Bull material. And thats not because the graves are too rounded scientists now say but because they too boy. Know materials essential to our everyday lives and the focus on tomorrow or today this week. Heres whats coming up. Many plants have astounding characteristics some for example absolute metals from soon. Researchers are working on organic mining systems. Wind turbines and many other high Tech Products require other valuable role materials the rare earths until now theyve been hard to recycle now scientists are developing new ways to recover them. And we need to research it was have a smart idea she wants to make nylon out of sugary roots instead of the petroleum thats normally. He used in the manufacture of products like pantyhose. Welcome to tomorrow today. The conundrum that human nut can do it. Can commute. And salena voulgaris cant do it as well all of these plans are what are known as hyper its human nature. They take up having their souls like lead and cadmium from the soil and store them in the next issue. So why not take advantage of that ability then harvest the metals along with the plants a species called yellow tough to listen and has a taste for nickel and in albania people and they are starting to benefit from that preference. Albanias a mountainous eastern border on the banks of lake or it is one of the poorest regions in europe. Theres almost no industry here unemployment levels are high even farming is not really an option because the ground just full of heavy metals a naturally occurring phenomenon. But theres one thing that grows everywhere here. Yellow tuft of these for centuries this humble plant was useless to the farmers just a week but now its the big hope for a better future. For me than a barn on the dont bother me in the past we tried growing corn here we had we beings too but it just wasnt profitable. So we simply stopped farming the land. As you can see many had tears of land have been left uncultivated well its just not worth it here because the ground has so few nutrients that the harvest doesnt even cover your costs. And. Instead the farmers are working with the elisa the plant is whats known as a nickel hyper accumulator which means it draws nickel out of the ground the farmers can then sell the metal and in 20 years the nickel levels in the ground could be depleted enough to allow food crops to grow. Agricultural scientist. Is heading up the project uses a handheld x. Ray unit to see how the crop is doing im checking the nickel content in different plant pots and the most interesting part is the leaves so the leaf between one percent and 2 percent nickel. The harvest is a success the plants are left out in the fields for a few days to dry in the sun. This process of using a least some plans to extract metal from the ground is known as fighter mining. Later the dried plants will be transported to france where scientists will extract a nickel from them incidentally yellow tough to the summers officially labeled as a medicinal herb for export purposes as e. U. Customs forms dont yet have an entry for nickel plants. The French University city of nonsi has become a center for research into fido mining and recent years at a lab on the edge of the city. And his team set out to work on the harvest from albania. The ground up plans are placed into an oven to be burned. This not only allows the nickel to be extracted from the plants it also provides heating for the research station. We can burn as much as 50 kilograms of biomass birthday of course in that case it is even more than what the building needs for heating. The nickel is then left in the ash now in a much higher concentration than it was in the plant. Is our end product which is the bio or the this is a bag of lets say approximately 5 kilograms of ash and this contains almost one kilogram of nickel. The ash is then taken to a laboratory at known sees university of luvin where the nickel can be extracted the scientists are not aiming for pure nickel as that wouldnt be financially viable instead they produce nickel salts which sell better. Missile than you can something to do thing on and people are critical songs are used in industry for treating surfaces for example in the aviation and Automotive Industries metal components are basically dipped into a nickel based bath to protect them from corrosion once you put extolled what i call cause you. To war think of these look we can also produce special nickel oxides that are then used in paints and dyes for ceramics glass artworks or for coating the lenses of glasses that have been. The scientists unknown c. Are also working to optimize the way hyper accumulators are planted here theyre testing how the roots of release them grow best one ways to put them together with other plants that loosen the soil structure and this is. It was the roots of the at least some to penetrate down into deeper layers of soil so that they can draw in the nickel there to. The scientists have also learned that certain bacteria in the soil facilitate the plants absorption of metals. In another laboratory at the University Biologist 17 lopez has been studying these bacteria. That they are. There found directly around the roots of hyper accumulator plants we 1st isolate the bacteria and then study their activities these activities can be advantageous to the plant improving its growth or mobilizing the metals in the soil allowing the plants to absorb them better. The scientists are still only in the early stages of their research but soon these bacteria could help to further improve the metal yield. In albania farmers are already reaping the benefits of the Research Project its helping them to earn money while at the same time improving the soil. Mrs mubarak with all the farmers welcomed to this project its a great opportunity for them especially if the project to get subsidies or is expanded the people here are really interested because for the forseeable future if its the only way for the owners of land here to generate income and i think that our children will continue with us its our only chance. Once considered a wheat the yellow tuft of the sum now offers a Brighter Future for this impoverished region and perhaps it could provide a mom. For other infertile areas with metal rich soil. Many plants are amazing some provide a dependable supply of a classic raw material wood but what role materials exactly then materials that are taken from nature can be processed industrial rabbit is one for example as all things like coal oil and various types of or. Mineral deposits often contain gold materials known as rare earths theyre key elements and many high Tech Products scientists in germany are looking at how to ensure a steady supply. Are w. T. H. Is the largest Technical University in germany. Scientists here are trying to find a solution to a global problem how to ensure the supply of rare earths theyre using a common kitchen appliance to investigate alternate methods for industrial production. Most rare earth metals are imported from china but theyre needed around the world. Theyre in the magnets in your hard drive and in electric motors especially wind turbines. Down fleet is director of the Metallurgy Department at austin he and his team are developing ways to recycle rare earth and to obtain them from new sources economic considerations also play a role. Of can we produce our own rare earths independent of china of changing 90 or 95 percent of all rare earth metals from a single country is not an acceptable situation. Due to a. Rare earth deposits are not necessarily all that rare theyre found on all continents not just in china you delight or is found in large quantities in sweden and greenland for example and could be a good source for rare earth elements but extracting them isnt. Easy. Stuff is all of a beautiful whats interesting about this process is that were trying to find alternative sources of rare earths in europe those sources have advantages and disadvantages the u. T. I. Like we have in europe has a major disadvantage it has to be preprocessed which isnt the case with conventional sources its using a conventional process the pulverised or would come together and thats why its 1st treated with our hydrochloric acid its expensive but can be used on a large scale. Recycling could also be another viable solution for ending the near monopoly on the Global Production of rare earth. Wind turbines electric motors and hard drives contain these metals in large quantities. We are investigating new recycling processes and alternatives here at the institute both experimentally and fear radically we want to be prepared should the need arise for a little while supplies that might happen if china were to suddenly limit the export of rare earth here at the institute shredded magnets from hard drives are being melted down its the 1st step in a special recycling process when heated to more than a 1000 degrees celcius electricity is applied the metal separate that makes it possible to extract rare earth like neodymium from industrial Permanent Magnets but its a complex process. The problem isnt obtaining the hard drives but processing them everything has to be shredded and broken down and properly sorted then we can work with it duncan bills theyre good on it all but. Recycling sounds like it would be environmentally friendly but the process typically releases Hydrogen Fluoride compounds and lots of carbon dioxide. The Scientists Use a workaround substituting are gone for oxygen argon gas inhibits the toxic chemical reactions the final product is neodymium thats ready for industrial use so far most magnetic recycling on an industrial scale has been done in china even though europe also generates several 1000 tons of the raw material every year. But what we really be sending all our magnetic scrap there or do we want to figure a way of doing this in europe. For europe and germany this near monopoly could backfire in the event of a trade war or other crisis. Chinese strategy is not only just so rare earth metals and alloys the Raw Materials theyd like to export the end product the electric motors that would have a serious impact on the Automotive Industry is in other countries the motor is the crucial component in electric vehicles if manufacturers import lect motors all that know how would vanish that would be a serious risk for our domestic Automotive Industry which is a mainstay of the German Economy so its a major consideration as. Recycling rare earth and sourcing them from or is in europe could provide enough of the Raw Materials to last for generations. The researchers for mouth and have shown that you would be a light or could be a very abundant source. For that though it would need to be mined on an industrial scale. Humanitys hunger for Raw Materials is not restricted to. Asteroids can also hold high concentrations of Precious Metals or even read earths. Thats why mining them is high on agendas at National Space agencies. Here on earth there was still many untapped deposits of Raw Materials in the arctic the race is on to exploit the regions oil and gas reserves and in the ocean depths life valuable not eels made of manganese but bringing them up is no easy task. Researchers from germanys federal institute. 4 geosciences and Natural Resources are hoping to find treasures on the ocean floor using this device. The device is lowered for 4 kilometers until it reaches the ocean floor where it deploys a probe into the seabed its open at the bottom and penetrates about 40 to 50 centimeters deep into the sediment then this flap closes then its hauled back to the surface the whole procedure takes about an hour and a half. Time and again they set out on the pacific to discover just how many Natural Resources can be found on the seabed theyre looking for pieces of rock called manganese nodules they dont only contain the trace mineral manganese but also other valuable metals such as cobalt essential for the lithium ion batteries in electric cars and smartphones. Since 2006 german scientists have been exploring 2 sections of an area between hawaii and mexico. And its important for countries with few Natural Resources like germany and south korea to stand on their own 2 feet and not have to rely on imports from perhaps politically unstable countries like the congo. In addition the seabed nodules contain more valuable metals than many soils on land and there are a lot of them. On 4 percent of the german sea bed alone there are enough manganese for 20 years of mining a potential gold mine but also the habitat of many organisms that were previously unknown and scientists want to discover more about them too would mining for manganese nodules drive away these organisms for good. As. Some organisms would return but not in the same proportion and some organisms couldnt come back to common con it would take generations or even centuries. For an ecosystem like this could recover and regain stability. Touch. As of yet there is no suitable equipments with which companies could mine manganese nodules this prototype device is supposed to suck up the knowledge was together with the sediment. But in a deep sea test run in spring it failed to work. I believe it will take at least another 10 years the technical equipment for the mining in the middle or tickle processing has to be developed and that will take time on its site the researchers plan further tests on their next pacific expedition they want to see how much the devices would disrupt the ocean floor and how deep seeded wellers react when humans come to extract those hidden treasures. Salt is an abundant war material here on earth industry couldnt do without it. It can be combined with live to produce nature on a compound commonly used in washing and cleaning agents as well as die. Even plants and material that we want to talk about now. This weeks question was sent in by a viewer from morocco. Why does glass shatter. Lets 1st take a look at how this transparent material is made. The usual ingredients for commercial glass or sounds of soda ash lime and often recycled glass its all crushed together and melted but well over a 1000 degrees celcius. When the molten mass cools it undergoes a transformation into a tough but amorphous solid meaning it could be shaped into everything from bottles and drinking glasses to window panes. While other solids like metals may be pliable and flexible glass is hardened brittle. When its put under too much pressure it doesnt deform it breaks. And for that reason it rarely survives a fall. Just. For a big temperature difference between say ice cold water and a hot glass bottle while filling a cold glass with boiling water is likewise not a great idea. Unlike metals glass is a poor conductor of heat. So if you pour cold water into a hot glass the inside surface of the glass contracts. But the outside remains warmer creating a strain inside the material small fracture. As for months spread causing the glass to break. Glass can also be shattered by sound when of the right frequency the sound has to be very loud and sustained over those to work. When it is the glass begins to oscillate rather like this bridge and that can result in whats called a resonance disaster finally oscillation and causing the glass to break. The glass will also break more easily if it has a flaw such as a tiny fracture or material weakness. And if that doesnt work. Theres always this option. The problem is right right i mean you. Say you have a science question let us know via video text you know if we showcase your question on the program well send you a little surprise as a thank you. Go on just ask. And if you just cant get enough from the world of science and Research Head for our website overset us on twitter or facebook. Or oil is a very versatile role material. It can be burned to provide energy but it also supplies the basic chemical Building Blocks used to produce conventional plastics almost 2 and a half liters of oil go into an average t. V. Set for example producing a toothbrush consumes 2 tenths of a liter the packaging for a sausage contains just a little less. Nylon products also based on petroleum could it be replaced in the future by vegetables. Endi or chicory is an alternative. Raw material with great potential. Believe a vegetable is rich in vitamins and minerals. But researchers are more interested in its roots. Typically theyre tossed into the garbage or sent to a bio gas plant. But professor andrea causa from the university of hohenheim has far different plans for the plants. They contain a substance that she needs for her research. Thats yes this is the part you can eat the vegetable. Is the root. The root contains a substance for storing glycogen cellulose and starch which we can turn into a base chemical compound for things like nylon pantyhose or bottles. Of thank you floss in my. Chicory roots are too bitter to eat apart from fermenting bio gas not much else can be done with them but that makes them ideal for andrea cool and her project. Is looking as this is really the 1st time weve been able to produce this base chemical compound from chicory roots or other waste substances yes. This is the thats whats special. Compound hydroxy methyl for for all is already commercially available but made using sugar in a rather dirty process we have a clean process and were using something that isnt a food stuff which is important to us. In her University Lab kusa spent over 5 years trying to find a suitable raw material. Chicory is ideal because a substance forms in the root from which they can extract a basic chemical Building Block simply by boiling it. The chemical is used to obtain additional. Substances which are used to make nylon. Kusa says its a real alternative to crude Petroleum Based plastics because 500000 tons of chicory waste are produced every year in europe alone enough to manufacture 3000000000 pairs of pantyhose. Is this we know that oil is a finite commodity that it will run out one day and of course theres also the c o 2 problem to deal with problematic when we use crude oil we also burn it in some form to break it down so to speak. In a form that produces carbon dioxide. By when you use biomass however while it also releases c o 2 into the atmosphere its exactly the same amount the plants absorb when they grow. Until they are cool the hopes that one day pantyhose and plastics will be made from chicory roots but youll need more funding to make her project marketable. Thats all we have time for this week but join us again next time to learn exactly what this robot is doing and why spoiler alert its not about learning to mit. Thanks for watching and see you then on tomorrow today. The fall of the berlin wall began long before november 1989. We visit the heroes of eastern europe. We talk to those who began the struggle for freedom and those pushing courage. The fall im surprised they are also coming to nourish the 1st. What does it take to change the course of history in 15 minutes on d w. To itself. With its own gravitational pull. The finest musical compositions. With some mysteries to refill. Dont believe that he was into them dont tell me that he never. Harvard yale and the joint you come a fellow morning blame not. Reveal the symphonies of the hottest comes. The brahms code. Starts oct 11th on ditalia enough. To walk into an official estimates more than 1200000 venezuelans live in colombia legally and illegally. Why return to vast land. To visit friends and i dont think id ever go back there to live you know what i live there again i dont know so im not sure. Witness global news that matters. Made for mines whats the connection between bread but home and the European Union xenos guild motto e. W. Correspondent and the baker can stretch this 2nd line with the inspired by. The. Top speed. Stamping recipes for success strategy that make a difference. Baking bread on d. W. Plate. Plate. This is g. W. News live from berlin austrias conservatives win big in snap elections former chancellor Sebastian Cross and his Austrian Peoples Party emerged stronger than ever just months after a scandal brought down his government now the hard work of building a Coalition Government starts well get the latest from vienna. Now also coming up 2 people are confirmed dead on the greek island of last thursday after a fire broke out in an overcrowded refugee camp the chaos persons when angry my friends clashed with police