Station:
BBC Four (GB)
Status:
Ended
Start:
2018-02-15
Rating:
0/10 from 0 users
Helen Czerski explores the incredible science of temperature. She'll take us from a starting point of the simple human sensations of heat and cold deep into the world of molecular physics, fluid dynamics and high-energy plasmas to reveal the mind-bending science that lies at the heart of this most immediate of our senses.She'll reveal that temperature is so much more than a nice hot cup of tea or the cool of a winter breeze. In fact, what we perceive as temperature is just our senses reacting to the vibration of atoms and molecules. But these vibrations have the ability to change the state of matter, forge new elements from old and start reactions that can transform the world in beautifully constructive or horrifically destructive ways.
TV Show Ended.
S1E1 - Frozen Solid
Helen ventures to the bottom of the temperature scale, revealing how cold has shaped the world around us and why frozen doesn't mean what you might think. She meets the scientists pushing temperature to the very limits of cold, where the normal laws of physics break down and a new world of scientific possibility begins. The extraordinary behaviour of matter at temperatures close to absolute zero is driving the advance of technology, from superconductors to quantum computing.
Air Date: 15 Feb 2018 15:00 (CDT)
S1E2 - A Temperature for Life
Helen explores the narrow band of temperature that has led to life on Earth. She reveals how life began in a dramatic place where hot meets cold, and how every single living creature on Earth depends on temperature for its survival. She uncovers the extraordinary natural engineering that animals have evolved to keep their bodies at the right temperature. And she witnesses the remarkable surgery that's using temperature to push the human body to the very brink of life.
Air Date: 22 Feb 2018 15:00 (CDT)
S1E3 - Playing with Fire
Helen explores the extraordinary science of heat. She reveals how heat is the hidden energy contained within matter, with the power to transform it from one state to another. Our ability to harness this fundamental law of science has led to some of humanity's greatest achievements, from the molten metals that enabled us to make tools, to the great engines of the Industrial Revolution powered by steam, to the searing heat of plasmas that offer almost unlimited power.
Air Date: 01 Mar 2018 15:00 (CDT)