Meet the innovators who developed newer, safer ways to fall from the sky and those whose lives were saved by them
Track the evolution of the space suit, from the first pressure suit of the 1930s to outfits that will take man to Mars.
2019 • Physics
Meet the innovators who developed newer, safer ways to fall from the sky and those whose lives were saved by them
2019 • Physics
Witness the ingenuity and bravery of the pioneers who developed, built, and even risked their lives testing the ejection seat.
2019 • Physics
From the first gas turbine to tomorrow's hypersonic jet engines, see the evolution of the machine that is changing the world.
2019 • Physics
The story of an extraordinary scientific adventure - the attempt to control gravity. For centuries, the precise workings of gravity have confounded the greatest scientific minds, and the idea of controlling gravity has been seen as little more than a fanciful dream. Yet in the mid 1990s, UK defence manufacturer BAE Systems began a groundbreaking project code-named Greenglow, which set about turning science fiction into reality. On the other side of the Atlantic, Nasa was simultaneously running its own Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project. It was concerned with potential space applications of new physics, including concepts like 'faster-than-light travel' and 'warp drives'. Horizon explores science's long-standing obsession with the idea of gravity control. It looks at recent breakthroughs in the search for loopholes in conventional physics and examines how the groundwork carried out by Project Greenglow has helped change our understanding of the universe.
In the summer of 1939 Albert Einstein was on holiday in a small resort town on the tip of Long Island. His peaceful summer, however, was about to be shattered by a visit from an old friend and colleague from his years in Berlin. The visitor was the physicist Leo Szilard. He had come to tell Einstein that he feared the Nazis could soon be in possession of a terrible new weapon and that something had to be done.
A gateway to a world of limitless possibilities. The parallel universes of science fiction turn out to be as real as they are fantastic. Dr Michio Kaku reveals how future civilizations could build a machine to reach one.
S1E2 • Physics of the Impossible • 2009 • Physics
On November 25th, 1915, Einstein published his greatest work: general relativity. The theory transformed our understanding of nature’s laws and the entire history of the cosmos, reaching back to the origin of time itself. Now, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s achievement, NOVA tells the inside story of Einstein’s masterpiece. The story begins with the intuitive thought experiments that set Einstein off on his quest and traces the revolution in cosmology that is still playing out in today’s labs and observatories. Discover the simple but powerful ideas at the heart of relativity, illuminating the theory—and Einstein’s brilliance—as never before. From the first spark of an idea to the discovery of the expanding universe, the Big Bang, black holes, and dark energy, NOVA uncovers the inspired insights and brilliant breakthroughs of “the perfect theory.”
The idea that there is a possibility of many worlds or multi universal theory is very new even though you may have learned about it in movies and comic books. Explore how this thinking was developed in the world of quantum mechanics and philosophy.
2019 • Physics
When no one is looking, a particle has near limitless potential: it can be nearly anywhere. But measure it, and the particle snaps to one position. How do subatomic objects shed their quantum weirdness? Experts in the field of physics, including David Z. Albert, Sean Carroll, Sheldon Goldstein, Ruediger Schack, and moderator Brian Greene, discuss the history of quantum mechanics, current theories in the field, and possibilities for the future.
World Science Festival • 2014 • Physics