Traffic Signal Science (Clip)
Date: May 25, 2011
Running Time: 00:04:12
Other Viewing Options
| QuickTime 800K |
Red means stop, green means go—simple enough, right? But traffic lights are just a small part of the sophisticated science of traffic engineering. San Francisco Traffic Engineer Eddie Tsui takes us on a wild ride through his world, from computer simulations to ever-evolving detection technologies.
Urban environments like San Francisco are full of mysterious natural and human-made phenomena. Why are there so many one-footed pigeons? Where does the sewage go? Why is our “summer” in May and September? The Exploratorium is “taking it outside" to explore these and other questions in engineering, ecology, optics, waves, geology, architecture, weather, and more. Look for new episodes once a month.
Upcoming
 | Flight Simulation (Clip) 7/10/2013 Virgin America's Captain Christopher Owens gives us a tour of their high-tech flight simulator used ... |
Featured
| The Making of a Bell (Clip) 4/10/2013 For our first episode in a new season of "Science in the City," we explore the creation of ... |
| Altamont Wind Farms (Clip) 9/12/2012 Southeast of San Francisco, on the way out to California's Central Valley, thousands ... |
| Airships (Clip) 8/8/2012 Take to the skies on board the zeppelin Eureka with pilot Andrea Deyling of Airship Ventures and ... |
| Camera Obscura (Clip) 7/11/2012 On the cliffs above San Francisco's Ocean Beach perches a landmark observatory—a giant camer ... |
| Underworld (Clip) 2/13/2012 Beneath the 100-year-old piers that will soon house the new Exploratorium, highly specialized di ... |
Recent
| True Color (Clip) 6/12/2013 With a roll of thin plastic diffraction grating and some "stolen" sunlight, a ... |
| Electric Guitar (Clip) 5/8/2013 There’s no mistaking the distinct voice—whether throbbing, singing, or screaming—of an electric guit ... |
| The Making of a Bell (Clip) 4/10/2013 For our first episode in a new season of "Science in the City," we explore the creation of ... |
| The Brew Lab (Clip) 10/10/2012 How do brewers turn a handful of simple ingredients into the frothy, delicious bevera ... |
| Altamont Wind Farms (Clip) 9/12/2012 Southeast of San Francisco, on the way out to California's Central Valley, thousands ... |
