Nova: Physics - the Elegant Universe & beyond, DVD

Features

Closed Caption; Bonus video: How the animation was created for The Elegant Universe; The Making of The Elegant Universe activity; Excerpt from the best-selling book, The Elegant Universe; Printable materials for educators for all three films

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Scene Index

Disc #1 -- The Elegant Universe, Pts. 1 & 2
1. A Theory of Everything [11:08]
2. Newton's Embarrassing Secret [6:04]
3. A New Picture of Gravity [7:10]
4. A Strange New World [4:31]
5. The Quantum Caf� [8:21]
6. Gravity - The Odd Man Out [4:24]
7. String Theory to the Rescue [7:58]
8. A Science or a Philosophy? [3:34]
9. Credits [2:51]
1. Two Conflicting Sets of Laws [13:11]
2. One Master Equation [4:40]
3. The Birth of String Theory [4:13]
4. The Standard Model [6:25]
5. Wrestling With String Theory [7:19]
6. The Theory of Everything [5:25]
7. Multiple Dimensions [7:00]
8. Five Flavors of String Theory [4:58]
9. Credits [2:51]
Disc #2 -- The Elegant Universe, Pt. 3
1. The Wild West of Physics [14:47]
2. The Potential of Strings [4:06]
3. Getting to One Theory [5:20]
4. Parallel Universes [5:03]
5. Escaping Gravity [5:57]
6. Riddle of the Big Bang [7:36]
7. Signs of Strings [6:27]
8. Too Elegant to Be Wrong? [3:53]
9. Credits [2:36]
Disc #3 -- Einstein's Big Idea
1. Introduction [3:32]
2. Bern, Switzerland 1905 [2:26]
3. E Is for Energy - Michael Faraday [17:24]
4. m Is for Mass - Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier [23:17]
5. c Is for Celeritas - James Clerk Maxwell [8:11]
6. � Is for Squared - Emilie du Ch�telet [12:49]
7. E=mc� - The Holy Grail of Physics [16:18]
8. Unlocking the Atom - Lise Meitner [20:51]
9. E=mc� - The Future [5:55]
Disc #4 -- Einstein Revealed
1. A Comfortable Childhood [8:58]
2. Early Explorations [11:05]
3. The Problem of Light [9:07]
4. A Time of Desperation [10:36]
5. The Problem of Motion [14:05]
1. Gambling on Gravity [8:50]
2. A Hint of Jealousy [9:51]
3. The World in Four Dimensions [13:52]
4. A Theory Too Beautiful to Be True [9:13]
5. Einstein and God [14:47]

Scene Index

Editorial Reviews

Narrated by F. Murray Abraham, Nova: Einstein Revealed is a 120-minute dramatized documentary on the life and career of physicist Albert Einstein. Actor Andrew Sachs portrays Einstein as a man of formidable genius, passionate emotions, and powerful obsessions. The dramatized interview is coupled with historical photography, computer animation, and comments from experts. Interviewees include Jurgen Renn, of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Robert Schulmann from the Einstein Papers Project at Boston University, Francoise Balibar of the Universite de Paris, independent researcher Julian Barbour, Abraham Pais from Rockefeller University, Martin Klein of Yale University, Michio Kaku from City College of New York, and family friends Gabrielle Oppenheim and Peter Plesch. Kathleen Wildasin, All Movie Guide

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Admirable attempt at explaining string theory to the masses.by HS_Physics_Guy

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March 09, 2009: These are the NOVA shows in their entirety. The DVD video quality is excellent and upscaling looks good too. String theory is difficult to understand at best and this NOVA episode does an admirable job at explaining the history, development, and the current state of string theory. The mathematical details are left out and only the basic ideas are presented. The multi-dimensional aspects of string theory are given as a matter of fact and the mathematical reasons for this requirement are not given. If someone wants a basic understanding of string theory, this NOVA episode does the job. The episodes on Einstein are quite informative and give a more complete picture on the life of this brilliant scientist.

All Movie Guide

Narrated by F. Murray Abraham, Nova: Einstein Revealed is a 120-minute dramatized documentary on the life and career of physicist Albert Einstein. Actor Andrew Sachs portrays Einstein as a man of formidable genius, passionate emotions, and powerful obsessions. The dramatized interview is coupled with historical photography, computer animation, and comments from experts. Interviewees include Jurgen Renn, of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Robert Schulmann from the Einstein Papers Project at Boston University, Francoise Balibar of the Universite de Paris, independent researcher Julian Barbour, Abraham Pais from Rockefeller University, Martin Klein of Yale University, Michio Kaku from City College of New York, and family friends Gabrielle Oppenheim and Peter Plesch. Kathleen Wildasin

All Movie Guide

NOVA: The Elegant Universe is a three-hour miniseries about the string theory, which some physicists believe may unify the forces of nature. Scientific commentary is provided by Brian Greene, a professor of physics at Columbia University. He uses computer animation to illustrate his explanations for the idea which has been called the "theory of everything." Contains three sections: "Einstein's Dream," "String's the Thing," and "Welcome to the 11th Dimension." Greene is the author of The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory, published by Norton in 1999. This miniseries was originally broadcast on PBS in October 2003. Andrea LeVasseur

All Movie Guide

With dramatic historical reenactments featuring Aidan McArdle (Footprints in the Snow) in the central role as Albert Einstein and Shirley Henderson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) as his wife, Mileva Maric, NOVA: Einstein's Big Idea climbs inside the most earth-shattering discovery of the 20th Century's most brilliant scientific innovator: that of the connection between matter and energy, encapsulated in his 1905 E=mc2 formula, an equation that ultimately yielded the atom bomb. The program also explores how Einstein's professional discovery rested on the foundational research of three of his contemporaries, all tragic figures - Lise Meitner, Antoine Lavoisier, and Michael Faraday - and how each individual's work, in turn, embodied one further step toward nuclear power. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

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UPC: 783421407596
Source: WGBH BOSTON
Time: 6:52:00
Sales Rank: 17,445

This set contains DVDs which may be available separately:

Features:

Closed Caption; Bonus video: How the animation was created for The Elegant Universe; The Making of The Elegant Universe activity; Excerpt from the best-selling book, The Elegant Universe; Printable materials for educators for all three films

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- The Elegant Universe, Pts. 1 & 2
1. A Theory of Everything [11:08]
2. Newton's Embarrassing Secret [6:04]
3. A New Picture of Gravity [7:10]
4. A Strange New World [4:31]
5. The Quantum Caf� [8:21]
6. Gravity - The Odd Man Out [4:24]
7. String Theory to the Rescue [7:58]
8. A Science or a Philosophy? [3:34]
9. Credits [2:51]
1. Two Conflicting Sets of Laws [13:11]
2. One Master Equation [4:40]
3. The Birth of String Theory [4:13]
4. The Standard Model [6:25]
5. Wrestling With String Theory [7:19]
6. The Theory of Everything [5:25]
7. Multiple Dimensions [7:00]
8. Five Flavors of String Theory [4:58]
9. Credits [2:51]
Disc #2 -- The Elegant Universe, Pt. 3
1. The Wild West of Physics [14:47]
2. The Potential of Strings [4:06]
3. Getting to One Theory [5:20]
4. Parallel Universes [5:03]
5. Escaping Gravity [5:57]
6. Riddle of the Big Bang [7:36]
7. Signs of Strings [6:27]
8. Too Elegant to Be Wrong? [3:53]
9. Credits [2:36]
Disc #3 -- Einstein's Big Idea
1. Introduction [3:32]
2. Bern, Switzerland 1905 [2:26]
3. E Is for Energy - Michael Faraday [17:24]
4. m Is for Mass - Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier [23:17]
5. c Is for Celeritas - James Clerk Maxwell [8:11]
6. � Is for Squared - Emilie du Ch�telet [12:49]
7. E=mc� - The Holy Grail of Physics [16:18]
8. Unlocking the Atom - Lise Meitner [20:51]
9. E=mc� - The Future [5:55]
Disc #4 -- Einstein Revealed
1. A Comfortable Childhood [8:58]
2. Early Explorations [11:05]
3. The Problem of Light [9:07]
4. A Time of Desperation [10:36]
5. The Problem of Motion [14:05]
1. Gambling on Gravity [8:50]
2. A Hint of Jealousy [9:51]
3. The World in Four Dimensions [13:52]
4. A Theory Too Beautiful to Be True [9:13]
5. Einstein and God [14:47]

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