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Science Odyssey, A: Mysteries of the Universe
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Program Overview
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In 1900, like today, the everyday world seemed to follow Newton's
laws of physics. But from the opening days of the century,
discoveries about the hidden workings of that everyday world suggest
all is not as it seems. Quantum theory, relativity, nuclear power,
and clues about the birth and death of the universe have rocked our
deepest beliefs. "Mysteries of the Universe" brings us close to the
men and women—with their ambitions, intuitions, talents, and
faults—whose work forever altered astronomy and physics.
Hour 1
Prologue
Halley's Comet
Introduction
The lure of the heavens
New View of the Universe
New technology offers new evidence
- George Hale builds world's largest telescopes
- Mt. Wilson Observatory
- Henrietta Leavitt's "yardstick to the universe"
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Edwin Hubble redefines the universe
ANIMATION: Red shift shows universal expansion
The New Physics
Redefining space, time, and gravity
- Albert Einstein questions Newtonian physics
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Special Relativity
SIMULATION:E=mc2
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General Relativity
ANIMATION: Time and space are curved
The Nature of Matter
New evidence requires new theories
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Portrait of Niels Bohr
ANIMATIONS: Changing model of the atom
- Implications of the nucleus
- Bohr adds quantum theory to the model
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The electron and the uncertainty principle
DEMONSTRATION: Single-slit experiment
- Resistance to quantum mechanics
Effects of War
World events shape the course of physics
- Is the nucleus the ultimate piece of matter?
- Europe's scientists flee fascism
- Splitting the atom
- Manhattan Project
Hour 2
Introduction
Lifting the veil from the face of the universe
Beyond the Visible Universe
New stars and physics
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Strange radio signals from space
ANIMATION: Death of a star
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Black holes—theory and imagination ANIMATION: Evidence of a
black hole
- Current theory
Cosmology
Did the universe have a beginning?
- The big bang theory
- How to prove the big bang
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An accidental find
ANIMATION: Evolution of the universe
The Heart of Matter
Search for simplicity makes things complicated
- "Elementary" particles proliferate
- Quest for quarks
- Is there a fundamental force?
- The superconducting supercollider
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Strings—physics turns to math
ANIMATION: How strings might look
New Frontiers
Views of what's out of sight
- Calculating the mass of the cosmos
- The universe's fate
- Dark matter—the "real" universe?
Conclusion
Experiencing the mysterious
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