Summary: Will the universe keep expanding forever or will it someday stop and start collapsing upon itself in a big crunch? This program ventures through the observational research of American astronomer Vera Rubin on the velocities of stars around galaxies and the massive amount of matter exerting a gravitational force that we simply cannot see. Yet, this “dark matter” makes up roughly 90 percent of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1997
View online at AVOD
Summary: The universe is a strange and violent place: full of regions spewing out energy on an unimaginable scale and objects so massive not even light can escape from them. With the discovery of quasars (extremely luminous, compact objects in the hearts of ancient galaxies), the picture of the universe has become even more complex. This program examines possible mechanisms responsible for such enormous...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1997
View online at AVOD
Summary: From the dawn of civilization humans have struggled to understand the nature of the universe. The ancients sought answers from pure reason limited by beliefs in gods and an Earth-centered universe. In the Renaissance, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton sparked a revolution in thought. They added measurement and the concept of universal physical law to reason and supposition. This program...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1997
View online at AVOD
Summary: Is our universe a minor event in an endless series of universes (or multiverses)? Today, scientists generally agree on the big bang origin of the universe fifteen billion years ago. But as we track the expansion backward, toward that moment of seeming creation, the details begin to blur. In this program, Stephen Hawking explores the difficulties in presenting a scientific explanation...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1997
View online at AVOD
Summary: Many scientists of the early 20th century, including Albert Einstein, found the idea of an expanding universe with an abrupt origin unpalatable - viewing the universe as static and eternal. This program explores the history of our controversial and explosive beginnings. It seems all scientists agreed that the controversy could only be settled by direct and precise measurements. But the question...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1997
View online at AVOD
Summary: What is the universe and everything in it made of? In this program, viewers explore the discoveries in the late 19th century that revealed that the entire observable universe is made of the same elements as those on Earth. With knowledge of the dual nature of matter and energy, scientists began to fit the pieces of the macroscopic and microscopic world together. A rare and unique look at the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1997