Season 8
9 episodes · Jan 13, 2011
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- S8E1
Solar Powered Flight
Jan 13, 201160mEngineers wondered if a plane that operated solely on solar power could be built. Their efforts over a decade result in the Solar Impulse HB-SIA, the plane that triumphantly takes to the air. Making a 26-hour nonstop day-night-day flight climaxes the success of the Solar Impulse.
- S8E2
Star Clock BC
Jan 20, 201160mOver a century ago, sponge divers recovered an extremely complex mechanical device from a shipwreck. It was decades before they determined it's purpose, to accurately track the movement of the stars in the night sky. Dubbed the Antikythera mechanism (for the location of the shipwreck from which it came), the device is considered the world's first computer, developed by the Greeks around the 1st century B.C. Scientists continue to marvel at its intricate system of gears which rival that of the most complex Swiss watch.
- S8E4
The Book That Can't Be Read
Feb 4, 201160mThe centuries-old Voynich manuscript has remained an enigma. Filled with bizarre drawings and written in a language that even the best cryptographers cannot decipher, the tome has remained a puzzling mystery. The efforts to decode the book and determine its unknown author continue.
- S8E7
O2 The Molecule That Made the World
May 12, 201160mAt this very moment, you could be breathing the same oxygen molecule that Genghis Khan and George Washington did! NGC is putting a unique twist on history by retracing the extraordinary journey of a single molecule of oxygen an adventure that takes place over millions of years. The story begins with the birth of oxygen, moves on to photosynthesis, then travels through the age of the dinosaurs and follows the first steps of early man.
- S8E8
Living in a Parallel Universe
May 23, 201160mParallel universes, strange hidden worlds, where an alternative reality exists have haunted science fiction for decades. Parallel universes sound like a myth, but a surprising number of leading scientists believe they are real. National Geographic delves into the mysterious science of other universes and discovers that many of physics most cherished theories actually predict that there are other universes beside our own. But what are they like? Could we ever visit them? And if we did, who or what would we meet? The reality is weirder than any science fiction.
- S8E9
Venom Power
May 26, 201160mBryan Fry has always been intrigued with things that can kill you. Since surviving a near fatal rattlesnake bite this scientist, turned venom hunter, has made it his mission to seek out the worlds deadliest creatures. Each venom he collects may hold the secret to creating life-saving medicines. Now Bryan targets North America and three of its most toxic species.
- S8E13
Sea Strikers
Aug 19, 201160mGo on an action packed, hi-tech fishing expedition with the Sea Strikers. When the ocean's top predators strike, their prey doesn't even know what hit them! NGC dives into the attack strategies that sea hunters employ to deliver killer blows. Biologists use an high-speed underwater camera to capture the hunting techniques of the goliath grouper, barracuda, bonito and bull shark, and provides also never-before-seen footage of the feeding habits of the ocean's other top predators — mackerel, mahi mahi, wahoo, tuna and billfish. Biologists Steve Huskey and Nicolai Konow, and underwater cameraman Andy Casagrande embark on a high-tech fishing expedition to capture the hunting techniques of some of the oceans top predators using a slow motion camera that produces breathtaking images.
- S8E16
Volcano Devils
Jun 9, 201160mThe 1991 eruption of Japan's Mount Unzen, which killed 43 people, including three volcanologists, is recalled. Included: archival footage; survivor testimonies.