Episodes

10 episodes in this season

Siege of Troy

Cars & Planes

Machines of the Gods

Super Ships

Mega Machines

Egyptian Warfare

60 min

Chinese Warfare

60 min

Now Playing

Machines III

Robots

E10

Machines of the East

Ancient Discoveries

TV Series

20031h8.9

Documentary

Now playing

Machines III

Season 3 · Episode 8 · Mar 27, 2007

For the first time, this program unveils the remarkable story of how China created a myriad of ingenious devices including cosmic machines able to collect data on the stars, hydraulic hammers, water-controlled clocks and even paper. We discover that ancient China was an industrial superpower, armed with devices such as heaven carts' able to drill down deep underground, geared milling machines and mass production plants powered by water. Incredibly, unlike the ancient Egyptians, the Chinese developed their inventions with an eye for safety. Sophisticated mining props were designed to prevent cave-ins; ancient "carburetors" to control volatile natural gas; they even managed to design the world's first earthquake detector. Setting out on an epic journey across all of China, we meet leading historians and model-makers who keep tales of ancient China alive. We visit a reconstruction of an ancient Chinese iron furnace to unravel insights into how the Chinese created a forty-ton iron artefact five centuries before the West discovered cast-iron technology. Most impressive of all, we meet the leading clay expert Professor Ye Hongming who has spent a lifetime seeking to discover the secrets of how the ancient Chinese created their vast terracotta army. This pioneering documentary seeks to lift the centuries-old veil on China's greatest inventions, revealing how many of the West's modern-day inventions owe an extraordinary debt to ancient China's greatest minds.

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Ancient Discoveries

TV Series

20031h8.9

Documentary

Now playing

Machines III

Season 3 · Episode 8 · Mar 27, 2007

More details