Bloodhound SSC is the supercar which its designers hope will shatter the current land speed record by over 200 miles per hour and become the first land vehicle to pass the 1000mph barrier. There's a large team behind Bloodhound and part of that team is based at Swansea University. In this week's Science Cafe Adam Walton visits the University's School of Engineering to meet the engineers who are using supercomputers to create Bloodhound - and while he's there he investigates some of the other cutting-edge research that's going on in the department.

Adam meets Prof. Oubay Hassan and Dr. Ben Evans from the Bloodhound SSC project to discover how computers have replaced wind tunnels as the ultimate tool in refining vehicle design. They discuss the incredible forces acting on a car travelling at 1000mph. And they consider Bloodhound's role in inspiring the scientists and engineers of the future.

Adam also drops in on Prof. Javier Bonet, Head of the School of Engineering, to find out about the range of research taking place in the department from environmental engineering to nanotechnology. He discovers how buildings can be covered in a photovoltaic skin to generate electricity. And he discovers how the engineers at Swansea are helping to solve crimes... by developing a machine that can reveal fingerprints even on fired bullet cases.

Links

Bloodhound SSC

Swansea University School of Engineering