Episode
NOVA: Einstein's Big Idea
Overview
Exactly 100 years ago, Albert Einstein grappled with the implications of his revolutionary Special Theory of Relativity and came to a startling conclusion: mass and energy are one, related by the formula E = mc2. Among Einstein's ideas, E = mc2 is by far the most famous. Yet how many people know what it really means? In a thought-provoking and engrossing documentary, Einstein's Big Idea illuminates this deceptively simple formula by unrevealing the story of how it came to be.
Details
- Series
- NOVA
- Season
- Season 33
- Episode
- Episode 3
- Air date
- 2005-10-11
- Runtime
- 55 min
Episode context
Einstein's Big Idea is Episode 3 in Season 33 of NOVA. It aired on 2005-10-11. The runtime is 55 min.
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More episodes from this season
Episode 1: Mystery of the Megaflood
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Episode 5: Hitler's Sunken Secret
One of the most daring clandestine operations of World War II was the 1944 sinking of the Norwegian ferry Hydro with its cargo of "heavy water" destined for the Nazis' secret atomic bomb project. Although the mission was declared a success, no one ever established if the special shipment was actually on board. In this program, NOVA descends 1,300 feet beneath a remote Norwegian lake to find the answer.
Episode 6: Newton's Dark Secrets
He was the greatest scientist of his day, perhaps of all time. But while Isaac Newton was busy discovering the universal law of gravitation, he was also searching out hidden meanings in the Bible and pursuing the covert art of alchemy. In this program, NOVA explores the strange and complex mind of Isaac Newton.
Using docudrama scenes starring Scott Handy (Masterpiece Theatre's Henry VIII) as Newton, this film recreates the unique climate of late 17th-century England, where a newfound fascination with science and mathematics coexisted with extreme views on religious doctrine. Newton shared both obsessions.
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Episode 8: The Mummy Who Would Be King
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Episode 9: Deadly Ascent
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Episode 10: The Perfect Corpse
Forensic investigators tease secrets from the well preserved bodies of people buried long ago under peat bogs.
Episode 11: Jewel of the Earth
David Attenborough probes the mystery of ancient life-forms perfectly preserved in amber.
Episode 12: The Ghost Particle
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Episode 13: Arctic Passage
NOVA recreates the expeditions of Sir John Franklin and Roald Amundsen, two Arctic explorers who set out to find the legendary Arctic sea route known as the Northwest Passage.