WEBVTT - The Artifact: The Pedrail Wheel

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb, and

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<v Speaker 1>this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow Your Mind, focusing on particular objects, ideas, and

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<v Speaker 1>moments in time. The tank was the destiny of military technology.

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<v Speaker 1>As artillery evolved became a dominant force and armed conflict

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<v Speaker 1>of the nineteenth century, it still suffered from a severe

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<v Speaker 1>mobility problem. In order to use such weapons outside of

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<v Speaker 1>fortified defense locations, you had to haul them, often by

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<v Speaker 1>animal labor, and set them up as needed, all of

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<v Speaker 1>which made the artillery incredibly vulnerable to attack. But if

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<v Speaker 1>heavy artillery could be made both self propelled and armored,

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<v Speaker 1>then the battlefield will be changed forever. And so it was.

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<v Speaker 1>The tank became a defining technology of the first in

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<v Speaker 1>Second World Wars, and remains an important part of modern

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<v Speaker 1>ground warfare. The evolution of the tank is in its

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<v Speaker 1>entirety a fascinating and terrifying journey. But today I want

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<v Speaker 1>to focus on an early proposal to the design challenges involved.

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<v Speaker 1>Today I'm going to talk about the pet rail wheel.

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<v Speaker 1>Imagine iron behemoths advancing across a broken battlefield, not on wheels,

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<v Speaker 1>nor mechanical legs, but a curious combination of the two.

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<v Speaker 1>Quote big wheels upon which the great elephant like feet

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<v Speaker 1>were hung. Those are the words of H. G. Wells,

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<v Speaker 1>whose n three short story The Land Ironclads, in some

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<v Speaker 1>ways forecasted the shape of armored warfare to come. What

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<v Speaker 1>Wells is describing here was an actual proposal for the

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<v Speaker 1>challenges of all terrain recognized transport. While tracks would become

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<v Speaker 1>the chosen technology for heavy vehicles on soft ground, Brahma

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<v Speaker 1>Joseph Diplock proposed a different solution in eight in his

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<v Speaker 1>publication A New System of Heavy Goods Transport on Common Roads.

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<v Speaker 1>He outlined a series of sixteen stumpy feet hanging from

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<v Speaker 1>the outside of the wheel on pivots, so that as

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<v Speaker 1>the wheel rotates, the feet are driven down. In succession

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<v Speaker 1>the wheel turns the feet march. The pet rail wheel

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<v Speaker 1>is similar to the boidle or dreadnought wheel, a design

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<v Speaker 1>which lined railway wheels with articulated rails for use on

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<v Speaker 1>the ground. It too provided footing, but without the use

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<v Speaker 1>of multiple marching elephant feet. The dreadnought wheel saw some use,

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<v Speaker 1>but the pet rail wheel only took to the battlefield

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<v Speaker 1>in Wells science fiction, before being abandoned by its creator

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<v Speaker 1>in favor of track technology. As Richard o'gorquez points out

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<v Speaker 1>in the book Tanks one Years of Evolution Continue, this

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<v Speaker 1>track technology emerged out of applications in tractor designed by

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<v Speaker 1>several individuals, but credit for its use in armed warfare,

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<v Speaker 1>at least in the West, is often credited to Britain's

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<v Speaker 1>Colonel Ernest Swinton, who saw it as a possible solution

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<v Speaker 1>to transporting soldiers across rough landscape under armored protection from

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<v Speaker 1>machine gun fire. Swinton's convictions would help bring about the

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifteen debut of the first British Mark one tank prototype,

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<v Speaker 1>dubbed Little Willie. It is frankly surprising that the pet

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<v Speaker 1>rail wheel does not emerge more in science fiction. In

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<v Speaker 1>the Titanic War, Machines of such works as Star Wars,

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<v Speaker 1>The Clone Wars, Battle Tech Gundam or Warhammer forty, such

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<v Speaker 1>as the Shadow cast by twentieth century tank Warfare and

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<v Speaker 1>are enduring fascination with bio mimetic walking machines, But the

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<v Speaker 1>pet rail wheel marches on popping up in various robotics

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<v Speaker 1>designs such as a two thousand twelve design for a

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<v Speaker 1>wall climbing robot with bio mimetic gecko feet by wu

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<v Speaker 1>at All in Advanced Mechatronics and Memes Devices. Similar designs

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<v Speaker 1>envisioned pet rail wheels on robots for use in planetary exploration.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps the age of the pet rail wheel is yet

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<v Speaker 1>at hand, just at a much smaller scale and on

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<v Speaker 1>far different terrains than wells envisioned. Tune into additional installments

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<v Speaker 1>of the artifact each week, hosted by either Joe or myself.

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<v Speaker 1>As always, you can email us at contact. It's Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your

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<v Speaker 1>Mind is a production of I Heart Radio. For more

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