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NOVA Season 38 Episodes
Season 38 Episode Guide
19 Episodes 2011 - 2011
Episode 1
Deadliest Earthquakes
Tue, Jan 11, 2011 57 mins
The work of geologists measuring earthquakes in the aftermath of the 2010 quakes in Haiti and Chile is examined. In Haiti, a team of geologists hunts for evidence as to what caused the quake and the risks of a second quake. A month later in Chile, which was struck by a quake 100 times stronger than Haiti's, geologists head to a tsunami-ravaged coastal town to measure the earthquake. The installment also ponders whether such work will lead to a breakthrough in predicting quakes.
Episode 2
Making Stuff: Stronger
Wed, Jan 19, 2011 57 mins
Part 1 of 4 of "Making Stuff" begins with "Stronger," a search for the world's strongest material. The quest touches upon Kevlar, carbon nanotubes and even mollusks and toucan beaks. The installment also ponders a possible replacement for steel: natural spider silk. New York Times technology reporter David Pogue hosts.
Episode 3
Making Stuff: Smaller
Wed, Jan 26, 2011 57 mins
Part 2 of 4 of "Making Stuff" examines nanotechnology and the never-ending quest to make things tinier and tinier. Included: nano-circuits and micro-robots that may hold the key to groundbreaking medical treatments; the materials that enable small applications, including silicon (used for computer chips) and carbon, which is being manipulated at the atomic level.
Episode 4
Making Stuff: Cleaner
Wed, Feb 2, 2011 57 mins
Part 3 of 4 of "Making Stuff" examines the science and business of clean energy. Included: a scientist who uses chicken feathers to make hydrogen-powered cars safer; whether lithium batteries create a dependence on South America; whether scientists can create batteries that run on molten salts, which are found in abundance in the U.S. Also: bio-based fuels; solar energy.
Episode 5
Smartest Machine on Earth
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 57 mins
The work of IBM researchers to create Watson, the supercomputer competing on "Jeopardy!", is detailed. Included: the technological hurdles in developing a system that mimics the human thought process; potential applications for the future.
Episode 6
Making Stuff: Smarter
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 57 mins
The "Making Stuff" conclusion, "Smarter," examines how nature inspires scientists to create new materials. Included: an Army tanker truck that heals its own bullet wounds; an airplane wing that changes shape during flight; a gecko-like adhesive that enables robots to climb walls; an effort to create a shark skin-modeled antibacterial film that would eliminate MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospitals.
Episode 7
Crash of Flight 447
Wed, Feb 16, 2011 57 mins
An investigation into what caused the June 1, 2009, Air France Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris to crash into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 228 people on board. The Airbus A330 plane had an excellent safety record, and its model is considered a state-of-the-art airliner, featuring elaborate electronic safety and navigation systems. Included: insights from experts; CGI weather reconstructions; a simulation with a real pilot detailing what may have occurred.
Episode 8
Venom: Nature's Killer
Wed, Feb 23, 2011 57 mins
Chronicling the efforts of two venom scientists to collect samples from the world's deadliest species before the creatures die off in order to study the natural poisons, which could provide the building blocks for a new wave of advanced medicines. Also: how venom, which is generally a toxic brew of proteins and peptides, works.
Episode 9
Japan's Killer Quake
Wed, Mar 30, 2011 57 mins
Examining the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Included: stories of tragedy and survival; eyewitness videos; helicopter footage.
Episode 10
Power Surge
Wed, Apr 20, 2011 57 mins
Examining technological efforts to tackle the threat posed by global warming. Included: artificial trees; cleaner coal; nuclear energy. Also: reengineering the entire climate system.
Episode 11
Engineering Ground Zero
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 57 mins
The construction of One World Trade Center and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum is documented. Included: 1 WTC architect David Childs; Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive director Chris Ward; NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg, the chairman of the National September 11 Memorial Foundation; and architect Michael Arad, the came up with the concept for the 9/11 memorial.
Episode 12
Surviving the Tsunami: A Nova Special Presentation
Wed, Sep 28, 2011 57 mins
Survivors of the 2011 Japanese tsunami reflect on the decisions that saved their lives, buttressed by amateur and professional videos of the disaster as it unfolded. Included: footage of a woman helping her elderly mother to their rooftop and safety; a man climbing onto an overpass just as the wave inundates his car.
Episode 13
Finding Life Beyond Earth: Are We Alone?
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 57 mins
Part 1 of 2. The effort to locate life elsewhere in the universe is examined. It's a difficult task due to the many planets that could theoretically support life.
Episode 14
Finding Life Beyond Earth: Moons and Beyond
Wed, Oct 19, 2011 57 mins
Conclusion. The effort to locate life elsewhere in the universe is examined. It's a difficult task due to the many planets that could theoretically support life.
Episode 15
Iceman Murder Mystery
Wed, Oct 26, 2011 57 mins
An autopsy on the 5000-year-old remains of Otzi the Iceman, the mummified corpse recovered from a glacier in the Italian Alps in 1991, reveals details of life during the Copper Age, including people's diet and the types of diseases they dealt with.
Episode 16
The Fabric of the Cosmos: What Is Space?
Wed, Nov 2, 2011 57 mins
Physicist Brian Green hosts "The Fabric of the Cosmos," a four-part series about space, time and the universe. Part 1, "What Is Space?," explains that space isn't the void it's often portrayed to be, but a dynamic tapestry that's manipulated by gravity. Included: dark energy, which accounts for 70 percent of the universe; a black hole-inspired theory that space is a hologram-like projection of a deeper two-dimensional reality.
Episode 17
The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time
Wed, Nov 9, 2011 57 mins
Part 2 of 4. Physicist Brian Greene explores "The Illusion of Time" by traveling 50 years into the future before sliding through a wormhole and landing in the past; and shares the theory that the past, present and future exist all at once. Included: the secrets that the Big Bang may hold about time.
Episode 18
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Quantum Leap
Wed, Nov 16, 2011 57 mins
In "The Fabric of the Cosmos: Quantum Leap," physicist Brian Greene explains quantum physics, which describe the behavior of individual atoms.
Episode 19
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Universe or Multiverse?
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 57 mins
"The Fabric of the Cosmos" concludes with "Universe or Multiverse?," in which theoretical physicist Brian Greene introduces the theory that the universe may be part of a multiverse in which there are other parallel universes.
