&quot;The Fabric of the Cosmos,&quot; a four-hour series based on the book by renowned physicist and author Brian Greene, takes us to the frontiers of physics to see how scientists are piecing together the most complete picture yet of space, time, and the universe. With each step, audiences will discover that just beneath the surface of our everyday experience lies a world we&#x27;d hardly recognize—a startling world far stranger and more wondrous than anyone expected.Brian Greene is going to let you in on a secret: We&#x27;ve all been deceived. Our perceptions of time and space have led us astray. Much of what we thought we knew about our universe—that the past has already happened and the future is yet to be, that space is just an empty void, that our universe is the only universe that exists—just might be wrong.Interweaving provocative theories, experiments, and stories with crystal-clear explanations and imaginative metaphors like those that defined the groundbreaking and highly acclaimed series &quot;The Elegant Universe,&quot; &quot;The Fabric of the Cosmos&quot; aims to be the most compelling, visual, and comprehensive picture of modern physics ever seen on television.

Acclaimed physicist Brian Greene reveals a mind-boggling reality beneath the surface of our everyday world.

The Fabric of the Cosmos

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Black holes are the most enigmatic and exotic objects in the universe. They’re also the most powerful, with gravity so strong it can trap light. And they’re destructive, swallowing entire planets, even giant stars. Anything that falls into them vanishes…gone forever. Now, astrophysicists are realizing that black holes may be essential to how our universe evolved—their influence possibly leading to life on Earth and, ultimately, us. In this two-hour special, astrophysicist and author Janna Levin takes viewers on a journey to the frontiers of black hole science. Along the way, we meet leading astronomers and physicists on the verge of finding new answers to provocative questions about these shadowy monsters: Where do they come from? What’s inside? What happens if you fall into one? And what can they tell us about the nature of space, time, and gravity? (Premiered January 10, 2018)

Take a mind-blowing voyage to the most powerful and mysterious objects in the universe.

Black Hole Apocalypse

One tablespoon of olive oil is dropped into a lake, and after ten minutes, a half-acre of waves are gone. How could the oil spread so far, and why does it calm the waves? Find out in this episode of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj1gfrsi8H8zTrmR0ft1Kjw">What The Physics?!</a>

One tablespoon of olive oil destroys half an acre of waves on this lake. What The Physics?!

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In the atomic world, everything is in motion, vibrating because of thermal energy.
&quot;Beyond the Elements&quot; host David Pogue and chemical and environmental engineer Ruoxue Yan illustrate how the molecular bonds around us actually make sounds — even if we can’t hear them.
Yes, Molecules Do Make SoundsPublished: May 28, 2021DAVID POGUE: So the story is bonds...atomic bonds. But the thing to remember is that in the atomic world, everything is in motion, vibrating because of thermal energy, heat. And that includes the bonds between atoms. They’re more like springs, oscillating. And according to a University of California at Riverside scientist, Ruoxue Yan, all that atomic vibration plays a specific tune, shaped by the atoms and the bonds between them, the Song of the Molecule.DAVID POGUE: So what do you mean when you talk about the song of the molecules?RUOXUE YAN: So, we’ve all seen the stick and ball model of molecules in science class, right? They tell you what the molecules look like, how the atoms are arranged in the molecule, but what it didn’t show is the atoms in the molecules, they’re not stationary. They’re constantly moving. They can stretch, they can bend, and those vibrations make sounds.DAVID POGUE: But they’re actual notes? I mean obviously not this high, but –RUOXUE YAN: Way over there, yes.DAVID POGUE: – but it’s real sound?RUOXUE YAN: So it’s like when you play a high note, you will see it’s always associated with a string that is both short and thin.DAVID POGUE: Right, these short thin ones make…[plays notes]RUOXUE YAN: It’s the same thing in molecular vibrations. So if the two atoms that make up the bond are light, like oxygen and hydrogen, then they move very violently, very quickly. So they give out high pitched sound.DAVID POGUE: So lighter things would be higher notes.RUOXUE YAN: Yes, higher frequency.DAVID POGUE: Alright, so like [singing] hydrogen.RUOXUE YAN: Yes, but hydrogen molecules, not atoms.DAVID POGUE: [singing] Molecules. Nitrogen, oxygen...molecules.RUOXUE YAN: Exactly.DAVID POGUE: OK, what are some middle range ones?RUOXUE YAN: Like alumina.DAVID POGUE: [singing] Alumina.RUOXUE YAN: Titania.DAVID POGUE: [singing] Titania.RUOXUE YAN: Silica.DAVID POGUE: [singing] Silica. [speaking] Okay, and then what’s a low one?RUOXUE YAN: Like silver oxide.DAVID POGUE: [singing] Silver oxide.RUOXUE YAN: Lead oxide.DAVID POGUE: [singing] Lead oxide.RUOXUE YAN: Radium permanganate.DAVID POGUE: [singing] Radium permanganate. [speaking] Song of the Molecules. By Ruoxue Yan...and David Pogue.DAVID POGUE: The song of the molecules isn’t a metaphor. In her lab, Ruoxue uses the vibrations of atoms and their bonds to identify a molecule’s structure. She isn’t the first to use the technique, but she and her team have developed an inexpensive and portable way to detect the faint signals. It uses light sent down a glass optical fiber which gradually narrows. At the fiber’s end, a silver nanowire focuses the light even more until it reaches the tip where it’s just a few nanometers across… about the width of a DNA molecule. The light it emits interacts with the vibrating target molecule, revealing its structure. Here, Ruoxue has used the system to analyze carbon nanotubes that are made of a single sheet of carbon atoms, rolled up into a cylinder. This is the tip of the device, scanning across the surface.RUOXUE YAN: Once you hit the carbon nanotube, you suddenly see these strong peaks coming up.DAVID POGUE: The tallest peak represents the atomic vibration perpendicular to the length of the carbon nanotube.RUOXUE YAN: All of the carbon atoms are going up and down. You go here at a higher frequency, what happens is all of the carbon molecules are going left and right. That’s a different motion at that different frequency.DAVID POGUE: Ruoxue thinks her system will give more labs around the world a chance to examine the atomic structure of molecules in the kind of detail that has been limited to expensive facilities.RUOXUE YAN: Those vibrations, those sounds, are too faint. They’re very weak. So the secret to hear those whispers is to shine lights on them. Because light can turn them on, and their voices can be enlarged to several orders of magnitude so that you can actually hear them.

In the atomic world, everything is in motion, vibrating because of thermal energy.

Yes, Molecules Do Make Sounds

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 Join NOVA on three virtual field trips highlighting some of the scientists and engineers featured in the new three-part chemistry series NOVA <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/series/beyond-elements/">Beyond the Elements</a>. Each virtual field trip will consist of a live streamed demonstration and Q&amp;A with scientists who explore the fascinating chemistry that makes our world and everything in it—including us.We know that many classes are meeting virtually now due to school closures from the coronavirus pandemic and we invite you to join the conversation with your students on the <a href="http://links.nova.wgbh.org/u/click?_t=ec210e94258b4741874e196b0b576467&amp;_m=1k87PxZgEiKulR94H0uKu64PdVLibofL&amp;_e=GBS7ObIR7kN6XqMEbH1bMwncGBigV8TUEs8tr3C67u92_6h-wZZNMq-67FkZI8pzt05dHEthYFCbWGI-VDFjj8m8SV2gr_z5iyI7DTcp5zWVUSExCZE-gdWlf96AOvBO10BSxXcEPDRdVYe_bOLybwNLXnz8VdjCgEJFUMzULxRQECupAxYg2CUNyUgh9as5MkqmbisWDAyWs6lf2cXruXZDEgaCmzxin2gGDNGst0n1E_TzZxjnHug0fFDf_P3DaKK4ou_e2Ye5YvMHosheTw%3D%3D">NOVA Education Facebook page</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/NOVAEducation">YouTube channel</a> where we will be streaming the virtual field trips. If you’re interested in attending any of these trips with your students, please register below.
 

 
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 All living organisms have DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid; a blueprint for the development, growth and function of an organism. Have you ever wondered what DNA looks like and how to extract it from the cells of a living organism? For our first virtual field trip, join Dr. Monica Hall-Porter, featured in NOVA <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/beyond-the-elements-life/">Beyond the Elements: Life</a> to learn more about DNA and follow along with a live strawberry DNA extraction using common household items.
 

 
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 For our third virtual field trip, visit science author <a href="http://home.theodoregray.com/">Theodore Gray</a> in his elemental office and see almost-first-hand his real solid wood periodic table…table. Theodore will show you thousands of samples of (nearly) all the chemical elements found in, on, and around the table and some of the spectacular reactions that occur between atoms and molecules.This event will be live-streamed on YouTube and Facebook so that educators may tune in with their virtual classes. For more information about the series, visit the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/series/beyond-elements/">Beyond the Elements</a> series page.
 

 
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 Wednesday, April 21 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT Watch Here: <a href="https://fb.watch/52IzgPaB-4/">NOVA Education Facebook</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtc3dKyMDqY">NOVA Education Youtube</a>
 

 
 Even though spicy foods cause burning sensations on our tongues, can make our noses run, and can even bring us to tears, humans can’t get enough of spicy foods! What is causing the wide range of reactions we experience when we eat spicy foods? Join <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/capsaicin-chili-peppers-physiological-effects/">Dr. Ivette Guzmán</a> from New Mexico State University for a chile pepper dissection to discuss the chemistry of chile peppers and why humans love spicy foods.This event is the fourth and final virtual field trip highlighting some of the scientists and engineers featured in the new three-part chemistry series NOVA: <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/series/beyond-elements/">Beyond the Elements</a>. It will be live-streamed on the NOVA Education <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6vX2L72igq8PiJ0rF0329Q">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NOVAeducation/">Facebook</a> pages.
 

 
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Join NOVA on three virtual field trips which highlight some of the scientists and engineers featured in the new chemistry series Beyond the Elements.

Take a Chemistry Field Trip with NOVA Education

<h2><a href="https://stories.wgbh.org/beyond-elements-reactions-interactive/">Launch Interactive</a></h2>As any viewer of NOVA’s &quot;Beyond the Elements&quot; series can tell, host David Pogue has a blast exploring the wonderful world of chemistry and bringing it to millions of PBS viewers. But why should David have all the fun? To give students a chance to investigate four of the world-shaping reactions featured in the series for themselves, we’ve created the “Beyond the Elements Reactions Interactive.”Exploration of each reaction unfolds in three parts. First, players learn why the reaction matters and get an overview of how it works by watching video clips from &quot;Beyond the Elements&quot;. That prepares them to play a series of three mini-games in which they must identify the reactants and products, balance the chemical equation, and assemble the molecular products. Finally, more video clips provide further context for the reaction they just mastered, including ways scientists are attempting to optimize its global impacts.NOVA has also produced an educator guide to accompany the film and the Reactions Interactive with activities designed to spark students’ curiosity about chemistry and material science. The educator guide provides teaching tips and activities to reinforce the concepts and stories explored in the &quot;Beyond the Elements&quot; documentary series and the interactive. It is free and available in the <a href="https://mass.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/nova-beyond-the-elements/">&quot;Beyond the Elements&quot; collection</a> of educational resources on PBS LearningMedia.

Take a deep dive into four chemical reactions that continue to shape our world.

Beyond the Elements: Reactions Interactive

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Discover the origins of life and the chemistry that made it all happen.

Beyond the Elements: Life

Engineers have created super-strong glass, rubber, and plastic—but at what cost?

Beyond the Elements: Indestructible

From explosions to photosynthesis, chemical reactions transform our world.

Beyond the Elements: Reactions

Discover the fascinating chemistry that makes our world and everything in it—including us.
Picking up where he left off in NOVA’s popular special, Hunting the Elements, David Pogue sets out on a worldwide quest to find the key molecules and chemical reactions that have paved the way for human civilization, life, and even the universe as we know it. And along the way, he uncovers the simple principles that produce such a dizzying diversity of matter from elements on the periodic table.

Discover the fascinating chemistry that makes our world and everything in it—including us.

Topic: Physics & Math

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