Trace the path
Follow energy, material, or information from entry to exit.
A LIBRARY OF WORKING SYSTEMS
See how things work.
Open a system, separate its parts, and discover the hidden mechanism. These sourced interactive models are a growing educational library.
START WITH THIS CUTAWAY
Why can a hot dryer leave clothes wet?
Watch and exploreTrace heat, moisture, and airflow through a familiar home machine, then compare a clear exhaust path with a restricted one.
THE WORKING LIBRARY
Choose a mechanism
Home machine · Video + interactive cutaway
Why can a hot dryer leave clothes wet?
Trace heat, moisture, and airflow through a familiar home machine, then compare a clear exhaust path with a restricted one.Open the cutaway
Around the house · Video + interactive cutaway
How does your toilet know when to stop filling?
Pull apart the tank, follow the float, and discover the two valves behind one familiar flush.Open the cutaway
Inside the car · Video + interactive cutaway
How does one brake piston squeeze both sides?
Explode a disc brake and follow the surprisingly small movement that brings two pads together.Open the cutaway
Inside an animal · Interactive cutaway
Why do a cat’s eyes shine—but not make their own light?
Separate the eye’s nested layers and discover a reflector that gives incoming light a second chance.Open the cutaway
Around the house · Video + interactive cutaway
Why does your drain need to keep some water?
Separate the fittings and find the water barrier that remains after the sink looks empty.Open the cutaway
Around the house · Video + interactive cutaway
What does the correct key actually line up?
Separate a familiar lock and discover the hidden boundary that lets its centre turn.Open the cutaway
Around the house · Video + interactive cutaway
What tells a kettle to click off?
Follow steam to a tiny mechanical switch—and discover why normal shutoff and overheating protection are different jobs.Open the cutaway
Around the house · Video + interactive cutaway
Why does the detector normally miss the light?
Open a dark optical chamber and discover how a smoke particle gives light a new route to a receiver.Open the cutaway
Everyday objects · Video + interactive cutaway
How does one tiny slider join two rows of teeth?
Lift the slider’s teaching sections to find a Y-shaped passage, interlocking heads and finely woven textile tapes.Open the cutaway
Around the house · Video + interactive cutaway
Why does the dust stay when the air escapes?
Follow a miniature air spiral, see where the dust drops, and discover why a bagless vacuum still needs a filter.Open the cutaway
In the car · Video + interactive cutaway
What stops a car from bouncing after a bump?
Follow oil through flexing piston valves, then discover why a shock absorber also contains a separate gas chamber.Open the cutaway
Home machine · Video + interactive cutaway
If it cools food, why does its back get warm?
Follow one sealed refrigerant circuit and discover why cooling the cabinet warms the room.Open the cutaway
Home machine · Video + interactive cutaway
Why does it not need to fill to the top?
Follow a shallow working pool through the pump, selector and hollow spray arms.Open the cutaway
Vehicle mechanism · Video + interactive cutaway
Why does a seatbelt move easily, then suddenly lock?
Separate the everyday rewind function from the sensing chain that can stop belt payout.Open the cutaway
Vehicle mechanism · Video + interactive cutaway
If only one stroke makes power, what keeps an engine turning?
Separate the piston, valves and timing drive to discover why one working cycle takes two crankshaft turns.Open the cutaway
Vehicle mechanism · Video + interactive cutaway
Why can a gear change feel smooth instead of crunching?
The large gears already mesh. Discover the smaller parts that match their speed before making the drive connection.Open the cutaway
Music & sound · Video + sourced cutaway
How do a trumpet's valves reroute airflow and change pitch?
Follow the piston ports and added tube loops, then separate tube length from the note the player selects.Open the cutaway
Sports physics · Video + sourced cutaway
Why do a baseball and a softball fly and rebound differently?
Compare size, seams and one representative set of internal layers without treating every softball as identical.Open the cutaway
Sports physics · Video + sourced cutaway
Where does a bat's power really come from: material, flex, or swing?
Look inside a solid wood bat and a hollow alloy barrel, then connect construction to regulated collision performance and handling.Open the cutaway
Everyday physics · Video + sourced cutaway
Why doesn't an upside-down hummingbird feeder simply drain?
Follow the trapped air, submerged outlet and basin level that make an inverted reservoir refill in small steps.Open the cutaway
Home machine · Video + interactive cutaway
Dryer V2: Why can a hot dryer leave clothes wet?
Dryer V2 pairs a photographic-style inspection film with the original schematic interactive model. Discover why drying needs both heat and moving air.Open the cutawayTHE METHOD
Learn the system, not just the symptom
Open the assembly
Isolate parts and see the job each one contributes.
Check the claim
Keep sources, uncertainty, and safety limits beside the lesson.
SUGGEST A THING
What should we cut open next?
Every idea starts in a private human-review queue. Suggestions never publish automatically.