"Defence Science Revealed" which is held at the Science Centre Singapore from 20 Oct 2012 - 17 Feb 2013 is said to be the largest defence science exhibition in Singapore. This exhibition unravels the science behind many military marvels.
The exhibition is organised into the following sections:
1) Surveillance and Stealth
2) The Science of Flight
3) Armour and Protection
4) Playground - Defence Science in Action
I visited this exhibition sometime in Dec 2012.
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| RADAR. |
I was pretty intrigued by the technology behind RADAR. I learnt that the acronym RADAR was coined from a technical term "RAdio Detection and Ranging" by the US Navy. Back in the 1940s, this acronym served as a cover for the highly secret technology. I suppose that left me an impression that the world of defence science is rather secretive to begin with. The exhibition explained the complex principles behind RADAR in a simple to understand way. I wish I had written down my learning points from my visit. I could now count on online sources to remind me of how RADAR works.
Stealth technology is another technology that has captured my imagination. It is also known as "low observable technology" and is a sub-discipline of military tactics which makes personnel, aircrafts, ships etc less visible to radar and other detection methods.
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| Stealth technology at work. |
At the section under Science of Flight, I learnt aerodynamic principles such as draft and lift. The concept of flutter caught my eyes. There was a model that demonstrated what how 'flutter' can break a wing of an aircraft. To avoid flutter, weights are disposed so that the centre of gravity of the wing is as far forward as possible.
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| An armoured glass. |
My eyes cannot help making multiple looks at a sample of an armoured glass. The armoured glass has been struck by several small armour piercing bullets. Interestingly, the thickness of such bullet resistant glass can range from 50 mm to 100 mm thick. The thicker the glass is, the greater its ability to stop projectiles. I learnt that armoured glass is made of a polymer sandwiched between two pieces of thick glass. The 'laminations between glass pieces help to absorb the force of the bullet and prevent cracks from spreading'.
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| Model of a MRAP vehicle. |
Mine Resistant Armour Protection (MRAP) Vehicle was another technology that had caught my attention. It was interesting to learn how the design of a MRAP vehicle enabled it to be mine-resistant.
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| Anatomy of a Tank. |
The scale of this exhibition was not as enormous as I had imagined. Nevertheless, there are some interesting exhibits that unravels the science behind many defence science technologies in simple and accessible ways. If you have an interest in defence science, this is perhaps an exhibition to check out.
Defence Science Revealed
20 Oct 2012 - 17 Feb 2013
Annexe, Science Centre Singapore
(Please click here for information on ticket prices.)
http://www.science.edu.sg/exhibitions/Pages/DefenceScienceRevealed.aspx
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DefenceScienceRevealed
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar
http://science.howstuffworks.com/radar.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stealth_technology
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_define_flutter
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