Description |
1 videodisc (approximately 109 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. |
System Details |
DVD. Region 1; NTSC. |
Performer |
Narrator, Neil Ross. |
Note |
Based on the book: Absolute zero and the conquest of cold / by Tom Shachtman. |
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Originally broadcast on public television as an episode of the television program Nova in 2007. |
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Anamorphic widescreen (16:9) format; Dolby digital. |
Funding |
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation ESI-0307939 |
Audience |
Not rated. |
Summary |
Presents the history of low-temperature research and the quest for ever-lower notches on the thermometer. The conquest of cold opens with experiments in the 1600s that asked what heat and cold are and whether they are different aspects of the same phenomenon. Shows how the experiments that settled those questions helped stoke the Industrial Revolution. The race for absolute zero dramatizes the rivalry between Scottish researcher James Dewar and Dutch physicist Heike Onnes, who plunged cold science to the forbidding realm at which oxygen and then hydrogen turn into liquids. Shows how the quest continues today as scientists pioneer super-fast computing near absolute zero--the ultimate chill of -459.67° F, where atoms slow to a virtual standstill. |
Contents |
The conquest of cold. A malevolent force ; Quantifying cold ; The ice trade ; Cold engines ; The cold resource -- The race for absolute zero. The holy grail ; A temperature cascade ; Superconductivity ; A new state of matter ; Applications. |
Note |
Special features include: printable materials for educators (PDF format). |
Language |
Closed-captioned. Optional audio-described soundtrack. |
Note |
GMD: videorecording. |
Subject |
Low temperature research.
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Low temperatures.
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Cold.
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Genre/Form |
Television programs.
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Science television programs.
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Documentary television programs.
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Television adaptations.
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Nonfiction television programs.
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Video recordings for the hearing impaired.
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Video recordings for people with visual disabilities.
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Added Author |
Dugan, David. Producer. Director.
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Shachtman, Tom, 1942- Screenwriter.
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Ross, Neil, 1944- Narrator.
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Shachtman, Tom, 1942-
Absolute zero and the conquest of cold.
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Windfall Films (Firm)
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Meridian Productions, Inc.
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Twin Cities Public Television (Saint Paul, Minn.)
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WGBH (Television station : Boston, Mass.)
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British Broadcasting Corporation.
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WGBH Video (Firm)
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National Science Foundation (U.S.)
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Note |
Title on container: Absolute zero : chasing the ultimate freezing point |
Added Title |
Nova (Television program)
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Conquest of cold.
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Race for absolute zero.
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ISBN |
9781593758196 |
Standard No. |
783421424494 |
Music No. |
WG42449 WGBH Boston Video |
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