- [Narrator] Behold, the hovercraft,
but where did it come from?
Meet Christopher Cockerell,
born in England in 1910.
Christopher came from
a family of geniuses.
His father had served as a museum director
and knew several
prominent English writers.
However, Christopher
had a different calling
and he traveled to Cambridge
to study engineering.
After his studies, Christopher
eventually went to work
on radar systems for the Marconi
Wireless Telegraph Company.
In 1950, Cockerell left Marconi
to manage a marina in Norfolk
and his focus shifted.
He noticed that friction slowed boats down
and began looking for
ways to build heavy craft
that could skim on the water's surface,
reducing the friction.
Eventually, it occurred to him.
What better way to reduce friction
than to have a vehicle ride on air?
Using a hairdryer, tin cans,
and other odds and ends,
Christopher tested this hypothesis.
He placed a small can inside a large one
and blew air into them.
The resulting ring of
high pressure air flow
made a barrier to the air
on either side of its path.
He called this phenomenon
the momentum curtain.
Christopher wasn't the
first to think of this idea.
Emanuel Swedenborg proposed
the concept in 1716,
and earlier inventors had
built similar vehicles.
However, Christopher's invention,
which he patented in 1956,
is often considered the
first modern hovercraft.
Here's how it works.
Christopher's hovercraft used a skirt
to trap high pressure
air under the vehicle,
cushioning over the surface.
In his original designs, the same engine
that provided lift also
provided propulsion.
This used much less energy than a boat
because there was less
friction to fight against.
In 1959, England's National Research
and Development Corporation introduced
the SR-N1, which Christopher designed.
Later researchers made
numerous improvements
to the hovercraft, and today,
it's used for everything
from tourism to military
service and research.
