1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,080 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb, and 3 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff 4 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind, focusing on particular objects, ideas, and 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: moments in time. The tank was the destiny of military technology. 6 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:30,040 Speaker 1: As artillery evolved became a dominant force and armed conflict 7 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,199 Speaker 1: of the nineteenth century, it still suffered from a severe 8 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 1: mobility problem. In order to use such weapons outside of 9 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: fortified defense locations, you had to haul them, often by 10 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: animal labor, and set them up as needed, all of 11 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:48,639 Speaker 1: which made the artillery incredibly vulnerable to attack. But if 12 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: heavy artillery could be made both self propelled and armored, 13 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: then the battlefield will be changed forever. And so it was. 14 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: The tank became a defining technology of the first in 15 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: Second World Wars, and remains an important part of modern 16 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: ground warfare. The evolution of the tank is in its 17 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 1: entirety a fascinating and terrifying journey. But today I want 18 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 1: to focus on an early proposal to the design challenges involved. 19 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,399 Speaker 1: Today I'm going to talk about the pet rail wheel. 20 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 1: Imagine iron behemoths advancing across a broken battlefield, not on wheels, 21 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: nor mechanical legs, but a curious combination of the two. 22 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: Quote big wheels upon which the great elephant like feet 23 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: were hung. Those are the words of H. G. Wells, 24 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: whose n three short story The Land Ironclads, in some 25 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: ways forecasted the shape of armored warfare to come. What 26 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: Wells is describing here was an actual proposal for the 27 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: challenges of all terrain recognized transport. While tracks would become 28 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: the chosen technology for heavy vehicles on soft ground, Brahma 29 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 1: Joseph Diplock proposed a different solution in eight in his 30 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 1: publication A New System of Heavy Goods Transport on Common Roads. 31 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:16,639 Speaker 1: He outlined a series of sixteen stumpy feet hanging from 32 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: the outside of the wheel on pivots, so that as 33 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: the wheel rotates, the feet are driven down. In succession 34 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: the wheel turns the feet march. The pet rail wheel 35 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: is similar to the boidle or dreadnought wheel, a design 36 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: which lined railway wheels with articulated rails for use on 37 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,519 Speaker 1: the ground. It too provided footing, but without the use 38 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: of multiple marching elephant feet. The dreadnought wheel saw some use, 39 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: but the pet rail wheel only took to the battlefield 40 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: in Wells science fiction, before being abandoned by its creator 41 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: in favor of track technology. As Richard o'gorquez points out 42 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 1: in the book Tanks one Years of Evolution Continue, this 43 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: track technology emerged out of applications in tractor designed by 44 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: several individuals, but credit for its use in armed warfare, 45 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: at least in the West, is often credited to Britain's 46 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: Colonel Ernest Swinton, who saw it as a possible solution 47 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,919 Speaker 1: to transporting soldiers across rough landscape under armored protection from 48 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 1: machine gun fire. Swinton's convictions would help bring about the 49 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: nineteen fifteen debut of the first British Mark one tank prototype, 50 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: dubbed Little Willie. It is frankly surprising that the pet 51 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,240 Speaker 1: rail wheel does not emerge more in science fiction. In 52 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 1: the Titanic War, Machines of such works as Star Wars, 53 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: The Clone Wars, Battle Tech Gundam or Warhammer forty, such 54 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: as the Shadow cast by twentieth century tank Warfare and 55 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: are enduring fascination with bio mimetic walking machines, But the 56 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:54,200 Speaker 1: pet rail wheel marches on popping up in various robotics 57 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 1: designs such as a two thousand twelve design for a 58 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: wall climbing robot with bio mimetic gecko feet by wu 59 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: at All in Advanced Mechatronics and Memes Devices. Similar designs 60 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: envisioned pet rail wheels on robots for use in planetary exploration. 61 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: Perhaps the age of the pet rail wheel is yet 62 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 1: at hand, just at a much smaller scale and on 63 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:25,159 Speaker 1: far different terrains than wells envisioned. Tune into additional installments 64 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:28,400 Speaker 1: of the artifact each week, hosted by either Joe or myself. 65 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: As always, you can email us at contact. It's Stuff 66 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your 67 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: Mind is a production of I Heart Radio. For more 68 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 69 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,480 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.