The Mechanical Universe... and Beyond - Season 1

The Mechanical Universe... and Beyond - Season 1

Season 1

Network
Episodes52
DatesMay 13, 1985 - May 13, 1985

Episodes

Introduction
Season 1Episode 130 min

Introduction

This preview introduces revolutionary ideas and heroes from Copernicus to Newton, and links the physics of the heavens and the earth.
May 13, 1985
The Law of Falling Bodies
Season 1Episode 230 min

The Law of Falling Bodies

Galileo's imaginative experiments proved that all bodies fall with the same constant acceleration.
Derivatives
Season 1Episode 330 min

Derivatives

The function of mathematics in physical science and the derivative as a practical tool.
Inertia
Season 1Episode 430 min

Inertia

Galileo risks his favored status to answer the questions of the universe with his law of inertia.
Vectors
Season 1Episode 530 min

Vectors

Physics must explain not only why and how much, but also where and which way.
Newton's Laws
Season 1Episode 630 min

Newton's Laws

Newton lays down the laws of force, mass, and acceleration.
Integration
Season 1Episode 730 min

Integration

Newton and Leibniz arrive at the conclusion that differentiation and integration are inverse processes.
The Apple and the Moon
Season 1Episode 830 min

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.
Moving in Circles
Season 1Episode 930 min

Moving in Circles

A look at the Platonic theory of uniform circular motion.
Fundamental Forces
Season 1Episode 1030 min

Fundamental Forces

All physical phenomena of nature are explained by four forces: two nuclear forces, gravity, and electricity.
Gravity, Electricity, Magnetism
Season 1Episode 1130 min

Gravity, Electricity, Magnetism

Shedding light on the mathematical form of the gravitational, electric, and magnetic forces.
The Millikan Experiment
Season 1Episode 1230 min

The Millikan Experiment

A dramatic recreation of Millikan's classic oil-drop experiment to determine the charge of a single electron.
Conservation of Energy
Season 1Episode 1330 min

Conservation of Energy

According to one of the major laws of physics, energy is neither created nor destroyed.
Potential Energy
Season 1Episode 1430 min

Potential Energy

Potential energy provides a powerful model for understanding why the world has worked the same way since the beginning of time.
Conservation of Momentum
Season 1Episode 1530 min

Conservation of Momentum

What keeps the universe ticking away until the end of time?
Harmonic Motion
Season 1Episode 1630 min

Harmonic Motion

The music and mathematics of periodic motion.
Resonance
Season 1Episode 1730 min

Resonance

Why a swaying bridge collapses with a high wind, and why a wine glass shatters with a higher octave.
Waves
Season 1Episode 1830 min

Waves

With an analysis of simple harmonic motion and a stroke of genius, Newton extended mechanics to the propagation of sound.
Angular Momentum
Season 1Episode 1930 min

Angular Momentum

An old momentum with a new twist.
Torques and Gyroscopes
Season 1Episode 2030 min

Torques and Gyroscopes

From spinning tops to the precession of the equinoxes.
Kepler's Three Laws
Season 1Episode 2130 min

Kepler's Three Laws

The discovery of elliptical orbits helps describe the motion of heavenly bodies with unprecedented accuracy.
The Kepler Problem
Season 1Episode 2230 min

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.
Energy and Eccentricity
Season 1Episode 2330 min

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.
Navigating in Space
Season 1Episode 2430 min

Navigating in Space

Voyages to other planets use the same laws that guide planets around the solar system.
Kepler to Einstein
Season 1Episode 2530 min

Kepler to Einstein

From Kepler's laws and the theory of tides, to Einstein's general theory of relativity, into black holes, and beyond.
Harmony of the Spheres
Season 1Episode 2630 min

Harmony of the Spheres

A last lingering look back at mechanics to see new connections between old discoveries.
Beyond the Mechanical Universe
Season 1Episode 2730 min

Beyond the Mechanical Universe

The world of electricity and magnetism, and 20th-century discoveries of relativity and quantum mechanics.
Static Electricity
Season 1Episode 2830 min

Static Electricity

Eighteenth-century electricians knew how to spark the interest of an audience with the principles of static electricity.
The Electric Field
Season 1Episode 2930 min

The Electric Field

Faraday's vision of lines of constant force in space laid the foundation for the modern force field theory.
Capacitance and Potential
Season 1Episode 3030 min

Capacitance and Potential

Voltage, Energy, and Force
Season 1Episode 3130 min

Voltage, Energy, and Force

When is electricity dangerous or benign, spectacular or useful?
The Electric Battery
Season 1Episode 3230 min

The Electric Battery

Volta invents the electric battery using the internal properties of different metals.
Electric Circuits
Season 1Episode 3330 min

Electric Circuits

The work of Wheatstone, Ohm, and Kirchhoff leads to the design and analysis of how current flows.
Magnetism
Season 1Episode 3430 min

Magnetism

Gilbert discovered that the earth behaves like a giant magnet. Modern scientists have learned even more.
The Magnetic Field
Season 1Episode 3530 min

The Magnetic Field

The law of Biot and Sarvart, the force between electric currents, and Ampère's law.
Vector Fields and Hydrodynamics
Season 1Episode 3630 min

Vector Fields and Hydrodynamics

Force fields have definite properties of their own suitable for scientific study.
Electromagnetic Induction
Season 1Episode 3730 min

Electromagnetic Induction

The discovery of electromagnetic induction in 1831 creates an important technological breakthrough in the generation of electric power.
Alternating Currents
Season 1Episode 3830 min

Alternating Currents

Maxwell's Equations
Season 1Episode 3930 min

Maxwell's Equations

Maxwell discovers that displacement current produces electromagnetic waves or light.
Optics
Season 1Episode 4030 min

Optics

Many properties of light are properties of waves, including reflection, refraction, and diffraction.
The Michelson–Morley Experiment
Season 1Episode 4130 min

The Michelson–Morley Experiment

The Lorentz Transformation
Season 1Episode 4230 min

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.
Velocity and Time
Season 1Episode 4330 min

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.
Energy, Momentum, and Mass
Season 1Episode 4430 min

Energy, Momentum, and Mass

Temperature and the Gas Law
Season 1Episode 4530 min

Temperature and the Gas Law

The Engine of Nature
Season 1Episode 4630 min

The Engine of Nature

Entropy
Season 1Episode 4730 min

Entropy

The Carnot engine, part two, with profound implications for the behavior of matter and the flow of time through the universe.
Low Temperatures
Season 1Episode 4830 min

Low Temperatures

With the quest for low temperatures came the discovery that all elements can exist in each of the basic states of matter.
The Atom
Season 1Episode 4930 min

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.
Particles and Waves
Season 1Episode 5030 min

Particles and Waves

Evidence that light can sometimes act like a particle leads to quantum mechanics, the new physics.
Atoms to Quarks
Season 1Episode 5130 min

Atoms to Quarks

The Quantum Mechanical Universe
Season 1Episode 5230 min

The Quantum Mechanical Universe

A last look at where we've been and a peek into the future.

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