Dizi Detay INT

Quirky Science

Documentary

Belgesel

Season 1

Quirky Science Episode 13

Series

Few substances in history have had as profound an effect on mankind as gunpowder and yet its discovery was probably an accident! A big bang, for one… Records show that the Chinese were aware of the explosive stuff as early as 300AD. The invention of gunpowder is a bit of a mystery, and so are its ingredients: it was made by mixing sulfur (a yellow stone- hiding deep underground), charcoal (burned wood), and saltpeter (or potassium nitrate) which was the white frosting found on poop that had been given time to settle and get comfortable.

2023-05-01T22:03:04Z

2020-01-01T22:03:04Z

The invention of ‘waves’ - as in radio waves or electro-magnetic fields - has led to many great inventions. Radio waves transmit music, conversations, pictures or data invisibly through the air, over thousands of miles - it happens every day in thousands of different ways. Even though radio waves are invisible and completely undetectable to humans, they have totally changed society. Whether we are talking about a cell phone, a microwave oven, our TV’s, RADAR systems or any one of the thousands of other wireless technologies, all of them use radio waves to communicate. But what are radio waves? Radio waves are a force that is created when you combine magnetism and electricity: so called electromagnetism. How did we discover all this? Many men were involved: In the 18th century, Luigi Galvani made frog legs twist; Benjamin Franklin used a kite and a key during a thunderstorm; in the 19th century Hans Christian Oersted saw a needle move every time he switched on the electricity; and the list of surprising discoveries goes on… the microwave oven discovered through a rapidly melting chocolate bar and even the X-ray. EM waves travel through everything. They can detect and scan – even our most intimate parts. What’s next? Improving our understanding of the human brain. Yes, EM waves see all.

Quirky Science Episode 12

The invention of paper seems straightforward. Although writing has been around for a long time, paper hasn't. In fact, putting thoughts down in written form wasn't always easy or practical. Early people discovered that they could make simple drawings on the walls of caves, which was a great place for recording thoughts, but not very portable.

Quirky Science Episode 11

Computers: Early examples of computers are the ancient Antikythera machine and the 19th century engines made by Charles Babbage. But Babbages's designs could not be completed as its construction was ahead of its time! The makers of the first electric computer got a $850 fee to complete their work.

Quirky Science Episode 10

The Internet was invented during the cold war and launched in 1969. Yet it wasn’t made for the public. In fact, it was developed for the army to communicate quickly and secretly so that no spies could intercept and no bombs could disrupt the sharing of information! It was nothing like we know today.

Quirky Science Episode 9

Throughout the history of mankind - the business of curing, of understanding and treating disease, has taken a rather peculiar path. Some procedures have proven to be very efficient while other methods could only have made things worse for the patient. Up to the 16th Century ‘treating’ someone could mean diminishing one of four bodily fluids, paving the way for bloodletting. As it turns out, modern science proves that bloodletting does help in rare cases. In fact, bloodsucking leeches are excellent helpers to cure wounds.

Quirky Science Episode 8

Who came up with the idea of canned food? It began with a battle between French and British armies, two centuries ago. Napoleon Bonaparte faced many problems with his goal to dominate Europe, one of which was feeding a large and sprawling army. In 1809 Napoleon held a contest, with a prize of 12,000 francs for the person who could come up with the most innovative method of preserving food.

Quirky Science Episode 7

Rubber comes from trees. South American tribes used it long before the world got to know about it. When Columbus witnessed Haitian natives playing ball he found himself mesmerized by the bouncing goo. The South American tribes also made ‘waterproof’ shoes. When Western ships and their sailors brought these back home, the rubber melted on people’s feet.

Quirky Science Episode 6

Plastic has become ubiquitous. Impressive, since we’d been living without them for centuries! We have grown dependent on plastics in many ways. The production industry uses it to connect the parts that make machinery: our trillions of toilet bowls need it, let alone wash machines, computers, toothbrushes, pens and traffic lights. Can you imagine that plastic was accidentally invented for the purpose of making billiard balls?

Quirky Science Episode 5

A man with an ear for music, one of the first to try teaching the deaf how to speak, thought he could build a "harmonic telegraph". He had this idea that several notes could travel through a wire simultaneously, instead of the one Morse code that the telegraph could transmit.

Quirky Science Episode 4

In contrast with popular belief, Edison did not invent the light bulb. Many people contributed to the invention. Mind you, the first lamp was invented around 70,000 BC. Once upon a time we had limelight, which was actually quite unsafe, and then there were arc “arc lamps” – shedding light that blinded movie stars up to the point where they had to wear sunglasses. What Edison did was improve the light bulb to become a practical, affordable and safe product. He tested over 5000 filaments to make the bulb last: from bamboo fiber to a hair out of an assistant’s beard. At the same time others were working on light bulbs made with gasses, which we now know as energy efficient lamps. Modern-day lighting innovations are quite startling, a lot of them - we can’t even see with the naked eye… Lasers, for example. For the longest time it was merely a pet-theory of the grand Einstein. Nobody knew what to make of this idea that ‘atoms could release their excess energy as light’ When the laser was invented, people joked that the laser was ‘a solution looking for a problem’. Now it is omnipresent. In the near future: laser-light therapy by flashing the human brain.

Quirky Science Episode 3

Cooling is more than a luxury. Nowadays it is a necessity. Without refrigerated shipping and stocking, fresh food wouldn’t reach our supermarket so easily. Can you imagine living without it?

Quirky Science Episode 2

Mankind has been flying for over a century. As early as the 1500s Leonardo da Vinci tried to build a flying machine. Drawing inspiration from birds he gave it wings.