Here are the episodes i would recommend watching when they next air.
http://tlc.discovery.com/tlcpages/junkyard/season_01.html
Power Pullers
In this fight of might and war of weight, two teams race to find the
biggest engine and the largest wheels to build the mother of all
tractors. Quick illustrations explain the differentials as well as
tractor traction theories, and demonstrate why having your wheels spin
in a contest like this may not be all that bad.
http://tlc.discovery.com/tlcpages/junkyard/season_02.html
Cannons
Given 10 hours in a junkyard, the groups race to see who can build a
better cannon. The Chemical
Brothers decide to use a straightforward black-powder cannon, using the
balls from an iron bed frame as
cannonballs. Brothers in Arms, a team of actual brothers, decides to
build a long supergun capable of
using cordite, which is much more powerful than black powder. But extra
power comes at a price — their
gun must be able to handle the pressure, and their ballistics must be up
to the heat.
Marine Salvage
The producers have asked teams to retrieve two cars carelessly parked
underwater. One team decides to
attach water-filled barrels to the car, then fill them with air,
floating the car to the surface. The other
team builds a huge floating barge with a giant crane to pick the car up.
Diagrams reveal that they'll run
into problem with the machines weight, and center of gravity.
Walking Machines
In this episode, the teams have to build a wheel-free vehicle to carry
all of them, plus one very heavy
safe, through a muddy and bumpy obstacle course. One team retrofits an
old jeep using "cams" instead
of regular wheels, allowing the jeep to creep forward on its belly. The
other team decides to go with a
hydraulic machine that can only be described as a walking dinner table.
http://tlc.discovery.com/tlcpages/junkyard/episodes_uk.html
Demolition [according to tv.yahoo.com this episode will air on
Monday Jun 11 AT 10pm & Jun 12 AT 1am, your area of the world might be
different]
The teams each have to build a machine capable of demolishing a set of
industrial
outbuildings at an old power station in Norwich. Sadly, no explosives
are allowed, but they manage all
the same. The Beach Boys, a group of twentysomething surfers, decide on
a straightforward,
human-powered battering ram, and do something no other team has ever
managed — they finish
building before time is up. The Chaos Crew keeps the Junkyard Wars
tradition alive, with a great, big,
nasty-looking machine. They build a big hydraulic claw that can rip down
walls.
For me the earlier episodes are more inclined towards learning, since
the two hosts seemed to understand the technology, the later season host
is more over the top and gimicky, going to humor a little too often.
For related high tech stuff Survival Research Laboratories
http://srl.org/ i believe several memeber of this organization were on
one of the shows but i can't remember which one.
Peter A Lopez
Steev Hise wrote:
> has anyone seen "Junkyard Wars" or the original show it's
> modelled on in the UK, "Scrapheap
> Challenge"? They sound pretty cool, tho not being a TV
> watcher I can't say for sure... basically contestants
> have to build something (like a powerboat or a cannon) from
> whatever they can find in a big pile of junk. of course it's
> a "specially constructed" pre-prepared pile of junk, but
> still, the general theme is great.
>
> http://www.junkyard-wars.com/
>
> smh
>
> Steev Hise, Would-be World-Wide Web Wizard (WWWWW)
> steevATdetritus.net http://detritus.net/steev
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