Designers and engineers face an almost impossible challenge -- to use truck bed liner paint, normally used to protect vehicles from scratches and knocks, to protect an entire building from a massive explosion.
The Smash Lab teams tests a special type of carbon fiber used to reinforce tunnels to see if it can protect a home from destructive hurricanes.
There are nearly 3000 railway crossing accidents each year. With more extreme experimentation, the Smash Lab team tests an idea to use giant airbags on the front of a train to push cars safely out of the way.
Inside of the hold of an aircraft there is a system used to move aircraft cargo with almost zero friction. Could technology be used to isolate a house from the shaking of the ground? The team tests this theory by building an artificial earthquake machine.
The Smash Lab team has an idea to reduce the number of fire-related deaths. Their sky safety idea uses magnetic roller coaster brakes devices which have incredible stopping power. A stunt man slides down a hundred foot tower to prove the system.
People travel towing boats, mobile homes, motocross trailers; but unlike a semi, there's no backup system to stop in an emergency. The Smash Lab crew has an idea; can retro firing rockets bring a safe, controlled stop? Watch firing rockets ignite!
