Albee, Sarah

Summary: "A lighthearted but informative look at chance discoveries made by ordinary people, of artifacts (and treasures) from the past. Many of these discoveries have led to leaps in our knowledge of history and science. Each short chapter will begin with a dramatic story of discovery, followed by the significance of the artifact that was discovered, followed by a look into the history of the...

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Publisher / Publication Date: Scholastic Press 2020

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Summary: This episode of Rockets! looks at post-WW II rocketry and the creation of the first Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. The U.S. military developed the science and technology that would explore the outer reaches of the earth's atmosphere. This effort was redirected during the Cold War, fueled by a desperate race with the U.S.S.R. to deploy nuclear-tipped ICBMs, and later to orbit the first...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1997

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Thomson, Keith Stewart.

Summary: From the Publisher: For 200 years before the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, findings in the sciences of the earth and of nature threatened religious belief based on the literal truth of the Bible. This book traces out the multiple conflicts and accommodations within religion and the new sciences through the writings of such heroes of the English Enlightenment as David Hume,...

Format: text

Publisher / Publication Date: Yale University Press 2005

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Summary: Revolted by quantum theory, Einstein spent his final decades trying to create an all-encompassing mathematical model of the universe in which God indeed does not play dice. In this program, theoretical physicist Michio Kaku and experts from Cambridge, MIT, and elsewhere discuss Einstein's revolutionary time/space theories of 1905, the ascendancy of quantum mechanics and string theory, and...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

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Summary: This program provides a substantive overview of the theoretical dispute between Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, a controversy that still resonates today. Bohr's Copenhagen Interpretation-that measurement of phenomena creates a set of possible outcomes and that unobserved phenomena are meaningless-is thoroughly explained in conjunction with Einstein's cause-and-effect approach. Using clever...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

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Summary: Designers of seatbelts and airbags want to know. So do particle physicists. What makes things heavy? This program suggests an answer as it examines the fundamental law that links all collisions, big and small. One of the world's largest atom-smashing experiments-projected to involve more than 2,000 scientists from around the world, cost over

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005

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Summary: Alongside the glittery promise of nanotechnology sits a Pandora’s box of potential concerns that range from worrisome applications like nano-enhanced surveillance devices and weapon systems to unintended consequences such as nanopollution and nanotoxicity. This program takes a balanced look at the debate over potential nanotech risks as it presents viewers with the informed opinions of...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010

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Summary: Materials with properties copied directly from nature, manufacturing processes that rely on self-assembly, hyper-efficient energy production: these are some of the promises of nanotechnology. In this program, Nobel Laureate Alan J. Heeger and other leading researchers open their labs to viewers, displaying nanotech applications ranging from intelligent textiles and self-cleaning glass, to...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010

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Summary: What exactly is nanotechnology? How does it work? And how might it benefit-or endanger-humankind? This program considers those and other questions as it addresses a range of topics such as nanoscale units of measurement, the special properties of nanoparticles, the gecko and lotus effects, carbon nanotubes, surface energy, and hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. Special sections on the use of...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009

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Summary: This program looks inside a modern nuclear reactor and explores its functions in detail. It also addresses nuclear safety-the various measures intended to diminish the risk of accidents and radioactive emissions. Finally, the program looks at the steps involved in the production and storage of radioactive waste, as well as the dangers of its by-products.

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005

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Summary: Black holes are by definition invisible, and there is no scientific theory that can adequately explain them. Nevertheless, researchers are determined to unravel the mysteries of black holes in the hope of answering some of the universe’s most pressing questions. This program spotlights the work of MIT’s Max Tegmark and Shep Doeleman as well as of string field theorist Michio Kaku as it...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010

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Summary: Beginning with a condensed history of classical and quantum physics to contextualize the current state of quantum science, this highly visual program takes viewers to the frontiers of quantum computation. Wave-particle duality, entanglement and superposition, the EPR Paradox, Schrödinger’s Cat, the famous double-slit experiment, and the “noisy observer effect” flash by like road markers on this...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010

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Summary: This program focuses on efforts to complete Einstein's quest for a grand unifying theory that will explain all of the forces of nature in the same terms. Will string theory provide the key? Mathematical physicist Nathan Seiberg explains his research on string theory in various dimensions and on particle physics; Edward Witten, named one of the 25 most influential Americans by Time magazine,...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

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Summary: When Albert Einstein discovered that E=mc2, he saw in the equation the answer to why the Sun shines. But others read into it a darker meaning. This program-part documentary with compelling graphics, part dramatization-explains how Einstein's great achievement was also, in his own words, his "biggest blunder." A close look at the scientific relationship between energy, mass, and the speed of...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

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Summary: String field theory pioneer Michio Kaku hosts this fascinating look at the cosmic landscape and its relationship to time. The program examines time's curious behavior on a wide range of scales-from atomic nuclei, in which particles can appear to be in two places at once, to black holes, which warp the fabric of space and squeeze time until it stands still. Demonstrating that time travel is...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007

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Summary: This clever animated biography of Albert Einstein incorporates photos and quotes into a lively overview of the physicist's life and ideas. Careful attention is given to how Einstein reconciled conventional velocity addition with the constant speed of light and how he arrived at his special and general theories of relativity. His most famous equation, E=mc2, is derived in four simple steps. The...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005

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Summary: Earth, air, fire, and water: according to some ancient theories, these four elements made up the cosmos. Beginning with the work of the Greek philosopher Democritus, this Science Screen Report describes how an accurate atomic theory developed and led to awareness of a wide variety of elements. Specific examples showing different configurations of these basic units of matter-including graphite...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

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Summary: One billionth of a meter, a distance the width of four silicon atoms: that's nanoscale, where a speck of dust would seem as large, relatively speaking, as a planet. This program travels around the world to immerse viewers in the concept of nanotechnology. By spotlighting nanotech luminaries-Harold Kroto, Gerd Binnig, James Heath, Sumio Iijima, James M. Tour-and innovations such as fullerenes,...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010

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Summary: Will modern science close the book on God, or can reason and faith coexist? This program analyzes how the process of scientific inquiry has challenged belief in a divine being. With visits to locations ranging from the CERN particle physics lab, to the Lourdes shrine, to Grace Fellowship Church, Kentucky, Robert Winston discusses the views of Pascal, Galileo, Newton, and Darwin; the Higgs...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

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Summary: In the spirit of a famous rhetorical question, this program explores the world of scientific measurement at the molecular and atomic level. Host Alan Davies tries to establish the length of a piece of household string-but what appears to be a simple task soon turns into a mind-bending voyage of discovery. After discussing the matter with leading mathematician Marcus du Sautoy, Davies learns...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010

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