Saturday, September 24, 2011

Ancient Chinese Inventions

Most famous four inventions of ancient China are compass, gunpowder, paper and printing. Except those four, there are many surprising inventions of ancient China, including iron plow, seed drill, wheelbarrow, stirrup, folding umbrella, kite, earthquake detector, bronze mirror, magnetic compass, and naval rocket. This film brings some examples of ancient Chinese inventions in the fields - agriculture, domestic and industrial technology, warfare and transportation.


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Secrets of Lost Empires
Ancient Inventions

Friday, September 16, 2011

Welcome to Mars

From the white-knuckle landings of the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, through months of frustrating setbacks and elating discoveries, Welcome to Mars follows the day-to-day operations of the Mars Exploration Rover team as it experiences hurdles, decisions, triumphs, and disappointments during its explorations of the Red Planet. Mission Control and its two robotic explorers face a daunting task to find proof that liquid water, the essential ingredient of life, once existed on Mars. This film presents a compelling inside story of triumph and technical ingenuity, full of scientific and human drama, with stunning images from an alien world.



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Mars Rising
Mars: Dead or Alive

Mars: Dead or Alive

Mars: Dead or Alive is a PBS documentary that goes behind the scenes at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to offer a look at the construction and launch of two Martian exploratory rovers: "Spirit" and "Opportunity". This film chronicles the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project from design to touchdown.



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Welcome to Mars
Mars Rising

Hunt for the Supertwister

On May 3, 1999, one of the most powerful tornadoes ever recorded carved a path of complete destruction near Oklahoma City. To scientists, the supertwister held sobering lessons about the future for rapidly expanding cities in tornado-threatened areas. Most tornadoes form suddenly and with little warning. But now meteorologists are on the verge of a breakthrough that may solve the puzzle of how these killer storms spawn and where they are likely to strike. This film follows stormchasers as they probe the tornado's deadly secrets. (from pbs.org)



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Wild Weather