Catalog Search Results
Language
English
Description
Follow master rigger Sean Riley to the Mojave Desert, where he teams up with NASA for one of the biggest fixes yet: the DS-114 Mars Antenna. The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC)-commonly called the Goldstone Observatory-is operated for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and its main purpose is to track and communicate with space missions. It includes the Pioneer Deep Space Station, which is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. This aging...
2) Smart Soles
Language
English
Description
A new electronic type of shoe soles can serve to improve the records of athletes and the quality of life of pregnant women.
3) Light
Language
English
Description
Dispite popular belief, Edison did not invent the light bulb - many people contributed to the invention. Mind you, the first lamp was invented around 70,000 BC. This program examines Edison's actual contribution of improving the light bulb to become a practical, affordable, and safe product. Modern-day lighting innovations are quite startling, as many of them we can't even see with the naked eye. Consider lasers. Nobody knew what to make of this idea...
Language
English
Description
Once a subject of crude experiments and parlor tricks, electricity was recognized some 200 years ago as a force that could completely transform the world - driving machines, lighting homes, and enabling us to communicate across continents. This program shows how scientists and engineers unlocked the power of electricity in an extraordinary century of innovation and invention. It profiles scientists who discovered the links between electricity and...
Language
English
Description
Introducing viewers to the basics of electrical circuits, this video looks at the various components of a circuit while describing voltage, current, resistance, and series and parallel circuits. It also demonstrates a range of calculations that are central to real-world applications of the principles of electricity. Viewers are shown how to use a multimeter and are given a solid understanding of resistors and resistance color coding. The program...
6) Spark
Language
English
Description
Starting with Francis Hauksbee's 1705 Royal Society demonstration, in which he produced static electricity and a nascent form of neon lighting, this program looks at the origins of our understanding of electricity and how it could be harnessed. The film profiles many of the scientists and "natural philosophers" who first studied electricity, including Stephen Gray, Pieter van Musschenbroek, Luigi Galvani, and several others. Viewers learn about Benjamin...
Language
English
Description
Today we can hardly imagine life without electrical power - it defines our era. It creates human connections. It is the lifeblood of civil society. But how did we arrive here, at a place in which our understanding of electricity is matched, if not overwhelmed, by our dependence on it? Bringing the scientific history of electricity to a dramatic conclusion, this program describes how a new age dawned - how researchers discovered electric fields and...
Language
English
Description
Our lives depend on the power of electricity. Cell phones; computers; televisions; toasters: every one of our electronic devices contains a number of both toxic and reusable materials. Heavy metals and batteries are potentially very damaging to our environment. But what happens to these items after they are broken, worn out, or obsolete? This episode of Boneyard looks at the afterlife of electronics. This innovative look at the ultimate in "reuse,...
Language
English
Description
From Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla to Enrico Fermi and Albert Einstein, the world's greatest minds have enabled mankind to acquire light, heat, and power with a simple flip of switch. People are able to control the climate, process information and tend to their health all thanks to electricity, which relies on power plants to get the job done. From coal to nuclear these plants are necessary get power where it is needed.
Language
English
Description
Early in the 20th century, Marconi and Tesla experimented with wireless radio waves. When voice was added, radio became a cultural phenomenon, bringing information and entertainment into homes across the world. This Modern Marvels program looks at the technology behind wireless communications.
Language
English
Description
This episode of the U.S. Army's The Big Picture television series examines the facilities and equipment involved in research, development, and improvement of vehicles for the U.S. Army. Scenes of this video from the National Archives and Records Administration take viewers to the Army Tank Automotive Center at Warren, Michigan, where vehicles that fought in major conflicts in various terrains were designed. Note: This historical recording may contain...
Language
English
Description
Radar was more discovered than invented. In the course of transmitting radio waves during World War II, technicians noticed that large objects reflected their signals. If not for radar technology Hitler might have conquered England, which would have drastically changed the history of the country, the European continent, and the world.
Language
English
Description
Nikola Tesla electrified the world, but his bizarre vision of the future branded him as a mad scientist. A century ago, Tesla created energy-efficient light bulbs, foresaw today's oil consumption issues, and the need for alternative energies like geothermal and solar power. Can the keys to a brighter future be found in the long neglected writings of this discredited genius?