Eclipse Over America
The country’s first solar eclipse in 99 years will cast a light on the Sun’s secrets.
Search Results
Sort By:
- Video
- Format:
- Full Episode
Eclipse Over America
On August 21, 2017, millions of Americans will witness the first total solar eclipse to cross the continental United States in 99 years. As in all total solar eclipses, the moon will block the sun, revealing its ethereal outer atmosphere—its corona—in a wondrous celestial spectacle. While hordes of citizens prepare to flock to the eclipse’s path of totality, scientists, too, are staking out spots for a very different reason: to investigate the secrets of the sun’s elusive atmosphere. During the eclipse’s precious seconds of darkness, they will shed light on how our sun works, how it can produce deadly solar storms, and why it’s atmosphere is so hot. NOVA investigates the storied history of solar eclipse science and joins both seasoned and citizen-scientists alike as they don their eclipse glasses and tune their telescopes for the eclipse over America.
- Video
- Format:
- Full Episode
- Running Time:
- 54:07
Poisoned Water
Water. Turn on the faucet and it’s always there. Without it we perish. But how safe is our tap water? In this special report narrated by Joe Morton, NOVA investigates what happened in Flint, Michigan, when local officials changed the city’s water source to save money, but overlooked a critical treatment process. As the water pipes corroded, lead leached into the system, exposing the community—including thousands of children—to dangerous levels of poison. NOVA uncovers the science behind this manmade disaster— from the intricacies of water chemistry to the biology of lead poisoning to the misuse of science itself. NOVA follows ordinary citizens and independent scientists who exposed the danger lurking in Flint’s water and confronted those who turned a blind eye. And discover the disturbing truth that reaches far beyond Flint—water systems across the country are similarly vulnerable. How can we protect ourselves from poisoned water?
Poisoned Water
What exactly went wrong in Flint—and what does it mean for the rest of the country?
- Video
- Format:
- Full Episode
- Running Time:
- 53:46
Chinese Chariots Revealed
For over a thousand years, chariots thundered across China’s battlefields, dominating warfare far longer than anywhere else on Earth. Now a series of amazing archaeological discoveries, including whole chariots buried with their horses, has enabled a team of experts to probe the genius of China’s first super-weapon. By recreating a battle chariot, they investigate the design secrets which made them such a long-lived war machine, all while discovering how they were used, what set them apart from the rest of the world, and their role in the unification of China.
Chinese Chariots Revealed
A team of experts rebuild an ancient battle chariot to help uncover its design secrets.
- Video
- Format:
- Full Episode
- Running Time:
- 52:55
Building Chernobyl's MegaTomb
In 1986, in the heart of Ukraine, the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded, releasing 400 times more radiation than the Hiroshima Bomb. It was the world’s worst nuclear disaster. Thirty workers died, 50,000 people fled the nearest city, and radioactive fallout made an area larger than Long Island a no-go zone. Hastily, a so-called “sarcophagus” was built to contain the radioactive materials that lingered at the site after the explosion. But 30 years later, the sarcophagus is crumbling, and another disaster at Chernobyl looms. Now, an international team of engineers is racing the clock to assemble one of the most ambitious superstructures ever built—an extraordinary 40,000 ton, $1.5 billion dome to encase the crumbling remains of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. Battling arctic winter weather—and lethal radiation—this is the inside story of the epic race to build Chernobyl’s MegaTomb.
Building Chernobyl's MegaTomb
Engineers race to build a massive dome to contain the crumbling remains of the reactor.
- Video
- Format:
- Full Episode
- Running Time:
- 54:14
Holocaust Escape Tunnel
For centuries, the Lithuanian city of Vilna was one of the most important Jewish centers in the world, earning the title “Jerusalem of the North” until World War II, when the Nazis murdered about 95% of its Jewish population and reduced its synagogues and cultural institutions to ruins. The Soviets finished the job, paving over the remnants of Vilna’s famous Great Synagogue so thoroughly that few today know it ever existed. Now, an international team of archaeologists is trying to rediscover this forgotten world, excavating the remains of its Great Synagogue and searching for proof of one of Vilna’s greatest secrets: a lost escape tunnel dug by Jewish prisoners inside a horrific Nazi execution site.
Holocaust Escape Tunnel
At ground zero for the final solution, scientists uncover a story of hope and bravery.
- Video
- Format:
- Full Episode
- Running Time:
- 53:10
Sunken Ship Rescue
Follow the epic operation to secure, raise, and salvage the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which ran aground and tragically capsized off the coast of Italy on January 13, 2012, killing 32 people. The massive wreck—with a 160-foot-long hole in its hull—stretches the length of three football fields, weighs 45,000 tons, and was half submerged on the site of a protected reef. Moving it from its precarious perch on the edge of an underwater cliff turned into a technical and logistical challenge of staggering proportions. Join NOVA as we follow a team of more than 500 divers and engineers working around the clock as they attempt the biggest ship recovery project in history.
Sunken Ship Rescue
A team of 500 engineers and divers struggle to raise the Costa Concordia cruise ship.
- Video
- Format:
- Full Episode
- Running Time:
- 53:50
The Origami Revolution
The centuries-old tradition of folding two-dimensional paper into three-dimensional shapes is inspiring a scientific revolution. The rules of folding are at the heart of many natural phenomena, from how leaves blossom to how beetles fly. But now, engineers and designers are applying its principles to reshape the world around us—and even within us, designing new drugs, micro-robots, and future space missions. With this burgeoning field of origami-inspired-design, the question is: can the mathematics of origami be boiled down to one elegant algorithm—a fail-proof guidebook to make any object out of a flat surface, just by folding? And if so, what would that mean for the future of design? Explore the high-tech future of this age-old art as NOVA unfolds “The Origami Revolution.”
The Origami Revolution
Engineers are using origami to design drugs, micro-robots, and future space missions.
- Video
- Format:
- Full Episode
- Running Time:
- 53:51
Why Trains Crash
From derailments to head-on collisions to drivers killed at road crossings, deadly train accidents claim dozens of lives each year. But just how unsafe are the railroads? NOVA investigates recent rail tragedies and advances in train tech that could help prevent them, taking a special look at Japan’s superefficient bullet trains, which have a perfect safety record. What would it take to usher in a new golden age of safer, faster, more modern and reliable train travel?
Why Trains Crash
Can new crash prevention technology help us avoid deadly train accidents?
- Video
- Format:
- Full Episode
- Running Time:
- 53:32
The Nuclear Option
Five years after the earthquake and tsunami that triggered the unprecedented trio of meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, scientists and engineers are struggling to control an ongoing crisis. What’s next for Fukushima? What’s next for Japan? And what’s next for a world that seems determined to jettison one of our most important carbon-free sources of energy? Despite the catastrophe—and the ongoing risks associated with nuclear—a new generation of nuclear power seems poised to emerge the ashes of Fukushima. NOVA investigates how the realities of climate change, the inherent limitations of renewable energy sources, and the optimism and enthusiasm of a new generation of nuclear engineers is looking for ways to reinvent nuclear technology, all while the most recent disaster is still being managed. What are the lessons learned from Fukushima? And with all of nuclear’s inherent dangers, how might it be possible to build a safe nuclear future?
The Nuclear Option
How will we power the planet without wrecking the climate?
- Video
- Format:
- Full Episode
- Running Time:
- 53:33
Secrets of the Sky Tombs
The towering Himalayas were among the last places on Earth that humanity settled. Scaling sheer cliff sides, a team of daring scientists hunts for clues to how ancient people found their way into this forbidding landscape and adapted to survive the high altitude. They discover rock-cut tombs filled with human bones and enigmatic artifacts, including gold masks and Chinese silk dating back thousands of years, and piece together evidence of strange rituals and beliefs designed to ward off the restless spirits of the dead.
Secrets of the Sky Tombs
Evidence discovered in the world’s highest tombs reveals ancient rituals and beliefs.
- Video
- Format:
- Full Episode
- Running Time:
- 00:53:32
Search for the Super Battery
We live in an age when technological innovation seems to be limitlessly soaring. But for all the satisfying speed with which our gadgets have improved, many of them share a frustrating weakness: the batteries. Though they have improved in last century, batteries remain finicky, bulky, expensive, toxic, and maddeningly short-lived. The quest is on for a “super battery,” and the stakes in this hunt are much higher than the phone in your pocket. With climate change looming, electric cars and renewable energy sources like wind and solar power could hold keys to a greener future...if we can engineer the perfect battery. Join host David Pogue as he explores the hidden world of energy storage, from the power—and danger—of the lithium-ion batteries we use today, to the bold innovations that could one day charge our world.
Search for the Super Battery
Explore the hidden world of energy storage and how it holds the keys to a greener future.
- Video
- Format:
- Full Episode
- Running Time:
- 53:09
Secrets of Noah's Ark
In 1948, a British pilot serving in Iraq acquired a clay tablet with an intriguing, 3,700 year-old inscription. The ancient writing tells the story of how the god Enki warns a Sumerian king named Atra-Hasis of a future flood that will destroy mankind; Enki gives him instructions for building a boat to save his family and livestock. If that sounds like a familiar tale, it’s because this was one of several ancient flood traditions that, centuries later, would inspire the biblical story of Noah. But the tablet’s inscription describes a boat very different from the traditional image of the Ark—it’s said to be circular and made of reeds. Is this nothing more than a fanciful myth? Or could such a reed boat have carried Atra-Hasis’ family of more than one hundred and his many animals? Join NOVA as a team of historians and expert boat builders investigates this fascinating flood legend and sets out to rebuild a tantalizing, ancient forerunner of the Ark.
Secrets of Noah's Ark
A team attempts to build the flood boat using inscriptions from an ancient clay tablet.
Narrow Results
Add filters to refine your search
Format
Media Type
NOVA Topics
- Ancient Worlds (20)
- Body & Brain (14)
- Evolution (8)
- Military & Espionage (15)
- Nature (8)
- Physics & Math (17)
- Planet Earth (29)
- Space & Flight (11)
- Tech & Engineering (25)
Subjects
- Anthropology (10)
- Archeology (9)
- Earth Science (19)
- Engineering (23)
- Environmental Science (14)
- Forensic Science (3)
- Geography (3)
- Health Science (15)
- History (21)
- Life Science (17)
- Math (1)
- Physical Science (19)
- Science & Society (32)
- Space Science (13)
- Technology (29)
Year
Haven't found what you're looking for on NOVA? Search all
