Can We Make a Star on Earth?
|
Please install the latest version of Adobe Flash Player to view this content!
|
||||
| Subjects: Astronomy, Energy, Environment, Global Issues, Physics, Renewable Energy, Science, Technology | ||||
Nuclear fusion has forged all matter in the universe. It lights the stars and it is what transformed the lighter atoms that formed in the Big Bang into heavier atoms (like carbon, iron and silicon) that went on to build planets, plants – even people. In this film, Brian Cox peers beyond the glare of our Sun to reveal the hidden forces that provide its power. He discovers how this fusion energy has kept our closest star burning for five billion years, and will continue to light it for as long again in the future. Brian also looks at how the sun has given rise to our civilisation. The phenomenal economic, technological and scientific advances of the last two centuries have been driven by one thing: hydrocarbons. And it is the Sun which has made this possible – albeit indirectly. After all, oil, gas and coal are simply the fossil remains of plants that once thrived on sunlight. But inevitably, fossil fuels will run out. Brian believes in one audacious long-term solution. Humanity must build a star on Earth to ensure survival. Only if scientists can harness fusion power will we ever achieve abundant, cheap, clean energy. They know they can do it – fusion has been achieved, but not controlled. Now, a race is underway to discover a technology to achieve the seemingly impossible: contain a star on Earth. From a powerful x-ray machine, in New Mexico to Korea’s fusion programme, Brian goes in search of the options and implications for our civilisation. |
||||
How to Boil a Frog
There are plenty of serious documentaries on the world's...
Mother: Caring for 7 Billion
Mother, the film, breaks a 40-year taboo by bringing to light an...
PIllars of Freedom (10)
FOR GRADES 1-6 - Setting the stage: Imagine a world where there...
Water on the Table
Water on the Table is a character-driven, social-issue documentary...
Toxic Tears
Salesmen peddling pesticides come into tiny villages in the Punjab...
Nourish - Short Films
Explore the story of your food through 54 thought-provoking,...
PLANEAT
Where have we gone wrong? Why has the death rate from heart disease...