Atom: The Illusion of Reality

Professor Jim Al-Khalili tells the story of the greatest scientific discovery ever - that everything is made of atoms. He explores how studying the atom forced us to rethink the nature of reality itself, encountering ideas that seem like they are from science fiction but in fact are a central part of modern science. He discovers that there might be parallel universes in which different versions of us exist and finds out that empty space is not empty at all, but seething with activity. The world we think we know - the solid, reassuring world of our senses - turns out to be a tiny sliver of an infinitely weirder and more wonderful universe than we had ever conceived in our wildest fantasies.

Atom: The Clash of the Titans
Atom: The Key to the Cosmos

Related Links
Paul Dirac
Richard Feynman

Atom: The Key to the Cosmos

Professor Jim Al-Khalili tells the story of the greatest scientific discovery ever - that everything is made of atoms. He shows how, in our quest to understand the tiny atom, we unravelled the mystery of how the universe was created. It's a story with dramatic twists and turns, taking in world-changing discoveries like radioactivity, the atom bomb and the big bang. All this forms part of an epic narrative in which the greatest brains of the 20th century competed to answer the biggest questions of all - why are we here and how were we made?

Atom: The Clash of the Titans
Atom: The Illusion of Reality

Related Links
Chemistry: A Volatile History
Einstein's Big Idea

Atom: The Clash of the Titans

Professor Jim Al-Khalili tells the story of the greatest scientific discovery ever - that everything is made of atoms. As scientists delved deep into the atom, into the very heart of matter, they unravelled nature's most shocking secrets. They had to abandon everything they believed in and create a whole new science, which today underpins the whole of physics, chemistry, biology and maybe even life itself. The series tells a story of geniuses like Albert Einstein and Werner Heisenberg who were driven by their thirst for knowledge and glory. It is a story of false starts and conflicts, ambition and revelation, a story which leads us through some of the most exciting and exhilarating ideas ever conceived by the human race.

Atom: The Key to the Cosmos
Atom: The Illusion of Reality

Related Links
Atom
Chemistry: A Volatile History

Hunting the Elements (PBS NOVA)

Where do nature's building blocks, called the elements, come from? They're the hidden ingredients of everything in our world, from the carbon in our bodies to the metals in our smartphones. To unlock their secrets, David Pogue spins viewers through the world of weird, extreme chemistry: the strongest acids, the deadliest poisons, the universe’s most abundant elements, and the rarest of the rare - substances cooked up in atom smashers that flicker into existence for only fractions of a second.

Why are some elements like platinum and gold inert, while others like phosphorus and potassium are violently explosive? Why are some vital to every breath we take while others are lethal toxins that kill off their discoverers, as with Marie Curie? As he digs for answers, Pogue reveals the story of the elements to be a rich stew simmering with passion, madness, and obsessive scientific rivalry. Punctuated by surprising and often alarming experiments, Hunting the Elements takes viewers on a roller-coaster ride through nature's hidden lab and the compelling stories of discovery that revealed its secrets.

Related Links:
Chemistry: A Volatile History
Atom

Atoms and Their Electrons

An extremely funny educational film explaining ionic bonding, and the atomic properties of the first twenty elements of the periodic table.

Related Links:
Books and Films - Atom

Our Friend The Atom

Rare Walt Disney Science series from 1957 describing the advent of the Nuclear Age. Dr. Heinz Haber, a noted scientist in the field of atomic energy, hosts this look at the possibility of an exciting new power source. He starts by comparing atomic energy to a genie in a bottle, both of which capable of doing both good and evil, and it is up to humankind to develop safe controls over this largely unexplored science.

Related Links:
Books and Films - Atom
E=mc^2: Einstein's most famous equation