• Individual Program Descriptions

    1. Introduction
    This preview introduces revolutionary ideas and heroes from Copernicus to Newton, and links the physics of the heavens and the earth.

    2. The Law of Falling Bodies
    Galileo’s imaginative experiments proved that all bodies fall with the same constant acceleration.

    3. Derivatives
    The function of mathematics in physical science and the derivative as a practical tool.

    4. Inertia
    Galileo risks his favored status to answer the questions of the universe with his law of inertia.

    5. Vectors
    Physics must explain not only why and how much, but also where and which way.

    6. Newton’s Laws
    Newton lays down the laws of force, mass, and acceleration.

    7. Integration
    Newton and Leibniz arrive at the conclusion that differentiation and integration are inverse processes.

    8. The Apple and the Moon
    The first real steps toward space travel are made as Newton discovers that gravity describes the force between any two particles in the universe.

    9. Moving in Circles
    A look at the Platonic theory of uniform circular motion.

    10. Fundamental Forces
    All physical phenomena of nature are explained by four forces: two nuclear forces, gravity, and electricity.

    11. Gravity, Electricity, Magnetism
    Shedding light on the mathematical form of the gravitational, electric, and magnetic forces.

    12. The Millikan Experiment
    A dramatic recreation of Millikan’s classic oil-drop experiment to determine the charge of a single electron.

    13. Conservation of Energy
    According to one of the major laws of physics, energy is neither created nor destroyed.

    14. Potential Energy
    Potential energy provides a powerful model for understanding why the world has worked the same way since the beginning of time.

    15. Conservation of Momentum
    What keeps the universe ticking away until the end of time?

    16. Harmonic Motion
    The music and mathematics of periodic motion.

    17. Resonance
    Why a swaying bridge collapses with a high wind, and why a wine glass shatters with a higher octave.

    18. Waves
    With an analysis of simple harmonic motion and a stroke of genius, Newton extended mechanics to the propagation of sound.

    19. Angular Momentum
    An old momentum with a new twist.

    20. Torques and Gyroscopes
    From spinning tops to the precession of the equinoxes.

    21. Kepler’s Three Laws
    The discovery of elliptical orbits helps describe the motion of heavenly bodies with unprecedented accuracy.

    22. The Kepler Problem
    The deduction of Kepler’s laws from Newton’s universal law of gravitation is one of the crowning achievements of Western thought.

    23. Energy and Eccentricity
    The precise orbit of a heavenly body — a planet, asteroid, or comet — is fixed by the laws of conservation of energy and angular momentum.

    24. Navigating in Space
    Voyages to other planets use the same laws that guide planets around the solar system.

    25. Kepler to Einstein
    From Kepler’s laws and the theory of tides, to Einstein’s general theory of relativity, into black holes, and beyond.

    26. Harmony of the Spheres
    A last lingering look back at mechanics to see new connections between old discoveries.

    27. Beyond the Mechanical Universe
    The world of electricity and magnetism, and 20th-century discoveries of relativity and quantum mechanics.

    28. Static Electricity
    Eighteenth-century electricians knew how to spark the interest of an audience with the principles of static electricity.

    29. The Electric Field
    Faraday’s vision of lines of constant force in space laid the foundation for the modern force field theory.

    30. Potential and Capacitance
    Franklin proposes a successful theory of the Leyden jar and invents the parallel plate capacitor.

    31. Voltage, Energy, and Force
    When is electricity dangerous or benign, spectacular or useful?

    32. The Electric Battery
    Volta invents the electric battery using the internal properties of different metals.

    33. Electric Circuits
    The work of Wheatstone, Ohm, and Kirchhoff leads to the design and analysis of how current flows.

    34. Magnetism
    Gilbert discovered that the earth behaves like a giant magnet. Modern scientists have learned even more.

    35. The Magnetic Field
    The law of Biot and Sarvart, the force between electric currents, and Ampère’s law.

    36. Vector Fields and Hydrodynamics
    Force fields have definite properties of their own suitable for scientific study.

    37. Electromagnetic Induction
    The discovery of electromagnetic induction in 1831 creates an important technological breakthrough in the generation of electric power.

    38. Alternating Current
    Electromagnetic induction makes it easy to generate alternating current while transformers make it practical to distribute it over long distances.

    39. Maxwell’s Equations
    Maxwell discovers that displacement current produces electromagnetic waves or light.

    40. Optics
    Many properties of light are properties of waves, including reflection, refraction, and diffraction.

    41. The Michelson-Morley Experiment
    In 1887, an exquisitely designed measurement of the earth’s motion through the ether results in the most brilliant failure in scientific history.

    42. The Lorentz Transformation
    If the speed of light is to be the same for all observers, then the length of a meter stick, or the rate of a ticking clock, depends on who measures it.

    43. Velocity and Time
    Einstein is motivated to perfect the central ideas of physics, resulting in a new understanding of the meaning of space and time.

    44. Mass, Momentum, Energy
    The new meaning of space and time make it necessary to formulate a new mechanics.

    45. Temperature and Gas Laws
    Hot discoveries about the behavior of gases make the connection between temperature and heat.

    46. Engine of Nature
    The Carnot engine, part one, beginning with simple steam engines.

    47. Entropy
    The Carnot engine, part two, with profound implications for the behavior of matter and the flow of time through the universe.

    48. Low Temperatures
    With the quest for low temperatures came the discovery that all elements can exist in each of the basic states of matter.

    49. The Atom
    A history of the atom, from the ancient Greeks to the early 20th century, and a new challenge for the world of physics.

    50. Particles and Waves
    Evidence that light can sometimes act like a particle leads to quantum mechanics, the new physics.

    51. From Atoms to Quarks
    Electron waves attracted to the nucleus of an atom help account for the periodic table of the elements and ultimately lead to the search for quarks.

    52. The Quantum Mechanical Universe
    A last look at where we’ve been and a peek into the future.

  • 1. Attack of Killer Tomatoes- Special Collector’s Edition

    2. Hubbert’s Peak, The Coal Question, and Climate Change – Earnest C. Watson Lecture Series Fall/Winter 2007-2008

    3. Out of Gas: The End of the Age of Oil – Watson Lecture in Beckman Auditorium October 13, 2004

    4. Global Warming – What’s up with the weather? Frontline Nova presentation – 2007

    5. Understanding Car Crashes

    6. Film of Charles & Ray Eames: Powers of Ten

    7. The Elegant Universe – Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory.

    8. The Planets – Nova Presentation (Set of 4)

    • Venus Unveiled
    • Magnetic Storm
    • Mars Dead or Alive
    • Welcome to Mars

    9. The Stars – Supernovas, The Big Bang and More. Nova Presentation(Set of 3).

    • Runaway Universe
    • Death of A Star
    • Death Star

    10. Redshift 7 Premium

    11. BBC Physics of Amusement and Park Ride

    12. Cosmology – The Creation of the Universe
    Video lecture to accompany discovering the Universe. Lecture by Kaufman

    13. Black Holes, Dark Matter (The Complete Cosmos)

    14. Three Gorges – The Biggest Dam in the World (Discovery Channel – DVD)

    15. Stephen Hawking’s Universe

      • 5.A – The Big Bang

     

      • 5.B – On the Dark Side

     

      • 5.C – Black Holes and Beyond

     

    16. Nova Adventures in Science – Einstein Revealed

    17. Tacoma Bridge

    18. Building Bridge (PBS October 2000)

    19. Dynamic Bridge – Explanation of Bridge (Various Harmonics)

    20. Einstein’s Relativity and the Quantum Revolution
    Modern Physics for Non-Scientists. Lecture by Prof. Richrd Wolfson, Middlebury College – Lectures 1 to 24

    21. Understanding the Universe – An Introduction to Astronomy (Unlocking the secrets of the heavens) Lecture by Prof. Alex Filippenko, University of California – Berkeley – Lectures 1 to 40

    22. The Ghost Praticle – Neutrinos – The secret ingredient to the cosmos. Nova Presentation.

    23. A Crude Awakening – The oil crash

    24. Imax Narscar

    25. The China Syndrome

    26. The People’s Republic of Capitalism – Takes an in-depth look at the economic ties that bind the U.S to China

    27. Telescope – Hunting the edge of space

    28. Engineering An Empire – Physics for Architecture (PHYS 125), Set of 6

    29. Building The Great Capthedrails – Physics for Architecture (PHYS 125)