|
|
Absolute Zero
|
|
|
|
Program Overview
|
|
|
NOVA brings the
history of cold to life with historical recreations of great moments in
low-temperature research and interviews with historians and scientists to
reveal how civilization has been profoundly affected by the mastery of cold.
Hour one of the
program (The Conquest of Cold):
reports
on the pioneering experiments done by Robert Boyle to understand what cold was. presents how the first temperature scales were determined by Daniel Fahrenheit
and Anders Celsius. recounts how Guillaume Amontons first came to speculate that cold had an
absolute limit. explains how scientists came to understand what heat and cold actually were,
including the incorrect caloric theory proposed by Antoine Lavoisier. reports
on the first industrialization of cold through ice sales. details
how experiments on the steam engine led to the development of artificial
refrigeration. profiles how Clarence Birdseye and Willis Carrier harnessed the cold to create
frozen foods and air conditioning.
Hour two of the
program (The Race for Absolute Zero):
features the race between nineteenth-century scientists James Dewar and Heike
Kamerlingh Onnes to become the first to liquefy hydrogen, the last of the
so-called permanent gases. notes
how unexpected events in the study of cold led to new areas of research,
including superconductivity and superfluids. details
how Albert Einstein came to predict that a new state of matter—one that
behaved according to quantum mechanical rules—could be produced at
temperatures just above absolute zero. shows
how particles would change into overlapping waves in this state of matter,
known as the Bose-Einstein condensate. details
the race among scientists to create this condensate. describes how one scientist found a way to slow down the speed of light. reports
on research being done to develop quantum computers. shows
how far down the scale scientists have traveled and explains why reaching
absolute zero is not possible.
Taping Rights: Can be used up to one year after program is recorded off the air.
|
|
