TAKE TECH

Scissors allow us to cut all kinds of shapes, such as circles and squares, freely and precisely. This episode examines the simple but remarkable technology that makes this possible.

In Japan, bathtubs are equipped with a unique system for controlling water temperature and volume. Find out how it heats the water to the set temperature and fills the tub.

Insert a coin into a vending machine, press a button, and it dispenses a product. Take a close-up look at what goes on inside.

Shine a red light on a product's barcode, and data such as the price appear. This episode introduces the technology for reading barcodes, and explains how they're used to organize information.

Today, snapping a photograph is as easy as picking up a smartphone. Explore the technology that allows cameras and smartphones capture images of what we see.

Open the back of a watch, and an array of intricate parts comes into view. This episode explains how a watch accurately measures time, down to the second.

Talk into a microphone and your voice comes out from a speaker, loud and clear. Find out how the mic, speaker and amplifier work together to make sounds louder.

Hair dryers are handy for drying hair in a jiffy. But how do they blow warm air? This episode examines the mechanism step by step.

Hand mixers are used in home cooking, but how do the beaters spin so fast? Take a look inside at the different parts and see how they operate.

How does a flush toilet work? This episode goes inside the tank of a toilet to trace the flow of water.