For two months in summer 2011, a glass box containing a typical kitchen and garden was left to rot in full public view within Edinburgh Zoo. In this resulting documentary, presenter Dr George McGavin and his team use time-lapse cameras and specialist photography to capture the extraordinary way in which moulds, microbes and insects are able to break down our everyday things and allow new life to emerge from old.
Lots of jaw dropping footage! They even track individual nitrogen atoms as they get passed along between organisms!
"When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connnected in the great Circle of Life." -Mufasa, The Lion King
Showing posts with label Documentary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Documentary. Show all posts
June 5, 2016
Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World
Werner Herzog's new documentary is an exploration of the Internet and the connected world in his usual unusual style.
New Horizons to expand yours
Last year I shared a list featuring the best documentaries of all time; http://wondreal.blogspot.be/2016/02/in-memory-of-merrin-education-in-p2p.html . If you take a look you might notice that Horizon episodes are very well represented. Just what exactly is Horizon? Oh, only one of the longest running shows ever. The first episode, "The World of Buckminster Fuller", was aired in 1964 and now, 50 years later, they are still going strong! If you ever have 50 minutes to kill, just type BBC horizon into youtube and before you know it you'll be wading knee deep through delicious investigative science reporting.
"The aim of Horizon is to provide a platform from which some of the world's greatest scientists and philosophers can communicate their curiosity, observations and reflections, and infuse into our common knowledge their changing views of the universe."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Horizon_episodes
"The aim of Horizon is to provide a platform from which some of the world's greatest scientists and philosophers can communicate their curiosity, observations and reflections, and infuse into our common knowledge their changing views of the universe."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Horizon_episodes
February 17, 2016
Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune
Even though this film was never actually made, it's built up an impressive reputation none the less. Before the first shot made it to film Jodorowsky had already blown 2 million on its conception. That might sound like a lot but when you realize the roster of talent he had lined up to bring his phonebook sized script to life... It's peanuts. Salvador Dali, Orson Welles, Pink Floyd, Mick Jagger, HR Giger, Jean Giraud (Moebius) and yes even David Carradine were all set to contribute their specific talents. It's immensely regrettable that ultimately it all fell apart. Now, decades later, the mother of all unmade movies is getting a fascinating documentary on what was to be and what went wrong.
April 11, 2015
Nasa's keeping it cool, really cool
NASA's Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL), scheduled to be installed on the International Space Station early 2016, has succeeded in producing a state of matter known as a Bose-Einstein condensate, a key breakthrough for the instrument.
A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter of a dilute gas of bosons cooled to temperatures very close to absolute zero. Under such conditions, a large fraction of the bosons occupy the lowest quantum state, at which point quantum effects become apparent on a macroscopic scale.
CAL researchers used lasers to optically cool rubidium atoms to temperatures almost a million times colder than that of the depths of space. The atoms were then magnetically trapped, and radio waves were used to cool the atoms 100 times lower. The radiofrequency radiation acts like a knife, slicing away the hottest atoms from the trap so that only the coldest remain.
The research is now at the point where this process can reliably create a Bose-Einstein condensate in just seconds.
CAL is designed to study ultra-cold quantum gases on the space station. In the station's microgravity environment, interaction times and temperatures as low as one picokelvin (one trillionth of one Kelvin) should be achievable. That's colder than anything known in nature, and the experiments with CAL could potentially create the coldest matter ever observed in the universe. These breakthrough temperatures unlock the potential to observe new quantum phenomena and test some of the most fundamental laws of physics.
ScienceCasts: The Coolest Spot in the Universe
http://coldatomlab.jpl.nasa.gov/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bose%E2%80%93Einstein_condensate
A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter of a dilute gas of bosons cooled to temperatures very close to absolute zero. Under such conditions, a large fraction of the bosons occupy the lowest quantum state, at which point quantum effects become apparent on a macroscopic scale.
CAL researchers used lasers to optically cool rubidium atoms to temperatures almost a million times colder than that of the depths of space. The atoms were then magnetically trapped, and radio waves were used to cool the atoms 100 times lower. The radiofrequency radiation acts like a knife, slicing away the hottest atoms from the trap so that only the coldest remain.
The research is now at the point where this process can reliably create a Bose-Einstein condensate in just seconds.
CAL is designed to study ultra-cold quantum gases on the space station. In the station's microgravity environment, interaction times and temperatures as low as one picokelvin (one trillionth of one Kelvin) should be achievable. That's colder than anything known in nature, and the experiments with CAL could potentially create the coldest matter ever observed in the universe. These breakthrough temperatures unlock the potential to observe new quantum phenomena and test some of the most fundamental laws of physics.
ScienceCasts: The Coolest Spot in the Universe
http://coldatomlab.jpl.nasa.gov/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bose%E2%80%93Einstein_condensate
March 29, 2015
Andy Goldsworthy - Letting nature take its course
Andy Goldsworthy is a British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist who produces site-specific sculpture and land art situated in natural and urban settings.
He was born in Cheshire in 1956 and grew up on the Harrogate side of Leeds, West Yorkshire, in a house edging the green belt. From the age of 13 he worked on farms as a labourer. He has likened the repetitive quality of farm tasks to the routine of making sculpture: "A lot of my work is like picking potatoes; you have to get into the rhythm of it."
Photography plays a crucial role in his art due to its often ephemeral and transient state. According to Goldsworthy, "Each work grows, stays, decays – integral parts of a cycle which the photograph shows at its heights, marking the moment when the work is most alive. There is an intensity about a work at its peak that I hope is expressed in the image. Process and decay are implicit."
Goldsworthy is generally considered the founder of modern rock balancing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_balancing
Goldsworthy's absolutely stunning documentary " Rivers and Tides " is available on youtube in full. ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307385/ ). It might take a while to get into but if you just go with the flow it'll take you on a journey.
He was born in Cheshire in 1956 and grew up on the Harrogate side of Leeds, West Yorkshire, in a house edging the green belt. From the age of 13 he worked on farms as a labourer. He has likened the repetitive quality of farm tasks to the routine of making sculpture: "A lot of my work is like picking potatoes; you have to get into the rhythm of it."
Photography plays a crucial role in his art due to its often ephemeral and transient state. According to Goldsworthy, "Each work grows, stays, decays – integral parts of a cycle which the photograph shows at its heights, marking the moment when the work is most alive. There is an intensity about a work at its peak that I hope is expressed in the image. Process and decay are implicit."
Goldsworthy is generally considered the founder of modern rock balancing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_balancing
Goldsworthy's absolutely stunning documentary " Rivers and Tides " is available on youtube in full. ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307385/ ). It might take a while to get into but if you just go with the flow it'll take you on a journey.
November 19, 2011
Camouflaged sea dragons
This stunning HD footage from the acclaimed BBC - Life series of two Weedy Seadragons showing off their courtship ritual is truly a sight to behold.
The Weedy seadragon is a marine fish related to the seahorse. It is found in water 3 to 50 m deep around the southern coastline of Australia. They resemble drifting weed when moving over bare sand but they have got nothing on their cousins, the Leafy Seadragon.
Bonus video: Leafy Seadragon
The Weedy seadragon is a marine fish related to the seahorse. It is found in water 3 to 50 m deep around the southern coastline of Australia. They resemble drifting weed when moving over bare sand but they have got nothing on their cousins, the Leafy Seadragon.
Bonus video: Leafy Seadragon
Slowing down light
By use of a Bose--Einstein condensate, Danish physicist Lene Vestergaard Hau (Harvard University) succeeded in slowing a beam of light to about 17 metres per second, and, in 2001, was able to momentarily stop a beam completely.
About a decade ago, Hau started playing with BECs — for a physicist, that means shooting lasers at them. She found that lasers of the right wavelengths could tune the optical properties of a BEC, giving Hau an almost supernatural command over any other light shined into it.
Her first trick was slowing a pulse of light to a crawl — 25 kmph as it traveled through the BEC. Since then, Hau has completely frozen a pulse and then released it. And recently she shot a pulse into one BEC and stopped it — turning the BEC into a hologram, a sort of matter version of the pulse. Then she transferred that matter waveform into an entirely different BEC nearby — which emitted the original light pulse. That's just freaky. Hey, Einstein may have set that initial speed limit of light, but he only theorized about BECs. "It's not breaking relativity," Hau says. "But I'm sure he would have been rather surprised."
This clip was taken from BBC documentary Absolute Zero.
About a decade ago, Hau started playing with BECs — for a physicist, that means shooting lasers at them. She found that lasers of the right wavelengths could tune the optical properties of a BEC, giving Hau an almost supernatural command over any other light shined into it.
Her first trick was slowing a pulse of light to a crawl — 25 kmph as it traveled through the BEC. Since then, Hau has completely frozen a pulse and then released it. And recently she shot a pulse into one BEC and stopped it — turning the BEC into a hologram, a sort of matter version of the pulse. Then she transferred that matter waveform into an entirely different BEC nearby — which emitted the original light pulse. That's just freaky. Hey, Einstein may have set that initial speed limit of light, but he only theorized about BECs. "It's not breaking relativity," Hau says. "But I'm sure he would have been rather surprised."
This clip was taken from BBC documentary Absolute Zero.
The Bose-Einstein condensation of matter
In school we all learned that there are 3 states of matter; solid, liquid and gas. It turns out that we have been lied to. Most people will have heard of plasma which is sometimes called the 4th state of matter but there are many more. Have you ever heard of the Bose-Einstein Condensate phase of matter? Prepare yourself for some truly mindblowing stuff.
More info: Wikipedia - Bose-Einstein condensate
This clip was taken from a two part BBC series called absolute zero. Part 1 is called "The conquest of cold" and part 2 "The race for absolute zero". PBS has cut down that material to a single episode called absolute zero (1h40, HD) but I would recommend watching the longer BBC version.
More info: Wikipedia - Bose-Einstein condensate
This clip was taken from a two part BBC series called absolute zero. Part 1 is called "The conquest of cold" and part 2 "The race for absolute zero". PBS has cut down that material to a single episode called absolute zero (1h40, HD) but I would recommend watching the longer BBC version.
October 15, 2011
Mexico's giant crystal cave
Mexico's giant crystal cave got it's name from the stunning 10 meter long crystals that were found inside. The cave is extremely hot with air temperatures reaching up to 58 °C (136 °F) with 90 to 99 percent humidity. Due to these factors, the cave is relatively unexplored. Without proper protection people can only endure approximately ten minutes of exposure at a time. The cave lies on an ancient fault and there is an underground magma chamber below the cave. The magma heated the ground water and it became saturated with minerals, including large quantities of gypsum. The hollow space of the cave was filled with this mineral rich hot water and remained filled for about 500,000 years. During this time, the temperature of the water remained very stable at over 50°C. This allowed crystals to form and grow to immense sizes.
Bonus Picture: A science team explores the cave.
BBC Docu - How Earth Made Us
Bonus Picture: A science team explores the cave.
BBC Docu - How Earth Made Us
October 7, 2011
The Earth core
The earth's core is a remarkable place. Tremendous pressure, insane temperatures, liquid metal storms and raging magnetic fields. A recent horizon episode talked about some mysterious phenomena that have recently been cleared up. One of those was the discovery that earthquake waves travel through the earth faster from north to south than from east to west. In the short clip below you can find out why that is the case.
They have also discovered a sort of Bermuda triangle in space but if you want to find out more about that, you will have to watch the full episode. :p
BBC Horizon - The Core (59 minutes HD)
They have also discovered a sort of Bermuda triangle in space but if you want to find out more about that, you will have to watch the full episode. :p
BBC Horizon - The Core (59 minutes HD)
September 23, 2011
How long is a piece of string?
How long is a piece of string? It sounds like a ridiculous question... but it isn't. This hour long journey to find out the length of a certain piece of string will blow your mind. This trip takes you from the classical to the quantum and leaves you with more questions than answers. Easily one of the best episodes from BBC's Horizon. I know that an hour of your time is a lot to ask for, but believe me, it's worth it.
September 20, 2011
Cybernetics today
Filmmaker Rob Spence aka Eyeborg (a self proclaimed cyborg who lost an eye and replaced it with a wireless video camera) investigates prosthetics, cybernetics and human augmentation. How far are we from the future presented to us in the critically acclaimed video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution?
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