Sheet 3 — Parts on the bench
The explorers
Grouped by field. Rotate, zoom and pull any of them apart.
14 explorers
Daily objects4
Inside a smartphoneA 2025-era flagship phone, 26 parts from back glass to display. Record and upload a video, then watch the battery swell into thermal runaway.
Inside a digital cameraA mirrorless camera and zoom lens, 26 parts. Shoot a burst through the shutter and stabilised sensor, then watch a worn shutter fail.
Inside a wrist watchAn automatic watch movement, 27 parts. Wind it and watch the escapement tick the balance, then magnetise the hairspring.
Inside an AM/FM radioA battery portable superheterodyne radio, 25 parts from the case to the tuning gang. Tune across AM and FM, then watch a leaking battery corrode it silent.
Electrical engineering3
Inside a transformerSingle-phase and three-phase transformers: core, windings, oil, bushings and tap changer. Energize it to see the flux.
Inside an induction motorA 7.5 kW squirrel-cage motor, 24 parts. Watch a direct-on-line start and the rotating field, then follow a bearing failure.
Inside a smart electricity meterA single-phase 60 A smart meter, 25 parts from the terminals to the radio. Meter an evening of household loads, then watch a loose terminal overheat until the meter trips itself.
Integrated circuits1
Medical devices1
Energy3
Inside a wind turbineA 3 MW geared turbine with a 100 m rotor, 24 parts. Start it in a rising wind, then follow a runaway after a pitch failure.
Inside a lithium-ion pouch cellA 60 Ah electric-car cell, 18 parts from the pouch down to a 300× view of the electrodes. Drive and fast-charge it, then see lithium plate out in the cold.
Inside a nuclear power plantA 1,150 MW pressurised water reactor, 27 parts from the fuel to the grid. Raise it to full power, then lose the grid and follow the decay heat.
Mechanical engineering2
Inside a turbocharged diesel engineA 2.0 litre common-rail diesel and its variable-geometry turbo, 30 parts. Floor it up a hill, then follow a turbo’s bearings from coked oil to a runaway.
Inside a split air conditionerA 3.5 kW inverter split system, 28 parts from the wall unit to the compressor. Cool a hot room, then follow a slow refrigerant leak to an iced-up coil.
No teardown for that yet. Suggest it