Pete |
17th November 2006 20:21 |
It's quite simple Scoots. The Chinese use a method based on dehydration. By wringing out the water content from all the parts they can shrink the item down to just a fraction of the size and then re-hydrate it when they get it into position.
It was copied from British trials back in the fifties when we were trying to figure out how to rapidly move troops and equipment across large distances without using huge amounts of fuel due to the Suez crisis. Unfortunately the tests conducted in Portland Down resulted in a lot of very short soldiers who were kept quiet by offering them roles in Pantomimes around the country. But it did give rise to the inspiration for the movie Honey I Shrunk The Kids which was originally titled Carry On Blowing Bubbles with Lester Piggot in a starring role.
So now you know.
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