Humpty Dumpty has become a prominent figure in popular culture, thanks to the famous nursery rhyme. The character is portrayed as a fragile egg who meets a tragic fate by falling off a wall and shattering into countless pieces. Despite his unfortunate demise, the story of Humpty Dumpty carries a deeper meaning than a simple children's rhyme. The tale of Humpty Dumpty can be seen as a metaphor for the human condition. It symbolizes the vulnerability and fragility inherent in all of us. Just like Humpty Dumpty, our lives can easily be shattered by a single event or mistake.

Magic sky control

It is not only on the outside that the SLK makes a distinctive statement about its sporty character. This development is also visible in the vehicle interior. A new dashboard, high-quality surfaces, generously-sized trim elements and a host of technical innovations distinguish this dynamic roadster.

The new SLK is multi-faceted. On the one hand, the innovative panoramic vario-roof with MAGIC SKY CONTROL creates an impression of space and airiness even in the closed vehicle. On the other, all the roof variants offer lots of room for luggage even when the car is open.

Vario-roof: At the touch of a button, the standard-fit fully electrically-retractable Mercedes-Benz vario-roof converts your roadster into a sporty coupé in less than 20 seconds.

Panoramic vario roof (optional): Its tinted polycarbonate unit reduces solar radiation by day, creating a pleasant atmosphere in the vehicle interior.

Panoramic vario-roof with MAGIC SKY CONTROL[1] (optional): In this world premiere in automotive engineering the roof glass unit changes its tone at the touch of a button from dark to transparent and vice versa within seconds. When the glass is darkened, the heating up of the vehicle interior is considerably reduced.

A comfortable travelling environment in the new SLK comes courtesy of the standard-specification air conditioning. With its engine residual heat utilisation, dust/active charcoal filter and air recirculation with comfort function for automatic window closing, the air conditioning guarantees a pleasant atmosphere for the driver and passenger at all times.

THERMOTRONIC automatic climate control is available as an option and allows you to control the individual temperature and air supply settings for the driver and front passenger according to their own wishes. It also accounts for factors such as outside temperature, humidity and sunlight.

Mercedes-Benz extends the roadster driving season – significantly. Innovative technology for even more fascinating motoring enjoyment in comfort in an open vehicle, thanks to the optional AIRSCARF and AIRGUIDE systems.

At the push of a button, the innovative neck-level heating AIRSCARF activates small fans on the back of the head restraints which draw in air.

This is then heated and blown out through a vent in the front of the seat. It warms the neck and throat area of the driver and front passenger like an invisible scarf.

In addition, the novel AIRGUIDE draught-stop (due to become available in the 3rd Quarter of 2011) provides more comfort for open-top motoring by offering effective protection against draughts for the driver and passenger. The transparent pivoting elements of the AIRGUIDE draught-stop are attached to the rear of the roll-over bars. They deflect the airflow and considerably reduce the draughts reaching the head and neck areas of the driver and passenger.

The conventional fabric draught-stop (optional) is based on a fine mesh structure which slows down the air flowing through it in order to protect passengers from draughts. It allows for open-top motoring even at high speeds or cooler temperatures.

Driving a Roadster means being close to the road, but in the SLK you do not have to do without comfort. The sporty seat contours with magnesium frames provide optimal lateral support, even when taking bends at speed.

With the optional memory package comes all-electric seat adjustment for the driver and front-passenger seat and an electrically adjustable 4-way lumbar support for both seats. You can store these and other settings, including steering wheel position and position of the exterior mirrors. Three different pre-sets can then be called up at the push of a button.

And you can add an even more exclusive note to your SLK with optional leather upholstery. Select from the leather options of black, crystal grey or sahara beige, each with contrasting topstitching. And nappa leather/exclusive nappa leather upholstery adds an extra touch of luxury: the seats are upholstered in finest nappa leather in Bengal red, nut brown/mocha brown or black (Exclusive nappa leather is due to be available as from the 2nd Quarter of 2011).

The driver and front passenger can pamper themselves with the optional extra of heated seats.

The crash-responsive NECK-PRO head restraints integrated in the seats are also available with AIRSCARF neck-level heating. It keeps the air around the head and neck area warm to ensure a comfortable climate for open-top motoring, even when temperatures are chilly.

Draught-stop and AIRGUIDE pivoting draught stop (optional)

The novel AIRGUIDE draught-stop provides more comfort for open-top motoring by offering effective protection against draughts for the driver and passenger.

The transparent pivoting elements of the AIRGUIDE are attached to the rear of the roll-over bars. They are manually pivoted into the space between the seats and can be separately adjusted for the driver and front passenger. There they deflect the airflow and considerably reduce the draughts reaching the head and neck areas of the occupants.

The conventional fabric draught-stop (optional) is based on a fine mesh structure which slows down the air flowing through it in order to protect passengers from draughts. It allows for open-top motoring even at higher speeds or cooler temperatures. It sits in a fixed frame and fits in between the roll-over bars. If the draught-stop is not needed, it is stored in a space-saving, protected holder in the boot.

It’s Not a Sunroof: It’s MAGIC SKY CONTROL®

Clarke’s Third Law states that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. With that in mind, it’s easy to understand why Mercedes-Benz innovations often wear that label. MAGIC SKY CONTROL® is one such innovation that we think deserves a closer look.

What is MAGIC SKY CONTROL®?

In a normal car, a sunroof is ordinary. It has a sunshade that you pull over it to keep out the heat or that you pull back to let in some natural light.

In a Mercedes-Benz, you’re in control. MAGIC SKY CONTROL® consists of two panes of glass that enclose a fluid particle field. Normally, the glass is opaque, blocking light and heat from getting into the car. When you flip a switch to activate the sunroof, the particle field is imbued with electric current that causes the particles to align and become transparent. Passengers will enjoy the clear sky and the open-air feeling that comes with it.

Switch the current off again and the particles will resume their random positioning, blocking light and heat. This is all controlled with a simple switch on the overhead control panel. Turning the vehicle off will automatically darken the roof as the power is cut.

This technology is for more than just show. Mercedes-Benz tested it one of the most extreme environments on Earth, Death Valley. There, it withstood temperatures in excess of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. They used a device to measure the “solar load” on the vehicle. Outside, the test car was inundated with 1000 W per square meter. With the roof in transparent mode, the inside of the car experienced only 200 W per square meter, and in tinted mode, a mere 40 to 50 W per square meter. That means only five percent of the light and heat are getting in through the roof.

For a video of MAGIC SKY CONTROL® in action, visit the Mercedes-Benz Tech Center, here.

MAGIC SKY CONTROL® is available on the SLC-Class and SL-Class, and it is offered as an option on select S-Class models. We encourage you to visit Leith, Inc. Authorized Mercedes-Benz Sales and Service in Raleigh for a firsthand demonstration of this incredible technology.

It’s Not a Sunroof: It’s MAGIC SKY CONTROL® was last modified: March 10th, 2022 by Mercedes-Benz Raleigh

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Benz reaches for the Magic Sky Control

This article was published more than 12 years ago. Some information may no longer be current.

Earlier this year, Mercedes-Benz's Formula One drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg drew back the tarp at the glitzy world debut of the SLK hardtop convertible.

And now, the brand finally has a folding roof that is more technologically advanced than that in a five-year-old Volkswagen Eos.

The relatively inexpensive Eos is one of the few convertible hardtops on the market to this day that incorporates a sliding and tilting sunroof into the folding metal roof. Considering the larger blind spots of all convertibles in general, this not only tends to block your view out of the cockpit, but also limits the amount of natural light flowing into the cabin. So at the end of the year, your fun drop-top could be netting you less sunshine overall than a regular sunroof-equipped four-door, not more.

Providing less mood-enhancing, Vitamin D-pumping sunshine to convertible buyers willing and able to pay thousands extra for it? Not good.

Mercedes-Benz has come up with a typically high-tech solution with the 2012 SLK, which arrives at the end of June in Canada. It comprises a trick folding hardtop that can be electrically switched from a sun-blocking black roof to a see-through glass top at the push of a button. Benz calls the system Magic Sky Control, and it provides a healthy dose of sunshine and natural light to SLK occupants even on cold winter days, all in wind-free, climate-controlled comfort.

Though the press introduction at Benz's Sindelfingen Design Centre just outside Stuttgart didn't include a chance to sample the SLK or the roof outside, Mercedes says the system shields against the sun's rays far more effectively than conventional thermal insulation glass or even sun blinds that open and close, which often cut into headroom.

The concept is brilliant, and if it works as advertised, the industry-first technology will once again leapfrog Mercedes and the SLK in particular to the front of the cutting edge of drop-top technology, and will likely migrate to other Benz convertibles.

The optional Magic Sky Control's secret lies in the chemical makeup of the advanced glass roof. At rest, and in normal driving, millions of tiny particles within the specially treated glass structure are arranged randomly, providing an overlapping (though not complete) blocking-out of sunlight, as well as a dark cover that also provides a touch of privacy from curious high-riding truck and SUV drivers. By applying an electrical charge courtesy of a switch in the car's roof, particles in the structure position themselves so that light is able to pass through the glass, the cover becomes clear, allowing extra sunshine to come through.

Benz's Maybach 62 ultra-luxury sedan offers a similar electrochromic system, although its clear roof in transparent mode is marred with crisscrossing lines, and in its non-transparent state, the polymer dispersed liquid crystal roof appears in an off-white, milky state. So the SLK's system is not just a drop of one system into another, but an updated version of similar elements to the Maybach system.

Mercedes-Benz says that the Magic Sky Control roof in transparent mode blocks about five times the sun's energy, compared to a roof that was completely open. In a test conducted in Arizona's Death Valley, comparing levels of heat with the roof closed, the electrified dark setting reduced the sunlight levels inside to only about a quarter of what it was with the roof in its transparent mode. This can result in a cabin up to 10 degrees Celsius cooler than a vehicle with a glass roof made up of conventional green glass, says Mercedes.

The company has a history of innovation with hardtop convertibles - the '96 SLK is generally credited with popularizing modern folding hardtops. The AirScarf system, which integrates a vent into the SLK's two seats at neck level, provides heavenly warmed air for chilly top-down cruises. But Mercedes did not create the coupe cabriolet genre; Mitsubishi came out with its 3000GT hardtop convertible sports car to the U.S. for 1995, though it was a market flop, and was long gone by the time Mitsubishi started selling cars in Canada in 2002.

The first production car with a disappearing metal hardtop was not the '58 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner - although that was the first one sold in North America - but the Peugeot 402 Éclipse Décapotable of the mid-to-late 1930s. Both the Skyliner and the 402 featured huge roofs that motored themselves intact into large receptacles carved into the rear bodywork of their respective large two-door bodies, made possible thanks to a platform designed for large four-door sedans in the first place. But the 402 never sold in very high numbers, and was gone by the start of the Second World War.

The Ford Skyliner sold 47,000 units over its three-year run, huge numbers compared to the specialized 402, but was considered a market failure by Ford at the time. Interestingly, a closed glass-roof version of the Fairlane called the Crown Victoria Skyliner was introduced in 1955, featuring an acrylic see-through roof panel above the front seat occupants. Buyers quickly found that they baked inside, however, even with air conditioning and an available snap-in sunshade, prompting Ford to move to the much pricier, less practical but much comfier removable hardtop model.

With all the advances in the 56 years since, modern folding metal hardtops have improved their comfort, reliability and practicality greatly. Sure, compared to traditional soft-top cabs, there's still a tendency for diminished trunk room, smaller back seats, and occasionally inelegant styling.

And I clearly remember having to drive a Cadillac XLR to the dealer instead of to work one morning many years ago, when the folding metal top stopped dead in its tracks halfway into being raised back up into place. The sky had just started spitting rain, which luckily for me never became a downpour. I drove with a metal roof fully extended six-and-a-half feet above the ground for 20 minutes, carefully avoiding potholes and large dogs, should that looming roof come crashing off its extended metallic arms.

And yet with advances such as Benz's Magic Sky Control and AirScarf, the shortcomings of the modern hardtop convertible seem to be diminishing all the time.

How does Magic Sky Control work in the new mercedes-benz?

I came across this new technology implemented by Mercedes Benz that allowed windows to be tinted just at the pressing of a button. I figured out that some voltage applied at the actual window would move some particles that would do the job, but I was unsure how this system deeply worked and what exactly was going on. Even after googling around, answers like this from the official Benz website, seemed to be rather vague.

Just like Humpty Dumpty, our lives can easily be shattered by a single event or mistake. The fall from the wall represents the breaking point that many of us experience at various stages in our lives. Whether it's a personal failure, a loss, or a setback, we are all susceptible to the breaking point that Humpty Dumpty faced.

2 Answers 2

This window is most likely a suspended particle device (SPD), which is a form of smart glass. Essentially there is a liquid between two sheets of glass. This liquid is randomly oriented when no voltage is applied, which reduces the light transmission. When a voltage is applied the particles (rod shaped) align themselves in a uniform direction. By properly controlling the geometry of the electrodes the orientation becomes such that light is allowed to pass through. This operates in a similar fashion as an LCD.

\$\begingroup\$ Rod shaped particles? What are they? Or are they just organized in a multi rod-like pattern much like the polymers that make a polariod for instance? \$\endgroup\$

\$\begingroup\$ They can be just about anything that induces a dipole in the presence of an electric field. I suspect that each vendor considers their particular compound a trade secret. Sorry that I can't think of any specific substances that demonstrate this effect. \$\endgroup\$

Furthermore, the never-ending curse of Humpty Dumpty can be interpreted as the cycle of mistakes and misfortunes that seem to haunt us throughout our lives. Just as Humpty Dumpty couldn't escape his tragic fate, we find ourselves trapped in a perpetual cycle of making mistakes, facing consequences, and trying to rebuild ourselves. The curse seems to follow us wherever we go, never letting us break free from our past. However, the story also offers a glimmer of hope. Despite his irreparable physical damage, Humpty Dumpty refuses to be defeated. He takes responsibility for his fall and makes an effort to put himself back together. This resilience can serve as a reminder for us to not let our mistakes define us. We have the power to pick up the broken pieces of our lives and rebuild ourselves, even if it seems like an impossible task. In conclusion, Humpty Dumpty's story is more than just a nursery rhyme. It serves as a metaphor for the fragility and vulnerability of the human condition, as well as the never-ending cycle of mistakes and misfortune that we often find ourselves in. However, it also reminds us of the resilience and strength we possess to overcome our mistakes and rebuild our lives..

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Humpty Dumpty: A Symbol of Rebirth and Transformation