12,680 --> 00:45:17,320 they'll mail it on to me, wherever we've ended up. 652 00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:18,640 It's not all over yet. 653 00:45:23,560 --> 00:45:25,200 Now, you might be thinking, 654 00:45:25,200 --> 00:45:29,320 "It's all very well you talking about submarines and jet fighters and space, 655 00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:32,360 "but what has any of that got to do with me?" 656 00:45:32,360 --> 00:45:34,280 Well, more than you might imagine 657 00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:36,680 because quite often these exotic ideas 658 00:45:36,680 --> 00:45:40,840 end up having applications much, much closer to home. 659 00:45:43,880 --> 00:45:47,440 Can we be frank just for a minute? Because this is important. 660 00:45:47,440 --> 00:45:50,960 We need to address an embarrassing social problem. 661 00:45:50,960 --> 00:45:53,560 Has this ever happened to you? 662 00:45:56,360 --> 00:46:01,040 An amazing 19% of us admit to having, at one time or another, 663 00:46:01,040 --> 00:46:04,120 dropped our mobile phone down the loo. 664 00:46:04,120 --> 00:46:07,880 Actually, it's worse than that, because only 40% of us overall 665 00:46:07,880 --> 00:46:11,160 admit to taking our phone in with us in the first place. 666 00:46:11,160 --> 00:46:13,280 So if 19% drop it down... 667 00:46:13,280 --> 00:46:16,640 That's half of everybody who takes their phone into the loo 668 00:46:16,640 --> 00:46:17,880 drops it down there. 669 00:46:17,880 --> 00:46:20,840 I'm afraid to say it seems to be predominantly women. 670 00:46:20,840 --> 00:46:24,240 Must be the whole, you know, sitting-down thing. Whatever! 671 00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:27,800 Anyway, ultimately it leads... well, to this. 672 00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:43,360 Yeah. Telecommunications and toilets. 673 00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:46,240 Not something with which you'd imagine the genius of nature 674 00:46:46,240 --> 00:46:47,760 could really help. 675 00:46:47,760 --> 00:46:49,680 But it can. 676 00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:54,480 And the answer can be found 677 00:46:54,480 --> 00:46:57,440 deep in the heart of the South American rainforest. 678 00:47:10,720 --> 00:47:15,120 This Morpho butterfly is a master of repelling water. 679 00:47:17,400 --> 00:47:18,880 And with good cause. 680 00:47:21,040 --> 00:47:25,520 If just one of those heavy raindrops was to settle on its wing, 681 00:47:25,520 --> 00:47:29,000 it would become so unbalanced, it would fall out of the sky. 682 00:47:30,840 --> 00:47:34,400 And if just a fraction of a drop was absorbed, 683 00:47:34,400 --> 00:47:36,760 it could damage the wing permanently. 684 00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:45,120 Lucky then, that the water just beads up and runs off... 685 00:47:47,680 --> 00:47:52,040 ..allowing the butterfly to find safety and shelter. 686 00:47:55,720 --> 00:47:59,280 Despite the shiny appearance of the wing, 687 00:47:59,280 --> 00:48:02,480 this is not some sort of rubberised coating. 688 00:48:02,480 --> 00:48:05,240 It's something far cleverer than that. 689 00:48:05,240 --> 00:48:09,360 But to find out what, we need to look closer. 690 00:48:09,360 --> 00:48:11,160 A thousand times closer. 691 00:48:14,680 --> 00:48:17,800 Because although the wing looks totally smooth, 692 00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:22,280 it's actually covered in millions of tiny waffle-shaped ridges. 693 00:48:25,640 --> 00:48:29,680 This model represents that distinctive pattern, 694 00:48:29,680 --> 00:48:32,720 and this balloon represents a water droplet. 695 00:48:32,720 --> 00:48:35,840 If it lands on the wing, only the tiniest part of it 696 00:48:35,840 --> 00:48:38,680 would ever come into contact with the actual surface 697 00:48:38,680 --> 00:48:41,400 because it balances on these ridges. 698 00:48:41,400 --> 00:48:45,560 In fact, less than one percent of any raindrop 699 00:48:45,560 --> 00:48:49,640 ever even touches the butterfly's wing. 700 00:48:49,640 --> 00:48:51,480 They call this property "hydrophobia" - 701 00:48:51,480 --> 00:48:54,160 literally "water hating" - 702 00:48:54,160 --> 00:48:57,000 and it's a property so impressive 703 00:48:57,000 --> 00:48:59,360 and so potentially useful, 704 00:48:59,360 --> 00:49:02,320 that it's no surprise we've tried to copy it. 705 00:49:09,840 --> 00:49:13,440 This laboratory in Oxfordshire thinks it's succeeded. 706 00:49:15,640 --> 00:49:18,920 They've worked out a way to spray an artificial hydrophobic coating 707 00:49:18,920 --> 00:49:22,080 onto, well, just about everything. 708 00:49:23,120 --> 00:49:25,800 And if you don't believe me, just watch. 709 00:49:27,640 --> 00:49:31,360 We've put together a machine to explore this hydrophobic quality 710 00:49:31,360 --> 00:49:35,480 and all it needs to get it started is a couple of drops of water. 711 00:49:37,680 --> 00:49:39,800 We've created this machine 712 00:49:39,800 --> 00:49:44,760 out of things we thought might benefit from being hydrophobic. 713 00:49:44,760 --> 00:49:47,520 A newspaper that never gets soggy. 714 00:49:47,520 --> 00:49:51,200 An egg carton that never gets sticky. 715 00:49:55,720 --> 00:49:59,240 A teapot that never dribbles. 716 00:50:02,520 --> 00:50:06,520 Kitchen utensils, spatulas, spoons and mixing bowls 717 00:50:06,520 --> 00:50:08,160 that never get dirty. 718 00:50:09,360 --> 00:50:11,120 Gloves that stay dry 719 00:50:11,120 --> 00:50:14,240 whether you're gardening or snowballing. 720 00:50:16,800 --> 00:50:20,160 And summer blockbusters that you can read by the pool. 721 00:50:28,920 --> 00:50:33,240 And, finally, the piece de resistance... 722 00:50:36,680 --> 00:50:38,920 ..hydrophobic clothes. 723 00:50:41,400 --> 00:50:42,800 So I've had THIS made. 724 00:50:42,800 --> 00:50:45,720 It's a suit, but it's been hydrophobically coated, 725 00:50:45,720 --> 00:50:49,280 which means, technically, I should be able to spill anything on it. 726 00:50:51,080 --> 00:50:52,120 Coffee. 727 00:50:52,120 --> 00:50:53,960 Red wine. 728 00:50:55,240 --> 00:50:56,600 Mustard - English. 729 00:50:56,600 --> 00:50:58,680 Tomato juice. 730 00:50:58,680 --> 00:51:00,800 Mango juice. 731 00:51:01,880 --> 00:51:03,240 Soy sauce. 732 00:51:03,240 --> 00:51:07,120 You see, it all just flies off. Brilliant. 733 00:51:07,120 --> 00:51:10,640 Right, hope there's nothing else. 734 00:51:10,640 --> 00:51:14,520 Because the thing we really want to repel water is our phone. 735 00:51:14,520 --> 00:51:16,040 Back to the lab. 736 00:51:19,800 --> 00:51:23,720 We've put a standard model into an airtight chamber, 737 00:51:23,720 --> 00:51:25,720 where it's subjected to a vacuum. 738 00:51:28,040 --> 00:51:31,960 Next, it's exposed to plasma rays 739 00:51:31,960 --> 00:51:35,960 to prepare every surface for the hydrophobic coating, 740 00:51:35,960 --> 00:51:41,280 and I do mean every surface, both outside and in. 741 00:51:43,000 --> 00:51:47,920 Moving parts, electrical contacts, circuit boards, processors 742 00:51:47,920 --> 00:51:51,080 all get covered by a thin layer of textured plastic, 743 00:51:51,080 --> 00:51:54,280 a thousand times thinner than a human hair. 744 00:51:56,640 --> 00:52:00,920 Which is all very impressive, but does it work? 745 00:52:02,360 --> 00:52:04,560 Let's start again, shall we? 746 00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:08,960 This is my old phone, and it's ruined. 747 00:52:08,960 --> 00:52:11,760 I dropped it in the loo, You saw me do it. 748 00:52:11,760 --> 00:52:14,600 This is my new phone. It's exactly the same, 749 00:52:14,600 --> 00:52:18,040 but it's been treated with a special hydrophobic coating. 750 00:52:18,040 --> 00:52:22,560 Not a waterproof cover, remember. Water will still get in. 751 00:52:22,560 --> 00:52:26,280 It's just it should then run off every component inside. 752 00:52:26,280 --> 00:52:28,960 Should. That's the theory. 753 00:52:28,960 --> 00:52:33,360 So let's do it again. And I really hope this does work because this is getting expensive. 754 00:52:40,160 --> 00:52:42,160 PHONE RINGS 755 00:52:49,360 --> 00:52:50,840 Hello. 756 00:52:50,840 --> 00:52:53,320 Yeah, can you get me some antibacterial wipes? 757 00:52:53,320 --> 00:52:54,760 Yeah. 758 00:52:54,760 --> 00:52:56,800 No, a lot. 759 00:52:59,040 --> 00:53:03,200 Just imagine if any electrical device could be waterproof. 760 00:53:05,320 --> 00:53:07,960 No more water-damaged phones. 761 00:53:07,960 --> 00:53:10,520 No more flood-damaged televisions. 762 00:53:12,040 --> 00:53:15,160 And no more coffee-damaged keyboards. 763 00:53:15,160 --> 00:53:18,240 And all thanks to the South American rainforest... 764 00:53:18,240 --> 00:53:20,440 and one small butterfly. 765 00:53:28,000 --> 00:53:31,480 It goes to show that sometimes, most times, 766 00:53:31,480 --> 00:53:33,600 there's an animal out there somewhere 767 00:53:33,600 --> 00:53:37,080 that can outperform the best we humans have to offer. 768 00:53:37,080 --> 00:53:38,640 It's not surprising, really. 769 00:53:38,640 --> 00:53:42,560 Evolution has been working on it for 3.5 billion years. 770 00:53:42,560 --> 00:53:45,360 But that's OK - it just means there's always more for us 771 00:53:45,360 --> 00:53:47,480 to learn from the natural world. 772 00:53:47,480 --> 00:53:50,240 Like, what DID happen to that light bulb? 773 00:53:52,000 --> 00:53:55,200 If you remember, a woodpecker had inspired us 774 00:53:55,200 --> 00:53:57,160 to drop a light bulb from space. 775 00:53:58,760 --> 00:54:01,680 But it had landed... heaven knows where. 776 00:54:04,920 --> 00:54:08,160 DOORBELL CHIMES 777 00:54:08,160 --> 00:54:12,440 Hello. How's it going? Very well. Do you have a parcel for Hammond? Yes. 778 00:54:12,440 --> 00:54:16,080 'Well, eventually I get the call saying they've found the canister 779 00:54:16,080 --> 00:54:19,480 'and delivered it to a courier's office near where I'm filming.' 780 00:54:19,480 --> 00:54:21,280 Driver's licence. Does that do? 781 00:54:21,280 --> 00:54:23,160 'I rush straight down there.' 782 00:54:26,040 --> 00:54:29,600 Stickers say, "Fragile, handle with care." It's a bit late! 783 00:54:29,600 --> 00:54:31,760 Right, let's get this open. 784 00:54:34,920 --> 00:54:37,680 It's like the weirdest Christmas ever. 785 00:54:37,680 --> 00:54:40,120 OK, we're in the box. 786 00:54:44,400 --> 00:54:45,440 There it is. 787 00:55:02,360 --> 00:55:04,280 HE GULPS AND SIGHS 788 00:55:09,720 --> 00:55:11,920 I daren't look. 789 00:55:11,920 --> 00:55:14,440 Ooh. 790 00:55:14,440 --> 00:55:17,200 There's the tray containing the bundle. 791 00:55:17,200 --> 00:55:19,960 This suddenly is now the most precious artefact 792 00:55:19,960 --> 00:55:22,000 I shall ever handle. 793 00:55:25,480 --> 00:55:27,200 There it is. 794 00:55:31,160 --> 00:55:33,080 Intact. 795 00:55:33,080 --> 00:55:34,440 From space. 796 00:55:34,440 --> 00:55:37,160 No parachute, no magic. 797 00:55:37,160 --> 00:55:40,240 There is one further test I could do, 798 00:55:40,240 --> 00:55:41,880 cos I did spot over here... 799 00:55:43,600 --> 00:55:45,840 And this does work. Yeah, it does work. 800 00:55:47,280 --> 00:55:48,760 Oh! 801 00:55:50,800 --> 00:55:53,560 Do you know, it might just be intact. 802 00:55:53,560 --> 00:55:58,280 That's not the bulb. That's not been to space. THIS is our space bulb. 803 00:55:58,280 --> 00:56:01,560 If this works, I will be staggered 804 00:56:01,560 --> 00:56:05,840 because when the director suggested using a light bulb, I said no. 805 00:56:05,840 --> 00:56:07,680 Oh... 806 00:56:07,680 --> 00:56:09,920 HE LAUGHS 807 00:56:12,000 --> 00:56:14,400 That is astonishing! 808 00:56:14,400 --> 00:56:16,240 Over there is a very happy man indeed 809 00:56:16,240 --> 00:56:19,800 because I said, "That's just a step too far - it can't possibly work." 810 00:56:19,800 --> 00:56:24,480 That light bulb has been flown up to space and dropped - 811 00:56:24,480 --> 00:56:28,720 85,000 feet, I think, was the exact height - back down to Earth. 812 00:56:28,720 --> 00:56:31,640 It landed... Well, it landed on rocks on a mountain. 813 00:56:31,640 --> 00:56:33,440 It took days to find it. 814 00:56:33,440 --> 00:56:36,560 The only thing protecting it was this whole system, 815 00:56:36,560 --> 00:56:38,680 which was home-made 816 00:56:38,680 --> 00:56:41,000 and modelled on the way a woodpecker's skull 817 00:56:41,000 --> 00:56:44,840 protects its brain when subjected to G pecking trees. 818 00:56:44,840 --> 00:56:49,680 This was subjected to G landing without a parachute from space. 819 00:56:49,680 --> 00:56:51,640 I'm staggered! 820 00:56:52,760 --> 00:56:56,000 Come on, that's worth a round of applause. They're so relieved! 821 00:56:56,000 --> 00:56:58,120 APPLAUSE 822 00:56:58,120 --> 00:56:59,600 That is amazing! 823 00:57:01,040 --> 00:57:04,160 But those amazing, shock-absorbing qualities 824 00:57:04,160 --> 00:57:07,120 aren't just for safeguarding an iconic bird 825 00:57:07,120 --> 00:57:10,000 and a home-made spacecraft. 826 00:57:10,000 --> 00:57:14,120 They might make a difference to motorcyclists all over the world. 827 00:57:16,040 --> 00:57:19,360 There are already helmet manufacturers looking at this, 828 00:57:19,360 --> 00:57:24,160 which means, one day, woodpeckers could be life-savers. 829 00:57:24,160 --> 00:57:28,200 And that, I think you'll agree, is quite miraculous. 830 00:57:31,720 --> 00:57:33,720 'Next time on Miracles of Nature, 831 00:57:33,720 --> 00:57:37,200 'I'll be looking at how animals' super-senses 832 00:57:37,200 --> 00:57:39,800 'might change the way we experience OUR world, 833 00:57:39,800 --> 00:57:44,120 'allowing us to hear through solid rock...' 834 00:57:44,120 --> 00:57:47,040 EXPLOSION 835 00:57:47,040 --> 00:57:48,560 Hello! 836 00:57:48,560 --> 00:57:51,200 '..to see without using our eyes...' 837 00:57:51,200 --> 00:57:54,000 That's astonishing. 838 00:57:54,000 --> 00:57:57,800 '..and to feel something that happened 30 seconds earlier.' 839 00:57:58,880 --> 00:58:01,880 This is what we'll all be in. This is the future. 840 00:58:24,400 --> 00:58:27,440 Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd