Episode
NOVA: Great Electric Airplane Race
Overview
Can new emission-free electric planes replace our polluting airliners and revolutionize personal transportation in our cities? NOVA takes you for a ride in some impressive prototypes that are already in the air, from speedy single-seat planes that can take off like a helicopter but are half as noisy to “self-flying” air taxis that are already taking passengers on test flights in Chinese cities. But if electric airplanes are ever to advance beyond small, short-haul craft, significant hurdles of battery weight, energy storage, and cooling remain to be overcome. How long will it be before the dream of super-quiet, super-efficient airliners becomes a reality?
Details
- Series
- NOVA
- Season
- Season 48
- Episode
- Episode 10
- Air date
- 2021-05-26
- Runtime
- 55 min
Episode context
Great Electric Airplane Race is Episode 10 in Season 48 of NOVA. It aired on 2021-05-26. The runtime is 55 min.
Previous / Next
Episode 9: Hindenburg: The New Evidence
80 years after the world’s largest airship ignited in a giant fireball, newly discovered footage sparks a reinvestigation of what exactly caused the Hindenburg disaster.
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Five centuries ago, the Age of Exploration and Europe’s imperial colonization of far-off lands was launched by a revolution in ship design that made long-distance ocean voyages practical. But exactly how this momentous innovation happened eludes historians. Now, the excavation of a rare intact wreck discovered off the coast of Sweden offers vital new clues to a maritime mystery.
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