Engines & Equipment
Engines and construction equipment are all complex machines. How do some of these engines work, and how do they help us construct buildings and structures?
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You know those loaders used in construction and landscaping that dig up and pick up EVERYTHING? Learn how these incredible machines work!
By Karim Nice
If a device has a motor, engine or spring, it probably has gears! But what do gears do, exactly, and how do they do it?
By Karim Nice &克丽丝ten Hall-Geisler
Ever gaze in wonder at the huge cranes, bulldozers, backhoes, loaders, shovels and fork lifts on a construction site? Find out all about hydraulic machines, from backyard log splitters to big construction equipment.
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Tractor pulls are popular displays of raw horsepower.The trucks used in these competitions use engines that are capable of producing thousands of horsepower.
A fascinating article that describes how a block and tackle (as well as levers and gears) works!
Hydraulic cranes perform seemingly impossible tasks, lifting 70-ton objects with absolute ease. See the simple design behind the Herculean results.
By Kevin Bonsor
We see them all the time, but do you ever think about everything these machines do? A fire engine is a combination personnel carrier, tool box and water tanker. Learn all about this amazing 3-in-1 machine.
By Kevin Bonsor
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You probably ride escalators all the time, but do you know how they move, and flatten, and keep the handrail in synch with the steps? Find out exactly what is going on inside an escalator.
In action movies, elevators regularly plummet to the basement, landing in a spectacular ball of fire. Is this possible? There are some sophisticated engineering techniques at work behind every elevator ride you take.
A radial engine has a unique setup that makes it ideal for certain applications. Find out what makes radial engines different, how they operate and where they're used.
油轮携带大量的石油,汽油and other petroleum products between ports. However, crewmembers must guard against explosions, pirates and more.
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Science-fiction movies like "Minority Report" show people taking individual public transportation to get around the city. Would people ever give up their cars for a less-convenient mode of travel?
What does it take to build an ATV? We visited the Suzuki Manufacturing of America Corporation ATV factory in Rome, Georgia, to find out.
We humans are mobile. Long before flight, FusionMan or even your average automobile arrived on the scene, trains were transporting us all over civilization. How did we get from horse-drawn carts to high-speed trains?
Few are unfamiliar with the mixer trucks that transport concrete from the factory to the construction site. How do they keep that stuff from hardening while they move?
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Antique steam shovels can still be found rusting away at old mining sites or painstakingly restored and on display in museums the world over. How much do you know about these mammoth-sized digging tools?
Forklifts are a necessary tool in most warehouses, shipping depots and manufacturing facilities. In fact, without forklifts, we wouldn't be able to move manufactured goods nearly as efficiently as we do today.
Bearings are the invisible heroes inside many mechanical devices. Learn about all different kinds of bearings, including 5-foot ball bearings that keep buildings on solid footing.
By Karim Nice
Magnetic levitation trains, aka maglev trains, can travel much faster than even bullet trains, with less environmental impact. But they're very expensive to build. So, what's the future of maglev trains?
由凯文Bonsor &Nathan Chandler
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Right around the fall months you may have heard the phrase 'punkin chunkin.' Have you ever wondered what exactly that is, or how the machines that launch pumpkins work?
Tower cranes rise 150 feet in the air and lift up to 19 tons. Plus, they actually build themselves! They're simply amazing. Learn how these structures accomplish such feats.
A car engine uses a four-stroke cycle -- how can two strokes accomplish the same tasks? Learn all about the two-stroke engine, where it's used and how it compares to a four-stroke.
Were these things invented to make your hair stand on end? Find out how Van de Graaff generators create static electricity and why they were invented in the first place.
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It doesn't seem like twisted rope and wooden gears or levers would be able to produce the force and speed needed to launch heavy loads a great distance.
Water-cooled air conditioners work in a different way than standard air conditioners that chill the air with a compressor. If water-cooler air conditioners don't use a compressor, then how do they cool the air? Find out the answer in this article.