History - Modern Marvels: Drilling

Spiraling deep into the ground...driving holes through solid rock...rotating, hammering, and scraping its way through whatever it may encounter...whether it's earth or ice, steel or stone, nothing can stand in its way! This episode penetrates the world of drilling and explores various types of drilling's colorful histories. From drilling for water in the New Mexico desert to searching for oil in the Gulf of Mexico, we'll show you how it's done. The program features the quest to drill the deepest hole ever and the scientific drill ship expected to perform the feat, and also looks at drills used to recover ice cores that will unearth thousands of years of climate history. We also examine the latest and greatest tunnel boring machines, robotic drills, and handheld power drills. Finally, we check out laser drills--both large and small--including a drill that can bore a hole a fraction of the diameter of a human hair.