Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World

NARRATOR: FROM THE EARLIEST OF TIMES, WE HUMANS HAVE BEEN DRIVEN TO EXPLORE.

[DOGS BARKING] THIS INNATE INSTINCT MOBILIZED HUMANITY... AND IT CHANGED THE WORLD... AND IT'S ABOUT TO TRANSFORM US AGAIN.

THE STORY OF HOW WE GOT HERE IS FULL OF ASTONISHING TWISTS AND UNLIKELY TURNS.

[TIRES SQUEAL] IT WOULD TAKE AN ALLIANCE WITH A DANGEROUS PREDATOR...

DEVASTATING FLOODS... A 19th-CENTURY PUBLICITY STUNT... AN AVALANCHE OF HORSE MANURE, EXPLODING CANNONS, AND A TRIP TO THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE... TO GET THE ULTIMATE FREEDOM MACHINE-- THE CAR.

THESE ARE THE INVENTIONS THAT HAVE DEFINED OUR AGE AND CHANGED OUR WORLD FOREVER, THAT ALLOWED US TO MOVE BOTH ON THE GROUND AND IN THE AIR, TO CONNECT AND TO EXPLORE THE FURTHEST REGIONS OF THE UNIVERSE, EACH A STORY OF INGENUITY, OF WONDER... OF BREAKTHROUGH.

NARRATOR: THE FIRST MODERN HUMANS WALKED OUT OF AFRICA AROUND 180,000 YEARS AGO.

AND, STEP BY AGONIZING STEP, THEY MOVED ACROSS THE WORLD.

TODAY, AROUND 1.2 BILLION AUTOMOBILES TRANSPORT US FROM PLACE TO PLACE ON SOME 20 BILLION MILES OF ROAD.

LANDSCAPES THAT WOULD HAVE TAKEN OUR ANCESTORS MANY MONTHS TO CROSS, WE CAN NOW COVER IN HOURS...

BUT THE CAR IS MUCH MORE THAN A MEANS OF TRANSPORT.

MAN: I THINK, AS HUMANS, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, AND THE QUICKEST WAY TO GET THERE IS DRIVING.

CARS REPRESENT FREEDOM.

JIM AL-KHALIL: CARS HAVE BECOME SYMBOLS THAT DEFINE AN ENTIRE SOCIETY OR COUNTRY.

MAN 2: WITH THE AUTOMOBILE CAME A COMPLETE TERRAFORMING AROUND THIS TECHNOLOGY.

NARRATOR: WHAT'S MORE, THE CAR IS ON THE CUSP OF A NEW REVOLUTION; AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES MAY SOON REMOVE THE NEED FOR A DRIVER ALTOGETHER, MAKING THE CAR THE ULTIMATE FREEDOM MACHINE FOR ALL.

MAN 2: AUTOMATED VEHICLES COULD OFFER EVERYONE MOBILITY, REGARDLESS OF THEIR ABILITIES TO ACTUALLY DRIVE A CAR.

NARRATOR: SO HOW DID WE GO FROM TWO LEGS TO 4 WHEELS?

IT'S A STORY THAT BEGAN THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, HERE IN THE FROZEN ARCTIC, WITH A BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL... AND AN UNLIKELY ALLIANCE BETWEEN MAN AND BEAST.

WOMAN: I'M AN OSTEOARCHEOLOGIST.

I STUDY SKELETAL REMAINS TO SEE WHAT THEY CAN TELL US ABOUT LIFE IN THE PAST.

AND IT'S ANCIENT BONES THAT HOLD THE CLUE TO THE FIRST REVOLUTION IN OVERLAND TRANSPORT.

NARRATOR: THE EARLIEST EVIDENCE OF HUMANS HERE DATES BACK 45,000 YEARS.

WITH TEMPERATURES AS COLD AS -58 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT AND THE LAND PERMANENTLY LOCKED UNDER ICE, EVERY DAY WAS A BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL IN THIS KNIFE-EDGED WORLD.

ROBERTS: OUR ANCESTORS WERE COMPLETELY RELIANT ON TAKING THE WORLD AS THEY FOUND IT-- ON WILD PLANTS, WILD ANIMALS.

NARRATOR: REINDEER WERE A MAJOR SOURCE OF FOOD AND PROVIDED FUR FOR CLOTHING.

BUT THEY WERE PERMANENTLY ON THE MOVE, TRAVELING UP TO 20 MILES A DAY.

THIS PRESENTED A MORTAL PROBLEM FOR THOSE EARLY ARCTIC SETTLERS.

ROBERTS: OUR EARLY ANCESTORS COULD ONLY GO AS FAR AND AS FAST AS THEIR OWN LEGS WOULD CARRY THEM.

IF THEY WERE TO TRY FOLLOWING A HERD OF REINDEER, THEY SIMPLY COULDN'T KEEP UP.

NARRATOR: 300 MILES NORTH OF MAINLAND RUSSIA, ON THE BLEAK ZHOKHOV ISLAND, ARCHAEOLOGISTS RECENTLY UNCOVERED A 9,000-YEAR-OLD SETTLEMENT.

IT HOLDS THE CLUE TO HOW THOSE EARLY HUMANS SURVIVED IN THE FROZEN NORTH.

AMONG THE EVIDENCE OF HUMAN ACTIVITY WERE THE REMAINS OF WHAT COULD BE MISTAKEN FOR WOLVES.

NARRATOR: BUT THESE WERE NOT THE BONES OF WILD PREDATORS.

INSTEAD, THESE ANIMALS HAD DEVELOPED STRIKING ADAPTATIONS.

THEY WERE MUCH LIGHTER AND STRONGER THAN THEIR ANCESTOR THE WOLF, BETTER ADAPTED TO RUN AND PULL.

THEY WERE, IN FACT, THE BONES OF PRIMITIVE DOGS.

ROBERTS: THE VERY FIRST SPECIES THAT BECAME TAMED WAS THE EUROPEAN GREY WOLF, THE ANCESTOR OF ALL OF OUR DOMESTICATED DOGS TODAY.

[DOGS HOWL] NARRATOR: WHAT'S MORE, IT'S CLEAR THESE PRIMITIVE DOGS WERE BEING BRED FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

THE FINAL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE CAME FROM THE FRAGMENTS OF SHAPED WOOD.

THESE WERE THE RUNNERS FROM SLEDS.

WHOO!

ROBERTS: 9,000 YEARS AGO, THE REINDEER HERDERS OF ZHOKHOV ISLAND WERE USING DOG SLEDS.

NARRATOR: THESE ANCIENT PEOPLE WERE AMONG THE FIRST HUMANS TO PUT ANIMALS TO WORK, AND IN DOING SO, THEY EVOLVED A NEW SUB-SPECIES.

LONG BEFORE THERE WAS HORSE POWER, THERE WAS DOG POWER.

ROBERTS: IT WAS A REVOLUTIONARY IDEA THAT WOULD SPREAD RIGHT ACROSS THE FROZEN LANDS OF THE NORTH.

NARRATOR: NOW HUMANS COULD KEEP UP WITH THE REINDEER AND THRIVE IN ONE OF EARTH'S MOST HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS, STARTING A COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP THAT HAS SHAPED OUR DESTINY AND THAT OF OUR FURRY FRIENDS.

ROBERTS: IT'S QUITE INCREDIBLE TO THINK, THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, HUMANS HAD HARNESSED POWERED TRANSPORT FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.

NARRATOR: DOGS WERE HUMANKIND'S FIRST ENGINE... DOMESTICATED THOUSANDS OF YEARS BEFORE THE OX AND THE HORSE...

BUT DOG SLEDS HAD A MAJOR PROBLEM.

UNLESS YOU'RE MOVING OVER ICE OR SNOW, THEY'RE PRACTICALLY USELESS.

[CAR HORNS HONKING] TO MOBILIZE HUMANKIND WOULD TAKE ONE OF OUR GREATEST INVENTIONS, AND NOT JUST THAT, IT WOULD TAKE THE WHEEL, TOO.

DANNY FORSTER: IT'S FUNNY, WE THINK OF THE WHEEL AS A FAIRLY ANCIENT INVENTION.

I HAVE THIS IMAGE OF BARNEY RUBBLE AND THE FLINTSTONES ROLLING A STONE WHEEL ACROSS SOME PREHISTORIC LANDSCAPE.

THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY THE CASE.

THE WHEEL ACTUALLY CAME RELATIVELY LATE IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF HUMAN INNOVATION, AROUND 3500 OR 4000 BC.

[MEN SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY] NARRATOR: BEFORE THE WHEEL, OBJECTS WERE TRANSPORTED OVER TREE TRUNKS.

AT STONEHENGE, ARCHAEOLOGISTS RECENTLY DISCOVERED, WITH THE HELP OF A FEW DOZEN VOLUNTEERS... THAT ITS STONE MONOLITHS WERE PROBABLY TRANSPORTED HERE ON THE TRUNKS OF SYCAMORE TREES.

THE ANCIENT BRITONS COULD TRANSPORT THE 22-TON STONES 10 MILES A DAY USING THIS METHOD.

MAN: STOP!

NARRATOR: AND WE NOW KNOW THAT OTHER CULTURES WERE TRANSPORTING HEAVY OBJECTS USING SIMILAR MEANS.

[SCATTERED CHEERING] FORSTER: FOR MANY YEARS, PEOPLE HAD CHOPPED DOWN TREES, LINED UP LOGS, AND ROLLED ITEMS ALONG THEM.

IN A SENSE, THAT'S A FORM OF A WHEEL.

A SORT OF EXTRUDED WHEEL IS A CYLINDER, RIGHT?

MAN: PULL!

FORSTER: BUT THAT DOESN'T CHANGE HISTORY.

FOR A WHEEL TO BECOME PRODUCTIVE, TO CHANGE SOCIETY... YOU NEED ACCOUTREMENT, YOU NEED OTHER ELEMENTS THAT WILL ACTUALLY MAKE IT OPERATIVE.

NARRATOR: THE STROKE OF BRILLIANCE THAT GAVE US WHEELED TRANSPORTATION WAS NOT SO MUCH THE INVENTION OF THE WHEEL AS THE BREAKTHROUGH THAT ALLOWED US TO CONNECT IT TO A STATIONARY PLATFORM...

THE AXLE.

FORSTER: THE AXLE ENABLES YOU TO AFFIX A WHEEL TO A PLATFORM IN ORDER TO CARRY WEIGHT AND TRAVEL A DISTANCE.

THE TRICK IS, IN ORDER TO PRODUCE THOSE TWO THINGS, YOU HAD TO DO IT PRECISELY AND ACCURATELY, OTHERWISE IT DIDN'T WORK.

ROBERT HURFORD: IF THE AXLE ISN'T ROUND, AND THE HOLE WHICH THE AXLE IS SITTING IN ISN'T ROUND, THEN IT WILL JAM AT CERTAIN POINTS.

[WOOD CRACKING] IF YOU MAKE THE AXLE TOO BIG, THEN THE WHOLE THING RUNS A RISK OF JAMMING SOLID.

AND IF THE GAP BETWEEN THE AXLE AND THE INSIDE OF THE WHEEL IS TOO BIG, THEN THE WHEEL WILL WOBBLE ABOUT.

AND IN AN EXTREME CASE, IT COULD LEAD TO THE THING KNOCKING ITSELF TO PIECES.

FORSTER: AND YOU CANNOT ACHIEVE THAT LEVEL OF PRECISION WITHOUT METAL.

NARRATOR: AROUND 7,000 YEARS AGO, THE MESOPOTAMIANS DISCOVERED THAT CERTAIN ROCKS CONTAINED METALS.

BY 3,000 YEARS AGO, THEY HAD WORKED OUT HOW TO EXTRACT THE METAL BY A PROCESS CALLED SMELTING AND DISCOVERED THAT BY COMBINING TWO METALS-- COPPER AND TIN-- THEY COULD MAKE A MUCH STRONGER ALLOY CALLED BRONZE.

THIS GAVE US OUR FIRST PRECISION TOOL.

IT MAY NOT LOOK STATE-OF-THE-ART TODAY, BUT THIS EARLY BRONZE CHISEL WAS, FOR ITS TIME, ONE OF THE MOST ADVANCED PIECES OF TECHNOLOGY HUMANS HAD EVER MADE.

DURABLE AND SHARP, IT WAS THE BRONZE CHISEL THAT ULTIMATELY MADE THE CIRCULAR WHEEL-AND-AXLE POSSIBLE, AND TOGETHER, THEY MOBILIZED HUMANKIND.

FORSTER: THE WHEEL AND THE AXLE CHANGED THE GAME, 'CAUSE YOU CAN NOW MOVE MORE ITEMS OVER LONGER DISTANCES WITH LESS EFFORT.

NARRATOR: THE WHEEL-AND-AXLE'S INVENTION COINCIDED WITH THE DOMESTICATION OF THE HORSE AND OX.

FOR THE FIRST TIME, ORDINARY PEOPLE COULD TRAVEL OUTSIDE THEIR SETTLEMENTS, AND IT TRIGGERED SOCIAL REVOLUTION ACROSS THE ANCIENT WORLD.

FORSTER: IT'S ABOUT CONNECTIONS, IT'S ABOUT NETWORKS.

YOU CAN MEET PEOPLE WHO ARE PRODUCING ITEMS, PEOPLE WHO ARE GROWING ITEMS, PEOPLE WHO ARE THINKING PEOPLE, WHO ARE CREATING AND SO FORTH, AND IT'S THAT INTERACTION THAT CREATES THE INNOVATIONS THAT WE HAVE TODAY.

NARRATOR: IT EVEN SPREAD LANGUAGE.

ALMOST ALL EUROPEAN AND ASIAN LANGUAGES DERIVE FROM PROTO-INDO-EUROPEAN-- THE LANGUAGE SPOKEN IN CENTRAL EUROPE BY THE WHEEL-AND-AXLE'S INVENTORS.

THAT IS HOW THE AXLE TOOK THE WHEEL AND TRANSFORMED HISTORY.

NARRATOR: HORSE-POWERED VEHICLES DOMINATED TRANSPORTATION FOR THE NEXT 5,000 YEARS.

IT TOOK DEVASTATING FLOODS AND A BAPTIST PREACHER TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP IN THE STORY OF THE CAR.

IN EARLY 18th-CENTURY BRITAIN, A WAVE OF NEW INNOVATIONS TRANSFORMED THE LIVES OF EVERYDAY FOLK.

MINES WERE DUG DEEP BENEATH THE GROUND TO SATISFY THE GROWING DEMAND FOR COAL, COPPER, AND TIN.

BUT AN OBSTACLE GOT IN THE WAY OF PROGRESS... WATER.

AL-KHALIL: WATER WAS A CONSTANT ENEMY UNDERGROUND, AND THE DEEPER YOU WENT, THE GREATER THE CHALLENGE.

HAND PUMPS COULD ONLY RAISE WATER A FEW FEET, AND SO THE DEEPER THEY MINED, THE MORE MEN THEY NEEDED, THE MORE PUMPS THEY NEEDED.

NARRATOR: FOR EVERY MINE, HUNDREDS OF MEN WORKED AROUND THE CLOCK TO STEM THE FLOOD, BUT IT WAS A LOSING BATTLE.

AL-KHALIL: AND AT SOME POINT, THEY REACHED A DEPTH WHEREBY IT BECAME JUST UNECONOMICAL TO DIG ANY DEEPER.

NARRATOR: MINES CLOSED, OTHERS COLLAPSED, COSTING THE LIVES OF COUNTLESS MEN.

WITH MILLIONS NOW DEPENDENT ON COAL FOR HEATING ALONE, IT TRIGGERED A NATIONAL CRISIS, AND IT SPARKED THE INTEREST OF AN UNLIKELY HERO.

AL-KHALIL: THERE WAS FAME AND FORTUNE TO BE HAD FOR ANY INVENTOR WHO COULD BUILD A MACHINE THAT COULD EFFICIENTLY PUMP WATER.

NARRATOR: THOMAS NEWCOMEN WAS A BAPTIST LAY PREACHER AND A BLACKSMITH.

HE PROCLAIMED THAT VIRTUE CAME THROUGH HARD WORK AND ENTERPRISE.

FAITH, HE BELIEVED, WOULD SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF FLOODING.

BUT WITH A FORTUNE TO BE MADE, NEWCOMEN COULDN'T LEAVE THE SOLUTION TO GOD ALONE.

HE BEGAN BUILDING PARTS OF WHAT HE BELIEVED WOULD BE A REVOLUTIONARY MACHINE, AN ENGINE THAT HARNESSED A NEW TYPE OF POWER... [HISS] STEAM.

THIS IS WHAT HE CAME UP WITH-- A 20-TON, 31-FEET-TALL ROCKING BEAM WITH CHAINS ON EITHER END.

THE CHAINS TO ONE SIDE EXTENDED DOWN THE MINE TO A PUMP AT ITS BASE.

THE CHAINS ON THE OTHER SIDE ATTACHED TO A PISTON THAT DREW STEAM FROM A VAT OF BOILING WATER INTO A CYLINDER.

THE STEAM COOLED AND CONDENSED, CREATING A VACUUM INSIDE THE CYLINDER THAT PULLED THE PISTON DOWN.

THIS RAISED THE OTHER END OF THE BEAM AND OPERATED THE PUMP AT THE END OF THE CHAIN... ONLY NEWCOMEN'S ENGINE DIDN'T WORK VERY WELL.

THE STEAM CONDENSED TOO SLOWLY TO EFFECTIVELY POWER THE PUMP, SO HE ATTACHED A COLD-WATER JACKET AROUND THE CYLINDER TO CONDENSE THE STEAM FASTER, BUT THAT DIDN'T WORK, EITHER, UNTIL FATE INTERVENED.

DURING ONE TEST, A JOINT CRACKED IN THE CYLINDER, AND COLD WATER FROM THE OUTER CASING FLOODED IN.

IT TRIGGERED A POWERFUL AND INSTANTANEOUS VACUUM, AND IT DESTROYED NEWCOMEN'S MACHINE.

[EXPLOSION] BUT IT GAVE HIM HIS BREAKTHROUGH.

HE REBUILT HIS ENGINE, ADDING A VALVE THAT INJECTED COLD WATER DIRECTLY INTO THE CYLINDER EACH TIME IT FILLED WITH STEAM.

THIS PRODUCED A POWERFUL VACUUM, INCREASING THE ENGINE'S SPEED EXPONENTIALLY.

NEWCOMEN HAD CREATED THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL STEAM-POWERED ENGINE.

WITHOUT FEAR OF FLOODING, MINES SOON EXTENDED MUCH DEEPER BENEATH THE EARTH, AND PRODUCTIVITY INCREASED DRAMATICALLY, BUT NEWCOMEN'S MACHINE REQUIRED SO MUCH COAL TO MAKE IT RUN, IT WAS ONLY REALLY PRACTICAL NEAR A MINE.

NONETHELESS, PEOPLE SOON BEGAN TO IMAGINE A WORLD POWERED BY SIMILAR ARTIFICIAL MACHINES, PERHAPS EVEN MACHINES THAT COULD TRANSPORT US.

BUT IF THAT DREAM WAS EVER TO BECOME A REALITY... WE NEEDED MUCH MORE EFFICIENT AND SMALLER ENGINES... AND THAT MEANT OVERCOMING ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT HURDLE.

AL-KHALIL: BURNING THE FUEL WAS EASY, HEATING THE WATER WAS EASY, MAKING STEAM--EVEN TRANSPORTING THE STEAM THROUGH PIPES-- WAS EASY, BUT BUILDING A PISTON THAT FITS SO PRECISELY WITHIN A CYLINDER THAT COULD CONTAIN THAT STEAM UNDER HIGH PRESSURE WAS REALLY TRICKY FOR 18th-CENTURY ENGINEERS.

IF THE PISTON WASN'T PERFECTLY MATCHED TO THE CYLINDER, THEN STEAM WOULD LEAK OUT, AND WITH IT, THE POWER OF THE ENGINE.

NARRATOR: TO MANUFACTURE A PISTON AND CYLINDER SO PRECISE THAT IT COULD ONE DAY POWER A CAR WOULD TAKE A SUNDAY STROLL ON GLASGOW GREEN AND EXPLODING CANNONS.

[PATRIOTIC MUSIC PLAYING] [CANNONS FIRING] IN 1774, BRITAIN'S ROYAL NAVY FACED A MAJOR INCONVENIENCE.

THEIR CANNONS KEPT BACKFIRING, AND THEY WERE LOSING COUNTLESS MEN.

AT THE TIME, IRON CANNONS WERE CAST AROUND A MOLD.

ANY INCONSISTENCIES IN THE MOLD CREATED DEVIATIONS INSIDE THE MUZZLE, AND THIS CAUSED THE CANNONBALL TO JAM AND EXPLODE.

[EXPLOSION] ENTER INDUSTRIALIST JOHN "IRON-MAD" WILKINSON.

WILKINSON REALIZED THE SOLUTION WAS TO CREATE A PERFECTLY CYLINDRICAL MUZZLE... AND THIS WAS HIS ANSWER-- A HORSE-POWERED BORING MACHINE.

IT SPUN THE CANNON BARREL ONTO A FIXED BORING BAR.

THE RESULT-- A SMOOTH MUZZLE AND THE MOST ACCURATE CANNONS EVER MADE.

IT WAS A HUGE HIT WITH THE ROYAL NAVY, WHOSE CANNONBALLS WERE SOON SMASHING INTO FRENCH SHIPS.

BUT IT WOULD MAKE AN EVEN BIGGER SPLASH WHEN IT CAME TO THE ATTENTION OF A RECLUSIVE SCOTTISH INSTRUMENT MAKER AT GLASGOW UNIVERSITY.

ONE MAY SUNDAY IN 1765, JAMES WATT, A SELF-TAUGHT INVENTOR AND POLYMATH, WAS TAKING A STROLL ACROSS GLASGOW GREEN TO CLEAR HIS MIND.

[BIRDS CHIRPING] WATT HAD BEEN GIVEN THE UNIVERSITY'S MODEL NEWCOMEN ENGINE TO REPAIR.

HE HAD BECOME FIXATED BY ITS CYLINDER-AND-PISTON SYSTEM, WHICH COOLED THE CYLINDER ON EVERY CYCLE AS THE STEAM CONDENSED.

[HISS] BUT ON THAT SUNDAY MORNING, WATT SUDDENLY HAD A BREAKTHROUGH.

HE IMAGINED A SEPARATE VESSEL, ATTACHED TO THE CYLINDER, THAT WAS KEPT COOL.

HE CALLED IT A CONDENSER.

IF A VALVE WAS OPENED WHEN THE CYLINDER WAS FULL OF HOT STEAM, THE CONDENSER WOULD COOL THE STEAM MUCH MORE RAPIDLY, CREATING A POWERFUL VACUUM THAT WOULD SUCK THE STEAM OUT OF THE CYLINDER WITHOUT COOLING THE CYLINDER ITSELF.

AND, HEARING ABOUT THE BREAKTHROUGH IN THE ROYAL NAVY'S CANNONS, HE HIRED IRON-MAD WILKINSON TO BORE HIM THE WORLD'S FIRST PRECISION CYLINDERS AND PISTONS.

AL-KHALIL: AN ENGINE THAT MINIMIZES STEAM LEAKAGE IS MORE EFFICIENT, IT USES LESS FUEL, AND CAN WORK HARDER.

NARRATOR: BUT WATT HAD ANOTHER BIG IDEA.

AL-KHALIL: INSTEAD OF USING A PISTON AND CYLINDER TO DRIVE A BEAM, HE FOUND A WAY OF MAKING IT TURN A WHEEL.

NARRATOR: WATT'S BREAKTHROUGH MADE STEAM A VIABLE SOURCE OF POWER; NOW MACHINES COULD BE BUILT ANYWHERE AND EXPLOIT ENERGY-DENSE FOSSIL FUELS LIKE COAL.

IT MADE HIM VERY RICH, AND IT TRIGGERED ONE OF THE BIGGEST BREAKTHROUGHS IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANKIND, THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

FOR THE FIRST TIME, MACHINES HAD FAR GREATER MUSCLE POWER THAN ANIMALS OR MEN COULD MUSTER, AND FACTORIES BEGAN POPPING UP EVERYWHERE.

STEAM-POWERED ENGINES MOVED PEOPLE AND RESOURCES INTO CITIES AND TRANSPORTED GOODS OUT... ALL THANKS TO STEAM-POWERED PRECISION MACHINES THAT COULD TURN WHEELS.

AND IT'S THIS SETUP THAT'S BEEN AT THE HEART OF ALMOST EVERY CAR BUILT IN THE LAST CENTURY.

NARRATOR: BUT STEAM HAD ONE HUGE DRAWBACK WHEN IT COMES TO THE STORY OF THE CAR.

AL-KHALIL: THE STEAM ENGINE WAS SO BIG AND CUMBERSOME AND USED SO MUCH FUEL THAT IT COULD REALLY ONLY BE USED IN RAILWAYS.

[WHISTLE BLOWS] NARRATOR: PEOPLE STILL HAD TO RELY ON OLD-FASHIONED HORSE-POWER TO ULTIMATELY GET TO WHERE THEY WERE GOING, UNTIL ONE WOMAN SET OUT WITH HER TWO SONS TO VISIT HER MOTHER.

IN 1886, GERMAN INVENTOR AND ENGINEER KARL BENZ HAD HIS PATENT ACCEPTED FOR WHAT IS REGARDED AS THE WORLD'S FIRST AUTOMOBILE.

BENZ HAD HIT ON THE IDEA OF INCORPORATING A NEW AND INNOVATIVE ENGINE THAT HAD JUST LAUNCHED ONTO THE MARKET.

IT USED THE SAME PRINCIPLE OF PISTON AND FLYWHEEL THAT JAMES WATT HAD DEVELOPED, BUT WAS MUCH, MUCH SMALLER.

INSTEAD OF BURNING COAL TO TURN WATER INTO STEAM IN A BOILER, WHICH THEN PUSHED A PISTON INSIDE A CYLINDER...

THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE IGNITED A PETROLEUM-BASED FUEL INSIDE THE CYLINDER ITSELF.

THE MOTORWAGEN, AS IT WAS CALLED, RAN BEAUTIFULLY, BUT THERE WAS A FUNDAMENTAL OBSTACLE BLOCKING ITS SUCCESS.

FOR IT TO BECOME A VIABLE MODE OF TRANSPORTATION, IT REQUIRED INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT GARAGES AND GAS STATIONS HADN'T BEEN INVENTED YET.

THE INFRASTRUCTURE WAS ALREADY IN PLACE TO SERVICE THE HORSE AND CART, AND IT COULD TRAVEL 60 MILES A DAY COMFORTABLY, SO THE MOTORWAGEN WAS VIEWED AS NOTHING MORE THAN A NOVELTY, AND FOR TWO YEARS, POOR KARL BENZ DIDN'T HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO SELL A SINGLE MACHINE.

FACING FINANCIAL RUIN, KARL PLUNGED INTO DEPRESSION.

WOMAN: HIS SKILL WAS ENGINEERING, BUT NOT SO MUCH MARKETING, AND WE CAN SEE THAT VERY OFTEN, THAT IF YOU ARE A FANTASTIC ENGINEER, YOU ARE SO MUCH IN THE DETAIL OF THIS MECHANIC THAT YOU FORGET THE REST AROUND.

NARRATOR: THANKFULLY FOR HUMANITY, ONE PERSON SAW GREAT POTENTIAL IN THE MOTORWAGEN, SOMEONE WHO ALSO KNEW HOW TO GENERATE A BIT OF PUBLICITY... KARL'S WIFE, BERTHA.

EARLY IN THE MORNING OF AUGUST 5, 1888, WHILE KARL WAS SOUND ASLEEP, BERTHA ROUSED THEIR TWO SONS, LEFT A NOTE ON THE KITCHEN TABLE, AND QUIETLY PUSHED THE CAR A SAFE DISTANCE FROM THE HOUSE SO NOT TO WAKE HER HUSBAND.

BERTHA HAD DECIDED TO VISIT HER PARENTS IN PFORZHEIM, A 66-MILE JOURNEY, FURTHER THAN WAS COMFORTABLY POSSIBLE BY HORSE AND CART IN A DAY.

BERTHA AND HER SONS WERE PLANNING TO TRAVEL THE WHOLE WAY IN AN UNTESTED VEHICLE, WITHOUT A MAP, ON COUNTRY TRACKS.

KLEINSCHMIDT: I HAVE TO SEE IF THERE IS PETROL.

OH, YEAH.

LOOKS GOOD.

NARRATOR: IT'S CERTAINLY MORE DIFFICULT TO GET MOVING THAN A HORSE.

KLEINSCHMIDT: I'M A BIT AFRAID, BUT--NO CHANCE-- I HAVE TO TRY IT.

I CAN SEE THAT YOU HAVE TO PUMP IT FIRST A BIT LIKE ON A MOTORBIKE.

OK. NOW WE SWITCH ON THE IGNITION.

BIG MOMENT IS COMING UP.

YEAH!

[ENGINE SPUTTERS] GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!

CLOSE.

HA HA HA HA!

1, 2, 3!

[CLANKING] YEAH!

HA HA HA!

GREAT!

NARRATOR: KARL BENZ NEVER THOUGHT HIS CAR WOULD TRAVEL FURTHER THAN ACROSS TOWN.

HE HADN'T CONSIDERED THAT IT COULD BE USED OVER LONG DISTANCES OR THAT IT WOULD BE DRIVEN BY A WOMAN.

AND WITH THAT IMAGE SURELY IN HER MIND, BERTHA SET OFF.

KLEINSCHMIDT: IMAGINE YOU HAVE REALLY NO MAP, YOU HAVE NO ROAD SIGNS.

THERE WAS NO TARMAC ROAD.

IT WAS ALL OFF-ROAD.

THERE WAS A LOT OF OBSTACLES TO GO OVER, AND THERE WAS A BIG CHANCE THAT SHE FAIL.

I REALLY RELATE TO BERTHA A LOT.

WHEN I DID MY FIRST DAKAR RALLY, IT WAS A BIT THE SAME.

NOT REALLY GOOD-EQUIPPED AND NO GPS... NO MAPS... JUST DOING IT, AND THAT'S WHAT SHE WAS DOING.

NARRATOR: BUT BERTHA FACED AN EVEN GREATER CHALLENGE.

WITH NO GAS STATIONS, SHE HAD TO STOP REGULARLY TO FILL THE CAR'S TINY TANK WITH A PETROLEUM-BASED SOLVENT THAT SHE'D PURCHASED FROM PHARMACIES EN ROUTE.

THE ENGINE OFTEN OVERHEATED, SO BERTHA COOLED IT WITH WATER FROM DITCHES AND STREAMS.

AND THE CAR ONLY HAD TWO GEARS, SO WHEN IT CAME TO HILLS, BERTHA AND HER BOYS HAD TO GET OFF AND PUSH.

AND ONCE OVER THE SUMMIT, THE JOURNEY DOWNHILL WAS TERRIFYING.

KLEINSCHMIDT: THE BRAKING IS NOT THE SAME.

YOU HAVE TO THINK AHEAD.

YEAH, SO YOU CANNOT, UH, BRAKE IN THE LAST MOMENT LIKE WE MAYBE DO TODAY.

NARRATOR: THE HAND-OPERATED SHOE BRAKE WAS A STRUGGLE TO USE, AND BERTHA LEARNED THAT CONTROLLING THE SPEED WAS ESSENTIAL.

KLEINSCHMIDT: I CAN SEE HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO DRIVE THE CAR BECAUSE YOU HAD ONLY 3 WHEELS, AND IF YOU WOULD TURN IT MAYBE A BIT TOO MUCH, IT CAN FLIP VERY EASILY.

NARRATOR: TO GAIN CONTROL OF THE CAR, BERTHA PAID A COBBLER TO COVER THE BRAKE SHOES WITH LEATHER... AND IN DOING SO, SHE INVENTED THE WORLD'S FIRST BRAKE PADS.

KLEINSCHMIDT: YEAH!

NARRATOR: INEVITABLY, THE MOTORWAGEN BROKE DOWN FROM TIME TO TIME.

WHEN A FUEL LINE BECAME BLOCKED, BERTHA FIXED IT BY JABBING HER HATPIN INTO THE PIPE.

WHEN AN EXPOSED IGNITION WIRE NEEDED INSULATING, SHE USED ONE OF HER GARTERS.

KLEINSCHMIDT: I'M SURE SHE WAS LOOKING LIKE ME, COMPLETELY DIRTY IN THE FACE AND ALL THE CLOTHES IS BLACK AND FULL OF DUST, BUT I THINK THEY DIDN'T CARE.

THEY JUST DID IT.

HA HA HA HA!

NARRATOR: WITH THE LIGHT FADING, BERTHA FINALLY APPROACHED HER PARENTS' HOME.

THE MOTORWAGEN HAD COMPLETED ITS FIRST LONG-DISTANCE JOURNEY.

BERTHA HAD COVERED 66 MILES IN AROUND 12 HOURS, A FEAT THAT WAS HARD TO MATCH WITH A HORSE AND CART.

SHE HAD PROVED THAT YOU DON'T NEED A HORSE AND CART TO TRAVEL LONG DISTANCES.

THE MOTORWAGEN WAS A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE.

AND SOMETHING ELSE HAD HAPPENED, SOMETHING THAT BERTHA BENZ HAD HOPED FOR-- NEWS OF A WOMAN TRAVELING THROUGH THE LANES MILES FROM TOWN IN A MOTORCAR HAD SPREAD QUICKLY.

NEWSPAPERS HEADLINED THE STORY.

EVERYONE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE MOTORWAGEN, A REMARKABLE NEW INVENTION-- THE AUTOMOBILE.

KLEINSCHMIDT: THEY UNDERSTOOD, "WOW, THIS IS SOMETHING.

WE CAN TRAVEL WITH THIS KIND OF MOTORWAGEN."

SO IT WAS A HUGE, HUGE STEP FORWARD FOR THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY.

NARRATOR: BERTHA BENZ, PERHAPS THE LAST PERSON TO STILL BELIEVE IN HER HUSBAND'S INVENTION, HAD STAGED THE WORLD'S FIRST LONG-DISTANCE TEST DRIVE AND THE FIRST MOTOR PUBLICITY STUNT.

AND SHE'D MADE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS TO THE MOTORWAGEN IN THE PROCESS.

BERTHA HAD TRANSFORMED THE CAR FROM A NOVELTY MACHINE INTO SOMETHING PEOPLE WANTED.

KLEINSCHMIDT: THIS JOURNEY CHANGED THEIR LIFE, AND THIS JOURNEY CHANGED OUR FUTURE.

NARRATOR: BEFORE LONG, NUMEROUS MAKES OF AUTOMOBILES WERE ON THE MARKET, AND THEY BECAME A MUST-HAVE PLAY-THING FOR THE RICH AND FAMOUS.

BUT NOT ALL MANUFACTURERS AGREED WITH BENZ'S CHOICE OF THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

TELEVISION PERSONALITY AND CAR ENTHUSIAST JAY LENO HAS ONE OF THE MOST EXTENSIVE AUTOMOBILE COLLECTIONS IN AMERICA.

IT'S A RARE CHANCE TO SEE SOME OF THESE EARLY MACHINES IN ACTION.

AND THIS GETS ABOUT... A MILE PER GALLON OF WATER.

NARRATOR: BY NOW, STEAM-POWERED ENGINES WERE SMALLER, AND IN A WORLD WITHOUT GAS STATIONS, THEY MADE A GOOD DEAL OF SENSE.

MAN: IN ORDER TO GET A STEAM CAR TO RUN, YOU NEEDED WATER.

THAT WAS READILY AVAILABLE.

WHAT I'M DOING NOW, I'M PUSHING FUEL INTO THE MOTOR TO GET IT HOT.

CHRIS GERDES: YOU ALSO NEEDED FUEL, BUT THAT FUEL COULD BE VERY FLEXIBLE.

IF YOU HAD GASOLINE, USE GASOLINE.

IF YOU HAD KEROSENE, USE KEROSENE.

LENO: I USE GASOLINE BECAUSE IT'S THE MOST READILY AVAILABLE.

NARRATOR: BUT STEAM-POWERED CARS ALSO HAD SOME SIGNIFICANT DRAWBACKS.

LIKE IF YOUR WIFE'S HAVING A BABY, YOU GOT TO GET TO THE HOSPITAL, THIS IS NOT THE CAR TO TAKE.

HA HA HA!

[HORN BLOWS TWICE] GERDES: STEAM ACTUALLY CAME FROM APPLICATIONS LIKE FACTORIES AND LOCOMOTIVES, WHERE YOU COULD HAVE THE STEAM ENGINE OPERATING IN EXACTLY THE SAME CONDITION FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME, AND THAT'S A VERY EFFICIENT WAY TO RUN A SYSTEM, BUT THAT'S REALLY NOT WHAT A VEHICLE NEEDS.

FUN WITH STEAM.

YEAH.

GERDES: IN A CAR, YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO COME TO A STOP, YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO START QUICKLY.

AND SO WE GOT FIRE, SO WE'RE OK. GERDES: AND NONE OF THESE THINGS ARE REALLY INHERENTLY ADVANTAGES OF STEAM.

YOU'RE NOT ONLY A DRIVER, YOU ARE A POWER-PLANT OPERATOR.

SO IF YOU BOUGHT ONE OF THESE BACK IN THE DAY, YOU'D HAVE TO BE PREPARED TO DO THIS KIND OF WORK FROM TIME TO TIME.

UH, YEAH.

OH, ALL THE TIME.

HERE WE GO.

NARRATOR: BUT WHILE STEAM WASN'T EASY, THERE WAS A FUEL THAT WAS.

GERDES: SO THIS LOOKS PRETTY EASY TO DRIVE.

OH IT'S VERY SIMPLE TO DRIVE.

NARRATOR: IN 1900, 1/3 OF ALL THE CARS WERE POWERED BY ELECTRICITY.

TOP SPEED IS ABOUT 23 MILES AN HOUR, WHICH SEEMS INCREDIBLY SLOW, BUT IT WAS FASTER THAN A HORSE AND CARRIAGE.

THEY WERE MARKETED PRIMARILY AS A WOMAN'S CAR BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO CRANK IT, THERE WAS NO SMOKE, THERE WAS NO LOUD BANG, IT DIDN'T BACKFIRE.

IT WAS EASY TO DRIVE.

WOMEN LIKED IT.

NARRATOR: FOR WEALTHY OWNERS, TRAVELING OCCASIONALLY OVER SHORT DISTANCES, CARS LIKE THIS BAKER ELECTRIC WERE A GREAT ALTERNATIVE TO THE HORSE AND CARRIAGE, BUT THEY WERE LESS OF A THREAT TO THE MORE WORKADAY HORSE AND CART.

GERDES: ELECTRIC VEHICLES FACED SOME VERY SIGNIFICANT ENGINEERING CHALLENGES.

ELECTRICITY WAS NOT WIDELY AVAILABLE; WHERE IT WAS AVAILABLE, IT WOULD TAKE A LONG TIME TO CHARGE THE BATTERIES, AND THE BATTERIES THEMSELVES COULD ONLY HOLD A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CHARGE, SO THE RANGE OF THESE VEHICLES WAS VERY LIMITED.

NARRATOR: BELIEVING THAT ELECTRICITY WAS A BETTER TECHNOLOGY TO POWER CARS, THOMAS EDISON SET OUT TO MAKE LONG-DISTANCE ELECTRIC CARS VIABLE.

IN 1901, HE INVENTED A NICKEL IRON BATTERY THAT COULD POWER A CAR FOR 100 MILES, BUT IT COST $500 TO MANUFACTURE-- $10,000 IN TODAY'S MONEY.

UNABLE TO FIND A WAY TO LOWER THE PRICE, EDISON EVENTUALLY GAVE UP ON THE IDEA.

ELECTRIC CARS WOULD HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER HUNDRED YEARS.

IN THE EARLY 20th CENTURY, THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE WAS ABOUT TO CHANGE THE WORLD...

THANKS PARTLY TO THE INSIGHT OF A FORMER EDISON EMPLOYEE AND A WHOLE LOT OF HORSE MANURE.

TOWARDS THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY, NEW YORK WAS THE FASTEST-GROWING CITY ON EARTH.

FORSTER: THE RATE OF URBANIZATION OF NEW YORK CITY DURING THE TURN OF THE CENTURY WAS SHOCKING.

THEY WENT FROM 60,000 RESIDENTS TO 3.5 MILLION RESIDENTS IN UNDER A HUNDRED YEARS.

UP UNTIL THAT POINT, NO CITY IN HUMAN HISTORY HAD URBANIZED THAT QUICKLY.

YOU'VE GOT SKYSCRAPERS BEING BUILT, YOU'VE GOT IMMIGRANTS COMING OVER FROM EUROPE, YOU'VE GOT NEW YORK CITY TRANSFORMING, AND THIS MASSIVE RISE IN THE HUMAN POPULATION ALSO BROUGHT WITH IT A MASSIVE RISE...

IN THE HORSE POPULATION.

NARRATOR: BY THE 1890s, NEW YORK WAS HOME TO SOME 200,000 HORSES, TRANSPORTING OVER A MILLION INHABITANTS AND THOUSANDS OF TONS OF PRODUCE DAILY.

BUT THE HORSES DEPOSITED 60,000 GALLONS OF URINE AND 2.5 MILLION POUNDS OF MANURE ONTO NEW YORK STREETS EACH DAY.

ROADS BECAME BLOCKED, VACANT LOTS FILLED WITH MOUNTAINS OF MANURE 6 STORIES HIGH.

FORSTER: IMAGINE LIFE THEN.

IMAGINE THE ODOR.

NARRATOR: 20,000 DEATHS EACH YEAR WERE BLAMED ON FLIES FEEDING ON HORSE MANURE.

FORSTER: WITH THAT MANY HORSES AND THE INABILITY TO REMOVE WASTE FROM THE CITY, THEY HIT A CRITICAL BREAKING POINT.

NARRATOR: ALL INDUSTRIALIZED CITIES FACED A SIMILAR PROBLEM, AND IN 1898, CITY PLANNERS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD DESCENDED ON NEW YORK FOR A 10-DAY SYMPOSIUM TO BRAINSTORM A SOLUTION.

THEY GAVE UP AFTER JUST 3.

IT WOULD TAKE A FARMER'S SON FROM MICHIGAN TO SOLVE THE HORSE MANURE CRISIS, A MAN WHOSE NAME WOULD BECOME SYNONYMOUS WITH THE AUTO INDUSTRY-- HENRY FORD.

GERDES: I THINK IT TAKES A HUGE LEAP TO LOOK AROUND AT A WORLD WHERE ONLY THE WEALTHY OWN AUTOMOBILES AND SAY, "THIS COULD BE SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY HAS ACCESS TO."

TAKE THE HANDLE OUT OF THE LEATHER THERE.

OK. YEAH.

GERDES: THE FAMILIAR TECHNOLOGY THAT EVERYBODY KNEW WAS THE HORSE, BUT AS HENRY FORD PROVED, THERE WERE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO COULDN'T WAIT TO GIVE UP THAT TECHNOLOGY; THEY JUST NEEDED SOMETHING THAT THEY COULD AFFORD.

ALL RIGHT.

KEEP YOUR THUMB INSIDE.

OK. PUSH IN AND PULL UP.

THERE WE GO.

LENO: HENRY FORD WAS A FARM KID AND HE HATED FARM LIFE, AND HE WENT TO THE CITY AND HE WORKED FOR THOMAS EDISON.

NARRATOR: FORD HAD BEEN FASCINATED WITH POCKET WATCHES SINCE CHILDHOOD, AND IT'S SAID HE BOUGHT ONE WITH HIS FIRST PAYCHECK.

HE WAS SO SURPRISED TO DISCOVER THAT IT WAS MADE OF SUCH SIMPLE COMPONENTS, HE SAW AN OPPORTUNITY AND DREAMT UP A LOW-COST WATCH-MAKING BUSINESS THAT MASS-PRODUCED ITS PARTS.

LUCKILY FOR HUMANITY, FORD'S FATHER FELL ILL, AND SO HE RETURNED HOME TO TEND TO THE FARM.

WHEN FORD ARRIVED BACK IN THE CITY WEEKS LATER, THE YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR HAD ALREADY MOVED ON TO A NEW IDEA.

IN HIS SPARE TIME, HE WOULD GET ALL THE MAGAZINES OF THE PERIOD AND READ ABOUT ALL THESE ENGINES.

AND HE BUILT HIS OWN ENGINE IN THE KITCHEN SINK, AND IT WOULD PUTT, PUTT, PUTT, PUTT, AND HE WENT, "OH, WHY COULDN'T I SCALE THIS UP?

AND HE BUILT A CAR IN HIS LITTLE WORKSHOP BEHIND HIS HOUSE, AND WHEN HE FINISHED THE CAR, HE REALIZED THERE'S NO WAY TO GET IT OUT OF HERE 'CAUSE THE DOOR ISN'T WIDE ENOUGH.

SO HE KNOCKED THE WALL DOWN, MUCH TO THE LANDLORD'S CHAGRIN, HE GOT IT OUT, AND HE WENT FOR A RIDE IN 1896.

NARRATOR: IT HAD TAKEN FORD 3 YEARS OF EXPERIMENTING TO COMPLETE HIS QUADRACYCLE, MOST OF IT AT NIGHT AFTER HE'D FINISHED WORK AT EDISON'S FACTORY.

IT HAD A TWO-CYLINDER, ETHANOL-POWERED ENGINE AND A TOP SPEED OF 20 MILE AN HOUR.

IT WAS STILL AN EXPENSIVE TOY, BUT IT WAS ENOUGH OF A SUCCESS TO INTEREST INVESTORS WHO SET UP FORD WITH HIS OWN COMPANY SO HE COULD PURSUE A BIGGER AMBITION-- TO MAKE LOW-COST CARS THAT THE AVERAGE JOE COULD AFFORD.

BUT HE REALIZED HE NEEDED TO SIMPLIFY THE ENGINE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

[ENGINE TURNS OVER] GERDES: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S MOST STRIKING WHEN YOU OPEN THE HOOD OF A MODEL T IS, IN SOME WAYS, WHAT'S NOT THERE.

FORD WAS ABLE TO LOOK AT THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE AND FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU COULD TAKE AWAY.

LENO: HERE'S THE BEAUTY OF THE ENGINE--ANYTHING THAT YOU DIDN'T NEED, HENRY FORD GOT RID OF.

THERE'S NO WATER PUMP; THE HOT WATER PUSHES THE COLD WATER THROUGH THE SYSTEM... MM-HMM.

SO IT RUNS FINE.

YOU DON'T NEED A WATER PUMP.

YOU DON'T NEED ANY OF THAT STUFF.

YOU DON'T NEED A FUEL PUMP BECAUSE THE GAS IS HIGHER THAN THE ENGINE, SO GRAVITY FEEDS DOWN, SO GET RID OF THAT.

HOW MUCH IS A FUEL PUMP, $16?

GET RID OF THAT.

SAVE MONEY THERE.

HOW MUCH IS A WATER PUMP, 60 BUCKS?

GET RID OF THAT.

SAVE MONEY THERE.

SO, SEE, IT'S VERY SIMPLE.

NARRATOR: FORD'S SECOND BREAKTHROUGH WAS TO MASS-PRODUCE THE PARTS.

WHEREAS OTHER MANUFACTURERS HANDMADE ONLY A FEW HIGH-PRICED VEHICLES, FORD GAMBLED ON SELLING LOTS OF CARS.

IN 1909, THE MODEL T's FIRST YEAR OF PRODUCTION, HE SOLD OVER 10,000 AT $825 EACH-- THE EQUIVALENT OF AROUND $18,000 TODAY.

IT WAS A PROMISING START, BUT FORD HAD SET HIS SIGHTS ON A MUCH BIGGER MARKET.

HE JUST NEEDED TO SPEED UP THE MODEL T's PRODUCTION AND SLASH ITS PRICE IN HALF.

THEREIN LAY HIS BIGGEST CHALLENGE, FOR, AS SIMPLE AS IT WAS, BUILDING A MODEL T WAS STILL A TIME-CONSUMING, LABOR-INTENSIVE PROCESS.

THE SOLUTION WOULD BE FOUND IN THE MOST UNLIKELY AND UNSAVORY OF PLACES... A SLAUGHTERHOUSE.

SHORTLY AFTER THE MODEL T BEGAN TO SHIP, ONE OF FORD'S SENIOR EMPLOYEES, A MAN NAMED PA KLANN, VISITED A CHICAGO MEAT-PACKING PLANT.

HE SAW CARCASSES HUNG FROM MOVING HOOKS IN THE CEILING.

EACH WORKER PERFORMED A VERY SPECIFIC AND SPECIALIZED JOB BEFORE PASSING THE CARCASS ON.

IT WAS A DISASSEMBLY LINE.

KLANN REALIZED THAT BY REVERSING THE PROCESS AND ADAPTING IT TO FACILITATE THE PRODUCTION OF CARS, THE MODEL T COULD BE MADE MUCH FASTER.

FORD WAS CONVINCED AND CREATED AN ASSEMBLY LINE IN A NEW PURPOSE-BUILT FACTORY.

IT CUT $250 OFF THE CAR'S PRICE... AND BY 1913, HE'D REFINED THE TIMINGS FOR EACH STAGE OF THE PROCESS ENOUGH THAT HE COULD INSTALL A MOVING CONVEYOR BELT, SLASHING A FURTHER $50 OFF THE PRICE.

AT THE PEAK OF THE MODEL T's PRODUCTION, FORD WAS ASSEMBLING 150 CARS AN HOUR AND SELLING THEM FOR LESS THAN A THIRD OF THE ORIGINAL PRICE.

THIS SOLD FOR $260 BRAND-NEW, WHEN A CADILLAC WAS $4,000.

AND ONCE, OF COURSE, THE MODEL T CAME OUT, THEN ACCESSORY DEALERS: "IMPROVE YOUR MODEL T. GET MORE POWER, THE OVERHEAD VALVE"-- YOU KNOW, A WHOLE 'NOTHER BUSINESS GREW UP OUT OF THAT.

NARRATOR: THE AUTOMOBILE WAS NO LONGER A RICH MAN'S PLAY-THING.

HENRY FORD HAD MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR ANYONE TO OWN A CAR.

LENO: HENRY FORD MADE 16 MILLION OF THESE.

AND IF YOU MADE ONE LITTLE PRODUCT THAT HE COULD USE OR BUY-- GERDES: THAT WAS HUGE, YEAH, AND AN INSTANT MARKET.

HE SOLD 16 MILLION OF THEM, YOU KNOW, SO IT REALLY WAS A GAME-CHANGER.

NARRATOR: AND REMEMBER THAT GREAT HORSE MANURE CRISIS?

BY 1912, MANHATTAN'S FLY-INFESTED STREETS HAD VIRTUALLY EMPTIED OF HORSES AND FILLED UP WITH CARS.

GERDES: AND SUDDENLY, THE ENTIRE WORLD AROUND US CHANGED IN A WAY THAT I THINK WOULD BE UNIMAGINABLE TO THE VERY FEW WHO COULD AFFORD A MOTOR VEHICLE IN 1900.

HENRY FORD THINKS THIS COULD BE SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY CAN OWN, AND WHEN EVERYBODY OWNS THIS, SUDDENLY OUR DEMANDS OF THE WORLD BECOME DIFFERENT.

NOW, I WANT ROADS TO DRIVE ON.

I NEED A GARAGE TO PARK MY CAR AT MY HOUSE.

I NEED A PLACE TO PARK IT WHEN I GET TO WORK.

THE WHOLE WAY CITIES WERE ENVISIONED CHANGED FUNDAMENTALLY.

NARRATOR: THE CAR HAS REVOLUTIONIZED ALMOST EVERY ASPECT OF OUR LIVES, AND IT'S EVEN RESHAPED OUR WORLD.

THE COMBUSTION ENGINE HAS BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL THAT IT'S CREATED A NEW ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS, ONE THAT WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF TACKLING, THANKS TO TWO THINGS YOU PROBABLY HAVE IN YOUR DESK DRAWER.

TODAY, AUTOMOBILES EMIT 5.1 BILLION TONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE EVERY YEAR.

IT'S PUSHED MANY TO LOOK ONCE AGAIN TO EDISON'S DREAM OF THE ELECTRIC CAR.

WHILE BATTERY TECHNOLOGY HAS IMPROVED MASSIVELY SINCE EDISON'S DAY, IT STILL FACES SOME FAMILIAR ISSUES.

RICHARD KANER: CURRENT ELECTRIC VEHICLES USE THE NEW LITHIUM ION BATTERIES, AND THESE BATTERIES HAVE A RANGE OF ABOUT 300 MILES.

HOWEVER, THEY TAKE HOURS TO CHARGE, WHEREAS, IF YOU'RE FILLING IT WITH GAS, YOU SIMPLY GO INTO A GAS STATION AND WITHIN A COUPLE MINUTES, YOU'RE IN AND OUT.

AND SO WHAT WE REALLY NEED IS A BATTERY THAT NOT ONLY GOES A LONG DISTANCE, BUT THAT CAN BE CHARGED VERY RAPIDLY.

NARRATOR: THE ANSWER IS HIDDEN INSIDE A PENCIL.

KANER: THE SO-CALLED LEAD IN PENCILS IS ESSENTIALLY A FORM OF CARBON CALLED GRAPHITE.

IT HAS A HONEYCOMB STRUCTURE, AND IT'S LAYERED SO EACH LAYER IS STACKED ON TOP OF ANOTHER LAYER.

NARRATOR: INSIDE EVERY PENCIL, BETWEEN EACH CARBON LAYER, THERE IS A CLOUD OF ELECTRONS.

THIS GENERATES STATIC ELECTRIC CHARGE, AND THAT'S WHAT CAUSES THE GRAPHITE TO STICK TO THE PAPER WHEN YOU WRITE.

GRAPHITE ALSO HAS AN EXCEPTIONAL CAPACITY TO CONDUCT ELECTRICITY, BUT ONLY IF YOU CAN GET IT DOWN TO A SINGLE LAYER OF CARBON CALLED GRAPHENE.

KANER: GRAPHENE HAS BEEN CALLED "THE WONDER MATERIAL."

IT'S 200 TIMES STRONGER THAN STEEL, IT HAS A REMARKABLE ABILITY TO CONDUCT ELECTRICITY, AND IT HAS EXTREMELY HIGH SURFACE AREA.

THIS GIVES IT SOME INTERESTING APPLICATIONS, AND ONE IS ENERGY STORAGE.

NARRATOR: BUT TO ACCESS GRAPHENE'S AMAZING PROPERTIES WOULD TAKE A ROLL OF STICKY TAPE.

KANER: IN 2004, TWO PHYSICISTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER HAD THE IDEA OF TAKING PYROLYTIC GRAPHITE AND SCOTCH TAPE, AND THEY CONTINUED TO PEEL BACK AND FORTH.

THE FIRST SAMPLES TOOK OVER A MONTH TO PRODUCE, BUT THEY EVENTUALLY PEELED GRAPHITE DOWN TO A SINGLE LAYER, SOMETHING THAT NO ONE THOUGHT COULD BE DONE.

NARRATOR: THIS WAS AN AMAZING BREAKTHROUGH, BUT TO APPLY IT TO CARS MEANT OVERCOMING A BASIC PROBLEM.

KANER: IF WE'RE GOING TO USE THIS FOR APPLICATIONS, WE'RE GOING TO NEED A LOT OF GRAPHENE, AND PEELING GRAPHITE WITH STICKY TAPE ISN'T GOING TO GET THERE, SO THAT'S WHERE CHEMISTRY COMES IN.

NARRATOR: RICHARD, ALONG WITH Ph.D. STUDENT MAHER EL-KADY, DISCOVERED THEY COULD USE A SIMPLE LASER, LIKE THE ONE IN ANY DVD PLAYER, TO TURN A THIN LAYER OF GRAPHITE INTO GRAPHENE.

THEY THEN CREATED DISTINCT PATTERNS IN IT THAT THEY HOPED WOULD STORE ELECTRICAL CHARGE.

EL-KADY: I CHARGED IT UP FOR ONLY A COUPLE OF SECONDS... AND IT WAS ABLE TO LIGHT UP AN L.E.D.

FOR OVER 5 MINUTES.

AT THAT POINT, I CALLED RICK TO THE LAB AND I'M LIKE, "COME TAKE A LOOK AT THIS AMAZING EXPERIMENT."

KANER: IT'S THE BEST MOMENT I THINK A SCIENTIST CAN HAVE, BECAUSE YOU REALIZE YOU'VE DONE SOMETHING IMPORTANT.

NARRATOR: GRAPHENE IS STRONG, SO IT CAN BE BUILT INTO THE CAR'S BODYWORK, EFFECTIVELY TURNING THE WHOLE VEHICLE INTO A BATTERY.

KANER: GRAPHENE IS A GAME-CHANGER.

YOU'LL BE ABLE TO CHARGE YOUR CAR AS FAST AS YOU CAN FILL UP WITH GASOLINE.

YOU'LL BE ABLE TO RUN YOUR VEHICLE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF TIMES, AND IN THE END, GRAPHENE IS A COMPOSTABLE MATERIAL, SO IT'S ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY.

NARRATOR: IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE GRAPHENE IS USED TO POWER OUR AUTOMOBILES.

WHEN COMBINED WITH THE LATEST BREAKTHROUGHS IN AUTONOMOUS TECHNOLOGY, WE WILL SOON HAVE ELECTRIC CARS THAT DRIVE THEMSELVES BETTER THAN THE BEST HUMANS OVER FAR GREATER DISTANCES, REVOLUTIONIZING THE CAR ONCE AGAIN.

GERDES: IF I'M NOT STEERING, IF I'M NOT DRIVING, I WANT SOMETHING WHICH IS GOING TO BE COMFORTABLE.

I WANT SOMETHING WHICH IS GOING TO BE QUIET.

I WANT SOMETHING WHICH MAY ALLOW ME TO BE EITHER PRODUCTIVE OR COMPLETELY RELAXED, DEPENDING UPON MY MOOD AS I TAKE THIS TRIP.

WHEN THE CAR IS ACTUALLY BEING DRIVEN BY A COMPUTER, THERE'S LOTS OF THINGS THAT WE DON'T NEED.

WE DON'T NEED A STEERING WHEEL.

WE DON'T NEED PEDALS.

WE DON'T NEED THIS SORT OF HUMAN INTERFACE THAT WE HAVE TODAY AND THEN WE CAN THINK OF THE ENTIRE SHAPE OF THE CAR CHANGING.

PEOPLE COULD SIT IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, THEY COULD FACE EACH OTHER, WE COULD HAVE INDIVIDUAL PODS ASSEMBLED TOGETHER THAT PEOPLE HAVE THEIR OWN PERSONAL SPACE.

WE COULD HAVE DELIVERY VEHICLES THAT HAVE NO ROOM FOR HUMANS WHATSOEVER.

ALL OF THESE THINGS CAN CHANGE ONCE THE VEHICLE IS AUTOMATED.

[TIRES SQUEAL] NARRATOR: THE CAR IS THE CULMINATION OF A REMARKABLE JOURNEY, STRETCHING BACK THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

FROM THE LATEST BREAKTHROUGH IN ELECTRICAL STORAGE THAT STARTED WITH A LEAD PENCIL AND SCOTCH TAPE; HENRY FORD'S OBSESSION WITH WATCHES; AND AN ENCOUNTER IN A CHICAGO SLAUGHTERHOUSE THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR ANYONE TO OWN A CAR.

THE DARING LONG-DISTANCE TEST DRIVE AND SUBVERSIVE MARKETING OF BERTHA BENZ THAT MADE THE CAR A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO THE HORSE AND CART, THE GLOBAL MANURE CRISIS THAT ULTIMATELY BROUGHT ABOUT THE END OF THE DOMINANCE OF THE HORSE, RIGHT BACK THROUGH BACKFIRING CANNONS, FLOODED 17th-CENTURY MINES, THE BRONZE AGE CHISEL, AND THE INVENTION OF THE AXLE THAT MADE WHEEL TRANSPORTATION POSSIBLE, ALL THE WAY BACK 9,000 YEARS TO THOSE EARLY ARCTIC SETTLERS, WHO, IN THEIR STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL, DOMESTICATED WOLVES TO PULL THEIR SLEDS AND GAVE RISE TO THE FIRST OVERLAND TRANSPORT.

WITHOUT THEM AND ALL THEIR STORIES, YOU'D NEVER HAVE THE CAR.

NARRATOR: NEXT TIME ON "BREAKTHROUGH," THE STORY OF HOW WE LEFT EARTH IS NOT WHAT YOU MIGHT EXPECT.

IT WOULD TAKE AN EXPLOSIVE EXORCISM IN THE ANCIENT WORLD, A LEAP IN TECHNOLOGIES FOR FIGHTING FIRE, MECHANIZATION OF DAIRY FARMS, A PLOT TO KILL THE KING OF ENGLAND, TO CREATE A MACHINE WITH THE POWER TO BREAK FREE FROM EARTH'S GRAVITY-- THE ROCKET.

TO ORDER "BREAKTHROUGH: THE IDEAS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD" ON DVD, VISIT shopPBS OR CALL 1-800-PLAY-PBS.

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