Get Your YouTube Summary:
- Copy the video link.
- Paste it into the input field.
- Click 'Summarize' to get your summary with timestamps.
For videos longer than 20 minutes: Select a Pro model. Note that Pro usage is limited daily. If the limit is reached, use the Copy Prompt button and paste the prompt into your own AI tool (ChatGPT, Claude, Google AI Studio, etc.).
- 0:00:04 Point Nemo Rendezvous: The ISS is scheduled for a controlled deorbit into Point Nemo, the most remote point on Earth, in 2030.
- 0:00:22 Symbol of Achievement: The ISS represents unprecedented international cooperation and engineering, being the most expensive ($160bn+) and one of the most complex objects ever built.
- 0:00:45 Engineering Marvel: Astronaut Nicole Stott describes the ISS assembly—connecting modules launched separately—as a technical masterpiece.
- 0:01:01 Harsh Environment: The ISS endures extreme conditions, including 270°C temperature swings and assembly at high speeds.
- 0:01:53 Deorbit Vehicle: A specially modified SpaceX Dragon with extra thrusters and fuel capacity will be used to perform the deorbit burn.
- 0:03:33 History of Space Stations: The ISS builds upon previous stations like Salyut 1, Skylab, and the modular MIR station.
- 0:04:58 Genesis of Cooperation: The ISS arose from merging US (Freedom station concept) and Russian efforts post-Cold War, later joined by ESA, JAXA, and CSA.
- ** Error: Column.new() missing 6 required positional arguments: 'cid', 'name', 'type', 'notnull', 'default_value', and 'is_pk' covering an area larger than a football field.
- 0:07:30 Construction & Design: Started in 1998 with the Russian Zarya module. Modules are cylindrical for structural efficiency and strength against pressure differences, similar to a soda can, and armored with Kevlar.
- 0:10:00 Docking Systems: Overcame incompatibility between US (CBM) and Russian (APAS) docking systems using Pressurized Mating Adapters (PMAs).
- 0:11:41 Key Modules: Zvezda (early life support), Unity (US hub), Destiny (US Lab), Columbus (EU Lab), Kibo (Japanese Lab), Tranquility (Node), Cupola (Observation module).
- 0:12:00 Power System: The Integrated Truss Structure houses large solar arrays and radiators, critical for power and thermal control.
- 0:12:26 Continuous Habitation: First permanent crew arrived in Nov 2000, marking the start of continuous human presence in space.
- 0:13:06 Life Aboard: Astronauts experience microgravity ("floating and flying") but face constant maintenance, repairs, and scientific work.
- 0:17:45 Orbital Decay: The ISS operates in the thermosphere where slight atmospheric drag constantly pulls it down, requiring periodic reboosts to maintain altitude (370-460 km).
- 0:18:48 Altitude Constraints: Flying higher would increase costs, complexity, and exposure to dangerous space debris and radiation.
- 0:19:18 Debris Risk: The ISS uses Kevlar shielding against small debris/micrometeoroids; larger tracked objects are actively dodged. Even paint flecks can cause damage.
- 0:20:08 Thermal Stress: The station cycles between +120°C (sunlight) and -150°C (shadow) 16 times daily, causing thermal expansion/contraction and metal fatigue ("creaking").
- 0:23:04 Aging & Leaks: A persistent air leak in the Zvezda module, discovered in 2019, has worsened, highlighting the aging structure's risks.
- 0:24:00 Decommissioning Challenges: Disassembling the ISS in space and returning parts was deemed too complex (requiring >160 spacewalks) and lacks a suitable large cargo vehicle like the retired Space Shuttle.
- 0:24:57 Boosting Rejected: Pushing the ISS to a higher "graveyard" orbit is problematic due to the significantly increased risk of catastrophic collisions with space debris and lack of suitable propulsion technology.
- 0:27:04 Controlled Re-entry Plan: The Dragon vehicle will perform final burns to ensure a steep, fast re-entry over Point Nemo.
- 0:27:54 Atmospheric Breakup: During re-entry at ~29,000 km/h, friction will heat the structure to ~4,000°C, tearing apart solar arrays, radiators, and modules in a massive fireball across the sky. Only small, durable fragments will reach the ocean.
- 0:29:14 Future of Space Stations: The era shifts towards smaller, commercial stations (StarLab, Axiom) and national projects like China's Tiangong.
- 0:30:00 ISS Legacy: Served as a gateway for exploration research ("Off the Earth, for the Earth"), yielding technologies and knowledge benefiting life on Earth (e.g., water purification). It stands as proof of human collaborative achievement.
- 0:00:03 Introduction to Son Doong: The video introduces Son Doong in Vietnam as the planet's largest cave.
- 0:00:06 Unique Ecosystem: It possesses a self-sustaining ecosystem with its own climate conditions and clouds forming inside.
- 0:00:18 Hidden Features: Contains an untouched prehistoric rainforest and a vast underground river.
- 0:00:25 Endemic Wildlife: Home to over 250 endemic species, including transparent fish, monkeys, and 7 recently discovered unique animal species.
- 0:00:35 Immense Scale: The cave is 9 km long, holds 38.5 million cubic meters of space, and has passages large enough for a 40-story skyscraper.
- 0:00:47 Giant Formations: Features enormous stalagmites resembling ancient towers.
- 0:00:57 Phytocarst Rocks: Contains rare phytocarst rocks that appear to move towards light.
- 0:01:05 Cave Pearls: Rare cave pearls and other unique formations are found within.
- 0:01:09 Formation and Discovery: Formed over 3 million years, its existence was unknown until fully explored in 2009.
- 0:01:22 Restricted Access: Access is forbidden individually; expeditions are run exclusively by Oxalis.
- 0:01:32 The Journey Begins: Reaching Son Doong involves a 9-hour jungle trek and passing through Hang En Cave (the world's third largest).
- 0:01:55 Hang En Cave: Showcases the massive scale and features of Hang En, including a beach and evidence of high floodwater levels.
- 0:02:25 Cave Inhabitants (Hang En): Swift birds inhabit Hang En, adapted to cave life.
- 0:03:02 Cave Environment: Navigating darkness reveals crickets and vast amounts of bat guano, with bats overhead.
- 0:03:54 Geological Origins: The cave formed in 450-million-year-old limestone, eroded over time by acidic rainwater.
- 0:04:25 Entering Son Doong: Arrival at the grand entrance of Son Doong cave.
- 0:04:51 Initial Formations: Early sights include incredible cave formations like rimstone pools.
- 0:05:08 Diverse Stalagmites/Stalactites: Sparkling white stalagmites and large, bronze-colored stalactites resembling frozen waterfalls are visible, along with fault lines from tectonic movements.
- 0:05:47 Underground River: A large, fast-flowing river carves through parts of the cave.
- 0:06:02 Life in Darkness: Evidence of life attempting to grow in pitch darkness (seeds, mushrooms) brought in by floodwaters.
- 0:06:31 Hope and Vision Passage: Reaching the largest part of the cave, featuring the world's tallest stalagmite (80m high).
- 0:06:58 Skyscraper Scale: This section is vast enough to fit a 40-story skyscraper or allow a double-decker aircraft to fly through.
- 0:07:12 Micro Formations: Smaller features like funnel spider webs and sand towers created by dripping water are observed.
- 0:07:48 First Campsite: Setting up camp near the first doline (collapsed roof section).
- 0:08:02 Cave Clouds: Mist and clouds form inside due to temperature differences between the cave and the outside air.
- 0:08:16 Journey to Doline 1: Crawling through narrow passages towards the first opening.
- 0:08:30 Cave Worms: Sticky, bioluminescent traps set by cave worms are encountered.
- 0:08:43 Ancient Fossils: The limestone walls contain fossils of ancient sea creatures from over 400 million years ago.
- 0:09:03 First Doline (Doline 1): Arriving at the massive opening created by a ceiling collapse centuries ago, allowing light to enter.
- 0:09:38 Life from Light: Algae and mosses grow where sunlight penetrates near the doline.
- 0:09:58 Phytocarst Formations: Unique phytocarst formations, partly biological and geological, grow towards the light source.
- 0:10:21 Second Doline (Doline 2): Reaching the even larger second doline.
- 0:10:31 Underground Rainforest: Doline 2 hosts a complete underground rainforest ecosystem.
- 0:10:46 Rainforest Genesis: Formed by a major roof collapse at fault intersections, allowing sunlight and soil buildup (rich bat guano) to foster plant life.
- 0:11:00 Adapted Flora: Plants and trees grow exceptionally tall and thin (up to 40-50m) to reach the distant sunlight.
- 0:11:25 Rainforest Fauna: The jungle hosts over 200 plant and 60 animal species, including monkeys (rare for caves), centipedes, snakes, and snails preyed upon by monkeys.
- 0:12:46 Second Campsite: Camping near the underground rainforest.
- 0:12:50 Day 4 Exploration: Navigating water-filled passages towards the "Great Wall of Vietnam."
- 0:13:02 Eyeless Fish: Encountering fish that have adapted to total darkness by losing their eyes.
- 0:13:18 Blind Crickets: Observing crickets similarly adapted to blindness.
- 0:13:27 Giant Cave Pearls: Discovering extremely rare cave pearls, some as large as tennis balls, formed over centuries.
- 0:13:48 Ancient Remains: Finding 500-year-old deer bones deep within the cave.
- 0:13:57 The Great Wall of Vietnam: Approaching the final obstacle, an 80-meter high karst wall, requiring passage through the water-filled "Passchendaele" passage (now a lake).
- 0:14:24 Exploration Complete: Reaching the end of the cave exploration after crossing the Great Wall.
- 0:14:30 Fossil Identification (Sponsor Segment): Using the Opera browser's AI features (Aria) to identify the fossil seen earlier.
- 0:15:27 Fossil Identified: The fossil is identified as Tetracorallia (or Rugosa), an extinct coral species from ~300 million years ago.
- 00:00:03 Introduction to Son Doong: The video introduces Son Doong as the planet's largest cave, featuring a self-sustaining ecosystem, internal clouds, its own climate, a prehistoric rainforest, and an underground river.
- 00:00:23 Unique Biodiversity: Home to over 250 endemic species, including transparent fish, colorful monkeys, and recently discovered unique animals.
- 00:00:35 Immense Scale: The cave is 9 km long, holds 38.5 million cubic meters, with passages large enough for a 40-story skyscraper and featuring giant stalagmites.
- 00:00:57 Rare Formations: Contains unique features like phytocarst rocks (which appear to move towards light) and rare cave pearls.
- 00:01:07 Discovery and Access: Formed 3 million years ago but only fully explored in 2009. Access is restricted and requires guided expeditions with the sole authorized operator, Oxalis.
- 00:01:32 The Journey Begins: The expedition involves a 9-hour jungle trek and passage through Hang En Cave (world's 3rd largest) to reach Son Doong.
- 00:01:56 Hang En Cave: Features include a beach, a 145m high ceiling, 200m width, and evidence of significant seasonal flooding.
- 00:02:25 Hang En Wildlife: Swift birds inhabit the cave entrance; they cannot take off from the ground. Bats are also present, along with crickets and significant guano deposits.
- 00:03:54 Geological Formation: Son Doong formed over millions of years as acidic rainwater dissolved 450-million-year-old limestone, aided by tectonic fractures.
- 00:04:25 Entering Son Doong: The team reaches the grand entrance and descends into the darkness, heading towards the "Hope and Vision" passage.
- 00:04:51 Early Cave Features: Initial exploration reveals incredible formations like rimstone pools, sparkling white stalagmites, large bronze-colored stalactites, and geological fault lines.
- 00:05:47 Underground River: The cave contains a large, fast-flowing underground river.
- 00:06:02 Ephemeral Life: Seeds and spores washed in by floods can sprout (like mushrooms)
identifier: 1679
model: gemini-2.5-pro-exp-03-25| input-price: 1.25 output-price: 5 max-context-length: 128_000
host: 193.8.40.126
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cohVHaVMBl8include_comments: None
include_timestamps: 1
include_glossary: None
output_language: en
cost: -0.024682000000000003
*Abstract:*
This video details the history, construction, operation, and planned decommissioning of the International Space Station (ISS). It highlights the ISS as a monumental feat of engineering and international collaboration, costing over $160 billion. The transcript explains the complex assembly process in orbit, the challenges of operating in the harsh space environment (temperature fluctuations, micrometeoroids, atmospheric drag), and the reasons why the station cannot remain indefinitely. Various decommissioning options are discussed, concluding that a controlled deorbit into the remote Pacific Ocean (Point Nemo) in 2030, facilitated by a specially designed SpaceX Dragon vehicle, is the necessary course of action. The video emphasizes the ISS's legacy in advancing space exploration and providing benefits back to Earth, even as its physical presence ends.
*The Grand Finale of the ISS: Deorbiting a Masterpiece*
* *0:00:04 Point Nemo Rendezvous:* The ISS is scheduled for a controlled deorbit into Point Nemo, the most remote point on Earth, in 2030.
* *0:00:22 Symbol of Achievement:* The ISS represents unprecedented international cooperation and engineering, being the most expensive ($160bn+) and one of the most complex objects ever built.
* *0:00:45 Engineering Marvel:* Astronaut Nicole Stott describes the ISS assembly—connecting modules launched separately—as a technical masterpiece.
* *0:01:01 Harsh Environment:* The ISS endures extreme conditions, including 270°C temperature swings and assembly at high speeds.
* *0:01:53 Deorbit Vehicle:* A specially modified SpaceX Dragon with extra thrusters and fuel capacity will be used to perform the deorbit burn.
* *0:03:33 History of Space Stations:* The ISS builds upon previous stations like Salyut 1, Skylab, and the modular MIR station.
* *0:04:58 Genesis of Cooperation:* The ISS arose from merging US (Freedom station concept) and Russian efforts post-Cold War, later joined by ESA, JAXA, and CSA.
* *
Error: Column.__new__() missing 6 required positional arguments: 'cid', 'name', 'type', 'notnull', 'default_value', and 'is_pk' covering an area larger than a football field.
* *0:07:30 Construction & Design:* Started in 1998 with the Russian Zarya module. Modules are cylindrical for structural efficiency and strength against pressure differences, similar to a soda can, and armored with Kevlar.
* *0:10:00 Docking Systems:* Overcame incompatibility between US (CBM) and Russian (APAS) docking systems using Pressurized Mating Adapters (PMAs).
* *0:11:41 Key Modules:* Zvezda (early life support), Unity (US hub), Destiny (US Lab), Columbus (EU Lab), Kibo (Japanese Lab), Tranquility (Node), Cupola (Observation module).
* *0:12:00 Power System:* The Integrated Truss Structure houses large solar arrays and radiators, critical for power and thermal control.
* *0:12:26 Continuous Habitation:* First permanent crew arrived in Nov 2000, marking the start of continuous human presence in space.
* *0:13:06 Life Aboard:* Astronauts experience microgravity ("floating and flying") but face constant maintenance, repairs, and scientific work.
* *0:17:45 Orbital Decay:* The ISS operates in the thermosphere where slight atmospheric drag constantly pulls it down, requiring periodic reboosts to maintain altitude (370-460 km).
* *0:18:48 Altitude Constraints:* Flying higher would increase costs, complexity, and exposure to dangerous space debris and radiation.
* *0:19:18 Debris Risk:* The ISS uses Kevlar shielding against small debris/micrometeoroids; larger tracked objects are actively dodged. Even paint flecks can cause damage.
* *0:20:08 Thermal Stress:* The station cycles between +120°C (sunlight) and -150°C (shadow) 16 times daily, causing thermal expansion/contraction and metal fatigue ("creaking").
* *0:23:04 Aging & Leaks:* A persistent air leak in the Zvezda module, discovered in 2019, has worsened, highlighting the aging structure's risks.
* *0:24:00 Decommissioning Challenges:* Disassembling the ISS in space and returning parts was deemed too complex (requiring >160 spacewalks) and lacks a suitable large cargo vehicle like the retired Space Shuttle.
* *0:24:57 Boosting Rejected:* Pushing the ISS to a higher "graveyard" orbit is problematic due to the significantly increased risk of catastrophic collisions with space debris and lack of suitable propulsion technology.
* *0:27:04 Controlled Re-entry Plan:* The Dragon vehicle will perform final burns to ensure a steep, fast re-entry over Point Nemo.
* *0:27:54 Atmospheric Breakup:* During re-entry at ~29,000 km/h, friction will heat the structure to ~4,000°C, tearing apart solar arrays, radiators, and modules in a massive fireball across the sky. Only small, durable fragments will reach the ocean.
* *0:29:14 Future of Space Stations:* The era shifts towards smaller, commercial stations (StarLab, Axiom) and national projects like China's Tiangong.
* *0:30:00 ISS Legacy:* Served as a gateway for exploration research ("Off the Earth, for the Earth"), yielding technologies and knowledge benefiting life on Earth (e.g., water purification). It stands as proof of human collaborative achievement.
I used gemini-2.5-pro-exp-03-25| input-price: 1.25 output-price: 5 max-context-length: 128_000 on rocketrecap dot com to summarize the transcript.
Cost (if I didn't use the free tier): $-0.0247
Input tokens: 23421
Output tokens: 1261
Abstract:
This video details the history, construction, operation, and planned decommissioning of the International Space Station (ISS). It highlights the ISS as a monumental feat of engineering and international collaboration, costing over $160 billion. The transcript explains the complex assembly process in orbit, the challenges of operating in the harsh space environment (temperature fluctuations, micrometeoroids, atmospheric drag), and the reasons why the station cannot remain indefinitely. Various decommissioning options are discussed, concluding that a controlled deorbit into the remote Pacific Ocean (Point Nemo) in 2030, facilitated by a specially designed SpaceX Dragon vehicle, is the necessary course of action. The video emphasizes the ISS's legacy in advancing space exploration and providing benefits back to Earth, even as its physical presence ends.
The Grand Finale of the ISS: Deorbiting a Masterpiece
Below, I will provide input for an example video (comprising of title, description, and transcript, in this order) and the corresponding abstract and summary I expect. Afterward, I will provide a new transcript that I want you to summarize in the same format.
**Please give an abstract of the transcript and then summarize the transcript in a self-contained bullet list format.** Include starting timestamps, important details and key takeaways.
Example Input:
Fluidigm Polaris Part 2- illuminator and camera
mikeselectricstuff
131K subscribers
Subscribed
369
Share
Download
Clip
Save
5,857 views Aug 26, 2024
Fluidigm Polaris part 1 : • Fluidigm Polaris (Part 1) - Biotech g...
Ebay listings: https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/mikeselect...
Merch https://mikeselectricstuff.creator-sp...
Transcript
Follow along using the transcript.
Show transcript
mikeselectricstuff
131K subscribers
Videos
About
Support on Patreon
40 Comments
@robertwatsonbath
6 hours ago
Thanks Mike. Ooof! - with the level of bodgery going on around 15:48 I think shame would have made me do a board re spin, out of my own pocket if I had to.
1
Reply
@Muonium1
9 hours ago
The green LED looks different from the others and uses phosphor conversion because of the "green gap" problem where green InGaN emitters suffer efficiency droop at high currents. Phosphide based emitters don't start becoming efficient until around 600nm so also can't be used for high power green emitters. See the paper and plot by Matthias Auf der Maur in his 2015 paper on alloy fluctuations in InGaN as the cause of reduced external quantum efficiency at longer (green) wavelengths.
4
Reply
1 reply
@tafsirnahian669
10 hours ago (edited)
Can this be used as an astrophotography camera?
Reply
mikeselectricstuff
·
1 reply
@mikeselectricstuff
6 hours ago
Yes, but may need a shutter to avoid light during readout
Reply
@2010craggy
11 hours ago
Narrowband filters we use in Astronomy (Astrophotography) are sided- they work best passing light in one direction so I guess the arrows on the filter frames indicate which way round to install them in the filter wheel.
1
Reply
@vitukz
12 hours ago
A mate with Channel @extractions&ire could use it
2
Reply
@RobertGallop
19 hours ago
That LED module says it can go up to 28 amps!!! 21 amps for 100%. You should see what it does at 20 amps!
Reply
@Prophes0r
19 hours ago
I had an "Oh SHIT!" moment when I realized that the weird trapezoidal shape of that light guide was for keystone correction of the light source.
Very clever.
6
Reply
@OneBiOzZ
20 hours ago
given the cost of the CCD you think they could have run another PCB for it
9
Reply
@tekvax01
21 hours ago
$20 thousand dollars per minute of run time!
1
Reply
@tekvax01
22 hours ago
"We spared no expense!" John Hammond Jurassic Park.
*(that's why this thing costs the same as a 50-seat Greyhound Bus coach!)
Reply
@florianf4257
22 hours ago
The smearing on the image could be due to the fact that you don't use a shutter, so you see brighter stripes under bright areas of the image as you still iluminate these pixels while the sensor data ist shifted out towards the top. I experienced this effect back at university with a LN-Cooled CCD for Spectroscopy. The stripes disapeared as soon as you used the shutter instead of disabling it in the open position (but fokussing at 100ms integration time and continuous readout with a focal plane shutter isn't much fun).
12
Reply
mikeselectricstuff
·
1 reply
@mikeselectricstuff
12 hours ago
I didn't think of that, but makes sense
2
Reply
@douro20
22 hours ago (edited)
The red LED reminds me of one from Roithner Lasertechnik. I have a Symbol 2D scanner which uses two very bright LEDs from that company, one red and one red-orange. The red-orange is behind a lens which focuses it into an extremely narrow beam.
1
Reply
@RicoElectrico
23 hours ago
PFG is Pulse Flush Gate according to the datasheet.
Reply
@dcallan812
23 hours ago
Very interesting. 2x
Reply
@littleboot_
1 day ago
Cool interesting device
Reply
@dav1dbone
1 day ago
I've stripped large projectors, looks similar, wonder if some of those castings are a magnesium alloy?
Reply
@kevywevvy8833
1 day ago
ironic that some of those Phlatlight modules are used in some of the cheapest disco lights.
1
Reply
1 reply
@bill6255
1 day ago
Great vid - gets right into subject in title, its packed with information, wraps up quickly. Should get a YT award! imho
3
Reply
@JAKOB1977
1 day ago (edited)
The whole sensor module incl. a 5 grand 50mpix sensor for 49 £.. highest bid atm
Though also a limited CCD sensor, but for the right buyer its a steal at these relative low sums.
Architecture Full Frame CCD (Square Pixels)
Total Number of Pixels 8304 (H) × 6220 (V) = 51.6 Mp
Number of Effective Pixels 8208 (H) × 6164 (V) = 50.5 Mp
Number of Active Pixels 8176 (H) × 6132 (V) = 50.1 Mp
Pixel Size 6.0 m (H) × 6.0 m (V)
Active Image Size 49.1 mm (H) × 36.8 mm (V)
61.3 mm (Diagonal),
645 1.1x Optical Format
Aspect Ratio 4:3
Horizontal Outputs 4
Saturation Signal 40.3 ke−
Output Sensitivity 31 V/e−
Quantum Efficiency
KAF−50100−CAA
KAF−50100−AAA
KAF−50100−ABA (with Lens)
22%, 22%, 16% (Peak R, G, B)
25%
62%
Read Noise (f = 18 MHz) 12.5 e−
Dark Signal (T = 60°C) 42 pA/cm2
Dark Current Doubling Temperature 5.7°C
Dynamic Range (f = 18 MHz) 70.2 dB
Estimated Linear Dynamic Range
(f = 18 MHz)
69.3 dB
Charge Transfer Efficiency
Horizontal
Vertical
0.999995
0.999999
Blooming Protection
(4 ms Exposure Time)
800X Saturation Exposure
Maximum Date Rate 18 MHz
Package Ceramic PGA
Cover Glass MAR Coated, 2 Sides or
Clear Glass
Features
• TRUESENSE Transparent Gate Electrode
for High Sensitivity
• Ultra-High Resolution
• Board Dynamic Range
• Low Noise Architecture
• Large Active Imaging Area
Applications
• Digitization
• Mapping/Aerial
• Photography
• Scientific
Thx for the tear down Mike, always a joy
Reply
@martinalooksatthings
1 day ago
15:49 that is some great bodging on of caps, they really didn't want to respin that PCB huh
8
Reply
@RhythmGamer
1 day ago
Was depressed today and then a new mike video dropped and now I’m genuinely happy to get my tear down fix
1
Reply
@dine9093
1 day ago (edited)
Did you transfrom into Mr Blobby for a moment there?
2
Reply
@NickNorton
1 day ago
Thanks Mike. Your videos are always interesting.
5
Reply
@KeritechElectronics
1 day ago
Heavy optics indeed... Spare no expense, cost no object. Splendid build quality. The CCD is a thing of beauty!
1
Reply
@YSoreil
1 day ago
The pricing on that sensor is about right, I looked in to these many years ago when they were still in production since it's the only large sensor you could actually buy. Really cool to see one in the wild.
2
Reply
@snik2pl
1 day ago
That leds look like from led projector
Reply
@vincei4252
1 day ago
TDI = Time Domain Integration ?
1
Reply
@wolpumba4099
1 day ago (edited)
Maybe the camera should not be illuminated during readout.
From the datasheet of the sensor (Onsemi): saturation 40300 electrons, read noise 12.5 electrons per pixel @ 18MHz (quite bad). quantum efficiency 62% (if it has micro lenses), frame rate 1 Hz. lateral overflow drain to prevent blooming protects against 800x (factor increases linearly with exposure time) saturation exposure (32e6 electrons per pixel at 4ms exposure time), microlens has +/- 20 degree acceptance angle
i guess it would be good for astrophotography
4
Reply
@txm100
1 day ago (edited)
Babe wake up a new mikeselectricstuff has dropped!
9
Reply
@vincei4252
1 day ago
That looks like a finger-lakes filter wheel, however, for astronomy they'd never use such a large stepper.
1
Reply
@MRooodddvvv
1 day ago
yaaaaay ! more overcomplicated optical stuff !
4
Reply
1 reply
@NoPegs
1 day ago
He lives!
11
Reply
1 reply
Transcript
0:00
so I've stripped all the bits of the
0:01
optical system so basically we've got
0:03
the uh the camera
0:05
itself which is mounted on this uh very
0:09
complex
0:10
adjustment thing which obviously to set
0:13
you the various tilt and uh alignment
0:15
stuff then there's two of these massive
0:18
lenses I've taken one of these apart I
0:20
think there's something like about eight
0:22
or nine Optical elements in here these
0:25
don't seem to do a great deal in terms
0:26
of electr magnification they're obiously
0:28
just about getting the image to where it
0:29
uh where it needs to be just so that
0:33
goes like that then this Optical block I
0:36
originally thought this was made of some
0:37
s crazy heavy material but it's just
0:39
really the sum of all these Optical bits
0:41
are just ridiculously heavy those lenses
0:43
are about 4 kilos each and then there's
0:45
this very heavy very solid um piece that
0:47
goes in the middle and this is so this
0:49
is the filter wheel assembly with a
0:51
hilariously oversized steper
0:53
motor driving this wheel with these very
0:57
large narrow band filters so we've got
1:00
various different shades of uh
1:03
filters there five Al together that
1:06
one's actually just showing up a silver
1:07
that's actually a a red but fairly low
1:10
transmission orangey red blue green
1:15
there's an excess cover on this side so
1:16
the filters can be accessed and changed
1:19
without taking anything else apart even
1:21
this is like ridiculous it's like solid
1:23
aluminium this is just basically a cover
1:25
the actual wavelengths of these are um
1:27
488 525 570 630 and 700 NM not sure what
1:32
the suffix on that perhaps that's the uh
1:34
the width of the spectral line say these
1:37
are very narrow band filters most of
1:39
them are you very little light through
1:41
so it's still very tight narrow band to
1:43
match the um fluoresence of the dies
1:45
they're using in the biochemical process
1:48
and obviously to reject the light that's
1:49
being fired at it from that Illuminator
1:51
box and then there's a there's a second
1:53
one of these lenses then the actual sort
1:55
of samples below that so uh very serious
1:58
amount of very uh chunky heavy Optics
2:01
okay let's take a look at this light
2:02
source made by company Lumen Dynamics
2:04
who are now part of
2:06
excelitas self-contained unit power
2:08
connector USB and this which one of the
2:11
Cable Bundle said was a TTL interface
2:14
USB wasn't used in uh the fluid
2:17
application output here and I think this
2:19
is an input for um light feedback I
2:21
don't if it's regulated or just a measur
2:23
measurement facility and the uh fiber
2:27
assembly
2:29
Square Inlet there and then there's two
2:32
outputs which have uh lens assemblies
2:35
and this small one which goes back into
2:37
that small Port just Loops out of here
2:40
straight back in So on this side we've
2:42
got the electronics which look pretty
2:44
straightforward we've got a bit of power
2:45
supply stuff over here and we've got
2:48
separate drivers for each wavelength now
2:50
interesting this is clearly been very
2:52
specifically made for this application
2:54
you I was half expecting like say some
2:56
generic drivers that could be used for a
2:58
number of different things but actually
3:00
literally specified the exact wavelength
3:02
on the PCB there is provision here for
3:04
385 NM which isn't populated but this is
3:07
clearly been designed very specifically
3:09
so these four drivers look the same but
3:10
then there's two higher power ones for
3:12
575 and
3:14
520 a slightly bigger heat sink on this
3:16
575 section there a p 24 which is
3:20
providing USB interface USB isolator the
3:23
USB interface just presents as a comport
3:26
I did have a quick look but I didn't
3:27
actually get anything sensible um I did
3:29
dump the Pi code out and there's a few
3:31
you a few sort of commands that you
3:32
could see in text but I didn't actually
3:34
manage to get it working properly I
3:36
found some software for related version
3:38
but it didn't seem to want to talk to it
3:39
but um I say that wasn't used for the
3:41
original application it might be quite
3:42
interesting to get try and get the Run
3:44
hours count out of it and the TTL
3:46
interface looks fairly straightforward
3:48
we've got positions for six opto
3:50
isolators but only five five are
3:52
installed so that corresponds with the
3:54
unused thing so I think this hopefully
3:56
should be as simple as just providing a
3:57
ttrl signal for each color to uh enable
4:00
it a big heat sink here which is there I
4:03
think there's like a big S of metal
4:04
plate through the middle of this that
4:05
all the leads are mounted on the other
4:07
side so this is heat sinking it with a
4:09
air flow from a uh just a fan in here
4:13
obviously don't have the air flow
4:14
anywhere near the Optics so conduction
4:17
cool through to this plate that's then
4:18
uh air cooled got some pots which are
4:21
presumably power
4:22
adjustments okay let's take a look at
4:24
the other side which is uh much more
4:27
interesting see we've got some uh very
4:31
uh neatly Twisted cable assemblies there
4:35
a bunch of leads so we've got one here
4:37
475 up here 430 NM 630 575 and 520
4:44
filters and dcro mirrors a quick way to
4:48
see what's white is if we just shine
4:49
some white light through
4:51
here not sure how it is is to see on the
4:54
camera but shining white light we do
4:55
actually get a bit of red a bit of blue
4:57
some yellow here so the obstacle path
5:00
575 it goes sort of here bounces off
5:03
this mirror and goes out the 520 goes
5:07
sort of down here across here and up
5:09
there 630 goes basically straight
5:13
through
5:15
430 goes across there down there along
5:17
there and the 475 goes down here and
5:20
left this is the light sensing thing
5:22
think here there's just a um I think
5:24
there a photo diode or other sensor
5:26
haven't actually taken that off and
5:28
everything's fixed down to this chunk of
5:31
aluminium which acts as the heat
5:32
spreader that then conducts the heat to
5:33
the back side for the heat
5:35
sink and the actual lead packages all
5:38
look fairly similar except for this one
5:41
on the 575 which looks quite a bit more
5:44
substantial big spay
5:46
Terminals and the interface for this
5:48
turned out to be extremely simple it's
5:50
literally a 5V TTL level to enable each
5:54
color doesn't seem to be any tensity
5:56
control but there are some additional
5:58
pins on that connector that weren't used
5:59
in the through time thing so maybe
6:01
there's some extra lines that control
6:02
that I couldn't find any data on this uh
6:05
unit and the um their current product
6:07
range is quite significantly different
6:09
so we've got the uh blue these
6:13
might may well be saturating the camera
6:16
so they might look a bit weird so that's
6:17
the 430
6:18
blue the 575
6:24
yellow uh
6:26
475 light blue
6:29
the uh 520
6:31
green and the uh 630 red now one
6:36
interesting thing I noticed for the
6:39
575 it's actually it's actually using a
6:42
white lead and then filtering it rather
6:44
than using all the other ones are using
6:46
leads which are the fundamental colors
6:47
but uh this is actually doing white and
6:50
it's a combination of this filter and
6:52
the dichroic mirrors that are turning to
6:55
Yellow if we take the filter out and a
6:57
lot of the a lot of the um blue content
7:00
is going this way the red is going
7:02
straight through these two mirrors so
7:05
this is clearly not reflecting much of
7:08
that so we end up with the yellow coming
7:10
out of uh out of there which is a fairly
7:14
light yellow color which you don't
7:16
really see from high intensity leads so
7:19
that's clearly why they've used the
7:20
white to uh do this power consumption of
7:23
the white is pretty high so going up to
7:25
about 2 and 1 half amps on that color
7:27
whereas most of the other colors are
7:28
only drawing half an amp or so at 24
7:30
volts the uh the green is up to about
7:32
1.2 but say this thing is uh much
7:35
brighter and if you actually run all the
7:38
colors at the same time you get a fairly
7:41
reasonable um looking white coming out
7:43
of it and one thing you might just be
7:45
out to notice is there is some sort
7:46
color banding around here that's not
7:49
getting uh everything s completely
7:51
concentric and I think that's where this
7:53
fiber optic thing comes
7:58
in I'll
8:00
get a couple of Fairly accurately shaped
8:04
very sort of uniform color and looking
8:06
at What's um inside here we've basically
8:09
just got this Square Rod so this is
8:12
clearly yeah the lights just bouncing
8:13
off all the all the various sides to um
8:16
get a nice uniform illumination uh this
8:19
back bit looks like it's all potted so
8:21
nothing I really do to get in there I
8:24
think this is fiber so I have come
8:26
across um cables like this which are
8:27
liquid fill but just looking through the
8:30
end of this it's probably a bit hard to
8:31
see it does look like there fiber ends
8:34
going going on there and so there's this
8:36
feedback thing which is just obviously
8:39
compensating for the any light losses
8:41
through here to get an accurate
8:43
representation of uh the light that's
8:45
been launched out of these two
8:47
fibers and you see uh
8:49
these have got this sort of trapezium
8:54
shape light guides again it's like a
8:56
sort of acrylic or glass light guide
9:00
guess projected just to make the right
9:03
rectangular
9:04
shape and look at this Center assembly
9:07
um the light output doesn't uh change
9:10
whether you feed this in or not so it's
9:11
clear not doing any internal Clos Loop
9:14
control obviously there may well be some
9:16
facility for it to do that but it's not
9:17
being used in this
9:19
application and so this output just
9:21
produces a voltage on the uh outle
9:24
connector proportional to the amount of
9:26
light that's present so there's a little
9:28
diffuser in the back there
9:30
and then there's just some kind of uh
9:33
Optical sensor looks like a
9:35
chip looking at the lead it's a very
9:37
small package on the PCB with this lens
9:40
assembly over the top and these look
9:43
like they're actually on a copper
9:44
Metalized PCB for maximum thermal
9:47
performance and yeah it's a very small
9:49
package looks like it's a ceramic
9:51
package and there's a thermister there
9:53
for temperature monitoring this is the
9:56
475 blue one this is the 520 need to
9:59
Green which is uh rather different OB
10:02
it's a much bigger D with lots of bond
10:04
wise but also this looks like it's using
10:05
a phosphor if I shine a blue light at it
10:08
lights up green so this is actually a
10:10
phosphor conversion green lead which
10:12
I've I've come across before they want
10:15
that specific wavelength so they may be
10:17
easier to tune a phosphor than tune the
10:20
um semiconductor material to get the uh
10:23
right right wavelength from the lead
10:24
directly uh red 630 similar size to the
10:28
blue one or does seem to have a uh a
10:31
lens on top of it there is a sort of red
10:33
coloring to
10:35
the die but that doesn't appear to be
10:38
fluorescent as far as I can
10:39
tell and the white one again a little
10:41
bit different sort of much higher
10:43
current
10:46
connectors a makeer name on that
10:48
connector flot light not sure if that's
10:52
the connector or the lead
10:54
itself and obviously with the phosphor
10:56
and I'd imagine that phosphor may well
10:58
be tuned to get the maximum to the uh 5
11:01
cenm and actually this white one looks
11:04
like a St fairly standard product I just
11:06
found it in Mouse made by luminous
11:09
devices in fact actually I think all
11:11
these are based on various luminous
11:13
devices modules and they're you take
11:17
looks like they taking the nearest
11:18
wavelength and then just using these
11:19
filters to clean it up to get a precise
11:22
uh spectral line out of it so quite a
11:25
nice neat and um extreme
11:30
bright light source uh sure I've got any
11:33
particular use for it so I think this
11:35
might end up on
11:36
eBay but uh very pretty to look out and
11:40
without the uh risk of burning your eyes
11:43
out like you do with lasers so I thought
11:45
it would be interesting to try and
11:46
figure out the runtime of this things
11:48
like this we usually keep some sort
11:49
record of runtime cuz leads degrade over
11:51
time I couldn't get any software to work
11:52
through the USB face but then had a
11:54
thought probably going to be writing the
11:55
runtime periodically to the e s prom so
11:58
I just just scope up that and noticed it
12:00
was doing right every 5 minutes so I
12:02
just ran it for a while periodically
12:04
reading the E squ I just held the pick
12:05
in in reset and um put clip over to read
12:07
the square prom and found it was writing
12:10
one location per color every 5 minutes
12:12
so if one color was on it would write
12:14
that location every 5 minutes and just
12:16
increment it by one so after doing a few
12:18
tests with different colors of different
12:19
time periods it looked extremely
12:21
straightforward it's like a four bite
12:22
count for each color looking at the
12:24
original data that was in it all the
12:26
colors apart from Green were reading
12:28
zero and the green was reading four
12:30
indicating a total 20 minutes run time
12:32
ever if it was turned on run for a short
12:34
time then turned off that might not have
12:36
been counted but even so indicates this
12:37
thing wasn't used a great deal the whole
12:40
s process of doing a run can be several
12:42
hours but it'll only be doing probably
12:43
the Imaging at the end of that so you
12:46
wouldn't expect to be running for a long
12:47
time but say a single color for 20
12:50
minutes over its whole lifetime does
12:52
seem a little bit on the low side okay
12:55
let's look at the camera un fortunately
12:57
I managed to not record any sound when I
12:58
did this it's also a couple of months
13:00
ago so there's going to be a few details
13:02
that I've forgotten so I'm just going to
13:04
dub this over the original footage so um
13:07
take the lid off see this massive great
13:10
heat sink so this is a pel cool camera
13:12
we've got this blower fan producing a
13:14
fair amount of air flow through
13:16
it the connector here there's the ccds
13:19
mounted on the board on the
13:24
right this unplugs so we've got a bit of
13:27
power supply stuff on here
13:29
USB interface I think that's the Cyprus
13:32
microcontroller High speeded USB
13:34
interface there's a zyink spon fpga some
13:40
RAM and there's a couple of ATD
13:42
converters can't quite read what those
13:45
those are but anal
13:47
devices um little bit of bodgery around
13:51
here extra decoupling obviously they
13:53
have having some noise issues this is
13:55
around the ram chip quite a lot of extra
13:57
capacitors been added there
13:59
uh there's a couple of amplifiers prior
14:01
to the HD converter buffers or Andor
14:05
amplifiers taking the CCD
14:08
signal um bit more power spy stuff here
14:11
this is probably all to do with
14:12
generating the various CCD bias voltages
14:14
they uh need quite a lot of exotic
14:18
voltages next board down is just a
14:20
shield and an interconnect
14:24
boardly shielding the power supply stuff
14:26
from some the more sensitive an log
14:28
stuff
14:31
and this is the bottom board which is
14:32
just all power supply
14:34
stuff as you can see tons of capacitors
14:37
or Transformer in
14:42
there and this is the CCD which is a uh
14:47
very impressive thing this is a kf50 100
14:50
originally by true sense then codec
14:53
there ON
14:54
Semiconductor it's 50 megapixels uh the
14:58
only price I could find was this one
15:00
5,000 bucks and the architecture you can
15:03
see there actually two separate halves
15:04
which explains the Dual AZ converters
15:06
and two amplifiers it's literally split
15:08
down the middle and duplicated so it's
15:10
outputting two streams in parallel just
15:13
to keep the bandwidth sensible and it's
15:15
got this amazing um diffraction effects
15:18
it's got micro lenses over the pixel so
15:20
there's there's a bit more Optics going
15:22
on than on a normal
15:25
sensor few more bodges on the CCD board
15:28
including this wire which isn't really
15:29
tacked down very well which is a bit uh
15:32
bit of a mess quite a few bits around
15:34
this board where they've uh tacked
15:36
various bits on which is not super
15:38
impressive looks like CCD drivers on the
15:40
left with those 3 ohm um damping
15:43
resistors on the
15:47
output get a few more little bodges
15:50
around here some of
15:52
the and there's this separator the
15:54
silica gel to keep the moisture down but
15:56
there's this separator that actually
15:58
appears to be cut from piece of
15:59
antistatic
16:04
bag and this sort of thermal block on
16:06
top of this stack of three pel Cola
16:12
modules so as with any Stacks they get
16:16
um larger as they go back towards the
16:18
heat sink because each P's got to not
16:20
only take the heat from the previous but
16:21
also the waste heat which is quite
16:27
significant you see a little temperature
16:29
sensor here that copper block which
16:32
makes contact with the back of the
16:37
CCD and this's the back of the
16:40
pelas this then contacts the heat sink
16:44
on the uh rear there a few thermal pads
16:46
as well for some of the other power
16:47
components on this
16:51
PCB okay I've connected this uh camera
16:54
up I found some drivers on the disc that
16:56
seem to work under Windows 7 couldn't
16:58
get to install under Windows 11 though
17:01
um in the absence of any sort of lens or
17:03
being bothered to the proper amount I've
17:04
just put some f over it and put a little
17:06
pin in there to make a pinhole lens and
17:08
software gives a few options I'm not
17:11
entirely sure what all these are there's
17:12
obviously a clock frequency 22 MHz low
17:15
gain and with PFG no idea what that is
17:19
something something game programmable
17:20
Something game perhaps ver exposure
17:23
types I think focus is just like a
17:25
continuous grab until you tell it to
17:27
stop not entirely sure all these options
17:30
are obviously exposure time uh triggers
17:33
there ex external hardware trigger inut
17:35
you just trigger using a um thing on
17:37
screen so the resolution is 8176 by
17:40
6132 and you can actually bin those
17:42
where you combine multiple pixels to get
17:46
increased gain at the expense of lower
17:48
resolution down this is a 10sec exposure
17:51
obviously of the pin hole it's very uh
17:53
intensitive so we just stand still now
17:56
downloading it there's the uh exposure
17:59
so when it's
18:01
um there's a little status thing down
18:03
here so that tells you the um exposure
18:07
[Applause]
18:09
time it's this is just it
18:15
downloading um it is quite I'm seeing
18:18
quite a lot like smearing I think that I
18:20
don't know whether that's just due to
18:21
pixels overloading or something else I
18:24
mean yeah it's not it's not um out of
18:26
the question that there's something not
18:27
totally right about this camera
18:28
certainly was bodge wise on there um I
18:31
don't I'd imagine a camera like this
18:32
it's got a fairly narrow range of
18:34
intensities that it's happy with I'm not
18:36
going to spend a great deal of time on
18:38
this if you're interested in this camera
18:40
maybe for astronomy or something and
18:42
happy to sort of take the risk of it may
18:44
not be uh perfect I'll um I think I'll
18:47
stick this on eBay along with the
18:48
Illuminator I'll put a link down in the
18:50
description to the listing take your
18:52
chances to grab a bargain so for example
18:54
here we see this vertical streaking so
18:56
I'm not sure how normal that is this is
18:58
on fairly bright scene looking out the
19:02
window if I cut the exposure time down
19:04
on that it's now 1 second
19:07
exposure again most of the image
19:09
disappears again this is looks like it's
19:11
possibly over still overloading here go
19:14
that go down to say say quarter a
19:16
second so again I think there might be
19:19
some Auto gain control going on here um
19:21
this is with the PFG option let's try
19:23
turning that off and see what
19:25
happens so I'm not sure this is actually
19:27
more streaking or which just it's
19:29
cranked up the gain all the dis display
19:31
gray scale to show what um you know the
19:33
range of things that it's captured
19:36
there's one of one of 12 things in the
19:38
software there's um you can see of you
19:40
can't seem to read out the temperature
19:42
of the pelta cooler but you can set the
19:44
temperature and if you said it's a
19:46
different temperature you see the power
19:48
consumption jump up running the cooler
19:50
to get the temperature you requested but
19:52
I can't see anything anywhere that tells
19:54
you whether the cool is at the at the
19:56
temperature other than the power
19:57
consumption going down and there's no
19:59
temperature read out
20:03
here and just some yeah this is just
20:05
sort of very basic software I'm sure
20:07
there's like an API for more
20:09
sophisticated
20:10
applications but so if you know anything
20:12
more about these cameras please um stick
20:14
in the
20:15
comments um incidentally when I was
20:18
editing I didn't notice there was a bent
20:19
pin on the um CCD but I did fix that
20:22
before doing these tests and also
20:24
reactivated the um silica gel desicant
20:26
cuz I noticed it was uh I was getting
20:28
bit of condensation on the window but um
20:31
yeah so a couple of uh interesting but
20:34
maybe not particularly uh useful pieces
20:37
of Kit except for someone that's got a
20:38
very specific use so um I'll stick a
20:42
I'll stick these on eBay put a link in
20:44
the description and say hopefully
20:45
someone could actually make some uh good
20:47
use of these things
Example Output:
**Abstract:**
This video presents Part 2 of a teardown focusing on the optical components of a Fluidigm Polaris biotechnology instrument, specifically the multi-wavelength illuminator and the high-resolution CCD camera.
The Lumen Dynamics illuminator unit is examined in detail, revealing its construction using multiple high-power LEDs (430nm, 475nm, 520nm, 575nm, 630nm) combined via dichroic mirrors and filters. A square fiber optic rod is used to homogenize the light. A notable finding is the use of a phosphor-converted white LED filtered to achieve the 575nm output. The unit features simple TTL activation for each color, conduction cooling, and internal homogenization optics. Analysis of its EEPROM suggests extremely low operational runtime.
The camera module teardown showcases a 50 Megapixel ON Semiconductor KAF-50100 CCD sensor with micro-lenses, cooled by a multi-stage Peltier stack. The control electronics include an FPGA and a USB interface. Significant post-manufacturing modifications ("bodges") are observed on the camera's circuit boards. Basic functional testing using vendor software and a pinhole lens confirms image capture but reveals prominent vertical streaking artifacts, the cause of which remains uncertain (potential overload, readout artifact, or fault).
**Exploring the Fluidigm Polaris: A Detailed Look at its High-End Optics and Camera System**
* **0:00 High-End Optics:** The system utilizes heavy, high-quality lenses and mirrors for precise imaging, weighing around 4 kilos each.
* **0:49 Narrow Band Filters:** A filter wheel with five narrow band filters (488, 525, 570, 630, and 700 nm) ensures accurate fluorescence detection and rejection of excitation light.
* **2:01 Customizable Illumination:** The Lumen Dynamics light source offers five individually controllable LED wavelengths (430, 475, 520, 575, 630 nm) with varying power outputs. The 575nm yellow LED is uniquely achieved using a white LED with filtering.
* **3:45 TTL Control:** The light source is controlled via a simple TTL interface, enabling easy on/off switching for each LED color.
* **12:55 Sophisticated Camera:** The system includes a 50-megapixel Kodak KAI-50100 CCD camera with a Peltier cooling system for reduced noise.
* **14:54 High-Speed Data Transfer:** The camera features dual analog-to-digital converters to manage the high data throughput of the 50-megapixel sensor, which is effectively two 25-megapixel sensors operating in parallel.
* **18:11 Possible Issues:** The video creator noted some potential issues with the camera, including image smearing.
* **18:11 Limited Dynamic Range:** The camera's sensor has a limited dynamic range, making it potentially challenging to capture scenes with a wide range of brightness levels.
* **11:45 Low Runtime:** Internal data suggests the system has seen minimal usage, with only 20 minutes of recorded runtime for the green LED.
* **20:38 Availability on eBay:** Both the illuminator and camera are expected to be listed for sale on eBay.
Here is the real transcript. Please summarize it:
00:00:04 this is Point Nemo the most remote place
00:00:04 on Earth the furthest you can get from
00:00:08 any
00:00:10 landmass it's here that in 2030 a
00:00:13 rendevous has been set with one of
00:00:14 humanity's greatest feats of engineering
00:00:22 for over a quarter of a century the
00:00:22 International Space Station has served
00:00:24 as our outpost in the
00:00:26 cosmos a symbol of human ingenuity and
00:00:29 unprecedented international
00:00:33 cooperation with a construction cost of
00:00:35 more than 160 billion US it's the most
00:00:39 expensive thing ever built and easily
00:00:42 one of the most complex when I think
00:00:45 about the International Space Station
00:00:46 the the word masterpiece just comes to
00:00:48 mind it is a work of art just like
00:00:52 technical and
00:00:53 engineering skill that I don't I don't
00:00:56 know that we've brought it together that
00:00:58 way in any other place no structure on
00:01:01 Earth has to cope with temperature
00:01:03 swings of 270° C nor with being pieced
00:01:07 together at 22 times the speed of sound
00:01:10 and yet in just 5 years time the final
00:01:13 remains of this extraordinary
00:01:15 achievement are going to be driven into
00:01:17 the ocean as part of the most
00:01:19 challenging demolition project ever
00:01:21 [Music]
00:01:28 attempted but why does this
00:01:28 extraordinary achievement have to meet
00:01:30 its end and could we not find a way to
00:01:32 save it as a testament to human endeavor
00:01:36 well to understand that we're first
00:01:38 going to have to discover how it was
00:01:40 built and what that means for our future
00:01:43 in
00:01:53 space the year is 2030 and a specially
00:01:53 built SpaceX Dragon is about to set off
00:01:55 on its journey to the International
00:01:57 Space Station the Dragon first entered
00:02:00 service in 2012 fing cargo to the
00:02:02 station with a newer version coming
00:02:04 along 9 years later to carry the
00:02:07 crew the variant however has been
00:02:10 specially developed to serve a very
00:02:12 particular
00:02:13 function it's equipped with 46 Draco
00:02:16 thrusters small rocket engines capable
00:02:19 of generating over 40 kilos of force a
00:02:22 normal Dragon has only 16
00:02:25 its trunk is twice as long as a typical
00:02:27 craft allowing it to carry six times the
00:02:30 amount of fuel that's going to allow it
00:02:32 to generate up to four times the usual
00:02:35 power of a dragon which is perfect to
00:02:37 help it complete its mission of putting
00:02:39 an end to one of humanity's greatest
00:02:43 achievements someone who knows just how
00:02:45 incredible the ISS is is Nicole Sto she
00:02:48 served on it twice once in 2009 and
00:02:52 again in 2011 i think if you look at
00:02:55 pictures now of it you know that are
00:02:56 taken from another spacecraft of it
00:02:58 orbiting Earth it looks like a work of
00:03:00 art you know chunks of metal you know or
00:03:03 modules that would fit inside of a space
00:03:06 shuttle payload bay and be able to send
00:03:08 those up separately to space and then
00:03:11 hook them together and use robotic arms
00:03:14 and spacew walking astronauts to bolt it
00:03:16 all together and hook it together and
00:03:18 have it work
00:03:21 once it's there the ISS is not the first
00:03:24 or the last space station to take up
00:03:26 orbit around the Earth but none of the
00:03:28 others have come close to matching the
00:03:30 size or scale of its
00:03:33 ambition the journey began back in 1971
00:03:36 with the launch of Salot 1 by the Soviet
00:03:39 Union the first ever space station it
00:03:42 was a groundbreaking but short-lived
00:03:43 achievement lasting just 175 days the
00:03:47 first crude attempt to board it failed
00:03:50 and while a second attempt succeeded
00:03:52 tragedy struck on their return when the
00:03:54 Soyers 11 capsule depressurized while
00:03:56 preparing for re-entry killing all three
00:04:00 cosmonauts in the wake of this Salute 1
00:04:03 was terminated and it was allowed to
00:04:05 burn up in the Earth's atmosphere less
00:04:07 than 5 months after its launch
00:04:14 but despite the rocky start NASA and the
00:04:14 Soviet space program continued to
00:04:17 develop crude outposts in space over the
00:04:19 next 16 years eight different space
00:04:21 stations were launched with the US
00:04:23 premiering Skylab its first attempt back
00:04:26 in
00:04:27 1973 with each new station the ambition
00:04:30 of what could be achieved slowly grew
00:04:33 these space stations became larger and
00:04:35 remained in service for longer periods
00:04:38 the biggest breakthrough came with the
00:04:40 USSR's MI space station which launched
00:04:42 in
00:04:44 1986 where previous stations were
00:04:46 composed of a single monolithic unit MIR
00:04:49 was the first truly modular station
00:04:51 being slowly built in stages over the
00:04:54 course of 10
00:04:55 years the US wasn't far behind in the
00:04:58 1980s it began developing its own
00:05:00 modular station called Freedom but while
00:05:03 this new generation of space stations
00:05:05 promised unprecedented technological
00:05:07 advancements they came at a crippling
00:05:10 cost the Freedom underwent intense
00:05:13 scrutiny and the program suffered
00:05:15 multiple budget cuts until it was
00:05:17 abandoned
00:05:19 altogether by 1993 as the Cold War ended
00:05:23 and Russia's ability to maintain mere
00:05:25 weakened the two nations decided to come
00:05:27 together not as rivals but as colleagues
00:05:30 and so the ISS was
00:05:33 born soon after other space agencies
00:05:36 recognized the significance of this
00:05:38 collaboration and joined the program the
00:05:40 European Space Agency Japanese Aerospace
00:05:43 Exploration Agency and Canadian Space
00:05:45 Agency all signed up bringing their
00:05:47 technological expertise and resources to
00:05:49 the project transforming the ISS into a
00:05:52 truly international endeavor and
00:05:54 creating an unprecedented shared
00:05:56 commitment to space exploration and
00:05:58 scientific advancement
00:06:00 it's the result of that collaboration
00:06:02 that we see today a sprawling structure
00:06:05 consisting of 43 interconnected modules
00:06:07 and elements covering an area larger
00:06:09 than a football
00:06:11 field it's a global effort and a
00:06:14 contrast to modern space exploration
00:06:16 which is increasingly fueled by private
00:06:18 companies held by the billionaire class
00:06:20 from Elon Musk's SpaceX to Jeff Bezos's
00:06:23 Blue Origin but billionaires like Bezos
00:06:26 aren't just investing in space he's also
00:06:29 spent tens of millions on another
00:06:30 exclusive investment fine arts where
00:06:33 he's reportedly become a top 200
00:06:35 collector and Bezos isn't alone a 2023
00:06:39 study by Deote estimated the overall art
00:06:41 and collectibles wealth to be at nearly
00:06:43 $2.2 trillion while projecting it could
00:06:46 hit nearly $2.9 trillion next year
00:06:48 leaving room for potential upside it's
00:06:50 no wonder that today's video sponsor
00:06:52 Masterworks' art investing platform has
00:06:55 already had over a billion dollars of
00:06:56 invested capital from 65,000 plus active
00:07:00 investors with previous art offerings
00:07:02 featuring legends like Picasso Bascar
00:07:04 and Banksy each of Masterworks's 23
00:07:07 exits have been profitable distributing
00:07:09 over $60 million back to investors
00:07:11 including Principal and while the
00:07:14 channel isn't able to invest it's easy
00:07:15 to get involved with Masterworks without
00:07:17 needing to be a billionaire or an art
00:07:19 expert you can get priority access with
00:07:21 the QR code on screen the link in the
00:07:23 video description or at
00:07:29 masterworks.art/b1mm now let's get back
00:07:29 to the space
00:07:30 station everything started in 1998 when
00:07:34 this the Russian Zarya or Sunrise module
00:07:37 entered
00:07:38 orbit construction of the ZA began in
00:07:40 1994 at the Kurinichev State Research
00:07:43 and Production Space Center in Moscow it
00:07:46 was manufactured from rolled aluminium
00:07:48 with steel providing strength in
00:07:50 essential areas like as with the docking
00:07:52 mechanism thermal insulation was
00:07:55 provided by a ceramic blanket and
00:07:57 crucially kevlar provided the module's
00:07:59 armor more on that later for power it
00:08:03 was fitted with two solar arrays which
00:08:05 charged six nickel cadium batteries
00:08:08 capable of providing 3 kW of power now
00:08:11 to put that into context that's about
00:08:13 the same amount of power as your
00:08:15 domestic oven currently runs off in
00:08:18 other words the amount of power that you
00:08:20 now use to cook a pizza was used to
00:08:22 operate the fledgling
00:08:30 ISS if you take a closer look at Zarya
00:08:30 you'll notice something that we see on
00:08:32 all habitable ISS modules and that's the
00:08:35 cylindrical shape now that's partly to
00:08:38 make it easier to fit into the cargo bay
00:08:39 of space shuttles which fied most of the
00:08:41 components up into space but there's
00:08:43 actually another much more crucial
00:08:45 reason now just quickly this as I'm sure
00:08:48 you know is a can of fizzy drink it's
00:08:51 Coca-Cola in this case we're not
00:08:53 sponsored by Coca-Cola yet other fizzy
00:08:55 drinks are available this is just what
00:08:58 they had in my local shop anyway the
00:09:00 reason I'm showing you this is because
00:09:02 the design of the aluminium can is just
00:09:04 about the greatest design in the history
00:09:07 of industrial design and there's a few
00:09:09 reasons for that first of all it's very
00:09:12 efficient because it's a cylinder it
00:09:14 uses the least amount of material to
00:09:16 enclose a space as compared to other
00:09:18 shapes like cubes or rectangular prisms
00:09:21 that also means it's very light secondly
00:09:24 the atmospheric pressure in there is
00:09:26 about twice of what it is out here
00:09:28 although it could go up to six times
00:09:31 that and it's all thanks to that round
00:09:33 shape it makes sure that internal
00:09:35 pressure is evenly distributed there are
00:09:37 no weak spots and the can ends up
00:09:40 incredibly
00:09:42 strong now believe it or not the modules
00:09:44 on the ISS are actually incredibly
00:09:46 similar to this can they need to be
00:09:49 lightweight so they can be launched into
00:09:50 space but also because of the pressure
00:09:53 differences up there strong enough to
00:09:55 withstand the forces acting on them
00:09:57 booster ignition and liftoff of the
00:10:00 space shuttle Endeavor with the first
00:10:01 American a month after ZA came the first
00:10:04 US capsule Unity which provided the
00:10:07 first living and working space and
00:10:09 created a bridge between the Russian and
00:10:11 US halves of the ISS but it was here
00:10:13 that two construction methods kind of
00:10:15 clashed for the first time because both
00:10:17 the US and Russia had each developed
00:10:19 their own mutually incompatible docking
00:10:23 systems the US capsules use the common
00:10:26 birthing mechanism or CBM that system
00:10:29 relies on two interlocking rings one
00:10:32 passive and one active during docking
00:10:35 the passive ring is inserted into the
00:10:37 active site where a series of latches
00:10:39 engage to create an initial soft capture
00:10:42 once aligned 16 motorized bolts secure
00:10:45 the connection forming a rigid and
00:10:46 airtight seal meanwhile Russia had
00:10:50 developed its own docking technology
00:10:51 known as the androgynous peripheral
00:10:53 attach system or
00:10:55 APAS unlike the CBM APAS uses two
00:10:59 identical symmetrical docking rings
00:11:02 equipped with a capture mechanism in
00:11:03 sight that design allows either end to
00:11:06 act as the active or passive side making
00:11:08 it more versatile in automated docking
00:11:11 scenarios to overcome these different
00:11:13 mechanisms a special unit known as a
00:11:15 pressurized mating adapter or PMA was
00:11:18 developed this unit serves as an
00:11:21 interface creating a pressurized tunnel
00:11:23 between Russian and US modules the first
00:11:26 PMA was installed between Z and Unity
00:11:28 the initial Russian and American
00:11:30 segments of the ISS in total three PMAs
00:11:33 were added to the station to facilitate
00:11:35 docking with both shuttlebased and
00:11:37 Russian Sawyer
00:11:39 spacecraft after Unity the next major
00:11:41 component added to the ISS was the
00:11:43 Zvezda service module which arrived on
00:11:46 the 26th of July 2000 zvezda was the
00:11:49 first fully functional living space
00:11:51 aboard the station it provided life
00:11:53 support systems flight controls and crew
00:11:55 living quarters making it the true
00:11:57 backbone of the Russian segments
00:12:00 a crucial milestone was reached at the
00:12:02 end of the year 2000 with the
00:12:03 installation of the P6 truss which
00:12:06 housed the first major heat sink panels
00:12:08 and large solar array wings these arrays
00:12:12 significantly increased the station's
00:12:14 power generation abilities meaning the
00:12:16 ISS was now ready to sustain life on a
00:12:18 permanent basis
00:12:26 then on November 2nd 2000 NASA astronaut
00:12:26 Bill Shepard and Russian cosmonauts Yuri
00:12:29 Gdzenko and Sergey Cricv arrived aboard
00:12:32 the ISS becoming its first full-time
00:12:34 residence it's a moment that marked the
00:12:37 beginning of an unbroken line of human
00:12:39 habitation in space which continues to
00:12:42 this
00:12:43 day now this is what the ISS looked like
00:12:46 at this point which is still some way
00:12:48 off how it appears today so to
00:12:50 understand how it all works we're going
00:12:52 to skip forward a bit to 2011 which
00:12:54 marked the end of the main period of
00:12:56 construction but before we do that I
00:12:58 don't know about you but I've just got
00:13:00 to know what is it really like to live
00:13:03 and work up there on the International
00:13:06 Space Station life on board the the
00:13:08 space station is I mean it's
00:13:10 extraordinary in so many ways you're in
00:13:12 this place where your body behaves
00:13:14 different you're actually getting to
00:13:16 float and fly in three dimensions that
00:13:19 doesn't mean that there's not a real
00:13:21 significance or seriousness I guess to
00:13:25 the work that we're doing as astronauts
00:13:28 we on a daily basis are doing some level
00:13:31 of maintenance on the space station you
00:13:34 know routine stuff that stuff that could
00:13:37 be as as simple as like cleaning you
00:13:39 know we we we have to do the
00:13:41 housekeeping on board the space station
00:13:44 or things like repairing the toilet or
00:13:47 going outside and fixing a solar array
00:13:49 or replacing batteries that had you know
00:13:52 the end of their service life and you
00:13:54 know just the same as what you would do
00:13:55 on a building here on Earth those same
00:13:58 kinds of things have to be considered on
00:14:00 a space station
00:14:02 okay to begin with this is the top and
00:14:05 this is the front as it flies over the
00:14:07 Earth at 28,000 km an hour it's this
00:14:11 part of the station that will first see
00:14:13 the 16 sunrises that the ISS witnesses
00:14:16 every day like a ship it has a port side
00:14:20 over here and a very appropriately named
00:14:22 starboard side over here this is Unity
00:14:26 the bridge we saw earlier also known by
00:14:29 its operational name node one coming off
00:14:32 the side of Unity's starboard side is
00:14:34 Tranquility a functional node that
00:14:36 allows additional modules to be
00:14:38 connected but Tranquility is also home
00:14:41 to one of the most iconic features of
00:14:43 the ISS the
00:14:46 Coppella this module with its seven
00:14:48 windows gives astronauts an incredible
00:14:50 view of Earth and has been responsible
00:14:52 for some of the most breathtaking images
00:14:55 ever taken
00:14:57 coming off the front of Unity is Destiny
00:14:59 the first dedicated laboratory on the
00:15:01 ISS beyond that is Harmony another
00:15:05 functional node designed to connect more
00:15:07 modules attached to Harmony's starboard
00:15:09 side is the European Columbus lab while
00:15:12 on the port side we have KBO Japan's own
00:15:14 research module at the very end of KBO
00:15:17 is the exposed facility which allows
00:15:20 experiments to be conducted directly in
00:15:22 the vacuum of space
00:15:26 but all of that would just be a very
00:15:27 expensive tin can if it wasn't for one
00:15:30 critical piece of apparatus the
00:15:32 integrated truss structure this houses
00:15:35 two critical utilities the station's
00:15:38 power plant and radiators to build it
00:15:41 nine truss segments were gradually
00:15:42 installed on the ISS after being
00:15:45 anchored to the roof of
00:15:46 Destiny over the course of 3 years solar
00:15:50 panels were added to both ends of the
00:15:51 truss
00:15:53 although it would continue to evolve
00:15:55 over the next few years by 2011 the ISS
00:15:58 was complete and able to fully realize
00:16:00 its mission to push the possibility of
00:16:03 long-term space exploration and improve
00:16:06 life here on Earth
00:16:18 7 6 5 4 3 2 Back in 2030 SpaceX Dragon
00:16:18 has begun its journey to the ISS on
00:16:20 board a specially developed
00:16:22 rocket on a typical mission after launch
00:16:25 the Dragon begins a series of
00:16:27 meticulously timed maneuvers around 158
00:16:31 seconds into the flight the main engines
00:16:33 of the Falcon rocket shut down at this
00:16:35 stage it's traveling at about 10 times
00:16:37 the speed of sound 80 km above the Earth
00:16:41 a few seconds later the first and second
00:16:44 stages separate and the secondary engine
00:16:46 begins a 7-minute burn which brings the
00:16:48 Falcon and Dragon to low Earth orbit as
00:16:51 this happens the Dragon's nose cone gets
00:16:54 discarded revealing the birthing
00:16:55 mechanism 9 minutes and 37 seconds after
00:16:59 launch the second stage engines cut off
00:17:02 and 35 seconds later the Dragon detaches
00:17:05 having reached an orbit where it can
00:17:06 begin the finetuning to align with the
00:17:08 ISS 420 km above the Earth's surface now
00:17:14 to put that into context if you were to
00:17:16 fly from LA to Vegas it would take you
00:17:19 about an hour and a quarter
00:17:22 the Dragon will have covered that
00:17:24 distance in just over 10 minutes but
00:17:28 when the final Dragon takes this mission
00:17:30 it won't have to climb anywhere near as
00:17:32 high since 2026 the ISS has been allowed
00:17:36 to slowly de-orbit and fall towards
00:17:39 Earth which gives us a clue as to why
00:17:41 the ISS needs to be decommissioned in
00:17:43 the first place okay so we need to talk
00:17:45 about height because the altitude the
00:17:47 ISS orbits the Earth at is very
00:17:50 carefully calibrated obviously it needs
00:17:53 to be high enough to experience
00:17:54 weightlessness and space-like conditions
00:17:56 which is why it orbits here in the upper
00:17:59 reaches of the
00:18:00 thermosphere that's high enough to
00:18:02 conduct research in a microgravity
00:18:04 environment but there's a catch there's
00:18:07 still enough atmosphere here to create
00:18:09 some drag on the space station which
00:18:10 constantly pulls it very slowly back
00:18:13 down to Earth in other words the ISS may
00:18:16 be in orbit traveling very very fast
00:18:18 28,000 km an hour fast but it's not
00:18:22 floating it's flying every few months a
00:18:26 rocket visits the ISS to reboost it
00:18:29 which is why its actual altitude varies
00:18:31 between about 370 and 460 km depending
00:18:36 on where it is in this cycle so that's
00:18:39 one reason we need to figure out what to
00:18:40 do with the ISS if we just abandoned it
00:18:43 it would eventually fall to Earth and it
00:18:45 could land anywhere but at this point
00:18:48 you might be thinking to yourself well
00:18:49 hang on a minute why don't we just avoid
00:18:51 that problem altogether by operating the
00:18:53 space station at a much higher
00:18:55 altitude the thing is if you do that you
00:18:58 run into a whole other world of problems
00:19:01 the cost and technical complexity of
00:19:03 sending crew and cargo missions would
00:19:05 just be too great but there's another
00:19:08 much more catastrophic reason why the
00:19:10 ISS can't fly that high one that serves
00:19:14 as a reminder of the truly brutal
00:19:16 conditions this station exists in
00:19:18 remember that Kevlar armor that wraps
00:19:21 around the outer casing of the ISS
00:19:24 modules that's to protect the structure
00:19:26 from the constant bombardment of tiny
00:19:28 meteorites and space junk the US
00:19:31 Department of Defense tracks objects
00:19:33 orbiting Earth so when a large piece of
00:19:35 debris say around 10 cm is heading
00:19:38 towards the ISS the station just fires
00:19:40 its boosters and dodges out of the way
00:19:43 but there's no way of avoiding smaller
00:19:45 objects and thanks to the thin
00:19:47 atmosphere these can travel up to 10 km
00:19:50 a second meaning even tiny collisions
00:19:52 can have a catastrophic effect in 2016
00:19:56 the ESA released an image of a 7 mm wide
00:20:00 crack in one of the windows of the
00:20:01 Copula which was thought to have been
00:20:03 caused by a fleck of
00:20:05 paint accidents like these are random
00:20:08 but there's another factor which happens
00:20:09 like clockwork that places immense
00:20:12 strain on the structure of the ISS to
00:20:15 explain that let's look at one of the
00:20:17 most impressive buildings down here on
00:20:20 Earth building the Burj Khalifa wasn't a
00:20:23 challenge just because of its incredible
00:20:25 height engineers were pushed to find
00:20:27 extreme solutions to everything from how
00:20:29 to stop it sinking into the desert sand
00:20:31 to how to prevent it being blown over by
00:20:33 the winds but there's one other aspect
00:20:36 of this huge building that just doesn't
00:20:38 get enough attention how it regulates
00:20:40 its temperature in the blistering Dubai
00:20:43 sun the tower uses a huge range of
00:20:47 techniques to reduce the amount of heat
00:20:48 it absorbs every one of the building's
00:20:50 glass panels are coated with a special
00:20:52 silver lining that reflects the sun that
00:20:55 prevents the building taking on too much
00:20:56 heat and crucially helps it regulate the
00:20:59 massive swings in temperatures it can
00:21:01 experience between day and night and
00:21:03 between summer and
00:21:04 winter now that matters because it's not
00:21:07 just the people inside the Burj Khif
00:21:09 that need to be protected but the
00:21:10 building itself and that's all due to
00:21:12 something called thermal
00:21:14 expansion during construction when the
00:21:17 steelwork was still exposed the Burj
00:21:19 Khalifa was recorded as being 36 cm
00:21:22 taller on the hottest afternoon of the
00:21:24 year than it was on the coldest morning
00:21:27 if left unchecked that kind of thermal
00:21:29 expansion and contraction leads to
00:21:31 stress fatigue which could undermine the
00:21:33 integrity of the tower the Burj Khalifa
00:21:36 may be the tallest building in one of
00:21:38 the hottest places on Earth but its
00:21:40 twice daily temperature swings between
00:21:42 10 and 15° C are nothing compared to
00:21:46 what the ISS experiences the space
00:21:49 station orbits the Earth 16 times a day
00:21:52 constantly flying through sunlight where
00:21:54 temperatures soar to 120° before being
00:21:58 plunged into minus 150° in the Earth's
00:22:02 shadow the stress that places on the
00:22:05 fabric of the ISS means that at some
00:22:07 point a joint or weld will fail and on
00:22:10 such a large and complex structure it's
00:22:12 impossible to predict where it's a
00:22:15 chilling reminder of just how precarious
00:22:17 life on the ISS really is it is a super
00:22:21 hostile environment and it's it's as we
00:22:23 say the deadly vacuum of space right but
00:22:26 yeah you hear it you hear it you smell
00:22:29 it you kind of feel it in ways
00:22:32 that training doesn't necessarily
00:22:34 prepare you for on the ground and so
00:22:37 those big thermal cycles that 250° C
00:22:40 shift that goes from sunlight to dark um
00:22:44 you know every 45 minutes as we go in
00:22:47 and out of of the sunshine you hear it
00:22:50 and it is kind of a
00:22:52 creaky sound it's not big bangs or
00:22:55 anything it's just kind of this you know
00:22:57 what you would think of as like metal
00:22:58 kind of creaking together or expanding
00:23:01 and contracting another reminder of the
00:23:04 danger came in 2019 when a leak was
00:23:06 discovered in the Zvezda module it came
00:23:09 from a microscopic crack here in the
00:23:11 transfer tunnel leading to the aft
00:23:13 docking port also known as the PRK at
00:23:16 the time Roscosmos the Russian space
00:23:19 agency that built Zvezda determined the
00:23:21 leak did not pose a threat but the rate
00:23:23 at which air escaped the module
00:23:25 increased and 5 years later in November
00:23:28 2024 the decision was taken to close the
00:23:31 hatch leading to the PRK during standard
00:23:33 operations today when the PRK needs to
00:23:36 be accessed a hatch between the Russian
00:23:39 and US halves of the ISS is closed to
00:23:41 stop the entire space station
00:23:43 depressurizing if the leak were to
00:23:45 become catastrophic
00:23:51 [Music]
00:23:52 once the Dragon has reached the ISS
00:23:53 it'll dock from there the ISS will begin
00:23:56 its final descent but hang on a second
00:24:00 if the ISS can't stay in orbit forever
00:24:04 that doesn't mean we have to smash it
00:24:06 into the Earth in a massive ball of fire
00:24:08 does it well in 2022 NASA published a
00:24:12 transition plan which outlined several
00:24:14 options it considered for
00:24:15 decommissioning the ISS it included an
00:24:18 acknowledgement of the unique historical
00:24:20 significance of the ISS and looked at a
00:24:22 plan to disassemble the station in space
00:24:24 and return it to Earth in pieces but the
00:24:27 report concluded that the task was just
00:24:29 too complex besides needing a ton of
00:24:32 planning NASA figured it would take over
00:24:35 160 spacew walks which is about the same
00:24:38 number that have been performed at the
00:24:39 ISS in its entire history so far
00:24:43 [Music]
00:24:44 6 they'd also need a vehicle with a
00:24:47 cargo bay big enough to keep the larger
00:24:49 parts from burning up on re-entry but
00:24:51 after the space shuttle was put out of
00:24:52 action in 2011 there just isn't a
00:24:55 vehicle capable of doing that so instead
00:24:57 of risking a controlled re-entry why not
00:25:00 just push the station off into space
00:25:02 once and for all well shoving it out of
00:25:05 the Earth's orbit completely and into
00:25:07 deep space just isn't feasible we don't
00:25:10 have the resources or the technology
00:25:13 but how about just pushing the space
00:25:15 station up into that higher altitude we
00:25:17 discussed earlier it wouldn't have made
00:25:19 it possible to access when it was
00:25:21 operational but if it's retired it
00:25:24 doesn't matter right that was also
00:25:26 looked at by NASA but the plan run into
00:25:28 countless problems
00:25:30 literally the ISS sits right at the
00:25:33 bottom of what's called low Earth orbit
00:25:36 which is basically anything below 2,000
00:25:38 km it's also the part of the atmosphere
00:25:41 that has the highest concentration of
00:25:44 space junk now like we were talking
00:25:46 about earlier at the height the ISS
00:25:48 flies at most of that can either be
00:25:50 avoided or is small enough for the
00:25:52 station's armor to withstand it on a
00:25:54 day-to-day basis but as you go higher up
00:25:57 into low Earth orbit that changes
00:26:00 dramatically this chart shows a study
00:26:02 which indicates the expected lifespan of
00:26:04 the ISS at various altitudes before
00:26:07 being disabled by a catastrophic
00:26:09 collision at its current height it can
00:26:12 likely survive more than 50
00:26:14 years but that shrinks to just 3.8 years
00:26:18 by the time it reaches 850 km
00:26:21 in other words if we just sent the ISS
00:26:23 to a much higher orbit it would get
00:26:26 smashed to pieces and would cause a
00:26:28 massive risk to future space travel and
00:26:31 infrastructure again there's the problem
00:26:33 of technology the SpaceX Starship is
00:26:37 currently the only rocket in development
00:26:39 designed to deliver heavy cargo to the
00:26:41 outer reaches of the Earth's atmosphere
00:26:43 but it's just not designed to dock at
00:26:45 the ISS even if it was possible the
00:26:48 immense power of its thrusters would
00:26:49 likely cause the ISS to break apart as
00:26:52 it began to move so if it can't go up
00:26:55 and it can't stay where it is it's got
00:26:58 to come
00:27:04 down the Dragon will connect to the ISS
00:27:04 at around 280 km the point of no return
00:27:08 at some stage in 2030 the final crew
00:27:11 will have visited and retrieved any
00:27:13 essential equipment capable of being
00:27:14 transported back once docked at the
00:27:17 front of the ISS the Dragon's Draco
00:27:19 thrusters are going to perform a series
00:27:21 of burns generating enough power to make
00:27:23 sure the ISS re-enters the atmosphere at
00:27:26 a high enough speed to ensure its
00:27:28 destruction will be so total it poses no
00:27:30 threat to life down here on
00:27:33 Earth shipping lanes and flight routes
00:27:36 have been cleared along the path to
00:27:37 avoid any collisions and the South
00:27:39 Pacific GIA the strong series of
00:27:41 currents that run through Point Nemo
00:27:43 will do its job of keeping marine life
00:27:45 well clear as the ISS passes below the
00:27:49 120 km mark it begins to leave the
00:27:52 thermosphere and the show begins
00:27:54 traveling at 29,000 km an hour the
00:27:58 Earth's rapidly thickening atmosphere
00:28:00 starts to rip the space station apart
00:28:02 the first things to go are the solar
00:28:04 panels and radiators and shortly after
00:28:07 the modules the friction of the
00:28:09 atmosphere creates temperatures reaching
00:28:11 4,000° C causing the scattered capsules
00:28:15 to burst into flames a spectacular
00:28:18 fireball streaks 6,000 km across the
00:28:22 skies as the biggest demolition job in
00:28:25 history begins to melt the aluminium
00:28:33 modules from that huge debris field only
00:28:33 a small few artifacts survive to splash
00:28:36 down into Point
00:28:44 Nemo the International Space Station is
00:28:44 the culmination of decades of relentless
00:28:47 innovation an achievement built by the
00:28:49 hands of engineers and space agencies
00:28:52 who constantly push the limits of what
00:28:54 was possible each generation of the
00:28:57 space station grew more ambitious and
00:28:59 more complex until we arrived at the
00:29:02 pinnacle with this extraordinary
00:29:05 structure but when it all gets reduced
00:29:08 down to just a few fragments of scorched
00:29:11 metal what are we going to look to next
00:29:14 nasa is currently backing the
00:29:16 development of commercial space stations
00:29:18 such as Star Lab and Axiom Station these
00:29:21 projects along with several others in
00:29:23 the works promise to continue human
00:29:24 space flight and research beyond the ISS
00:29:27 era but they're all much smaller in
00:29:30 scale and designed to operate as private
00:29:32 enterprises rather than in the spirit of
00:29:34 international cooperation and human
00:29:38 endeavor meanwhile the largest space
00:29:40 station current in operation after the
00:29:42 ISS is China's Tiang Gong which began
00:29:45 assembly in 2021
00:29:48 the age of a single massive
00:29:50 international space facility may be over
00:29:53 but that's proof of the incredible
00:29:55 legacy of this
00:29:57 [Music]
00:29:59 building the purpose of the ISS was to
00:30:02 be our gateway to the stars to help us
00:30:05 conduct research that would help us go
00:30:07 further and for longer than ever
00:30:10 before but we shouldn't forget that the
00:30:12 ISS has always been as much about life
00:30:14 down here as it is up there
00:30:18 the mission statement for the the
00:30:21 tagline for the International Space
00:30:24 Station is off the Earth for the Earth
00:30:27 our job yes doing the science using this
00:30:30 place as a laboratory exploration all
00:30:33 that kind of thing but embedded in
00:30:35 everything we're doing whether it's how
00:30:37 we built the space station and how we
00:30:39 are providing ourselves with clean
00:30:41 drinking water every day there or have
00:30:44 access to clean air and an environment
00:30:46 that allows us to survive and thrive in
00:30:49 that place everything we're doing for
00:30:51 that in one way or another is being
00:30:53 brought back to Earth whether that's
00:30:55 going to a place that's never had access
00:30:57 to clean drinking water before and
00:30:59 providing them with some version of the
00:31:03 way we do that for ourselves in space
00:31:05 all of the science in one way or another
00:31:08 is beneficial to life on Earth and some
00:31:10 subset of it allows us to figure out how
00:31:12 to explore further off the planet
00:31:15 the ISS may one day be gone but its
00:31:18 legacy is woven into the fabric of our
00:31:21 future both up in space and down here on
00:31:24 Earth it was never just a laboratory it
00:31:28 was proof of what humanity can achieve
00:31:30 when we reach beyond our borders and
00:31:33 beyond our limits
00:31:35 [Music]
00:31:42 this video was sponsored by Masterworks
00:31:45 you can learn more about that at the
00:31:46 link below don't forget that we're
00:31:48 inspiring the next generation of
00:31:49 builders through our investment into
00:31:51 Brick Borrow a fantastic LEGO
00:31:53 subscription service you can learn more
00:31:55 and get started today over at
00:31:57 brickbarrow.com
00:31:59 and as always guys if you thought this
00:32:00 video was out of this world and you want
00:32:02 to get more from the definitive video
00:32:04 channel for construction make sure
00:32:06 you're subscribed to the B1M now if you
00:32:09 excuse me I'm going to go off and
identifier: 1678
model: gemini-2.5-pro-exp-03-25| input-price: 1.25 output-price: 5 max-context-length: 128_000
host: 193.8.40.126
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87Jor5G_NBsinclude_comments: None
include_timestamps: 1
include_glossary: None
output_language: en
cost: -0.019313999999999998
*Abstract:* This video explores Son Doong Cave in Vietnam, the largest cave on Earth. It details the cave's immense scale, capable of housing skyscrapers, and its unique, self-sustaining ecosystem featuring its own weather system with clouds, an underground river, and a prehistoric rainforest hundreds of meters below the surface. The cave is home to over 250 endemic species, including newly discovered animals, transparent fish, monkeys, and unique insects adapted to darkness. The journey highlights remarkable geological formations like giant 80-meter stalagmites, rare phytocarst rocks that appear to move, large cave pearls, and ancient fossils embedded in 450-million-year-old limestone. The exploration, conducted via the sole authorized operator Oxalis, involves trekking through the jungle, navigating the world's third-largest cave (Hang En) as an entrance, and traversing Son Doong's challenging passages, including two massive dolines (collapsed ceiling sections) that allow sunlight to sustain unique underground jungle ecosystems. The video concludes by identifying an ancient coral fossil found within the cave using browser AI tools. *Exploring Son Doong: The World's Largest Cave* * *0:00:03 Introduction to Son Doong:* The video introduces Son Doong in Vietnam as the planet's largest cave. * *0:00:06 Unique Ecosystem:* It possesses a self-sustaining ecosystem with its own climate conditions and clouds forming inside. * *0:00:18 Hidden Features:* Contains an untouched prehistoric rainforest and a vast underground river. * *0:00:25 Endemic Wildlife:* Home to over 250 endemic species, including transparent fish, monkeys, and 7 recently discovered unique animal species. * *0:00:35 Immense Scale:* The cave is 9 km long, holds 38.5 million cubic meters of space, and has passages large enough for a 40-story skyscraper. * *0:00:47 Giant Formations:* Features enormous stalagmites resembling ancient towers. * *0:00:57 Phytocarst Rocks:* Contains rare phytocarst rocks that appear to move towards light. * *0:01:05 Cave Pearls:* Rare cave pearls and other unique formations are found within. * *0:01:09 Formation and Discovery:* Formed over 3 million years, its existence was unknown until fully explored in 2009. * *0:01:22 Restricted Access:* Access is forbidden individually; expeditions are run exclusively by Oxalis. * *0:01:32 The Journey Begins:* Reaching Son Doong involves a 9-hour jungle trek and passing through Hang En Cave (the world's third largest). * *0:01:55 Hang En Cave:* Showcases the massive scale and features of Hang En, including a beach and evidence of high floodwater levels. * *0:02:25 Cave Inhabitants (Hang En):* Swift birds inhabit Hang En, adapted to cave life. * *0:03:02 Cave Environment:* Navigating darkness reveals crickets and vast amounts of bat guano, with bats overhead. * *0:03:54 Geological Origins:* The cave formed in 450-million-year-old limestone, eroded over time by acidic rainwater. * *0:04:25 Entering Son Doong:* Arrival at the grand entrance of Son Doong cave. * *0:04:51 Initial Formations:* Early sights include incredible cave formations like rimstone pools. * *0:05:08 Diverse Stalagmites/Stalactites:* Sparkling white stalagmites and large, bronze-colored stalactites resembling frozen waterfalls are visible, along with fault lines from tectonic movements. * *0:05:47 Underground River:* A large, fast-flowing river carves through parts of the cave. * *0:06:02 Life in Darkness:* Evidence of life attempting to grow in pitch darkness (seeds, mushrooms) brought in by floodwaters. * *0:06:31 Hope and Vision Passage:* Reaching the largest part of the cave, featuring the world's tallest stalagmite (80m high). * *0:06:58 Skyscraper Scale:* This section is vast enough to fit a 40-story skyscraper or allow a double-decker aircraft to fly through. * *0:07:12 Micro Formations:* Smaller features like funnel spider webs and sand towers created by dripping water are observed. * *0:07:48 First Campsite:* Setting up camp near the first doline (collapsed roof section). * *0:08:02 Cave Clouds:* Mist and clouds form inside due to temperature differences between the cave and the outside air. * *0:08:16 Journey to Doline 1:* Crawling through narrow passages towards the first opening. * *0:08:30 Cave Worms:* Sticky, bioluminescent traps set by cave worms are encountered. * *0:08:43 Ancient Fossils:* The limestone walls contain fossils of ancient sea creatures from over 400 million years ago. * *0:09:03 First Doline (Doline 1):* Arriving at the massive opening created by a ceiling collapse centuries ago, allowing light to enter. * *0:09:38 Life from Light:* Algae and mosses grow where sunlight penetrates near the doline. * *0:09:58 Phytocarst Formations:* Unique phytocarst formations, partly biological and geological, grow towards the light source. * *0:10:21 Second Doline (Doline 2):* Reaching the even larger second doline. * *0:10:31 Underground Rainforest:* Doline 2 hosts a complete underground rainforest ecosystem. * *0:10:46 Rainforest Genesis:* Formed by a major roof collapse at fault intersections, allowing sunlight and soil buildup (rich bat guano) to foster plant life. * *0:11:00 Adapted Flora:* Plants and trees grow exceptionally tall and thin (up to 40-50m) to reach the distant sunlight. * *0:11:25 Rainforest Fauna:* The jungle hosts over 200 plant and 60 animal species, including monkeys (rare for caves), centipedes, snakes, and snails preyed upon by monkeys. * *0:12:46 Second Campsite:* Camping near the underground rainforest. * *0:12:50 Day 4 Exploration:* Navigating water-filled passages towards the "Great Wall of Vietnam." * *0:13:02 Eyeless Fish:* Encountering fish that have adapted to total darkness by losing their eyes. * *0:13:18 Blind Crickets:* Observing crickets similarly adapted to blindness. * *0:13:27 Giant Cave Pearls:* Discovering extremely rare cave pearls, some as large as tennis balls, formed over centuries. * *0:13:48 Ancient Remains:* Finding 500-year-old deer bones deep within the cave. * *0:13:57 The Great Wall of Vietnam:* Approaching the final obstacle, an 80-meter high karst wall, requiring passage through the water-filled "Passchendaele" passage (now a lake). * *0:14:24 Exploration Complete:* Reaching the end of the cave exploration after crossing the Great Wall. * *0:14:30 Fossil Identification (Sponsor Segment):* Using the Opera browser's AI features (Aria) to identify the fossil seen earlier. * *0:15:27 Fossil Identified:* The fossil is identified as Tetracorallia (or Rugosa), an extinct coral species from ~300 million years ago. I used gemini-2.5-pro-exp-03-25| input-price: 1.25 output-price: 5 max-context-length: 128_000 on rocketrecap dot com to summarize the transcript. Cost (if I didn't use the free tier): $-0.0193 Input tokens: 17536 Output tokens: 1778
Abstract:
This video explores Son Doong Cave in Vietnam, the largest cave on Earth. It details the cave's immense scale, capable of housing skyscrapers, and its unique, self-sustaining ecosystem featuring its own weather system with clouds, an underground river, and a prehistoric rainforest hundreds of meters below the surface. The cave is home to over 250 endemic species, including newly discovered animals, transparent fish, monkeys, and unique insects adapted to darkness. The journey highlights remarkable geological formations like giant 80-meter stalagmites, rare phytocarst rocks that appear to move, large cave pearls, and ancient fossils embedded in 450-million-year-old limestone. The exploration, conducted via the sole authorized operator Oxalis, involves trekking through the jungle, navigating the world's third-largest cave (Hang En) as an entrance, and traversing Son Doong's challenging passages, including two massive dolines (collapsed ceiling sections) that allow sunlight to sustain unique underground jungle ecosystems. The video concludes by identifying an ancient coral fossil found within the cave using browser AI tools.
Exploring Son Doong: The World's Largest Cave
Below, I will provide input for an example video (comprising of title, description, and transcript, in this order) and the corresponding abstract and summary I expect. Afterward, I will provide a new transcript that I want you to summarize in the same format.
**Please give an abstract of the transcript and then summarize the transcript in a self-contained bullet list format.** Include starting timestamps, important details and key takeaways.
Example Input:
Fluidigm Polaris Part 2- illuminator and camera
mikeselectricstuff
131K subscribers
Subscribed
369
Share
Download
Clip
Save
5,857 views Aug 26, 2024
Fluidigm Polaris part 1 : • Fluidigm Polaris (Part 1) - Biotech g...
Ebay listings: https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/mikeselect...
Merch https://mikeselectricstuff.creator-sp...
Transcript
Follow along using the transcript.
Show transcript
mikeselectricstuff
131K subscribers
Videos
About
Support on Patreon
40 Comments
@robertwatsonbath
6 hours ago
Thanks Mike. Ooof! - with the level of bodgery going on around 15:48 I think shame would have made me do a board re spin, out of my own pocket if I had to.
1
Reply
@Muonium1
9 hours ago
The green LED looks different from the others and uses phosphor conversion because of the "green gap" problem where green InGaN emitters suffer efficiency droop at high currents. Phosphide based emitters don't start becoming efficient until around 600nm so also can't be used for high power green emitters. See the paper and plot by Matthias Auf der Maur in his 2015 paper on alloy fluctuations in InGaN as the cause of reduced external quantum efficiency at longer (green) wavelengths.
4
Reply
1 reply
@tafsirnahian669
10 hours ago (edited)
Can this be used as an astrophotography camera?
Reply
mikeselectricstuff
·
1 reply
@mikeselectricstuff
6 hours ago
Yes, but may need a shutter to avoid light during readout
Reply
@2010craggy
11 hours ago
Narrowband filters we use in Astronomy (Astrophotography) are sided- they work best passing light in one direction so I guess the arrows on the filter frames indicate which way round to install them in the filter wheel.
1
Reply
@vitukz
12 hours ago
A mate with Channel @extractions&ire could use it
2
Reply
@RobertGallop
19 hours ago
That LED module says it can go up to 28 amps!!! 21 amps for 100%. You should see what it does at 20 amps!
Reply
@Prophes0r
19 hours ago
I had an "Oh SHIT!" moment when I realized that the weird trapezoidal shape of that light guide was for keystone correction of the light source.
Very clever.
6
Reply
@OneBiOzZ
20 hours ago
given the cost of the CCD you think they could have run another PCB for it
9
Reply
@tekvax01
21 hours ago
$20 thousand dollars per minute of run time!
1
Reply
@tekvax01
22 hours ago
"We spared no expense!" John Hammond Jurassic Park.
*(that's why this thing costs the same as a 50-seat Greyhound Bus coach!)
Reply
@florianf4257
22 hours ago
The smearing on the image could be due to the fact that you don't use a shutter, so you see brighter stripes under bright areas of the image as you still iluminate these pixels while the sensor data ist shifted out towards the top. I experienced this effect back at university with a LN-Cooled CCD for Spectroscopy. The stripes disapeared as soon as you used the shutter instead of disabling it in the open position (but fokussing at 100ms integration time and continuous readout with a focal plane shutter isn't much fun).
12
Reply
mikeselectricstuff
·
1 reply
@mikeselectricstuff
12 hours ago
I didn't think of that, but makes sense
2
Reply
@douro20
22 hours ago (edited)
The red LED reminds me of one from Roithner Lasertechnik. I have a Symbol 2D scanner which uses two very bright LEDs from that company, one red and one red-orange. The red-orange is behind a lens which focuses it into an extremely narrow beam.
1
Reply
@RicoElectrico
23 hours ago
PFG is Pulse Flush Gate according to the datasheet.
Reply
@dcallan812
23 hours ago
Very interesting. 2x
Reply
@littleboot_
1 day ago
Cool interesting device
Reply
@dav1dbone
1 day ago
I've stripped large projectors, looks similar, wonder if some of those castings are a magnesium alloy?
Reply
@kevywevvy8833
1 day ago
ironic that some of those Phlatlight modules are used in some of the cheapest disco lights.
1
Reply
1 reply
@bill6255
1 day ago
Great vid - gets right into subject in title, its packed with information, wraps up quickly. Should get a YT award! imho
3
Reply
@JAKOB1977
1 day ago (edited)
The whole sensor module incl. a 5 grand 50mpix sensor for 49 £.. highest bid atm
Though also a limited CCD sensor, but for the right buyer its a steal at these relative low sums.
Architecture Full Frame CCD (Square Pixels)
Total Number of Pixels 8304 (H) × 6220 (V) = 51.6 Mp
Number of Effective Pixels 8208 (H) × 6164 (V) = 50.5 Mp
Number of Active Pixels 8176 (H) × 6132 (V) = 50.1 Mp
Pixel Size 6.0 m (H) × 6.0 m (V)
Active Image Size 49.1 mm (H) × 36.8 mm (V)
61.3 mm (Diagonal),
645 1.1x Optical Format
Aspect Ratio 4:3
Horizontal Outputs 4
Saturation Signal 40.3 ke−
Output Sensitivity 31 V/e−
Quantum Efficiency
KAF−50100−CAA
KAF−50100−AAA
KAF−50100−ABA (with Lens)
22%, 22%, 16% (Peak R, G, B)
25%
62%
Read Noise (f = 18 MHz) 12.5 e−
Dark Signal (T = 60°C) 42 pA/cm2
Dark Current Doubling Temperature 5.7°C
Dynamic Range (f = 18 MHz) 70.2 dB
Estimated Linear Dynamic Range
(f = 18 MHz)
69.3 dB
Charge Transfer Efficiency
Horizontal
Vertical
0.999995
0.999999
Blooming Protection
(4 ms Exposure Time)
800X Saturation Exposure
Maximum Date Rate 18 MHz
Package Ceramic PGA
Cover Glass MAR Coated, 2 Sides or
Clear Glass
Features
• TRUESENSE Transparent Gate Electrode
for High Sensitivity
• Ultra-High Resolution
• Board Dynamic Range
• Low Noise Architecture
• Large Active Imaging Area
Applications
• Digitization
• Mapping/Aerial
• Photography
• Scientific
Thx for the tear down Mike, always a joy
Reply
@martinalooksatthings
1 day ago
15:49 that is some great bodging on of caps, they really didn't want to respin that PCB huh
8
Reply
@RhythmGamer
1 day ago
Was depressed today and then a new mike video dropped and now I’m genuinely happy to get my tear down fix
1
Reply
@dine9093
1 day ago (edited)
Did you transfrom into Mr Blobby for a moment there?
2
Reply
@NickNorton
1 day ago
Thanks Mike. Your videos are always interesting.
5
Reply
@KeritechElectronics
1 day ago
Heavy optics indeed... Spare no expense, cost no object. Splendid build quality. The CCD is a thing of beauty!
1
Reply
@YSoreil
1 day ago
The pricing on that sensor is about right, I looked in to these many years ago when they were still in production since it's the only large sensor you could actually buy. Really cool to see one in the wild.
2
Reply
@snik2pl
1 day ago
That leds look like from led projector
Reply
@vincei4252
1 day ago
TDI = Time Domain Integration ?
1
Reply
@wolpumba4099
1 day ago (edited)
Maybe the camera should not be illuminated during readout.
From the datasheet of the sensor (Onsemi): saturation 40300 electrons, read noise 12.5 electrons per pixel @ 18MHz (quite bad). quantum efficiency 62% (if it has micro lenses), frame rate 1 Hz. lateral overflow drain to prevent blooming protects against 800x (factor increases linearly with exposure time) saturation exposure (32e6 electrons per pixel at 4ms exposure time), microlens has +/- 20 degree acceptance angle
i guess it would be good for astrophotography
4
Reply
@txm100
1 day ago (edited)
Babe wake up a new mikeselectricstuff has dropped!
9
Reply
@vincei4252
1 day ago
That looks like a finger-lakes filter wheel, however, for astronomy they'd never use such a large stepper.
1
Reply
@MRooodddvvv
1 day ago
yaaaaay ! more overcomplicated optical stuff !
4
Reply
1 reply
@NoPegs
1 day ago
He lives!
11
Reply
1 reply
Transcript
0:00
so I've stripped all the bits of the
0:01
optical system so basically we've got
0:03
the uh the camera
0:05
itself which is mounted on this uh very
0:09
complex
0:10
adjustment thing which obviously to set
0:13
you the various tilt and uh alignment
0:15
stuff then there's two of these massive
0:18
lenses I've taken one of these apart I
0:20
think there's something like about eight
0:22
or nine Optical elements in here these
0:25
don't seem to do a great deal in terms
0:26
of electr magnification they're obiously
0:28
just about getting the image to where it
0:29
uh where it needs to be just so that
0:33
goes like that then this Optical block I
0:36
originally thought this was made of some
0:37
s crazy heavy material but it's just
0:39
really the sum of all these Optical bits
0:41
are just ridiculously heavy those lenses
0:43
are about 4 kilos each and then there's
0:45
this very heavy very solid um piece that
0:47
goes in the middle and this is so this
0:49
is the filter wheel assembly with a
0:51
hilariously oversized steper
0:53
motor driving this wheel with these very
0:57
large narrow band filters so we've got
1:00
various different shades of uh
1:03
filters there five Al together that
1:06
one's actually just showing up a silver
1:07
that's actually a a red but fairly low
1:10
transmission orangey red blue green
1:15
there's an excess cover on this side so
1:16
the filters can be accessed and changed
1:19
without taking anything else apart even
1:21
this is like ridiculous it's like solid
1:23
aluminium this is just basically a cover
1:25
the actual wavelengths of these are um
1:27
488 525 570 630 and 700 NM not sure what
1:32
the suffix on that perhaps that's the uh
1:34
the width of the spectral line say these
1:37
are very narrow band filters most of
1:39
them are you very little light through
1:41
so it's still very tight narrow band to
1:43
match the um fluoresence of the dies
1:45
they're using in the biochemical process
1:48
and obviously to reject the light that's
1:49
being fired at it from that Illuminator
1:51
box and then there's a there's a second
1:53
one of these lenses then the actual sort
1:55
of samples below that so uh very serious
1:58
amount of very uh chunky heavy Optics
2:01
okay let's take a look at this light
2:02
source made by company Lumen Dynamics
2:04
who are now part of
2:06
excelitas self-contained unit power
2:08
connector USB and this which one of the
2:11
Cable Bundle said was a TTL interface
2:14
USB wasn't used in uh the fluid
2:17
application output here and I think this
2:19
is an input for um light feedback I
2:21
don't if it's regulated or just a measur
2:23
measurement facility and the uh fiber
2:27
assembly
2:29
Square Inlet there and then there's two
2:32
outputs which have uh lens assemblies
2:35
and this small one which goes back into
2:37
that small Port just Loops out of here
2:40
straight back in So on this side we've
2:42
got the electronics which look pretty
2:44
straightforward we've got a bit of power
2:45
supply stuff over here and we've got
2:48
separate drivers for each wavelength now
2:50
interesting this is clearly been very
2:52
specifically made for this application
2:54
you I was half expecting like say some
2:56
generic drivers that could be used for a
2:58
number of different things but actually
3:00
literally specified the exact wavelength
3:02
on the PCB there is provision here for
3:04
385 NM which isn't populated but this is
3:07
clearly been designed very specifically
3:09
so these four drivers look the same but
3:10
then there's two higher power ones for
3:12
575 and
3:14
520 a slightly bigger heat sink on this
3:16
575 section there a p 24 which is
3:20
providing USB interface USB isolator the
3:23
USB interface just presents as a comport
3:26
I did have a quick look but I didn't
3:27
actually get anything sensible um I did
3:29
dump the Pi code out and there's a few
3:31
you a few sort of commands that you
3:32
could see in text but I didn't actually
3:34
manage to get it working properly I
3:36
found some software for related version
3:38
but it didn't seem to want to talk to it
3:39
but um I say that wasn't used for the
3:41
original application it might be quite
3:42
interesting to get try and get the Run
3:44
hours count out of it and the TTL
3:46
interface looks fairly straightforward
3:48
we've got positions for six opto
3:50
isolators but only five five are
3:52
installed so that corresponds with the
3:54
unused thing so I think this hopefully
3:56
should be as simple as just providing a
3:57
ttrl signal for each color to uh enable
4:00
it a big heat sink here which is there I
4:03
think there's like a big S of metal
4:04
plate through the middle of this that
4:05
all the leads are mounted on the other
4:07
side so this is heat sinking it with a
4:09
air flow from a uh just a fan in here
4:13
obviously don't have the air flow
4:14
anywhere near the Optics so conduction
4:17
cool through to this plate that's then
4:18
uh air cooled got some pots which are
4:21
presumably power
4:22
adjustments okay let's take a look at
4:24
the other side which is uh much more
4:27
interesting see we've got some uh very
4:31
uh neatly Twisted cable assemblies there
4:35
a bunch of leads so we've got one here
4:37
475 up here 430 NM 630 575 and 520
4:44
filters and dcro mirrors a quick way to
4:48
see what's white is if we just shine
4:49
some white light through
4:51
here not sure how it is is to see on the
4:54
camera but shining white light we do
4:55
actually get a bit of red a bit of blue
4:57
some yellow here so the obstacle path
5:00
575 it goes sort of here bounces off
5:03
this mirror and goes out the 520 goes
5:07
sort of down here across here and up
5:09
there 630 goes basically straight
5:13
through
5:15
430 goes across there down there along
5:17
there and the 475 goes down here and
5:20
left this is the light sensing thing
5:22
think here there's just a um I think
5:24
there a photo diode or other sensor
5:26
haven't actually taken that off and
5:28
everything's fixed down to this chunk of
5:31
aluminium which acts as the heat
5:32
spreader that then conducts the heat to
5:33
the back side for the heat
5:35
sink and the actual lead packages all
5:38
look fairly similar except for this one
5:41
on the 575 which looks quite a bit more
5:44
substantial big spay
5:46
Terminals and the interface for this
5:48
turned out to be extremely simple it's
5:50
literally a 5V TTL level to enable each
5:54
color doesn't seem to be any tensity
5:56
control but there are some additional
5:58
pins on that connector that weren't used
5:59
in the through time thing so maybe
6:01
there's some extra lines that control
6:02
that I couldn't find any data on this uh
6:05
unit and the um their current product
6:07
range is quite significantly different
6:09
so we've got the uh blue these
6:13
might may well be saturating the camera
6:16
so they might look a bit weird so that's
6:17
the 430
6:18
blue the 575
6:24
yellow uh
6:26
475 light blue
6:29
the uh 520
6:31
green and the uh 630 red now one
6:36
interesting thing I noticed for the
6:39
575 it's actually it's actually using a
6:42
white lead and then filtering it rather
6:44
than using all the other ones are using
6:46
leads which are the fundamental colors
6:47
but uh this is actually doing white and
6:50
it's a combination of this filter and
6:52
the dichroic mirrors that are turning to
6:55
Yellow if we take the filter out and a
6:57
lot of the a lot of the um blue content
7:00
is going this way the red is going
7:02
straight through these two mirrors so
7:05
this is clearly not reflecting much of
7:08
that so we end up with the yellow coming
7:10
out of uh out of there which is a fairly
7:14
light yellow color which you don't
7:16
really see from high intensity leads so
7:19
that's clearly why they've used the
7:20
white to uh do this power consumption of
7:23
the white is pretty high so going up to
7:25
about 2 and 1 half amps on that color
7:27
whereas most of the other colors are
7:28
only drawing half an amp or so at 24
7:30
volts the uh the green is up to about
7:32
1.2 but say this thing is uh much
7:35
brighter and if you actually run all the
7:38
colors at the same time you get a fairly
7:41
reasonable um looking white coming out
7:43
of it and one thing you might just be
7:45
out to notice is there is some sort
7:46
color banding around here that's not
7:49
getting uh everything s completely
7:51
concentric and I think that's where this
7:53
fiber optic thing comes
7:58
in I'll
8:00
get a couple of Fairly accurately shaped
8:04
very sort of uniform color and looking
8:06
at What's um inside here we've basically
8:09
just got this Square Rod so this is
8:12
clearly yeah the lights just bouncing
8:13
off all the all the various sides to um
8:16
get a nice uniform illumination uh this
8:19
back bit looks like it's all potted so
8:21
nothing I really do to get in there I
8:24
think this is fiber so I have come
8:26
across um cables like this which are
8:27
liquid fill but just looking through the
8:30
end of this it's probably a bit hard to
8:31
see it does look like there fiber ends
8:34
going going on there and so there's this
8:36
feedback thing which is just obviously
8:39
compensating for the any light losses
8:41
through here to get an accurate
8:43
representation of uh the light that's
8:45
been launched out of these two
8:47
fibers and you see uh
8:49
these have got this sort of trapezium
8:54
shape light guides again it's like a
8:56
sort of acrylic or glass light guide
9:00
guess projected just to make the right
9:03
rectangular
9:04
shape and look at this Center assembly
9:07
um the light output doesn't uh change
9:10
whether you feed this in or not so it's
9:11
clear not doing any internal Clos Loop
9:14
control obviously there may well be some
9:16
facility for it to do that but it's not
9:17
being used in this
9:19
application and so this output just
9:21
produces a voltage on the uh outle
9:24
connector proportional to the amount of
9:26
light that's present so there's a little
9:28
diffuser in the back there
9:30
and then there's just some kind of uh
9:33
Optical sensor looks like a
9:35
chip looking at the lead it's a very
9:37
small package on the PCB with this lens
9:40
assembly over the top and these look
9:43
like they're actually on a copper
9:44
Metalized PCB for maximum thermal
9:47
performance and yeah it's a very small
9:49
package looks like it's a ceramic
9:51
package and there's a thermister there
9:53
for temperature monitoring this is the
9:56
475 blue one this is the 520 need to
9:59
Green which is uh rather different OB
10:02
it's a much bigger D with lots of bond
10:04
wise but also this looks like it's using
10:05
a phosphor if I shine a blue light at it
10:08
lights up green so this is actually a
10:10
phosphor conversion green lead which
10:12
I've I've come across before they want
10:15
that specific wavelength so they may be
10:17
easier to tune a phosphor than tune the
10:20
um semiconductor material to get the uh
10:23
right right wavelength from the lead
10:24
directly uh red 630 similar size to the
10:28
blue one or does seem to have a uh a
10:31
lens on top of it there is a sort of red
10:33
coloring to
10:35
the die but that doesn't appear to be
10:38
fluorescent as far as I can
10:39
tell and the white one again a little
10:41
bit different sort of much higher
10:43
current
10:46
connectors a makeer name on that
10:48
connector flot light not sure if that's
10:52
the connector or the lead
10:54
itself and obviously with the phosphor
10:56
and I'd imagine that phosphor may well
10:58
be tuned to get the maximum to the uh 5
11:01
cenm and actually this white one looks
11:04
like a St fairly standard product I just
11:06
found it in Mouse made by luminous
11:09
devices in fact actually I think all
11:11
these are based on various luminous
11:13
devices modules and they're you take
11:17
looks like they taking the nearest
11:18
wavelength and then just using these
11:19
filters to clean it up to get a precise
11:22
uh spectral line out of it so quite a
11:25
nice neat and um extreme
11:30
bright light source uh sure I've got any
11:33
particular use for it so I think this
11:35
might end up on
11:36
eBay but uh very pretty to look out and
11:40
without the uh risk of burning your eyes
11:43
out like you do with lasers so I thought
11:45
it would be interesting to try and
11:46
figure out the runtime of this things
11:48
like this we usually keep some sort
11:49
record of runtime cuz leads degrade over
11:51
time I couldn't get any software to work
11:52
through the USB face but then had a
11:54
thought probably going to be writing the
11:55
runtime periodically to the e s prom so
11:58
I just just scope up that and noticed it
12:00
was doing right every 5 minutes so I
12:02
just ran it for a while periodically
12:04
reading the E squ I just held the pick
12:05
in in reset and um put clip over to read
12:07
the square prom and found it was writing
12:10
one location per color every 5 minutes
12:12
so if one color was on it would write
12:14
that location every 5 minutes and just
12:16
increment it by one so after doing a few
12:18
tests with different colors of different
12:19
time periods it looked extremely
12:21
straightforward it's like a four bite
12:22
count for each color looking at the
12:24
original data that was in it all the
12:26
colors apart from Green were reading
12:28
zero and the green was reading four
12:30
indicating a total 20 minutes run time
12:32
ever if it was turned on run for a short
12:34
time then turned off that might not have
12:36
been counted but even so indicates this
12:37
thing wasn't used a great deal the whole
12:40
s process of doing a run can be several
12:42
hours but it'll only be doing probably
12:43
the Imaging at the end of that so you
12:46
wouldn't expect to be running for a long
12:47
time but say a single color for 20
12:50
minutes over its whole lifetime does
12:52
seem a little bit on the low side okay
12:55
let's look at the camera un fortunately
12:57
I managed to not record any sound when I
12:58
did this it's also a couple of months
13:00
ago so there's going to be a few details
13:02
that I've forgotten so I'm just going to
13:04
dub this over the original footage so um
13:07
take the lid off see this massive great
13:10
heat sink so this is a pel cool camera
13:12
we've got this blower fan producing a
13:14
fair amount of air flow through
13:16
it the connector here there's the ccds
13:19
mounted on the board on the
13:24
right this unplugs so we've got a bit of
13:27
power supply stuff on here
13:29
USB interface I think that's the Cyprus
13:32
microcontroller High speeded USB
13:34
interface there's a zyink spon fpga some
13:40
RAM and there's a couple of ATD
13:42
converters can't quite read what those
13:45
those are but anal
13:47
devices um little bit of bodgery around
13:51
here extra decoupling obviously they
13:53
have having some noise issues this is
13:55
around the ram chip quite a lot of extra
13:57
capacitors been added there
13:59
uh there's a couple of amplifiers prior
14:01
to the HD converter buffers or Andor
14:05
amplifiers taking the CCD
14:08
signal um bit more power spy stuff here
14:11
this is probably all to do with
14:12
generating the various CCD bias voltages
14:14
they uh need quite a lot of exotic
14:18
voltages next board down is just a
14:20
shield and an interconnect
14:24
boardly shielding the power supply stuff
14:26
from some the more sensitive an log
14:28
stuff
14:31
and this is the bottom board which is
14:32
just all power supply
14:34
stuff as you can see tons of capacitors
14:37
or Transformer in
14:42
there and this is the CCD which is a uh
14:47
very impressive thing this is a kf50 100
14:50
originally by true sense then codec
14:53
there ON
14:54
Semiconductor it's 50 megapixels uh the
14:58
only price I could find was this one
15:00
5,000 bucks and the architecture you can
15:03
see there actually two separate halves
15:04
which explains the Dual AZ converters
15:06
and two amplifiers it's literally split
15:08
down the middle and duplicated so it's
15:10
outputting two streams in parallel just
15:13
to keep the bandwidth sensible and it's
15:15
got this amazing um diffraction effects
15:18
it's got micro lenses over the pixel so
15:20
there's there's a bit more Optics going
15:22
on than on a normal
15:25
sensor few more bodges on the CCD board
15:28
including this wire which isn't really
15:29
tacked down very well which is a bit uh
15:32
bit of a mess quite a few bits around
15:34
this board where they've uh tacked
15:36
various bits on which is not super
15:38
impressive looks like CCD drivers on the
15:40
left with those 3 ohm um damping
15:43
resistors on the
15:47
output get a few more little bodges
15:50
around here some of
15:52
the and there's this separator the
15:54
silica gel to keep the moisture down but
15:56
there's this separator that actually
15:58
appears to be cut from piece of
15:59
antistatic
16:04
bag and this sort of thermal block on
16:06
top of this stack of three pel Cola
16:12
modules so as with any Stacks they get
16:16
um larger as they go back towards the
16:18
heat sink because each P's got to not
16:20
only take the heat from the previous but
16:21
also the waste heat which is quite
16:27
significant you see a little temperature
16:29
sensor here that copper block which
16:32
makes contact with the back of the
16:37
CCD and this's the back of the
16:40
pelas this then contacts the heat sink
16:44
on the uh rear there a few thermal pads
16:46
as well for some of the other power
16:47
components on this
16:51
PCB okay I've connected this uh camera
16:54
up I found some drivers on the disc that
16:56
seem to work under Windows 7 couldn't
16:58
get to install under Windows 11 though
17:01
um in the absence of any sort of lens or
17:03
being bothered to the proper amount I've
17:04
just put some f over it and put a little
17:06
pin in there to make a pinhole lens and
17:08
software gives a few options I'm not
17:11
entirely sure what all these are there's
17:12
obviously a clock frequency 22 MHz low
17:15
gain and with PFG no idea what that is
17:19
something something game programmable
17:20
Something game perhaps ver exposure
17:23
types I think focus is just like a
17:25
continuous grab until you tell it to
17:27
stop not entirely sure all these options
17:30
are obviously exposure time uh triggers
17:33
there ex external hardware trigger inut
17:35
you just trigger using a um thing on
17:37
screen so the resolution is 8176 by
17:40
6132 and you can actually bin those
17:42
where you combine multiple pixels to get
17:46
increased gain at the expense of lower
17:48
resolution down this is a 10sec exposure
17:51
obviously of the pin hole it's very uh
17:53
intensitive so we just stand still now
17:56
downloading it there's the uh exposure
17:59
so when it's
18:01
um there's a little status thing down
18:03
here so that tells you the um exposure
18:07
[Applause]
18:09
time it's this is just it
18:15
downloading um it is quite I'm seeing
18:18
quite a lot like smearing I think that I
18:20
don't know whether that's just due to
18:21
pixels overloading or something else I
18:24
mean yeah it's not it's not um out of
18:26
the question that there's something not
18:27
totally right about this camera
18:28
certainly was bodge wise on there um I
18:31
don't I'd imagine a camera like this
18:32
it's got a fairly narrow range of
18:34
intensities that it's happy with I'm not
18:36
going to spend a great deal of time on
18:38
this if you're interested in this camera
18:40
maybe for astronomy or something and
18:42
happy to sort of take the risk of it may
18:44
not be uh perfect I'll um I think I'll
18:47
stick this on eBay along with the
18:48
Illuminator I'll put a link down in the
18:50
description to the listing take your
18:52
chances to grab a bargain so for example
18:54
here we see this vertical streaking so
18:56
I'm not sure how normal that is this is
18:58
on fairly bright scene looking out the
19:02
window if I cut the exposure time down
19:04
on that it's now 1 second
19:07
exposure again most of the image
19:09
disappears again this is looks like it's
19:11
possibly over still overloading here go
19:14
that go down to say say quarter a
19:16
second so again I think there might be
19:19
some Auto gain control going on here um
19:21
this is with the PFG option let's try
19:23
turning that off and see what
19:25
happens so I'm not sure this is actually
19:27
more streaking or which just it's
19:29
cranked up the gain all the dis display
19:31
gray scale to show what um you know the
19:33
range of things that it's captured
19:36
there's one of one of 12 things in the
19:38
software there's um you can see of you
19:40
can't seem to read out the temperature
19:42
of the pelta cooler but you can set the
19:44
temperature and if you said it's a
19:46
different temperature you see the power
19:48
consumption jump up running the cooler
19:50
to get the temperature you requested but
19:52
I can't see anything anywhere that tells
19:54
you whether the cool is at the at the
19:56
temperature other than the power
19:57
consumption going down and there's no
19:59
temperature read out
20:03
here and just some yeah this is just
20:05
sort of very basic software I'm sure
20:07
there's like an API for more
20:09
sophisticated
20:10
applications but so if you know anything
20:12
more about these cameras please um stick
20:14
in the
20:15
comments um incidentally when I was
20:18
editing I didn't notice there was a bent
20:19
pin on the um CCD but I did fix that
20:22
before doing these tests and also
20:24
reactivated the um silica gel desicant
20:26
cuz I noticed it was uh I was getting
20:28
bit of condensation on the window but um
20:31
yeah so a couple of uh interesting but
20:34
maybe not particularly uh useful pieces
20:37
of Kit except for someone that's got a
20:38
very specific use so um I'll stick a
20:42
I'll stick these on eBay put a link in
20:44
the description and say hopefully
20:45
someone could actually make some uh good
20:47
use of these things
Example Output:
**Abstract:**
This video presents Part 2 of a teardown focusing on the optical components of a Fluidigm Polaris biotechnology instrument, specifically the multi-wavelength illuminator and the high-resolution CCD camera.
The Lumen Dynamics illuminator unit is examined in detail, revealing its construction using multiple high-power LEDs (430nm, 475nm, 520nm, 575nm, 630nm) combined via dichroic mirrors and filters. A square fiber optic rod is used to homogenize the light. A notable finding is the use of a phosphor-converted white LED filtered to achieve the 575nm output. The unit features simple TTL activation for each color, conduction cooling, and internal homogenization optics. Analysis of its EEPROM suggests extremely low operational runtime.
The camera module teardown showcases a 50 Megapixel ON Semiconductor KAF-50100 CCD sensor with micro-lenses, cooled by a multi-stage Peltier stack. The control electronics include an FPGA and a USB interface. Significant post-manufacturing modifications ("bodges") are observed on the camera's circuit boards. Basic functional testing using vendor software and a pinhole lens confirms image capture but reveals prominent vertical streaking artifacts, the cause of which remains uncertain (potential overload, readout artifact, or fault).
**Exploring the Fluidigm Polaris: A Detailed Look at its High-End Optics and Camera System**
* **0:00 High-End Optics:** The system utilizes heavy, high-quality lenses and mirrors for precise imaging, weighing around 4 kilos each.
* **0:49 Narrow Band Filters:** A filter wheel with five narrow band filters (488, 525, 570, 630, and 700 nm) ensures accurate fluorescence detection and rejection of excitation light.
* **2:01 Customizable Illumination:** The Lumen Dynamics light source offers five individually controllable LED wavelengths (430, 475, 520, 575, 630 nm) with varying power outputs. The 575nm yellow LED is uniquely achieved using a white LED with filtering.
* **3:45 TTL Control:** The light source is controlled via a simple TTL interface, enabling easy on/off switching for each LED color.
* **12:55 Sophisticated Camera:** The system includes a 50-megapixel Kodak KAI-50100 CCD camera with a Peltier cooling system for reduced noise.
* **14:54 High-Speed Data Transfer:** The camera features dual analog-to-digital converters to manage the high data throughput of the 50-megapixel sensor, which is effectively two 25-megapixel sensors operating in parallel.
* **18:11 Possible Issues:** The video creator noted some potential issues with the camera, including image smearing.
* **18:11 Limited Dynamic Range:** The camera's sensor has a limited dynamic range, making it potentially challenging to capture scenes with a wide range of brightness levels.
* **11:45 Low Runtime:** Internal data suggests the system has seen minimal usage, with only 20 minutes of recorded runtime for the green LED.
* **20:38 Availability on eBay:** Both the illuminator and camera are expected to be listed for sale on eBay.
Here is the real transcript. Please summarize it:
00:00:03 sandon the largest cave on our planet
00:00:03 this cave is so massive that it has a
00:00:06 completely self-sustaining ecosystem
00:00:08 with its own climate conditions hundreds
00:00:10 of meters underground the clouds you're
00:00:12 used to seeing in the sky form inside
00:00:15 this cave son even has an untouched
00:00:18 prehistoric rainforest hidden far below
00:00:20 the surface and a vast underground river
00:00:23 from transparent fish to colorful
00:00:25 monkeys over 250 endic plant and animal
00:00:28 species live in this underground world
00:00:30 seven new animal species were recently
00:00:33 discovered here and are unique to this
00:00:35 place stretching 9 km in length this
00:00:37 cave holds 38.5 million cub m of space
00:00:41 and its passages are so enormous that a
00:00:44 40story skyscraper could fit inside and
00:00:47 its giant stellagmites are rising like
00:00:49 towers of ancient cities walking inside
00:00:52 it's impossible not to feel as small as
00:00:55 a tiny bug can a rock move on its own
00:00:57 sandon even contains phytocarst rocks
00:01:00 which move towards the sun like
00:01:02 semi-living organisms rare cave pearls
00:01:05 and many other unique formations are
00:01:07 also found here for 3 million years
00:01:09 since its formation the world had no
00:01:12 idea about this cave's existence until
00:01:14 it was fully explored in 2009 in Vietnam
00:01:17 now it's time for you to see the largest
00:01:20 cave on Earth individual access is
00:01:22 forbidden to protect both visitors and
00:01:25 the fragile environment this expedition
00:01:27 is operated by Oxalus the only
00:01:29 authorized agency to reach Song Dong
00:01:32 we've tked through the jungle for 9
00:01:34 hours and now we must pass through N
00:01:36 Cave the world's third largest cave this
00:01:39 cave serves as a gateway to the world's
00:01:41 largest
00:01:42 cave it's crucial to be fully prepared
00:01:45 for every possibility so before setting
00:01:47 out on this journey we did deep online
00:01:49 research about Song Dong and its
00:01:51 surrounding area to learn about
00:01:53 everything that we would need to know
00:01:55 now we're heading towards the beach
00:01:56 inside the cave over the centuries water
00:01:59 from nearby rivers gradually carved this
00:02:02 place the ceiling is 145 m high and the
00:02:05 cave is 200 m wide during the flooding
00:02:08 season much of this empty space is
00:02:10 submerged underwater you can understand
00:02:13 from the basket over there the water
00:02:15 levels rise so much that it can carry
00:02:18 objects up to that level with a
00:02:20 breathtaking lake in front of us it was
00:02:22 impossible not to take a quick
00:02:25 dip at dusk the sound of swift birds
00:02:28 echoes in the cave because of their
00:02:30 short and weak legs these birds can't
00:02:33 take off from the ground and must jump
00:02:35 from a high place to fly if they are
00:02:38 trapped on the ground it means death is
00:02:40 certain for these birds this one was
00:02:42 unlucky and waited to die at sunrise
00:02:45 we're ready for the journey to Song Dong
00:02:47 if we call this cave a neighborhood then
00:02:50 SDong is a massive city in
00:02:57 comparison we will move to the darkness
00:02:58 now I can't help but wonder what awaits
00:03:00 us in Sonong as we walk dozens of
00:03:02 crickets on the ground start jumping
00:03:04 from side to side
00:03:07 the ground is covered with centuries of
00:03:09 bat
00:03:09 guano above us countless bats hang in
00:03:12 deep sleep but some are awake and
00:03:15 constantly defecating on us so it's not
00:03:18 a good idea to look
00:03:27 up that's how my arm looks we pass by
00:03:27 formations that look like travertine the
00:03:29 limestone steps take us to the path that
00:03:32 leads to Saong wow the view here is
00:03:35 amazing you can see some water coming
00:03:37 down from both sides encave welcomed us
00:03:39 for a night deep in the jungle now it's
00:03:41 time to meet Song Cave it's trying to
00:03:44 come to me you know it's moving towards
00:03:46 me it knows what to leech
00:03:50 on it got too big
00:03:54 beneath the soil we walk on lies the 450
00:03:57 millionyear-old limestone formation
00:04:00 which began forming long before the
00:04:02 existence of humans or even dinosaurs
00:04:05 this calcium richch limestone is
00:04:06 composed of shells and skeletons of
00:04:09 ancient sea animals that sank to the
00:04:11 ocean floor and gradually compressed
00:04:13 over millions of years however since
00:04:15 calcium dissolves easily in acid acid
00:04:18 rain slowly erodess limestone and forms
00:04:21 caves over time this is how the world's
00:04:23 largest cave was formed by rain
00:04:25 dissolving limestone a challenging final
00:04:28 climb brings us down to the grand
00:04:30 entrance of Sondong as we move deeper
00:04:33 everyone's switching on their headlamps
00:04:35 now this path will lead us to the Hope
00:04:37 and Vision Passage in this 9 km long
00:04:39 cave there is so much to explore we
00:04:42 might be the first to record newly
00:04:44 discovered animals this is the entrance
00:04:46 of Sondong Cave you can see those people
00:04:49 look tiny at the entrance even just a
00:04:51 few steps in we're surrounded by
00:04:53 incredible cave formations the water
00:04:56 rich in minerals flows down from the
00:04:58 ceilings or walls and builds these
00:05:00 beautiful rimstone pools over time the
00:05:03 very first animal greeting us is a
00:05:05 cricket we are making our way through
00:05:08 the rocks some stagmites are sparkling
00:05:11 in pure white because of the mineral
00:05:12 type they're composed of it looks like a
00:05:14 diamond yes it does there's a huge
00:05:17 stactite in bronze color resembling
00:05:19 frozen waterfalls the orange brown hues
00:05:22 suggests the presence of iron or other
00:05:24 minerals mixed within the limestone some
00:05:27 stactites have actually broken off from
00:05:29 the ceiling and fell down to the ground
00:05:32 that one in the middle is a fault line
00:05:34 it was formed because of tectonic
00:05:36 movements of the earth song's enormous
00:05:38 size is not just the result of water
00:05:40 erosion but also the fractures caused by
00:05:42 tectonic movements which created
00:05:45 pathways for water to flow deeper there
00:05:47 is a huge river in this part of the cave
00:05:51 if you fall you can't swim it's so fast
00:05:54 heavy rains feed many rivers here and a
00:05:57 large and fast river now flows through
00:05:59 the cave
00:06:02 how did this come to life we are like
00:06:04 hundreds of meters inside the cave there
00:06:06 is no sunlight heavy floods can bring
00:06:08 soil and plant stems into the cave
00:06:10 that's why we see a sprouted seed here
00:06:12 unfortunately without sunlight they
00:06:15 won't survive for long the flood also
00:06:17 brought spores in so now there are
00:06:19 mushrooms growing here the moisture and
00:06:21 darkness are perfect for them just
00:06:23 yesterday the water reached up to here
00:06:25 it carried a lot of mud with it it's so
00:06:27 recent as if the fault just happened
00:06:29 here signs of the incident are still
00:06:31 visible we reached the hope and vision
00:06:34 passage this is the largest part of the
00:06:36 cave i'm standing next to the tallest
00:06:38 stagmite in the world it is 80 m high it
00:06:41 took an average of 800,000 years for
00:06:43 these minerals to accumulate on the
00:06:45 ground as water dripped from the ceiling
00:06:48 and formed this massive stelagmite the
00:06:50 reason it got so huge is because it grew
00:06:52 in a part of the cave where the ceiling
00:06:54 is over 170 m high and more than 130 m
00:06:58 wide so this part of the cave is as
00:07:00 large as a 40story skyscraper could fit
00:07:03 and even a double-decker aircraft could
00:07:05 fly through you can see the light coming
00:07:07 from the first doin very far ahead
00:07:09 that's where we are heading we spot
00:07:12 cloudylike white catches on the ground
00:07:14 what is this a spiderweb when they sense
00:07:16 vibrations of a trapped insect the
00:07:18 spider jumps out bites the prey and
00:07:21 returns to the funnel to eat these are
00:07:23 sand towers when water drips from above
00:07:26 the parts under the pebbles are
00:07:28 protected while their surroundings erode
00:07:30 and in the end it forms these towers it
00:07:33 looks like a small metropolis if you
00:07:36 carefully look at it there's a guy
00:07:38 standing on the top of that rock our
00:07:40 teammate in the far distance is now
00:07:42 standing on a slide might of 60 m in
00:07:44 length we move 3 km forward in the cave
00:07:48 this is our camping site imagine
00:07:50 sleeping here looking at this view from
00:07:52 here you can partially see the first due
00:07:54 line it might look like the cave's exit
00:07:56 but it's actually the first of two
00:07:58 massive due lines and from here on
00:08:00 things will get more incredible the
00:08:02 temperature difference between the
00:08:03 outside and the inside of the cave forms
00:08:06 mist and clouds inside the cave the area
00:08:08 beyond them is called watch out for
00:08:11 dinosaurs we will explore that place
00:08:13 tomorrow for now it's time to rest now
00:08:16 we are going to first do this is the
00:08:17 next day there will be a lot of things
00:08:20 that we will see today let's go we are
00:08:24 crawling through narrow passages to get
00:08:26 to the first dine a very narrow point
00:08:30 these sticky threads are traps belonging
00:08:32 to cave worms they produce a blue green
00:08:34 light from their tail to attract flying
00:08:36 insects to these sticky threads once an
00:08:39 insect gets stuck the larvae pulls up
00:08:41 the thread with its mouth and eats its
00:08:43 prey this limestone is the oldest
00:08:45 limestone in Southeast Asia it is more
00:08:47 than 400 million years old while some
00:08:49 sea creatures become part of the
00:08:51 limestone others mineralized and ended
00:08:54 up as fossils like you see in this
00:08:56 example we'll get into the details of
00:08:58 this fossil later we're almost there son
00:09:03 well it takes for water droplets to
00:09:05 reach the ground for like 20 seconds
00:09:08 from up there what is the height of this
00:09:10 wall it's around 140 m everything is
00:09:14 huge
00:09:15 here when you look up you can see the
00:09:17 trees of the rainforest surrounding the
00:09:19 opening but right now we are meters
00:09:22 below and still inside the cave the
00:09:24 reason why this hole exists is that
00:09:26 hundreds of thousands of years ago the
00:09:28 river flowing inside Song Dong eroded
00:09:31 the limestone and weakened the roof the
00:09:33 roof couldn't hold up and collapsed
00:09:35 creating this giant hole above so the
00:09:38 light gave life to these algaes and
00:09:40 mosses in the afternoon we'll go to
00:09:42 Delane number two it's very different
00:09:44 you'll see a real jungle there but first
00:09:46 let's see the first of the last two
00:09:48 incredible formations here this is also
00:09:50 a stellag might
00:09:52 but it's a different one it owes its
00:09:55 unique layered shape to the
00:09:58 waterfalls these are phytocarst
00:10:00 formations they're rare limestone
00:10:02 formations shaped by the growth of algae
00:10:05 mosses and microorganisms together with
00:10:07 calcium carbonate since both biological
00:10:10 and geological processes shape them
00:10:12 they're like partly a living and partly
00:10:14 non-living here you can see the
00:10:16 phytocarse formations moving toward the
00:10:18 sun like a hand extending from the cave
00:10:21 climbing 1 km down and up in the dark we
00:10:24 finally reached our next destination
00:10:26 this is the second dolan much bigger
00:10:28 than the first one this looks amazing
00:10:31 all of a sudden we are in a forest in a
00:10:33 cave look here they're so dense the roof
00:10:36 of the cave at this point collapsed as a
00:10:38 result of the intersection of two main
00:10:40 faults forming a due line on the surface
00:10:42 252 m above where we are the collapsed
00:10:46 cave roof allowed sunlight to enter
00:10:48 giving rise to an entirely new ecosystem
00:10:51 despite extreme conditions plants and
00:10:53 animals have managed to adapt and turn
00:10:55 this place into a unique underground
00:10:57 rainforest as we move forward towards
00:11:00 the light the height of the plants grow
00:11:03 the soil makes it perfect to form a
00:11:05 rainforest a large portion of the soil
00:11:08 here consists of bat guano it is
00:11:10 accumulated for millions of years and is
00:11:12 highly fertile the soil here is deep and
00:11:15 full of small holes there is an insect
00:11:17 in each hole and the insects are making
00:11:19 traps in these falls to catch animals
00:11:22 this jungle is huge the biologists have
00:11:25 found more than 200 species of plants
00:11:27 and almost 60 species of animals living
00:11:29 in this area there are some monkeys on
00:11:32 trees this might be the only cave where
00:11:34 monkeys live most primates typically
00:11:36 prefer trees as their habitat and cave
00:11:39 environments are not suitable for them
00:11:41 however this extraordinary cave has
00:11:44 become a new living space for certain
00:11:45 species we came across a
00:11:48 centipede and snakes are living in this
00:11:50 forest as well
00:11:53 sound of this forest is calming
00:12:01 even the explorers who first came here
00:12:01 in 2009 thought they'd found the exit
00:12:03 for a moment remember that we are in a
00:12:05 cave this cave has its own rainforest
00:12:08 all of these trees get thinner but
00:12:10 taller to reach the sunlight coming from
00:12:13 above that's why all of them are very
00:12:15 thin but very tall compared to their
00:12:17 width certain trees reach heights of 40
00:12:20 to 50 m it's because the trees
00:12:22 prioritize height to maximize sunlight
00:12:25 absorption this is the remains of a
00:12:27 snail monkeys catch these snails and
00:12:29 break them with stones then eat them as
00:12:32 we move through the cave we start coming
00:12:34 across signs redshin dukes have left
00:12:36 behind look so many snails most of them
00:12:39 are broken and probably eaten by a
00:12:41 monkey we kind of forget we're in the
00:12:44 cave because it's so massive this is
00:12:46 where we are going to camp tonight it's
00:12:48 our fourth and final day in the cave
00:12:50 today we navigate through a waterfield
00:12:53 passage before reaching the Great Wall
00:12:55 of Vietnam the stagmites here look
00:12:57 fascinating almost like the work of a
00:12:59 sculptor a pool of water surrounds this
00:13:02 column and fish are swimming in it these
00:13:04 fish have no eyes as they have adapted
00:13:07 to live in this total darkness instead
00:13:09 their other senses got stronger over
00:13:11 time see how it doesn't give any
00:13:13 reaction to the shadow of my hand or the
00:13:15 movement it doesn't see
00:13:18 anything like the fish this cricket is
00:13:21 completely
00:13:23 blind it doesn't see me
00:13:27 these super rare formations are called
00:13:29 cave pearls they are usually 1 cm in
00:13:31 diameter but here since they are too old
00:13:34 some of them are as big as a tennis ball
00:13:36 just like real pearls they form around a
00:13:38 tiny nucleus such as a grain of sand
00:13:41 with layers of minerals slowly building
00:13:43 up over time they need a few hundred
00:13:45 years to be fully formed as we push
00:13:48 further into the cave something
00:13:49 unexpected catches our eyes these are
00:13:52 deer bones they're estimated to be 500
00:13:55 years old there is one last challenge
00:13:57 ahead an 80 m high carst wall called the
00:14:00 Great Wall of Vietnam to reach there we
00:14:03 must also pass through a 600 m long
00:14:05 Passanddale passage the passage is now
00:14:08 filled with water and is turned into a
00:14:10 breathtaking jade green
00:14:12 lake it's so high that the light does
00:14:15 not reach to very top
00:14:19 after the wall the light from the exit
00:14:21 is visible from 500 meters away we have
00:14:24 explored the world's largest cape from
00:14:25 one end to the other yet on the fourth
00:14:27 day of the exploration one mystery still
00:14:30 remains which ancient creature the
00:14:32 fossil we saw in Sondong belongs to i'm
00:14:34 opening opera browser and quickly
00:14:36 navigating to the cave's website to
00:14:38 check the related article here we'll
00:14:40 find the same fossil's image and its
00:14:42 description i'm going to press command
00:14:44 slash or control slash to open area it's
00:14:47 a built-in AI tool let's ask it to
00:14:50 highlight the key points in this article
00:14:54 the article mentions two different coral
00:14:56 fossils but doesn't specify which image
00:14:58 belongs to which creature luckily Arya
00:15:00 has image recognition feature i'm going
00:15:03 to upload the image and ask again
00:15:07 okay it identifies the fossil we saw etc
00:15:10 corolia let's check for more information
00:15:13 on this sea creature first I'm using the
00:15:15 tab islands feature to effortlessly
00:15:17 group tabs by topic and save space i can
00:15:20 expand or collapse them as needed i'm
00:15:22 splitting the browser window to view
00:15:24 both websites side by side it appears
00:15:27 that tetracoria or rugosa went extinct
00:15:30 300 million years ago this carnivorous
00:15:32 species is believed to have had
00:15:34 tentacles to catch its prey and grew up
00:15:36 to 10 cm because it is extinct today we
00:15:39 don't know exactly what this animal
00:15:41 looked like but with Arya's image
00:15:43 generation feature we can create a
00:15:45 possible visual for this
00:15:47 animal here's an illustration of a
00:15:50 living tetracolia drawn as a colony with
00:15:52 tentacles by the way tab traces feature
00:15:55 as you can see here help us see our
00:15:57 recent visited tabs by darkening the
00:16:00 underscore the darker the underline the
00:16:02 more recently the tab was visited using
00:16:05 Opera smart tools I believe that we
00:16:07 identified which creature this fossil
00:16:09 belongs to opera also enhances workflow
00:16:11 with a floating music player and
00:16:13 customizable themes with many other
00:16:15 features download Opera now from the
00:16:18 link in the description box or pin
00:16:19 comment to take your browsing experience
00:16:22 to the next level thank you for watching
00:16:24 see you in the next one ruhi Chennet was
Okay, here is the abstract and summary for the Son Doong Cave video transcript, following the format you requested.
Abstract:
This video explores Son Doong Cave in Vietnam, the largest cave on Earth. It showcases the cave's immense scale, capable of fitting a skyscraper, and its unique, self-sustaining ecosystem developed hundreds of meters underground. Key features highlighted include its own weather system with internal clouds, a vast underground river, a prehistoric rainforest thriving beneath collapsed ceiling sections (dolines), and giant geological formations like the 80-meter "Hand of Dog" stalagmite and rare cave pearls. The documentary follows an expedition team (Oxalis) navigating through the challenging terrain, including the world's third-largest cave (Hang En) which serves as a gateway. It reveals diverse endemic and adapted life, from eyeless fish and insects to monkeys living within the cave's jungle. The journey culminates at the "Great Wall of Vietnam," an 80-meter calcite wall near the cave's exit, emphasizing the cave's isolation, ancient origins (formed in 450-million-year-old limestone), and recent discovery (fully explored in 2009).
Exploring Son Doong: Journey into the World's Largest Cave