Light and Dark - Season 1

Light and Dark - Season 1

Season 1

Two-part series in which Professor Jim Al-Khalili shows how, by uncovering its secrets, scientists have used light to reveal almost everything we know about the universe. But in the last 30 years we have discovered that far from seeing everything, we have seen virtually nothing. Our best estimate is that more than 99 per cent of the universe is actually hidden in the dark.

Network
Episodes2
DatesNov 18, 2013 - Nov 25, 2013

Episodes

Light
Season 1Episode 160 min

Light

The story of how we used light to reveal the cosmos begins in the 3rd century BC when, by trying to understand the tricks of perspective, the Greek mathematician Euclid discovered that light travels in straight lines, a discovery that meant that if we could change its path we could change how we see the world. In Renaissance Italy 2,000 years later, Galileo Galilei did just that by using the lenses of his simple telescope to reveal our true place in the cosmos.

With each new insight into the nature of light came a fresh understanding of the cosmos. It has allowed us to peer deep into space and even revealed the composition and lifecycles of the stars.

In the 1670s, the Danish astronomer Ole Roemer discovered that light travelled at a finite speed, a discovery that had a profound implication. It meant the further one looks out into the universe, the further one looks back in time. And in 1964, by detecting the cosmic microwave background, the afterglow of the big bang, we captured the oldest light in the universe and saw as far back as it is possible to see with light.

Nov 18, 2013
Dark
Season 1Episode 260 min

Dark

The first hints that there might be more out there than meets the eye emerged from the gloom in 1846 with the discovery of the planet Neptune. It was hard to find, because at four billion kilometres from the sun there was precious little light to illuminate it and, like 89 per cent of all the atoms in the universe, it gives off almost no light.

In the middle of the 20th century scientists discovered something even stranger - dark matter - stuff that wasn't just unseen, it was fundamentally un-seeable. In fact, to explain how galaxies are held together and how they formed in the first place, there needed to be four times as much dark matter as there was normal atomic matter.

In the late 1990s scientists trying to measure precisely how much dark matter there was in the universe discovered something even more elusive out there - dark energy, a mysterious new force driving the universe apart that is thought to make up a colossal 73 per cent of it.

Finally, Jim explores the quest to uncover the nature of dark energy and to see dark matter pull the first stars and galaxies together, a quest that involves peering into the darkest period in the cosmos's past.

Nov 25, 2013

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
Naked and Afraid
Running

Naked and Afraid

Each week on Naked and Afraid, a new pair of complete and total strangers - one man and one woman - will find themselves stranded in and, quite literally, exposed to one of the world's most extreme weather environments. This duo will be left high and dry with no food, no water... and no clothes. They must survive on their own for a full 21 days, with nothing but one personal item each and the knowledge that the only prize is their pride and sense of accomplishment.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Running

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills offers a glimpse inside the world of luxurious wealth and pampered privilege, where being seen and who you know is everything. These women are in the center of it all and they have the mansions, the cars, and the diamonds to prove it. From heiresses to entrepreneurs to a family of child actresses - they deliver the star power and the drama.

Bar Rescue
Running

Bar Rescue

Bar Rescue follows Jon Taffer, one of the country's top restaurant and bar consultants, will give failing establishments one last chance to succeed. The show will delve into every business facet of running a bar from creating a profitable drink/food menu to crowd management to music selection to managing disgruntled employees. This marks the first food/beverage-themed show for Spike TV, furthering its effort to expand and broaden its audience.

GenreFood
Casualty
Running

Casualty

They're fighting to save patients while their personal lives are brimming with drama and intrigue. Everything's at stake on the emergency ward.

Murder in a Small Town
Running

Murder in a Small Town

Karl Alberg moves to a quiet coastal town to soothe a psyche that has been battered by big-city police work. But this gentle paradise has more than its share of secrets, and Karl will need to call upon all the skills that made him a world-class detective in solving the murders that, even in this seemingly idyllic setting, continue to wash up on his shore.

GenreDrama, Crime