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The Lost Children

   2024    Culture    HD
After a small plane crashes, four indigenous children struggle to survive in the Colombian Amazon jungle, relying on ancestral wisdom as an unprecedented rescue mission unfolds amid the jungle's challenges. Directed by Oscar winner Orlando von Einsiedel, this documentary tells the incredible story from the point of view of those involved in this epic rescue: the children's family, indigenous communities and leaders, and the Colombian army.

The Two Thousand Year Old Computer

   2012    History
In 1901, a group of divers excavating an ancient Roman shipwreck near the island of Antikythera, off the southern coast of Greece, found a mysterious object - a lump of calcified stone that contained within it several gearwheels welded together after years under the sea. The 2,000-year-old object, no bigger than a modern laptop, is now regarded as the world's oldest computer, devised to predict solar eclipses and, according to recent findings, calculate the timing of the ancient Olympics. Following the efforts of an international team of scientists, the mysteries of the Antikythera Mechanism are uncovered, revealing surprising and awe-inspiring details of the object that continues to mystify

Absolute Zero Conquest of Cold

   2007    Technology
This scientific detective tale tells the story of a remarkable group of pioneers who wanted to reach the ultimate extreme: absolute zero, a place so cold that the physical world as we know it doesn't exist, electricity flows without resistance, fluids defy gravity and the speed of light can be reduced to 38 miles per hour. Absolute zero became the Holy Grail of temperature physicists and is considered the gateway to many new technologies, such as nano-construction, neurological networks and quantum computing. The possibilities, it seems, are limitless. The first episode Chronicles the major discoveries leading towards the mastery of cold, beginning with King James I's court magician, Cornelius Drebbel, who managed to air condition the largest interior space in the British Isles in 1620. Other stories will include the first "natural philosopher," Robert Boyle, a founder of the Royal Society in Great Britain; the Grand Duke Ferdinand II de Medici's involvement in the creation of the first thermometer; the establishment of the laws of thermodynamics by three young scientists, Sadi Carnot, James Joule and William Thomson; and Michael Faraday's critical achievement in liquefying several other gases which set the stage for the commercial application of cold to refrigeration and air conditioning.
Series: Absolute Zero

Revive Our Oceans

   2021    Nature
Seafood is a substantial part of the daily diet of over three billion people and oceans absorbs almost a third of all the greenhouse gases we emits. Buy the ocean it is not what it once was. Scenes of extraordinary ocean abundance now only exist in far-off places or in tales from the past. We urgently need to mend our relationship with our oceans and allow them to thrive once again.
Prince William, David Attenborough and Shakira find out about inspiring people and projects across the world that can help us stop damaging the oceans and enable their revival.
Series: The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet

Beyond the Rainbow

   2015    Science
Helen Czerski ventures beyond the visible spectrum in the final (and best) episode in this vibrant series, showing how electromagnetic radiation is so much broader than the narrow slice of reality we see with our eyes. Before delving into the details of UV, infrared and x-rays, Dr Czerski explores colour subjectivity by trying on a dress that recently divided the internet — to some it appeared blue and black, to others white and gold. It's a perfect fit. It's also a neat analogy of how people can have opposing views but both swear blind that their perspective is correct. The series ends with some amazing imaging techniques that show our bodies in a whole new light.
Series: Colour The Spectrum of Science

Annapurna to Everest

   2004    Culture
During a Gurkha recruitment Palin is disturbed by Maoist insurgents, but survives to suffer as he climbs to 15,000 feet and sees the majesty of Annapurna Sanctuary. In Kathmandu he is blessed by the Nepalese king before meeting some holy men. Crossing into Tibet, he meets his first yaks at the highest monastery in the world, before heading up the Rongbuk glacier towards the summit of Everest.
Series: Himalaya with Michael Palin