Science Comics #3

This non-fiction story follows the step-by-step process of constructing an underwater tunnel, from initial planning and surveying to sinking a shaft and using compressed air and a steel shield to bore through the riverbed. Workers prepare for the high-pressure environment by acclimating in a compression chamber, and the narrative highlights the dangers and engineering solutions involved in keeping the tunnel stable and safe. The story builds toward the moment the two tunnel sections meet, emphasizing teamwork and precision without revealing the final outcome.

In the summer of 1941, U.S. Army engineers at Wright Field experiment with radio-controlled pilotless planes, using a device nicknamed the "Beep Box" to guide aircraft through maneuvers and landings. The story follows the development of these early unmanned aircraft, from their initial test flights to their potential for future military and civilian use, including cargo transport and jet plane testing.

Alfred Nobel, a sickly child from Stockholm, grows up to become a pioneering chemist and engineer, driven by a passion for science despite early setbacks. After a tragic explosion kills his brother and forces him to seek safer ways to handle nitroglycerine, he discovers that mixing it with kieselguhr creates a stable, transportable solid—dynamite—revolutionizing construction and mining, though he later grapples with the weaponization of his invention.

In a remote corner of what is now Yellowstone National Park, a series of volcanic eruptions over millions of years buried multiple forests under layers of ash, preserving their forms through mineral replacement. Over time, shifting rivers carved through the plateau, exposing the petrified remains of ancient trees—now a remarkable testament to Earth’s slow, powerful transformations.

In December 1844, a Connecticut dentist named Horace Wells witnesses a man inhaling laughing gas at a sideshow and, amazed that the man feels no pain after hitting a table, begins to experiment with nitrous oxide as a painkiller for dental work. He tests it on himself during a tooth extraction, demonstrating to skeptical onlookers that the procedure causes no pain, marking a pivotal moment in medical history.

The story explains how the "Electric Eye" — a phototube that responds to light — works through a simple circuit that opens a door when someone walks through its beam. It then shows real-world applications, including a security alarm that catches a burglar by interrupting the light beam, and safety mechanisms on industrial presses that prevent injury by stopping the machine when a person’s hand breaks the beam.