Documentary: Educational: A Space Science Odysee and Mysteries of the Universe

Documentary: Educational: A Space Science Odysee and Mysteries of the Universe
At the beginning of the century, discoveries about the hidden workings of the everyday world suggest all is not as it seems. Quantum theory, relativity, nuclear power, and clues about the birth and death of the universe have rocked our deepest beliefs. "Mysteries of the Universe" journeys from the subatomic world of the atom to the farthest reaches of space and time, and into the laboratories of the men and women whose work has forever altered physics and astronomy.

Highlights include: George Ellery Hale and the Mount Wilson telescope. Henrietta Leavitt. Edwin Hubble. Albert Einstein. Niels Bohr and the Quantum Theory of Matter. The structure of the atom. Jocelyn Bell and pulsars. The size of the universe. The Big Bang. Black holes. Quarks. Super colliders. Unified field and string theories.

1900: We know the distances to 70 of the nearest stars. There are no galaxies except for the Milky Way, although some astronomers do believe that some of the fuzzy "nebulae" seen in the night sky are separate, very distant galaxies. The universe is unchanging. Newton's laws are used to explain all physical phenomena. The elements that have been identified are believed to be built of indivisible atoms that are the "essence" of the element. Physicists believe there is little more to be discovered in their field. However, there are a few nagging issues, such as the behavior of light, which will spur a revolution in the field as the new century begins.