Top Secret Science in Transportation

Top Secret Science in Transportation is part of Crabtree’s series titled “Top Secret Science”. The series relies heavily on the ‘Top Secret’ hype to engage students in a variety of science related topics, including medicine, space, cybercrime, energy and military initiatives.

Every double-page spread throughout the book includes a section titled either “Dark Science Secrets” or “Tomorrow’s Secrets”. It is very questionable whether these ‘secrets’ are very secret, but many of them include information that may be new to young readers.

Canadian statistics and examples are used in a variety of topics. For example, the “Dark Science Secrets” in the section on “Stealth” tells the story of the Canadian aircraft, the Avro Arrow.

In 1957, Avro Canada rolled out the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft, the CF-105 Avro Arrow. It was packed with weaponry and capable of flying at Mach 2, or 1,535 miles per hour (2,470 kph), for long periods of time thanks to its high-tech engines. In 1959, the Canadian government canceled the Arrow project and ordered all Arrow aircraft – as well as their models and designs – to be destroyed. In 2017 to 2018, nine models were found at the bottom of Lake Ontario, where they had been dumped. High costs and politics were given as the reasons for the canceling the Avro Arrow program, but the full story remains a mystery today.

The final chapter in the book, “What Next?”, also includes an example of a Canadian project, the TransPod. This is a type of hyperloop technology.

Hyperloop “trains”, which are more like wheel-less pods holding passengers, are propelled by maglev technology along an above-ground magnetic tube. To make them even faster, the tubes are nearly emptied of air, to reduce air resistance. The whole system will run on solar power.

Like other books in the “Top Science Secrets” series, Top Science Secrets in Transportation ends with “Your Mission”. This section is titled “Be a Future Taxi Designer” and includes some higher-level thinking questions and activities for students. The final question is presented as “Top Secret”.

How would you guard your design secrets, and what possible problems might be revealed by your testing? If something went terribly wrong, would you keep it a secret, or share your knowledge with the world?

With guidance, a discussion of these ethical decisions could be valuable.