The Robot • 2019 • Breakthrough the Ideas that Changed the World

58:35

From the Stone Age to the Silicon Age, materials have helped drive forward our civilisation. By manipulating materials we have been able to transform our world and our lives - and never more so than in the past century when we have discovered and designed more materials than at any other time in human history. (Part 3: Ceramic) Professor Mark Miodownik traces the story of ceramics. He looks at how we started with simple clay, sand and rock and changed them into pottery, glass and concrete - materials that would allow us to build cities, transform the way we view our world and communicate at the speed of light. Deep within their inner structure Mark discovers some of ceramics' most intriguing secrets. He reveals why glass can be utterly transparent, why concrete continues to harden for hundreds of years and how cooling ceramics could transform the way we power cities of the future.

S1E3 • How It Works • 2012 • Technology

44:00

The Hubble Telescope, launched in 1990, has captured unparalleled views of the universe, transforming modern astronomy and transfixing the world with its spectacular images. But building this orbiting observatory would prove to be a rollercoaster ride for all involved, requiring engineers, scientists, and astronauts to venture into uncharted territory. From construction to release, from ridicule to redemption, this is the story of the unsung heroes who turned man's quest to uncover the mysteries of the universe into reality.

S1E5 • America's Secret Space Heroes • 2017 • Technology

52:57

With the rapid emergence of digital devices, an unstoppable, invisible force is changing human lives in ways from the microscopic to the gargantuan: Big Data, a word that was barely used a few years ago but now governs the day for almost all of us. This award-winning film explores how the real time visualization of data streaming in from satellites, billions of sensors and GPS enabled cameras and smart phones is beginning to enable us, as individuals and collectively as a society, to sense, measure and understand aspects of our existence in ways never possible before. Together these devices are helping create a new kind of planetary nervous system. This massive gathering and analyzing of data in real time is also allowing us to address to some of humanity biggest challenges, including pollution, world hunger, and illness. But as Edward Snowden and the release of the NSA documents have shown, the accessibility of all this data comes at a steep price.

NOVA PBS • 2016 • Technology

40:47

The invention of TV is born out of a David vs. Goliath competition between Sarnoff and Farnsworth.

S1E3 • American Genius • 2015 • Technology

50:59

The Nazis knew it was their last chance. The British knew it was the deadliest threat they'd ever face. And the Americans knew it could fall into the wrong hands. The V2 rocket quickly became Hitler's greatest deadly weapon and beacon of hope to turn the course of World War II in his favor. Watch Nazi Germany's desperate attempt at victory as the Allies race to stop them and see how the V2 miraculously went from deadly weapon to amazing feat of space technology.

2015 • Technology

45:16

In 1976, the dream of supersonic commercial flight became a java: Concorde transported its first passengers. In the United States, Concorde awaits a new challenge: the competent service refuses to grant permission to land in New York. Over time, the White Bird becomes an aircraft of celebrities and important people. Three years after the tragic accident in 2000, Concorde was withdrawn from the service. Today NASA engineers in Ohio and Boom Supersonic experts in Denver reveal our latest research on supersonic flights of the future inspired by Concorde.

S1E2 • Concorde the Supersonic Race • 2017 • Technology