The Elegant Universe (2 Disks)

1a. .... The Elegant Universe:Einstein's Dream (Disk1)

(Elegant Universe Teachers Guide: PDF, 31 Page)

NOVA introduces string theory and Albert Einstein's dream of unifying the forces that underlie all phenomena in the physical universe.
The program:

• Reviews the quest for unification, the search for a single theory that describes all the laws in the known universe.
  
• introduces string theory as a candidate for a unified theory and summarizes the theory's main idea -- that all matter and forces are made of tiny strands of energy that vibrate in different patterns.
• chronicles how, in 1665, Isaac Newton integrated the laws governing the heavens and Earth under the theory of gravity.
• details Einstein's discovery that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light and reveals how that finding conflicted with Newton's laws that showed that gravity acts instantaneously across any distance.
• explains how Einstein resolved the conflict with Newton's ideas by showing in his general theory of relativity that gravity travels at the speed of light.
• describes how electricity and magnetism were unified in the mid-1800s into a single theory of electromagnetism and illustrates how electromagnetism works and why it is hundreds of billions of times stronger than gravity.
• chronicles Einstein's quest to unite electromagnetism with gravity.
• relates the rise of subatomic physics in the 1920s and reviews the development of the radical theory of quantum mechanics and the uncertainty that rules the quantum world.
• conveys the discovery in the 1930s of two additional forces -- the strong force and the weak force -- and the eventual grouping of electromagnetism and the strong and weak forces under the umbrella of quantum mechanics.
• discusses the challenge of unifying the force of gravity with the forces described by quantum mechanics and expresses the need for a unified theory to describe phenomena in the universe, such as the depths of a black hole, which is both enormously massive and incredibly tiny.
• concludes with the idea that while string theory could unify general relativity and quantum mechanics, there is currently no way of experimentally confirming its predictions.
  
  
  

1b. .... The Elegant Universe:String's the Thing (Disk1)

(Elegant Universe Teachers Guide: PDF, 31 Page)

NOVA explores the evolution and features of string theory.
The program:

• reviews the concepts of general relativity (Einstein's theory of gravity that describes the universe on a large scale) and quantum mechanics (a theory that describes the universe on a very small scale) and the conflict between the two.
• discusses the breakdown of general relativity and quantum mechanics at the moment of the big bang, when the universe was both enormously massive and incredibly tiny.
• describes the particles that comprise matter and relates how string theory proposes that the most elementary subatomic particles currently known may be made of strings.
• suggests that string theory may be able to unite the theories of general relativity and quantum mechanics, which would combine the four forces of nature -- gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force, and the weak force -- under one theory.
• introduces the criticism that string theory cannot currently be tested experimentally or confirmed observationally.
• chronicles the development of string theory, including the theory's problems with mathematical inconsistencies, extra dimensions, and its prediction of an as-yet-unobserved massless particle (later theorized to be the graviton).
• reviews the development of the Standard Model, the experimentally verified theory that details elementary particles and their interactions, but does not include gravity.
• details the discovery of particles that carry the electromagnetic, the strong, and the weak forces and reviews the idea that these forces may have been unified at the earliest moments in time.
• explains how string theory evolved to provide a framework for understanding the four fundamental forces.
• reviews the basic concepts of string theory and how it resolves the conflict between general relativity and quantum theory.
• explains what dimensions are, explores the idea that string theory requires a universe with more than four spacetime dimensions, and proposes where these dimensions may exist.
• discusses the importance of the shape of the extra dimensions in determining the precise values of the fundamental components of the universe.
• highlights the dilemma string theorists faced in the late-1980s -- that while searching for one theory of everything, they arrived at five different mathematically consistent, equally valid string theories.

1c. .... The Elegant Universe:Welcome to the 11th Dimension(Disk2)

(Elegant Universe Teachers Guide: PDF, 31 Page)

NOVA explores some questions that string theory may be able to answer about the nature of the universe.
The program:

• explores the idea of wormholes, tube-like tunnels through the fabric of space.
  
• relates how string theory resolves the conflict between a spatial fabric that can deform but not tear (as described by the general theory of relativity) and space that may tear (in accordance with the concepts of quantum mechanics).
  
• reviews the development of string theory.
• recalls the introduction of M-theory in 1995, a theory that unified five earlier versions of string theory into one theory.
• relates how M-theory calls for a universe with 11 spacetime dimensions, which is one more dimension than was proposed by previous string theories.
• suggests ways to envision the concept of extra dimensions, such as imagining a world of fewer dimensions, like the two-dimensional world of a movie.
• illustrates how the additional dimension of M-theory allows a string to stretch out into a membrane-like form that could exist in multiple dimensions.
• explains how the existence of membranes might allow for the presence of parallel universes that could exist inside the extra dimensions of M-Theory.
• speculates that additional dimensions might also help explain why gravity is much weaker than the other three forces -- because it might be "leaking" into higher dimensions.
• discusses the incomplete nature of the big bang theory and relates how some scientists have tried to use string theory to explain the birth of the universe.
• relates how scientists are trying to find evidence of extra dimensions and supersymmetry to support string theory's predictions.

1d. .... The Elegant Universe:Speacial Features (Disk2)

(Elegant Universe Teachers Guide: PDF, 31 Page)

• Bonus video-how the animation was created.
• Excerpt from the best-selling book
• Closed captions and video description
• The Making of the Elegant Universe Activity

2. .... Magnetic Storms
(Magnetic Storm Teacher Guide: PDF, 5 pages )

NOVA explores what creates Earth's magnetic field and why it might be headed for a reversal.

The program:

• explains how scientists think Earth's magnetic field is generated and describes the role of the magnetic field in shielding our planet from radiation.
• explores the possibility that Mars once had a magnetic field that protected an atmosphere.
• shows how scientists use ancient pottery and volcanic rock to study changes in the direction and strength of Earth's magnetic field over time.
• presents a working model of a self-sustaining electromagnetic dynamo thought to replicate the processes occurring in Earth's core.
• relates when magnetic field reversals have occurred in the past and speculates when the next reversal might take place.
• features a computer model showing the flipping of the poles.
• discusses how cooling of Earth's core may be the cause of the weakening magnetic field.
• explores how a changing magnetic field might affect life on Earth.

3. .... If We Had No Moon (50 minutes)

What would life on earth be like without the moon? Well, chances are, there wouldn't be any life on earth without the moon. Life – if it had started at all – would still be in the earliest stages of evolution.

Scientists use the latest computer simulations to show how an ancient rogue planet – Orpheus – collided with the earth millions of years ago, producing a sizable chunk of debris that eventually became our moon. If that collision had never occurred, we would live in a very different place. Imagine a moon-less weather report – blizzards over the Sahara, floodwaters swallowing the Pyramids, 90-degree temperatures in Antarctica. As the earth wobbles on its axis – unsecured by the moon's gravitational pull – the polar caps would grow and recede at frightening rates. And without the moon, our planet would spin much faster – meaning four-hour days and searing temperatures.

Worse yet, evidence reveals that we are in fact losing our grip on our lunar friend thanks to the ebb and flow of the oceans' tides. Experts reveal theories for salvaging the moon – including hijacking Europa from Jupiter – and demonstrate how we can prepare ourselves for our eventual life without it.

4. ....Total Eclipse ( Solar Eclipses and the Mysteries of the Corona)

Explores the science behind eclipses and how these events can provide insight into the dynamic nature of the Sun and its effects here on earth. The video interviews NASA scientists along with providing dramatic footage from the joint Exploratorium and NASA eclipse expeditions. The video helps explain the mysteries of the corona and the relationship between the Sun and the Earth.