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The Self-Access Centre - English - TV Documentaries - Chemistry

Please note that documentaries are available to view on the computers in the university. If you see you can view the film online. This material is not available on computers that are outside of the university.

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Absolute Zero is the ultimate limit of cold – a Holy Grail as exciting for scientists as the North and South Poles were to the great polar explorers. The Conquest of Cold is an epic journey from dark beginnings to an ultra-cool frontier. 1 Absolute Zero - The Conquest of Cold BBC 4 Chemistry 60 mins
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The Conquest of Cold charts the attempts of many great names in science such as Francis Bacon, Robert Boyle, Michael Faraday and Antoinne Lavoisier to grapple with the perplexing mystery of cold. 2 Absolute Zero - The Race for Absolute Zero BBC 4 Chemistry 60 mins
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Professor Al-Khalili takes us from the discovery of the atom to the development of quantum mechanics 3 Atom I - Clash of Titans Jim Al-Khalili Chemistry 50 mins
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This episode tackles world-changing discoveries such as radioactivity, the Atom Bomb and the Big Bang, and tries to answer the biggest questions of all - why are we here and how were we made? 4 Atom II - The Key to the Cosmos Jim Al-Khalili Chemistry 60 mins
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Al-Khalili discovers that there might be parallel universes in which different versions of us exist, and finds out that empty space isn’t empty at all, but seething with activity 5 Atom III - The Illusion of Reality Jim Al-Khalili Chemistry 60 mins
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The final part of this series looking at three brilliant contemporary scientists features Sir Tim Hunt, awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the mechanism of how cells divide - a discovery fundamental to the life and growth of every single creature on the planet, as well as a vital clue into the mystery of cancer. 6 Beautiful Minds - Tim Hunt BBC Chemistry English 60 mins
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Series in which Jim Al-Khalili traces the story of how the elements, the building blocks that make up our entire world, were discovered and mapped.He follows in the footsteps of the pioneers who cracked their secrets and created a new science, propelling us into the modern age. 7 Chemistry: A Volatile History : Discovering the Elements BBC Chemistry 60 mins
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In part two, Professor Al-Khalili looks at the 19th century chemists who struggled to impose an order on the apparently random world of the elements. From working out how many there were to discovering their unique relationships with each other, the early scientists' bid to decode the hidden order of the elements was driven by false starts and bitter disputes. But ultimately the quest would lead to one of chemistry's most beautiful intellectual creations - the periodic table. 8 Chemistry: A Volatile History : The Order of the Elements BBC Chemistry English 60 mins
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In the final part, Professor Al-Khalili uncovers tales of success and heartache in the story of chemists' battle to control and combine the elements, and build our modern world. He reveals the dramatic breakthroughs which harnessed their might to release almost unimaginable power, and he journeys to the centre of modern day alchemy, where scientists are attempting to command the extreme forces of nature and create brand new elements. 9 Chemistry: A Volatile History : The Power of the Elements BBC Chemistry English 60 mins
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The medieval alchemists made elements react to create magnificent shows, enthralling kings and commoners alike, but their secrets were never revealed until now. 10 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2012 - The Modern Alchemist: 01 - Air: The Exlir of Life BBC Chemistry 60 mins
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In the second of this year's Christmas Lectures, Dr Peter Wothers drinks from the fountain and finds out whether the elements lurking in the water can restore his youth. Along the way he discovers how exploding balloons could solve the energy crisis, how water contains the remains of the most violent reactions on Earth and that the real secret to eternal youth might be drinking no water at all. 11 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2012 - The Modern Alchemist: 02 - Water: The Fountain of Youth BBC Chemistry 60 mins
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Engineer Jem Stansfield looks back through the Horizon archives to find out how scientists have come to understand and manipulate the materials that built the modern world. 12 Stuff: A Horizon Guide to Materials BBC Chemistry 60 mins
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Chaos theory has a bad name, conjuring up images of unpredictable weather, economic crashes and science gone wrong. But there is a fascinating and hidden side to Chaos, one that scientists are only now beginning to understand. 13 The Secret Life of Chaos Nic Stacey Chemistry English 60 mins
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Science writer Dr Gabrielle Walker has been obsessed with ice ever since she first set foot on Arctic sea ice. In this programme she searches out some of the secrets hidden deep within the ice crystal to try to discover how something so ephemeral has the 14 The Secret Life of Ice BBC 4 Chemistry 60 mins
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Michael Mosley takes an informative and ambitious journey exploring how the evolution of scientific understanding is intimately interwoven with society's historical path. In this episode, Michael demonstrates how our society is built on our search to find the answer to what makes up everything in the material world. This is a story that moves from the secret labs of the alchemists and their search for gold to the creation of the world's first synthetic dye - mauve - and onto the invention of the transistor. This quest may seem abstract and highly theoretical. Yet it has delivered the greatest impact on humanity. By trying to answer this question, scientists have created theories from elements to atoms, and the strange concepts of quantum physics that underpin our modern, technological world. 15 The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion - Episode 02: What is the World Made of? BBC 2 Chemistry English 60 mins
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Michael Mosley takes an informative and ambitious journey exploring how the evolution of scientific understanding is intimately interwoven with society's historical path. We are the most power-hungry generation that has ever lived. This film tells the story of how that power has been harnessed - from wind, steam and from inside the atom. In the early years the drive for new sources of power was led by practical men who wanted to make money. Their inventions and ideas created fortunes and changed the course of history, but it took centuries for science to catch up, to explain what power is, rather than simply what it does. This search revealed fundamental laws of nature which apply across the universe, including the most famous equation in all of science, e=mc2. 16 The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion - Episode 04: Can We Have Unlimited Power? BBC 2 Chemistry English 60 mins
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