| Mr. Charlie |
02-11-2016 04:14 PM |
Horizon: Can We Make a Star on Earth?
Professor Brian Cox takes a global journey in search of the energy source of the future. Called nuclear fusion, it is the process that fuels the sun and every other star in the universe. Yet despite over five decades of effort, scientists have been unable to get even a single watt of fusion electricity onto the grid.
Brian returns to Horizon to find out why. Granted extraordinary access to the biggest and most ambitious fusion experiments on the planet, Brian travels to the USA to see a high-security fusion bomb-testing facility in action and is given a tour of the world's most powerful laser. In South Korea, he clambers inside the reaction chamber of K-Star, the world's first supercooled, superconducting fusion reactor, where the fate of future fusion research will be decided.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hr6bk
Excellent watch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Charlie
(Post 1672304)
The Brain With David Eagleman
Series in which Dr David Eagleman takes viewers on an extraordinary journey that explores how the brain, locked in silence and darkness without direct access to the world, conjures up the rich and beautiful world we all take for granted.
This episode begins with the astonishing fact that this technicolour multi-sensory experience we are having is a convincing illusion conjured up for us by our brains.
In the outside world there is no colour, no sound, no smell. These are all constructions of the brain. Instead, there is electromagnetic radiation, air compression waves and aromatic molecules, all of which are interpreted by the brain as colour, sound and smell.
We meet a man who is blind despite the fact that he has eyes that can see. His story reveals that it's the brain that sees, not the eyes. A woman with schizophrenia, whose psychotic episodes were her reality, emphasises the fact that whatever our brains tell us is out there, we believe it.
Visual illusions are reminders that what's important to the brain is not being faithful to 'reality', but enabling us to perceive just enough so that we can navigate successfully through it. The brain leaves a lot out of its beautiful rendition of the physical world, a fact that Dr Eagleman reveals using experiments and street demonstrations.
Each one of our brains is different, and so is the reality it produces. What is reality? It's whatever your brain tells you it is.
BBC iPlayer - The Brain with David Eagleman - 1. What Is Reality?
A programme examining how the reality we each perceive is different and naught but a mental construct. Maybe those pesky Taoists and Buddhists were onto something all along... ;) Excellent show.
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Up to episode 4 of this now. Brilliant show, and one which demonstrates that human beings are far from the rational creatures they think they are. Indeed it seems we're not even conscious most of the time and rely on innate knowledge or the intelligence of the body much more than our perceived intelligence.
I believe the show was originally shown in the States on PBS so it should be available in America too, albeit not via BBC iPlayer. Can't recommend it enough.
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