NOVA
Řada 31
TV-PG
A weekly documentary series, each episode providing an in-depth look at a different subject of scientific research. Subjects examined by this show have included the cutting edge of theoretical physics, a return to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, the long-term effects of Amazon deforestation, and the development of life-saving medical techniques.
Kde se dívat na NOVA • Řada 31
18 dílů
- The Elegant Universe: Einstein's Dream (1)
D3The Elegant Universe: Einstein's Dream (1)Part 1, "Einstein's Dream," introduces string theory and shows how modern physics—composed of two theories that are ferociously incompatible—reached its schizophrenic impasse: One theory, general relativity, successfully describes big things like stars and galaxies, while another, quantum mechanics, is equally successful at explaining small things like atoms and subatomic particles. Albert Einstein, the inventor of general relativity, dreamed of finding a single theory that would embrace all of nature's laws. But in this quest for the so-called unified theory, Einstein came up empty-handed, and the conflict between general relativity and quantum mechanics has stymied all who've followed. That is, until the discovery of string theory. - The Elegant Universe: String's the Thing (2)
D4The Elegant Universe: String's the Thing (2)Part 2, "String's the Thing," opens with a whimsical scene in a movie theater in which the history of the universe runs backwards to the Big Bang, the moment at which general relativity and quantum mechanics both came into play, and therefore the point at which our conventional model of reality breaks down. Then it's string theory to the rescue as Greene describes the steps that led from a forgotten 200-year-old mathematical formula to the first glimmerings of strings—quivering strands of energy whose different vibrations give rise to quarks, electrons, photons, and all other elementary particles. Strings are truly tiny, being smaller than an atom by the same factor that a tree is smaller than the solar system. But, as Greene explains, they are able to combine the laws of the large and the laws of the small into a proposal for a single, harmonious theory of everything. - The Elegant Universe: Welcome to the 11th Dimension (3)
D5The Elegant Universe: Welcome to the 11th Dimension (3) Part 3 of "The Elegant Universe” with host Brian Greene shows how Edward Witten of Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study, aided by others, revolutionized string theory by successfully uniting the five different versions into a single theory that is cryptically named "M-theory," a development that requires a total of eleven dimensions. Ten...eleven...who's counting? But the new 11th dimension implies that strings can come in shapes called membranes, or "branes" for short. These have truly science fiction-like qualities, since in principle they can be as large as the universe. A brane can even be a universe—a parallel universe—and we may be living on one right now. - Magnetic Storm
D7Magnetic StormIn this PBS "Nova" documentary, scientists discuss the bewildering causes and effects of the Earth's magnetic field, including the fact that the field appears to have weakened during the last few decades. A group of experts, including physicists and geologists, examine the individual elements that make up the field - from the molten core to the far reaches of space - in search of answers to these perplexing questions. - Life and Death in the War Zone
D14Life and Death in the War ZoneWhile other reporters were embedded in fighting units during the Iraq War, NOVA was covering the emergency medical response, living night and day with the doctors, nurses, and medics in a frontline Combat Support Hospital (CSH). The program captures a period of the conflict in April and May of 2003 when CSH units faced a deluge of injured Iraqi soldiers and civilians who had little support from their country's collapsed health-care system. - Hunt for the Supertwister
D15Hunt for the SupertwisterScientists, meteorologists and storm chasers try to uncover the secrets of F5 tornadoes, the largest, most powerful and most dangerous on Earth. Included are looks at how funnels form and the devastating 2003 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, plus "tornado tourists," who pay companies to take them to the ferocious phenomena to see them first-hand.
