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1
00:00:10,378 --> 00:00:12,511
(ticking)
2
00:00:15,683 --> 00:00:17,182
MAN:
When we think
of E equals m c-squared,
3
00:00:17,184 --> 00:00:19,585
we have this vision of Einstein
as an old, wrinkly man
4
00:00:19,587 --> 00:00:20,953
with white hair.
5
00:00:20,955 --> 00:00:25,090
MAN 2:
E equals m c-squared
is not about an old Einstein.
6
00:00:27,762 --> 00:00:31,196
It's actually about a young,
energetic, dynamic,
7
00:00:31,198 --> 00:00:32,965
even a sexy Einstein.
8
00:00:35,002 --> 00:00:38,170
ACTOR AS EINSTEIN:
What would I see if I rode
on a beam of light?
9
00:00:44,812 --> 00:00:46,378
MAN:
Perhaps some sort
10
00:00:46,380 --> 00:00:48,747
of electrical force is emanating
11
00:00:48,749 --> 00:00:49,848
outwards from
the wire.
12
00:00:49,850 --> 00:00:51,083
What?
13
00:00:51,085 --> 00:00:52,151
MAN:
Faraday, my dear boy,
14
00:00:52,153 --> 00:00:53,585
electricity flows
through a wire,
15
00:00:53,587 --> 00:00:55,788
not sideways to it.
16
00:00:55,790 --> 00:00:57,356
You see, John?
17
00:00:57,358 --> 00:00:58,023
You see?
18
00:01:02,830 --> 00:01:05,464
MAN:
It is my great ambition
to demonstrate
19
00:01:05,466 --> 00:01:09,401
that nature is a closed system;
20
00:01:09,403 --> 00:01:11,336
that in any transformation,
21
00:01:11,338 --> 00:01:16,041
no amount of matter, no mass,
is ever lost,
22
00:01:16,043 --> 00:01:17,543
and none is gained.
23
00:01:19,613 --> 00:01:20,646
The people...
24
00:01:20,648 --> 00:01:21,980
Lavoisier.
25
00:01:21,982 --> 00:01:24,016
It is they who will determine
right and wrong.
26
00:01:28,956 --> 00:01:30,722
( both laughing )
27
00:01:30,724 --> 00:01:31,723
MAN:
Emilie,
28
00:01:31,725 --> 00:01:32,791
you are
being absurd!
29
00:01:32,793 --> 00:01:33,826
Why ascribe
to an object
30
00:01:33,828 --> 00:01:37,196
a vague and immeasurable
force like vis viva?
31
00:01:37,198 --> 00:01:40,432
It is a return
to the old ways!
32
00:01:40,434 --> 00:01:43,836
Are you capable of discovering
something of your own?
33
00:01:43,838 --> 00:01:45,504
I discovered you!
34
00:01:45,506 --> 00:01:48,640
WOMAN:
There is no right time for the truth.
35
00:01:54,381 --> 00:01:55,614
Frãulein Meitner?
36
00:01:55,616 --> 00:01:56,548
Yes?
37
00:01:56,550 --> 00:01:57,483
Otto Hahn.
38
00:01:58,953 --> 00:02:00,586
The nucleus is our focus.
39
00:02:01,655 --> 00:02:03,422
The Jewess endangers
our institute.
40
00:02:03,424 --> 00:02:04,590
We can't harbor
a Jew!
41
00:02:04,592 --> 00:02:08,327
If she stays,
the regime will
shut us all down!
42
00:02:11,799 --> 00:02:13,899
They've split the atom.
43
00:02:13,901 --> 00:02:15,267
No, no, no.
44
00:02:15,269 --> 00:02:17,202
You've split the atom!
45
00:02:19,273 --> 00:02:25,377
Energy equals mass
times the square of
the speed of light!
46
00:02:25,379 --> 00:02:26,311
( laughs )
47
00:02:30,451 --> 00:02:32,784
Would you like me to check
your mathematics?
48
00:02:47,434 --> 00:02:50,636
Major funding for NOVA
is provided by the following...
49
00:02:52,540 --> 00:02:55,607
Shouldn't what makes
each of us unique
50
00:02:55,609 --> 00:02:59,411
supporting NOVA and promoting
public understanding of science.
51
00:03:01,916 --> 00:03:05,884
Funding for "Einstein's
Big Idea" is provided
52
00:03:05,886 --> 00:03:08,887
by the National
Science Foundation,
53
00:03:08,889 --> 00:03:12,057
where discoveries begins.
54
00:03:12,059 --> 00:03:15,027
And by the Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation,
55
00:03:15,029 --> 00:03:17,229
to portray the lives
of men and women
56
00:03:17,231 --> 00:03:20,032
engaged in scientific
and technological pursuit.
57
00:03:20,034 --> 00:03:22,935
And the U.S. Department
of Energy,
58
00:03:22,937 --> 00:03:25,070
fostering science and security.
59
00:03:25,072 --> 00:03:29,875
And the Universities
Research Association.
60
00:03:29,877 --> 00:03:31,743
Major funding for NOVA
is also provided
61
00:03:31,745 --> 00:03:33,579
by the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting,
62
00:03:33,581 --> 00:03:36,148
and by PBS viewers like you--
thank you.
63
00:03:50,264 --> 00:03:52,864
NARRATOR:
A hundred years ago,
64
00:03:52,866 --> 00:03:56,034
a deceptively simple formula
revealed a hidden unity
65
00:03:56,036 --> 00:03:58,337
buried deep in the fabric
of the universe.
66
00:04:02,643 --> 00:04:05,978
It tells
of a fantastic connection
67
00:04:05,980 --> 00:04:08,580
between energy,
matter and light.
68
00:04:10,884 --> 00:04:14,720
Its author was
a youthful Albert Einstein.
69
00:04:14,722 --> 00:04:18,957
It's the most famous equation
in the world:
70
00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:23,662
E equals m c-squared.
71
00:04:25,733 --> 00:04:27,699
MAN:
All aboard!
72
00:04:30,571 --> 00:04:32,771
( train whistle toots )
73
00:04:32,773 --> 00:04:34,973
LITHGOW:
But while we've all heard
74
00:04:34,975 --> 00:04:36,675
of Einstein's big idea,
75
00:04:36,677 --> 00:04:39,111
very few of us know
what it means.
76
00:04:41,982 --> 00:04:46,551
In fact, E equals m c-squared
is so remarkable
77
00:04:46,553 --> 00:04:50,756
that even Einstein wasn't sure
if it was really true.
78
00:04:54,194 --> 00:04:55,494
WOMAN:
Albert, darling,
79
00:04:55,496 --> 00:04:58,430
you're later than I expected.
80
00:05:00,334 --> 00:05:02,501
We've only got sausage
and cheese tonight.
81
00:05:04,405 --> 00:05:05,771
What is it?
82
00:05:05,773 --> 00:05:07,939
We need to talk.
83
00:05:07,941 --> 00:05:09,374
Has something happened?
84
00:05:09,376 --> 00:05:10,242
Oh, no, nothing.
85
00:05:10,244 --> 00:05:12,010
Sorry, no.
86
00:05:12,012 --> 00:05:13,912
I spent most of the day
87
00:05:13,914 --> 00:05:18,183
staring out
the window at work
looking at trains,
88
00:05:18,185 --> 00:05:19,351
and I started
to think
89
00:05:19,353 --> 00:05:24,389
about an object
and how much energy it had.
90
00:05:24,391 --> 00:05:25,490
Can I explain it to you?
91
00:05:25,492 --> 00:05:26,658
Of course you can.
92
00:05:26,660 --> 00:05:29,361
But first...
( kisses ) dinner!
93
00:05:29,363 --> 00:05:31,096
Hmm? Food, then talk.
94
00:05:34,635 --> 00:05:37,336
I think the gods
are laughing at me.
95
00:05:40,941 --> 00:05:44,409
LITHGOW:
The gods were not laughing
at Einstein.
96
00:05:44,411 --> 00:05:48,413
He'd united
in one stunning insight
97
00:05:48,415 --> 00:05:51,516
the work of many
who had come before him--
98
00:05:51,518 --> 00:05:55,053
scientists who'd fought
and even died
99
00:05:55,055 --> 00:05:58,123
to create each part
of the equation.
100
00:05:58,125 --> 00:06:00,992
The story
of E equals m c-squared
101
00:06:00,994 --> 00:06:03,462
starts long before Einstein
102
00:06:03,464 --> 00:06:06,665
with the discovery
of "E" for energy.
103
00:06:19,913 --> 00:06:21,713
In the early 19th century,
104
00:06:21,715 --> 00:06:25,784
scientists didn't think
in terms of "energy";
105
00:06:25,786 --> 00:06:30,989
they thought in terms of
individual "powers" or "forces."
106
00:06:30,991 --> 00:06:34,259
These were all disconnected,
unrelated things:
107
00:06:34,261 --> 00:06:38,597
the power of the wind,
the force of a door closing,
108
00:06:38,599 --> 00:06:40,365
a crack of lightning.
109
00:06:40,367 --> 00:06:41,500
( thunder rumbles )
110
00:06:41,502 --> 00:06:42,801
The idea that there might be
111
00:06:42,803 --> 00:06:46,371
some sort of overarching,
unifying energy
112
00:06:46,373 --> 00:06:51,643
which lay behind all these
forces had yet to be revealed.
113
00:06:51,645 --> 00:06:53,445
One lowly man's drive
114
00:06:53,447 --> 00:06:56,548
to understand the hidden
mysteries of nature
115
00:06:56,550 --> 00:06:58,784
would begin to change all that.
116
00:07:05,592 --> 00:07:08,660
MAN:
Young Michael Faraday hated
his job.
117
00:07:08,662 --> 00:07:11,196
He was uneducated,
the son of a blacksmith.
118
00:07:11,198 --> 00:07:14,099
He'd been lucky to become
a bookbinder's apprentice.
119
00:07:16,136 --> 00:07:17,736
But Faraday craved one thing.
120
00:07:17,738 --> 00:07:18,804
He craved knowledge.
121
00:07:18,806 --> 00:07:21,139
He read every book
that passed through his hands.
122
00:07:21,141 --> 00:07:23,074
He developed
a passion for science.
123
00:07:24,378 --> 00:07:27,212
All of his free time
and his meager wages were poured
124
00:07:27,214 --> 00:07:28,613
into his self-education.
125
00:07:28,615 --> 00:07:31,049
He was on the threshold
of an incredible journey
126
00:07:31,051 --> 00:07:33,151
into the invisible world
of energy.
127
00:07:46,700 --> 00:07:50,202
LITHGOW:
Faraday had impressed
one of his master's customers
128
00:07:50,204 --> 00:07:53,905
and was rewarded with a ticket
that would change his life.
129
00:07:53,907 --> 00:07:55,941
Excuse me, please.
130
00:07:55,943 --> 00:07:57,843
Can I pass, please?
131
00:07:59,079 --> 00:08:01,112
"Can I pass?"
132
00:08:01,114 --> 00:08:03,915
Some of us are trying
to improve ourselves,
133
00:08:03,917 --> 00:08:06,518
if people will let us.
134
00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:07,919
Of course, of course--
pass, pass.
135
00:08:09,223 --> 00:08:10,455
This way
to a better life.
136
00:08:10,457 --> 00:08:11,790
( chuckles )
137
00:08:11,792 --> 00:08:16,228
MAN:
In the early 1800s, science was
the pursuit of gentlemen,
138
00:08:16,230 --> 00:08:20,031
something Faraday
was clearly not.
139
00:08:20,033 --> 00:08:22,434
He had a rudimentary education,
140
00:08:22,436 --> 00:08:27,806
he'd read widely,
he'd gone to public lectures,
141
00:08:27,808 --> 00:08:31,543
but in 1812 he was given tickets
to hear Sir Humphry Davy,
142
00:08:31,545 --> 00:08:34,145
the most prominent chemist
of the age.
143
00:08:37,718 --> 00:08:39,084
( groans )
144
00:08:39,086 --> 00:08:42,220
( laughing )
145
00:08:42,222 --> 00:08:46,925
LITHGOW:
Nineteenth-century scientists
were the pop stars of their day.
146
00:08:46,927 --> 00:08:49,494
Their lectures were
hugely popular.
147
00:08:49,496 --> 00:08:55,166
Tickets were hard to come by,
and Davy reveled in his status.
148
00:08:55,168 --> 00:08:56,568
They're waiting.
149
00:08:56,570 --> 00:08:58,036
I know.
150
00:08:59,907 --> 00:09:04,142
LITHGOW:
He was also a keen follower
of the latest fashion--
151
00:09:04,144 --> 00:09:07,445
nitrous oxide, or laughing gas.
152
00:09:07,447 --> 00:09:12,183
He said it had all the benefits
of alcohol without the hangover.
153
00:09:12,185 --> 00:09:14,819
( laughing )
154
00:09:14,821 --> 00:09:15,854
( clears throat )
155
00:09:15,856 --> 00:09:18,089
Electricity, ladies
and gentlemen,
156
00:09:18,091 --> 00:09:21,359
a mysterious force that can
unravel the confusing mixture
157
00:09:21,361 --> 00:09:23,662
of intermingled substances
158
00:09:23,664 --> 00:09:27,832
that surround us and produce
pure... pure elements!
159
00:09:27,834 --> 00:09:31,269
GATES:
Davy was an absolutely
first-rate scientist.
160
00:09:31,271 --> 00:09:33,004
However, many will come to say
161
00:09:33,006 --> 00:09:35,640
that his greatest discovery is
Michael Faraday.
162
00:09:35,642 --> 00:09:37,776
DAVY:
Metals-- unknown, that is,
163
00:09:37,778 --> 00:09:42,280
until I isolated potassium
from molten potash and sodium,
164
00:09:42,282 --> 00:09:44,449
as I showed you last time,
from common salt.
165
00:09:44,451 --> 00:09:46,685
( voice fades ):
That same magical electric...
166
00:09:46,687 --> 00:09:49,688
LITHGOW:
Faraday may not have been born
a gentleman,
167
00:09:49,690 --> 00:09:52,624
but he wasn't going to let
class barriers stop him
168
00:09:52,626 --> 00:09:55,260
from pursuing
a career in science.
169
00:09:57,598 --> 00:09:58,997
He worked for nights on end
170
00:09:58,999 --> 00:10:04,202
to bind his lecture notes
into a book for his new hero.
171
00:10:05,739 --> 00:10:11,009
FARADAY:
Lord, help me to think
only of others...
172
00:10:11,011 --> 00:10:13,979
to be of use to mankind.
173
00:10:13,981 --> 00:10:16,314
Help me be part
of the great circle
174
00:10:16,316 --> 00:10:18,450
that is your work and love.
175
00:10:20,287 --> 00:10:22,354
Lord, I am your servant.
176
00:10:29,630 --> 00:10:31,563
This is excellent work, Faraday.
177
00:10:33,033 --> 00:10:36,835
So, what is it you aim
to do with your life?
178
00:10:36,837 --> 00:10:40,405
My desire, sir, is
to escape from trade,
179
00:10:40,407 --> 00:10:42,907
which I find vicious
and selfish,
180
00:10:42,909 --> 00:10:44,876
and to become
a servant of science,
181
00:10:44,878 --> 00:10:50,382
which, I imagine, makes its
pursuers amiable and liberal.
182
00:10:50,384 --> 00:10:51,316
( laughs briefly )
183
00:10:53,353 --> 00:10:54,486
Really?
184
00:10:54,488 --> 00:10:57,022
Well, I shall leave it
to the experience of a few years
185
00:10:57,024 --> 00:10:58,356
to set you right on that score.
186
00:10:58,358 --> 00:11:01,626
Look, I haven't anything
at the moment.
187
00:11:01,628 --> 00:11:04,229
I'll send a note
if anything comes up.
188
00:11:09,002 --> 00:11:11,236
LITHGOW:
Despite this
humiliating setback,
189
00:11:11,238 --> 00:11:15,373
Faraday was determined to
break free from his daily toil.
190
00:11:18,578 --> 00:11:20,979
His patience was rewarded.
191
00:11:30,557 --> 00:11:32,023
( explosion, then Davy screams)
192
00:11:41,435 --> 00:11:42,500
DAVY:
Newman...
193
00:11:42,502 --> 00:11:44,903
meet Mr. Michael
Faraday.
194
00:11:44,905 --> 00:11:48,073
He's going to be my helper
while I recover.
195
00:11:48,075 --> 00:11:51,142
He assures me he is
a Christian fellow.
196
00:11:51,144 --> 00:11:53,978
Perhaps with God
and Faraday in charge
of the chemicals,
197
00:11:53,980 --> 00:11:56,181
you and I will be safe
in our place of work.
198
00:11:56,183 --> 00:11:58,583
Thank you,
Professor Davy.
199
00:11:58,585 --> 00:11:59,651
Welcome, Faraday.
200
00:11:59,653 --> 00:12:01,086
Oh, no, thank you,
201
00:12:01,088 --> 00:12:02,654
and thank you,
Sir Humphry.
202
00:12:02,656 --> 00:12:04,355
Just stick to your job
and do as you're told
203
00:12:04,357 --> 00:12:06,157
and you'll be fine, Faraday.
204
00:12:11,798 --> 00:12:17,135
LITHGOW:
Faraday became the laboratory
assistant, eagerly absorbing
205
00:12:17,137 --> 00:12:21,473
every scrap of knowledge
that Davy deigned to impart.
206
00:12:21,475 --> 00:12:25,343
But in time, the pupil
would surpass the master.
207
00:12:30,951 --> 00:12:34,285
The big excitement of the day
was electricity.
208
00:12:34,287 --> 00:12:36,621
Another charge, Newman.
209
00:12:36,623 --> 00:12:38,757
LITHGOW:
The battery
had just been invented,
210
00:12:38,759 --> 00:12:42,727
and all manner of experiments
were being done.
211
00:12:42,729 --> 00:12:44,462
But no one really understood
212
00:12:44,464 --> 00:12:49,300
what this strange force
of electricity was.
213
00:12:51,004 --> 00:12:53,538
GATES:
The academic establishment
at the time thought
214
00:12:53,540 --> 00:12:56,641
that electricity was, you know,
215
00:12:56,643 --> 00:13:00,411
like a fluid flowing through
a pipe, pushing its way along.
216
00:13:00,413 --> 00:13:03,181
But in 1821,
a Danish researcher showed
217
00:13:03,183 --> 00:13:06,718
that when you pass an electric
current through a wire
218
00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:08,520
and place a compass near it,
219
00:13:08,522 --> 00:13:11,856
it deflected the needle
at right angles.
220
00:13:11,858 --> 00:13:13,424
LITHGOW:
This was the first time
221
00:13:13,426 --> 00:13:16,628
researchers had seen electricity
affect a magnet,
222
00:13:16,630 --> 00:13:18,229
the first glimpse of two forces
223
00:13:18,231 --> 00:13:21,833
which had previously been seen
as entirely separate
224
00:13:21,835 --> 00:13:24,869
now unified
in some inexplicable way.
225
00:13:24,871 --> 00:13:26,137
Faraday, come
look at this.
226
00:13:26,139 --> 00:13:28,039
You're the bright
spark around here.
227
00:13:28,041 --> 00:13:29,541
Perhaps you
can work it out.
228
00:13:29,543 --> 00:13:32,243
Oersted's reported
an amazing finding.
229
00:13:32,245 --> 00:13:33,945
We're just
replicating it here.
230
00:13:33,947 --> 00:13:36,881
Let's try the compass
on the other side.
231
00:13:39,986 --> 00:13:41,686
MAN:
Now, that is
232
00:13:41,688 --> 00:13:43,555
remarkable.
233
00:13:43,557 --> 00:13:46,024
But if the electrical force
is flowing through the wire,
234
00:13:46,026 --> 00:13:47,025
why does the needle
235
00:13:47,027 --> 00:13:48,526
not move in
the same direction,
236
00:13:48,528 --> 00:13:49,561
parallel
to the wire?
237
00:13:49,563 --> 00:13:51,563
Quite.
238
00:13:51,565 --> 00:13:54,999
Let's try turning
the whole apparatus round.
239
00:13:59,539 --> 00:14:00,805
Again, Newman.
240
00:14:04,544 --> 00:14:09,848
So, the electrical force goes
this way.
241
00:14:09,850 --> 00:14:12,884
The compass points that way.
242
00:14:12,886 --> 00:14:14,786
How can one affect the other?
243
00:14:14,788 --> 00:14:15,720
( utters sound )
244
00:14:16,890 --> 00:14:20,124
Perhaps the electricity
is throwing out
245
00:14:20,126 --> 00:14:21,292
some invisible force
246
00:14:21,294 --> 00:14:22,393
as it moves
along.
247
00:14:22,395 --> 00:14:23,461
What?
248
00:14:23,463 --> 00:14:27,498
Perhaps some sort of electrical
force is emanating
249
00:14:27,500 --> 00:14:29,100
outwards from
the wire.
250
00:14:29,102 --> 00:14:30,501
Oh, my dear boy, let me tell you
251
00:14:30,503 --> 00:14:32,737
that at
the University of Cambridge,
252
00:14:32,739 --> 00:14:35,173
electricity flows
through a wire,
253
00:14:35,175 --> 00:14:36,808
not sideways to it.
254
00:14:36,810 --> 00:14:38,309
That may be
what they teach
at Cambridge,
255
00:14:38,311 --> 00:14:40,078
but it doesn't explain
what's happening
256
00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:41,079
before our eyes.
257
00:14:41,081 --> 00:14:42,547
No, now, let's just get on.
258
00:14:42,549 --> 00:14:44,983
Let's swap the compass
to below the wire.
259
00:14:44,985 --> 00:14:48,686
LITHGOW:
Why the compass was deflected
at right angles,
260
00:14:48,688 --> 00:14:51,522
why the electricity was
affecting the compass at all,
261
00:14:51,524 --> 00:14:55,026
dumbfounded Davy
and many others.
262
00:14:57,664 --> 00:15:00,932
MINISTER:
As we celebrate the marriage
of Michael and Sarah...
263
00:15:00,934 --> 00:15:05,436
LITHGOW:
For Faraday, however,
the problem became an obsession.
264
00:15:05,438 --> 00:15:08,606
It was a fascination
inspired by his religion.
265
00:15:08,608 --> 00:15:10,808
For him, the problem was a way
266
00:15:10,810 --> 00:15:13,978
to understand God's
hidden mysteries.
267
00:15:15,882 --> 00:15:18,783
BODANIS:
There is a small, almost
persecuted group in London
268
00:15:18,785 --> 00:15:20,018
called the Sandemanians.
269
00:15:20,020 --> 00:15:21,886
They were a religious...
not really a sect,
270
00:15:21,888 --> 00:15:24,188
they were just a small subset,
sort of like Quakers.
271
00:15:24,190 --> 00:15:26,858
Faraday was a member
of that group.
272
00:15:26,860 --> 00:15:28,493
It was a very gentle,
decent group.
273
00:15:28,495 --> 00:15:31,296
They believed that underneath
the whole surface of reality,
274
00:15:31,298 --> 00:15:33,898
everything was created by God
in a unified way;
275
00:15:33,900 --> 00:15:35,900
that if you opened up
one little part of it,
276
00:15:35,902 --> 00:15:37,936
you could see
how everything was connected.
277
00:15:42,142 --> 00:15:43,641
Michael Faraday was someone
278
00:15:43,643 --> 00:15:46,811
who, like Einstein, thought
in terms of pictures.
279
00:15:49,249 --> 00:15:51,783
BODANIS:
Faraday was different
from anybody else.
280
00:15:51,785 --> 00:15:54,619
He had a flair for understanding
his experiments,
281
00:15:54,621 --> 00:15:57,155
for understanding what was
really going on inside them.
282
00:15:59,859 --> 00:16:02,026
LITHGOW:
By methodically placing
a compass
283
00:16:02,028 --> 00:16:03,628
all around an electrified wire,
284
00:16:03,630 --> 00:16:06,230
Faraday started
to notice a pattern.
285
00:16:13,673 --> 00:16:15,640
What everyone else at the time
had been taught
286
00:16:15,642 --> 00:16:17,508
was that forces travel
in straight lines.
287
00:16:17,510 --> 00:16:20,078
Faraday was different.
288
00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:22,347
Faraday imagined
that invisible lines of force
289
00:16:22,349 --> 00:16:23,982
flowed around an electric wire.
290
00:16:26,186 --> 00:16:27,251
And then he imagined
291
00:16:27,253 --> 00:16:29,520
that a magnet had similar lines
emerging from it
292
00:16:29,522 --> 00:16:32,056
and that those lines would get
caught up in this flow.
293
00:16:32,058 --> 00:16:34,359
It was a bit
like a flag in a wind.
294
00:16:38,498 --> 00:16:41,466
LITHGOW:
But Faraday's great leap
of imagination
295
00:16:41,468 --> 00:16:44,602
was to turn this experiment
on its head.
296
00:16:44,604 --> 00:16:48,039
Instead of an electrified wire
moving a compass needle,
297
00:16:48,041 --> 00:16:52,677
he wondered if he could get
a static magnet to move a wire.
298
00:16:52,679 --> 00:16:54,445
I've never seen you
like this, Faraday.
299
00:16:54,447 --> 00:16:57,849
( chuckling ):
You look like
a happy child.
300
00:16:57,851 --> 00:17:00,785
I'm shaking, Newman.
301
00:17:00,787 --> 00:17:02,553
Underneath, I'm shaking.
302
00:17:10,230 --> 00:17:11,229
( gasps )
303
00:17:11,231 --> 00:17:12,230
You see, John?
304
00:17:13,333 --> 00:17:14,399
You see?
305
00:17:14,401 --> 00:17:15,033
Yes.
306
00:17:26,846 --> 00:17:30,415
GATES:
This is the experiment
of the century.
307
00:17:30,417 --> 00:17:33,017
It's the invention
of the electric motor.
308
00:17:33,019 --> 00:17:35,653
Scale up the magnets
and the wires,
309
00:17:35,655 --> 00:17:39,524
make them really big,
attach heavy weights to them
310
00:17:39,526 --> 00:17:42,093
and they'll be dragged along.
311
00:17:42,095 --> 00:17:43,961
But almost more importantly,
312
00:17:43,963 --> 00:17:46,664
he's inventing
a new kind of physics here.
313
00:17:48,001 --> 00:17:50,501
LITHGOW:
Although he didn't realize it
at the time,
314
00:17:50,503 --> 00:17:53,604
Faraday had also
just demonstrated
315
00:17:53,606 --> 00:17:55,873
an overarching principle.
316
00:17:55,875 --> 00:17:57,742
The chemicals in the battery
317
00:17:57,744 --> 00:18:00,845
had been transformed
into electricity in the wire,
318
00:18:00,847 --> 00:18:06,017
which had combined with
the magnet to produce motion.
319
00:18:06,019 --> 00:18:11,756
Behind all these various forces
there was a common energy.
320
00:18:23,236 --> 00:18:24,936
BODANIS:
A couple of months earlier,
321
00:18:24,938 --> 00:18:27,705
Davy had been elected president
of the Royal Society,
322
00:18:27,707 --> 00:18:31,075
which was the elite body
of English science.
323
00:18:31,077 --> 00:18:32,810
But then he saw
this great discovery
324
00:18:32,812 --> 00:18:35,079
published in the Quarterly Journal of Science.
325
00:18:35,081 --> 00:18:36,481
I don't know if he was envious,
326
00:18:36,483 --> 00:18:38,382
but he certainly saw
that this young man
327
00:18:38,384 --> 00:18:41,319
who had been his assistant,
this mere blacksmith's son,
328
00:18:41,321 --> 00:18:43,621
had come up with one
of the greatest discoveries
329
00:18:43,623 --> 00:18:45,089
of the Victorian era.
330
00:18:51,397 --> 00:18:56,501
Davy accuses Faraday
of plagiarizing similar work
331
00:18:56,503 --> 00:19:00,671
from another eminent British
scientist, William Wollaston.
332
00:19:00,673 --> 00:19:04,442
So, Faraday, what
does Wollaston
make of all this?
333
00:19:04,444 --> 00:19:06,777
He's written to me
and assures me
334
00:19:06,779 --> 00:19:08,346
that he's taken
no offense,
335
00:19:08,348 --> 00:19:10,281
and he acknowledges
that what I published
336
00:19:10,283 --> 00:19:11,916
was entirely my own work.
337
00:19:11,918 --> 00:19:12,984
Quite, quite.
338
00:19:12,986 --> 00:19:15,586
Davy is just
being an ass.
339
00:19:15,588 --> 00:19:17,855
But will Davy now retract
his allegation?
340
00:19:17,857 --> 00:19:19,090
Sadly, no.
341
00:19:19,092 --> 00:19:20,992
In fact, he is still
vehemently opposed
342
00:19:20,994 --> 00:19:22,827
to you being elected
a member of the society.
343
00:19:22,829 --> 00:19:25,029
Really. And what do you think?
344
00:19:25,031 --> 00:19:28,666
Faraday, my dear boy,
you have my vote.
345
00:19:28,668 --> 00:19:29,800
And mine.
346
00:19:29,802 --> 00:19:31,869
And I believe you
even have Wollaston's.
347
00:19:31,871 --> 00:19:34,539
Oh... What a mess!
348
00:19:34,541 --> 00:19:36,107
Well, no matter,
no matter--
349
00:19:36,109 --> 00:19:37,608
it's the science
that counts.
350
00:19:37,610 --> 00:19:38,676
So, tell me,
351
00:19:38,678 --> 00:19:40,978
how does this wire
of yours spin
round its magnet?
352
00:19:40,980 --> 00:19:44,115
What mysterious
forces are at play?
353
00:19:44,117 --> 00:19:49,720
There seems to be
an electromagnetic interaction.
354
00:19:49,722 --> 00:19:52,390
In my mind, I see
a swirling array
355
00:19:52,392 --> 00:19:54,292
of lines of force spinning
356
00:19:54,294 --> 00:19:56,360
out of
the electrified wire
357
00:19:56,362 --> 00:19:59,730
like a spiraling web.
358
00:19:59,732 --> 00:20:01,232
But invisible
lines of force--
359
00:20:01,234 --> 00:20:03,401
it's all a bit vague,
isn't it?
360
00:20:03,403 --> 00:20:05,870
Faraday, might I have
a word in private?
361
00:20:07,373 --> 00:20:08,606
Certainly.
362
00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:22,053
Listen, Faraday,
363
00:20:22,055 --> 00:20:23,588
let's stop
this nonsense.
364
00:20:23,590 --> 00:20:25,756
I want you
to take down
your ballot paper
365
00:20:25,758 --> 00:20:26,857
from the notice board.
366
00:20:26,859 --> 00:20:30,161
Sir Humphry, I see
no reason to take it down.
367
00:20:30,163 --> 00:20:33,064
My friends have
proposed me.
368
00:20:33,066 --> 00:20:34,832
It is they
who put the paper up.
369
00:20:34,834 --> 00:20:36,500
I will not take it down.
370
00:20:36,502 --> 00:20:37,435
Good day.
371
00:20:43,076 --> 00:20:46,644
LITHGOW:
Faraday was elected
to the Royal Society.
372
00:20:46,646 --> 00:20:49,180
Davy died five years later,
373
00:20:49,182 --> 00:20:52,984
a victim of his
many gaseous inhalations.
374
00:20:52,986 --> 00:20:56,654
In time, Faraday's world
of invisible forces would lead
375
00:20:56,656 --> 00:20:59,824
to a whole new
understanding of energy.
376
00:20:59,826 --> 00:21:04,629
He'd started what Einstein would
call the "great revolution."
377
00:21:11,571 --> 00:21:16,474
It was in the very heart of this
exciting new world of energy
378
00:21:16,476 --> 00:21:18,843
that Einstein grew up.
379
00:21:28,955 --> 00:21:32,356
EINSTEIN:
My father and uncle wanted
to make their fortune
380
00:21:32,358 --> 00:21:35,393
by bringing electric light
to the streets of Germany.
381
00:21:38,231 --> 00:21:40,998
From an early age,
I loved to look at machines,
382
00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,401
understand how things work.
383
00:21:47,006 --> 00:21:48,873
He's going to kill himself.
384
00:21:51,577 --> 00:21:53,911
Albert, stay there.
385
00:21:53,913 --> 00:22:03,688
( man scolding in background)
386
00:22:03,690 --> 00:22:09,360
EINSTEIN:
I experienced a miracle when
my father showed me a compass.
387
00:22:09,362 --> 00:22:12,096
I trembled and grew cold.
388
00:22:13,933 --> 00:22:18,436
There had to be something behind
objects that lay deeply hidden.
389
00:22:24,811 --> 00:22:27,878
At high school, they had their
ideas about what I should learn.
390
00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:29,246
I had my own.
391
00:22:29,248 --> 00:22:30,614
Einstein!
392
00:22:30,616 --> 00:22:33,451
EINSTEIN:
I was merely interested
in physics, maths, philosophy
393
00:22:33,453 --> 00:22:35,619
and playing the violin.
394
00:22:35,621 --> 00:22:38,222
Everything else was a bore.
395
00:22:38,224 --> 00:22:39,223
Einstein!
396
00:22:39,225 --> 00:22:40,691
On your feet!
397
00:22:44,097 --> 00:22:47,298
As you obviously
know everything
398
00:22:47,300 --> 00:22:49,900
about geology,
tell me,
399
00:22:49,902 --> 00:22:53,304
how do the rock strata run here?
400
00:22:53,306 --> 00:22:56,440
It's pretty much the same to me
401
00:22:56,442 --> 00:22:58,376
whichever way they run,
Herr Professor.
402
00:23:05,818 --> 00:23:08,686
LITHGOW:
Einstein's teachers tried
to drum into him,
403
00:23:08,688 --> 00:23:10,421
as Faraday had shown,
404
00:23:10,423 --> 00:23:14,258
that energy could be converted
from one form into another.
405
00:23:14,260 --> 00:23:16,961
They also believed
that all forms of energy
406
00:23:16,963 --> 00:23:18,662
had already been discovered.
407
00:23:18,664 --> 00:23:22,266
Einstein was going
to prove them wrong.
408
00:23:22,268 --> 00:23:25,736
He would discover a new,
vast reservoir of energy,
409
00:23:25,738 --> 00:23:28,939
hidden where no other scientist
had ever thought of looking--
410
00:23:28,941 --> 00:23:32,843
deep in the heart of matter.
411
00:23:44,223 --> 00:23:47,825
A hundred years
before Einstein's birth,
412
00:23:47,827 --> 00:23:51,228
King Louis XV was
on the throne of France.
413
00:23:51,230 --> 00:23:54,565
But the ancient, absolute power
of the monarchy over the people
414
00:23:54,567 --> 00:23:56,267
was starting to be challenged.
415
00:23:56,269 --> 00:23:57,868
MAN:
Jacques,
416
00:23:57,870 --> 00:23:58,736
leave the windows.
417
00:23:58,738 --> 00:24:00,237
Forget the rain.
418
00:24:00,239 --> 00:24:01,105
We need air.
419
00:24:03,376 --> 00:24:07,711
LITHGOW:
The French Revolution was
just around the corner.
420
00:24:07,713 --> 00:24:09,580
( thunder rumbles )
421
00:24:11,050 --> 00:24:12,950
WOMAN:
This was the era
of enlightenment,
422
00:24:12,952 --> 00:24:16,253
when intellectuals
believed very firmly
423
00:24:16,255 --> 00:24:18,556
that the way forward
lay in science.
424
00:24:18,558 --> 00:24:20,591
And they felt that
one of the first tasks
425
00:24:20,593 --> 00:24:22,760
that lay ahead of them
was to rationalize
426
00:24:22,762 --> 00:24:25,629
and to classify
every single kind of matter
427
00:24:25,631 --> 00:24:29,166
so they could see how it
all interacted together.
428
00:24:29,168 --> 00:24:33,571
LITHGOW:
Antoine Lavoisier, a wealthy,
aristocratic young man,
429
00:24:33,573 --> 00:24:35,306
decided to take up this task,
430
00:24:35,308 --> 00:24:37,241
to see if there was
some basic connection
431
00:24:37,243 --> 00:24:39,977
between all the stuff
of everyday life:
432
00:24:39,979 --> 00:24:43,180
all the different substances
in the world.
433
00:24:47,954 --> 00:24:51,388
But what worked for Lavoisier
as a scientist--
434
00:24:51,390 --> 00:24:54,992
his meticulous, even obsessive
attention to detail--
435
00:24:54,994 --> 00:24:57,695
was also to be his downfall.
436
00:25:00,333 --> 00:25:04,468
Monsieur Lavoisier, you are,
if my eyes do not deceive me,
437
00:25:04,470 --> 00:25:06,370
consuming only milk
this evening.
438
00:25:06,372 --> 00:25:08,606
First you had a glass of milk,
439
00:25:08,608 --> 00:25:11,308
now you are "eating"
a bowl of milk.
440
00:25:11,310 --> 00:25:14,345
Will you next move on
to a plate of milk?
441
00:25:14,347 --> 00:25:15,346
( chortles )
442
00:25:15,348 --> 00:25:16,614
LAVOISIER:
Your precise observations
443
00:25:16,616 --> 00:25:20,050
commend you as a lady
of scientific curiosity,
444
00:25:20,052 --> 00:25:21,118
Mademoiselle.
445
00:25:21,120 --> 00:25:22,253
Most unusual.
446
00:25:22,255 --> 00:25:23,521
As you seek knowledge,
447
00:25:23,523 --> 00:25:25,022
so I shall dispense it.
448
00:25:25,024 --> 00:25:30,060
For the last five weeks,
I have taken nothing but milk.
449
00:25:30,062 --> 00:25:32,363
MAN:
Good God, man,
450
00:25:32,365 --> 00:25:34,164
I would rather die than fast
451
00:25:34,166 --> 00:25:36,033
on milk
for five weeks!
452
00:25:36,035 --> 00:25:39,069
Are you in the grip
of some horrendous ailment?
453
00:25:39,071 --> 00:25:40,838
On the contrary.
454
00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:43,707
I am investigating the effects
455
00:25:43,709 --> 00:25:46,010
of diet on health.
456
00:25:46,012 --> 00:25:47,745
MAN:
Monsieur, with the
greatest of respect
457
00:25:47,747 --> 00:25:50,681
to a member of the Royal
Academy of Sciences,
458
00:25:50,683 --> 00:25:54,885
your gut must think
your throat has been slit!
459
00:25:56,222 --> 00:25:56,987
( laughs loudly )
460
00:25:58,257 --> 00:26:01,225
( laughter spreads )
461
00:26:01,227 --> 00:26:04,862
Whereas your gut, Count, is
no doubt petitioning the Academy
462
00:26:04,864 --> 00:26:07,097
for a widening
of your throat.
463
00:26:07,099 --> 00:26:08,098
WOMAN ( gasping ):
Marie Anne!
464
00:26:08,100 --> 00:26:09,700
How dare you
465
00:26:09,702 --> 00:26:11,602
insult
the count?
466
00:26:14,874 --> 00:26:16,473
Don't forget what
the count offers...
467
00:26:17,543 --> 00:26:21,378
not just marriage,
but think
468
00:26:21,380 --> 00:26:22,780
of how you will be introduced
469
00:26:22,782 --> 00:26:23,581
to all the salons.
470
00:26:25,685 --> 00:26:26,684
You will be
471
00:26:26,686 --> 00:26:28,085
the toast of Paris.
472
00:26:30,189 --> 00:26:32,089
LAVOISIER:
Would it not be
a shame, Madame,
473
00:26:32,091 --> 00:26:33,924
to burden you
474
00:26:33,926 --> 00:26:38,028
with the duties of matrimony
before you have had a chance
475
00:26:38,030 --> 00:26:40,297
to experience
your curiosity for nature?
476
00:26:42,802 --> 00:26:45,336
Shall we all go through?
477
00:26:45,338 --> 00:26:48,372
It's getting rather hot in here.
478
00:26:56,482 --> 00:26:58,682
Do you really plan
to marry d'Amerval?
479
00:26:58,684 --> 00:27:00,651
There is a plan,
but it is not mine.
480
00:27:00,653 --> 00:27:02,419
Then I must contrive
to save you.
481
00:27:07,994 --> 00:27:12,229
LITHGOW:
Lavoisier wasn't a scientist
by profession.
482
00:27:12,231 --> 00:27:15,099
He was the head of tax
enforcement in Paris.
483
00:27:15,101 --> 00:27:19,136
His great idea was to build
a huge wall around the city
484
00:27:19,138 --> 00:27:22,139
and to tax everything
that came and went.
485
00:27:22,141 --> 00:27:25,275
But his taxes on the simple
things in life--
486
00:27:25,277 --> 00:27:27,478
bread, wine and cheese--
487
00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:30,614
did not endear him
to the average Parisian.
488
00:27:30,616 --> 00:27:33,951
This scrupulous,
fastidious young man
489
00:27:33,953 --> 00:27:39,056
did still allow himself
the occasional act of passion.
490
00:27:41,727 --> 00:27:46,263
In 1771, Lavoisier married
Marie Anne Paulze,
491
00:27:46,265 --> 00:27:49,600
the daughter of his colleague
in the tax office.
492
00:27:51,704 --> 00:27:54,204
Thus he saved her,
as he had promised,
493
00:27:54,206 --> 00:27:58,575
from an arranged marriage
to a count 40 years her elder.
494
00:28:03,816 --> 00:28:05,783
Allow me to show
you something.
495
00:28:11,123 --> 00:28:14,091
FARA:
Lavoisier, I think, found
his job as a tax collector
496
00:28:14,093 --> 00:28:15,392
really rather tedious,
497
00:28:15,394 --> 00:28:18,128
and the times he looked
forward to were the evenings
498
00:28:18,130 --> 00:28:20,664
and the weekends, when
he could indulge his passion
499
00:28:20,666 --> 00:28:22,933
for chemical experimentation.
500
00:28:22,935 --> 00:28:25,836
And he called those times
his jours de bonheur,
501
00:28:25,838 --> 00:28:27,071
his "days of happiness."
502
00:28:29,442 --> 00:28:30,741
Madame.
503
00:28:35,181 --> 00:28:41,752
What will happen if I take a bar
of copper or iron
504
00:28:41,754 --> 00:28:42,653
and leave it outside
505
00:28:42,655 --> 00:28:45,122
in the rain
for months on end,
506
00:28:45,124 --> 00:28:47,658
Madame Lavoisier?
507
00:28:47,660 --> 00:28:48,726
Mmm...
508
00:28:48,728 --> 00:28:50,861
( giggles ):
Monsieur Lavoisier?
509
00:28:50,863 --> 00:28:51,595
The metals--
510
00:28:51,597 --> 00:28:53,964
what will become of them?
511
00:28:53,966 --> 00:28:57,568
Is this a verbal
examination
512
00:28:57,570 --> 00:29:01,338
prior to an examination
proper, sir?
513
00:29:01,340 --> 00:29:03,841
I merely seek the truth.
514
00:29:03,843 --> 00:29:05,609
Then you toy with me,
monsieur,
515
00:29:05,611 --> 00:29:07,644
for you know the truth.
516
00:29:07,646 --> 00:29:11,181
The copper will become covered
in a green verdigris,
517
00:29:11,183 --> 00:29:13,550
and the iron will rust.
518
00:29:13,552 --> 00:29:15,719
I believe the term is
519
00:29:15,721 --> 00:29:17,855
"calcined."
520
00:29:17,857 --> 00:29:21,058
Most impressive,
my charming wife.
521
00:29:21,060 --> 00:29:22,392
But let me press
you further.
522
00:29:22,394 --> 00:29:23,594
Hmm?
523
00:29:23,596 --> 00:29:27,397
When the metal rusts,
does it get heavier
524
00:29:27,399 --> 00:29:28,766
or lighter?
525
00:29:28,768 --> 00:29:31,969
Why, sir, I think
you mean to trap me.
526
00:29:31,971 --> 00:29:33,170
Oh.
527
00:29:33,172 --> 00:29:36,273
Then perhaps this little
butterfly should land
528
00:29:36,275 --> 00:29:38,609
and allow me to take
a closer look.
529
00:29:38,611 --> 00:29:43,013
Every last citizen in France
of sensible age knows
530
00:29:43,015 --> 00:29:44,982
that when a metal rusts,
it wastes away,
531
00:29:44,984 --> 00:29:47,184
it gets lighter
and eventually
disappears.
532
00:29:47,186 --> 00:29:48,185
Ah, but...
533
00:29:48,187 --> 00:29:49,653
Ah, stop.
534
00:29:49,655 --> 00:29:51,622
I have not finished.
535
00:29:51,624 --> 00:29:53,724
Contain yourself, sir.
536
00:29:53,726 --> 00:29:55,893
There is more.
537
00:29:55,895 --> 00:29:59,129
In a recently published pamphlet
538
00:29:59,131 --> 00:30:00,964
by a brilliant
young chemist,
539
00:30:00,966 --> 00:30:03,367
Antoine Lavoisier
demonstrates
540
00:30:03,369 --> 00:30:05,769
that the iron combines
with the air.
541
00:30:05,771 --> 00:30:07,805
It, in fact, becomes heavier.
542
00:30:07,807 --> 00:30:10,040
Most impressive.
543
00:30:10,042 --> 00:30:11,008
I intend...
544
00:30:11,010 --> 00:30:13,577
Now, whatever you
intend, monsieur,
545
00:30:13,579 --> 00:30:15,879
I intend to be
by your side.
546
00:30:15,881 --> 00:30:17,614
I will learn all I can
about your science
547
00:30:17,616 --> 00:30:19,550
and become your
worthy colleague.
548
00:30:19,552 --> 00:30:22,953
Then let me show you
how the iron combines
with the air
549
00:30:22,955 --> 00:30:25,455
to form such
a delicate union.
550
00:30:25,457 --> 00:30:27,891
Tomorrow, monsieur.
551
00:30:27,893 --> 00:30:29,827
Tomorrow.
552
00:30:45,077 --> 00:30:47,811
LITHGOW:
Marie Anne learned chemistry
at her husband's side,
553
00:30:47,813 --> 00:30:53,016
but soon sought other ways
to contribute to his work.
554
00:30:53,018 --> 00:30:54,251
She learned English
555
00:30:54,253 --> 00:30:58,155
so that she could translate
contemporary scientific works.
556
00:30:58,157 --> 00:30:59,256
She took drawing lessons
557
00:30:59,258 --> 00:31:02,326
so that she could record
in forensic detail
558
00:31:02,328 --> 00:31:05,429
the minutiae of their work
together.
559
00:31:05,431 --> 00:31:07,631
She ran their laboratory
560
00:31:07,633 --> 00:31:11,468
and was the public face
of Lavoisier, Inc.
561
00:31:11,470 --> 00:31:14,304
She was central
to the whole research effort.
562
00:31:15,741 --> 00:31:17,274
Monsieur,
563
00:31:17,276 --> 00:31:19,276
that is a terrible thing to say.
564
00:31:19,278 --> 00:31:20,310
( giggles )
565
00:31:20,312 --> 00:31:21,745
You are a cheeky man.
566
00:31:21,747 --> 00:31:23,213
( both laugh )
567
00:31:23,215 --> 00:31:24,915
LAVOISIER:
This way, please, gentlemen.
568
00:31:34,026 --> 00:31:35,559
Messieurs...
569
00:31:37,763 --> 00:31:39,630
it is my great ambition
570
00:31:39,632 --> 00:31:46,036
to demonstrate
that nature is a closed system,
571
00:31:46,038 --> 00:31:47,971
that in any transformation,
572
00:31:47,973 --> 00:31:53,377
no amount of matter, no mass
is ever lost
573
00:31:53,379 --> 00:31:55,545
and none is gained.
574
00:31:55,547 --> 00:31:56,647
Over here, please.
575
00:32:02,988 --> 00:32:08,725
This precise amount of water
is heated to steam.
576
00:32:08,727 --> 00:32:10,260
This steam is brought
into contact
577
00:32:10,262 --> 00:32:15,966
with a red-hot iron barrel
imbedded in the coals.
578
00:32:17,636 --> 00:32:21,405
From this end we cool the steam
579
00:32:21,407 --> 00:32:28,211
but, interestingly, we collect
less water than we started with.
580
00:32:28,213 --> 00:32:33,317
So clearly we lose
a certain amount of water.
581
00:32:33,319 --> 00:32:38,021
However, we also collect a gas,
582
00:32:38,023 --> 00:32:41,792
and the weight
of the iron barrel increases.
583
00:32:44,296 --> 00:32:47,497
Now, when we combine
these two increases--
584
00:32:47,499 --> 00:32:48,932
the new weight
of the iron barrel
585
00:32:48,934 --> 00:32:51,268
and the gas we have collected--
586
00:32:51,270 --> 00:32:57,674
they are exactly equal to
the weight of the lost water.
587
00:32:57,676 --> 00:32:59,576
Ah, but is it
588
00:32:59,578 --> 00:33:01,845
atmospheric air,
Monsieur Lavoisier?
589
00:33:01,847 --> 00:33:03,113
No.
590
00:33:03,115 --> 00:33:06,416
No, because I am measuring it
to the very last grain,
591
00:33:06,418 --> 00:33:09,920
I can see that it is lighter
than the air around us
592
00:33:09,922 --> 00:33:11,054
and, moreover...
593
00:33:14,526 --> 00:33:16,093
it is flammable.
594
00:33:18,163 --> 00:33:18,895
( whoosh and pop )
595
00:33:18,897 --> 00:33:19,830
Voilà.
596
00:33:22,601 --> 00:33:24,735
BODANIS:
Water is made out of hydrogen
and oxygen.
597
00:33:24,737 --> 00:33:26,636
So what he had done is
get the oxygen to stick
598
00:33:26,638 --> 00:33:29,840
to the inside
of a red-hot iron rifle barrel.
599
00:33:29,842 --> 00:33:32,409
He was basically just making
rust, which is oxygen and iron,
600
00:33:32,411 --> 00:33:34,244
but he was making the rust
really quickly.
601
00:33:34,246 --> 00:33:37,114
Now, that left the hydrogen,
what he called combustible air,
602
00:33:37,116 --> 00:33:38,682
and that was just floating
around as a gas.
603
00:33:38,684 --> 00:33:40,183
( whoosh and pop )
604
00:33:40,185 --> 00:33:41,852
No mass had been lost.
605
00:33:41,854 --> 00:33:43,353
It had merely been transformed,
606
00:33:43,355 --> 00:33:46,857
and now he wanted to transform
it all back into water.
607
00:33:53,298 --> 00:33:54,664
This is only the beginning.
608
00:33:54,666 --> 00:33:56,233
In the next few months
I hope to demonstrate
609
00:33:56,235 --> 00:34:01,238
that I can recombine this
combustible air with vital air
610
00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:04,374
and transform them both
back into water.
611
00:34:04,376 --> 00:34:08,078
I will re-create exactly
the same amount of water
612
00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:09,913
that was lost here
in this process.
613
00:34:12,351 --> 00:34:16,186
It is my hope
to complete the cycle--
614
00:34:16,188 --> 00:34:21,158
water into gas into water...
615
00:34:22,928 --> 00:34:24,428
and not a drop lost.
616
00:34:27,866 --> 00:34:29,733
For a long time,
Lavoisier had suspected
617
00:34:29,735 --> 00:34:31,268
that the exact amount of matter,
the mass
618
00:34:31,270 --> 00:34:34,671
involved in any transformation
was always conserved.
619
00:34:34,673 --> 00:34:36,840
But to prove this,
620
00:34:36,842 --> 00:34:39,376
he had to perform thousands
of experiments,
621
00:34:39,378 --> 00:34:40,710
and he had to do
the measurements
622
00:34:40,712 --> 00:34:42,379
with incredible accuracy.
623
00:34:44,049 --> 00:34:45,582
That's where his great wealth
624
00:34:45,584 --> 00:34:47,451
from being a tax collector
came in.
625
00:34:47,453 --> 00:34:49,519
He could afford to commission
626
00:34:49,521 --> 00:34:52,089
the most sensitive instruments
ever built.
627
00:34:54,093 --> 00:34:56,827
He became
obsessed with accuracy.
628
00:35:02,601 --> 00:35:07,137
LITHGOW:
But Lavoisier's exacting methods
were also starting to anger
629
00:35:07,139 --> 00:35:09,973
the growing mob of hungry,
disenchanted Parisians.
630
00:35:09,975 --> 00:35:12,442
( people yelling )
631
00:35:13,645 --> 00:35:15,278
MARIE ANNE:
Antoine.
632
00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:16,546
Antoine.
633
00:35:16,548 --> 00:35:17,814
Oh, wake up, Antoine.
634
00:35:20,886 --> 00:35:22,886
I'm sorry.
635
00:35:24,256 --> 00:35:26,223
What time is it?
636
00:35:26,225 --> 00:35:28,959
It is almost time
to receive Monsieur Marat.
637
00:35:28,961 --> 00:35:30,127
The Academy asked you
638
00:35:30,129 --> 00:35:33,063
to assess his designs.
639
00:35:33,065 --> 00:35:36,433
He claims to have made
a great discovery.
640
00:35:36,435 --> 00:35:38,568
Oh, Antoine, have you forgotten?
641
00:35:39,671 --> 00:35:40,670
Oh, God.
642
00:35:40,672 --> 00:35:43,773
Another charlatan
with an idea to peddle.
643
00:35:43,775 --> 00:35:45,408
God, give me patience.
644
00:35:52,584 --> 00:35:53,717
( Lavoisier coughs )
645
00:35:55,621 --> 00:35:56,620
Ah, Monsieur Marat.
646
00:35:56,622 --> 00:35:57,988
Monsieur.
647
00:35:57,990 --> 00:36:00,056
I have invented
a device
648
00:36:00,058 --> 00:36:01,525
which projects
an image
649
00:36:01,527 --> 00:36:04,361
of the substance of fire
onto a screen.
650
00:36:05,631 --> 00:36:06,830
You see,
651
00:36:06,832 --> 00:36:11,334
when a lantern is
shone through a flame,
652
00:36:11,336 --> 00:36:14,337
we see a shimmering pattern
above the flame.
653
00:36:14,339 --> 00:36:15,939
My device renders
654
00:36:15,941 --> 00:36:19,776
the substance of fire visible.
655
00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:23,513
Have you collected it,
this substance of fire?
656
00:36:23,515 --> 00:36:25,649
Have you trapped it
and measured it?
657
00:36:25,651 --> 00:36:27,951
Well, no, but...
658
00:36:27,953 --> 00:36:30,220
but one can see it.
659
00:36:30,222 --> 00:36:32,055
I'm sorry.
660
00:36:32,057 --> 00:36:33,857
In the absence
of exact measurements,
661
00:36:33,859 --> 00:36:36,026
of precise observations,
662
00:36:36,028 --> 00:36:37,994
without rigorous reasoning,
663
00:36:37,996 --> 00:36:39,796
one can only be engaging
in conjecture,
664
00:36:39,798 --> 00:36:41,631
so this is not science.
665
00:36:42,868 --> 00:36:44,167
I am not given
666
00:36:44,169 --> 00:36:46,336
to conjecture, monsieur.
667
00:36:46,338 --> 00:36:48,104
No, no.
668
00:36:48,106 --> 00:36:49,406
If you will you excuse me.
669
00:36:49,408 --> 00:36:50,974
I am extremely busy today.
670
00:36:50,976 --> 00:36:52,909
Thank you.
671
00:36:52,911 --> 00:36:54,811
Thank you.
672
00:36:54,813 --> 00:36:56,046
So that is all?
673
00:36:58,517 --> 00:36:59,616
Then good day, monsieur!
674
00:37:06,391 --> 00:37:07,591
( slams on table )
675
00:37:19,438 --> 00:37:22,405
Let me guess, Marat.
676
00:37:22,407 --> 00:37:25,242
The king's
scientific despot
has decreed
677
00:37:25,244 --> 00:37:26,710
that your invention
does not conform
678
00:37:26,712 --> 00:37:28,612
to the version
of the truth
679
00:37:28,614 --> 00:37:32,582
as laid down
by the Academy.
680
00:37:32,584 --> 00:37:35,352
Lavoisier.
681
00:37:35,354 --> 00:37:39,389
He talks about facts,
he worships the truth.
682
00:37:39,391 --> 00:37:42,025
Listen to me, my friend.
683
00:37:42,027 --> 00:37:44,928
They are all the same,
the Royal Academies--
684
00:37:44,930 --> 00:37:47,030
they insult the liberty
of the mind.
685
00:37:48,900 --> 00:37:53,903
They think they are
the sole arbiters of genius.
686
00:37:53,905 --> 00:37:56,573
They are rotten
to the core--
687
00:37:56,575 --> 00:38:01,611
just like every other
tentacle of the king.
688
00:38:01,613 --> 00:38:07,550
The people-- it is they
who will determine
right and wrong.
689
00:38:07,552 --> 00:38:08,818
Don't worry.
690
00:38:08,820 --> 00:38:14,524
In my next pamphlet
I will expose this
persecutor of yours.
691
00:38:25,170 --> 00:38:28,672
LITHGOW:
For years, the Lavoisiers
burned, chopped, melted
692
00:38:28,674 --> 00:38:31,441
and boiled every conceivable
substance.
693
00:38:31,443 --> 00:38:33,677
They'd shown that
as long as one is scrupulous
694
00:38:33,679 --> 00:38:36,846
about collecting all the vapors,
liquids and powders
695
00:38:36,848 --> 00:38:41,818
created in a transformation,
then mass is not decreased.
696
00:38:41,820 --> 00:38:45,588
Liquids might become gases,
metals may rust,
697
00:38:45,590 --> 00:38:48,291
wood may become ash and smoke,
698
00:38:48,293 --> 00:38:52,662
but matter, the tiny atoms
that make up all substances,
699
00:38:52,664 --> 00:38:54,731
none of it is ever lost.
700
00:38:56,001 --> 00:38:58,068
The crowning glory
of this opus was
701
00:38:58,070 --> 00:39:01,037
their remarkable use
of static electricity
702
00:39:01,039 --> 00:39:06,009
to cause oxygen and hydrogen
to recombine back into water.
703
00:39:14,986 --> 00:39:16,152
What is happening?
704
00:39:19,458 --> 00:39:23,893
( explosions in distance )
705
00:39:29,801 --> 00:39:32,001
LITHGOW:
As the French Revolution
exploded,
706
00:39:32,003 --> 00:39:35,739
the royal family
and whole swaths of aristocrats
707
00:39:35,741 --> 00:39:39,342
lost their heads
on the guillotine.
708
00:39:43,415 --> 00:39:45,982
FARA:
To the French revolutionaries
of 1790,
709
00:39:45,984 --> 00:39:48,585
Lavoisier meant one thing
and one thing only:
710
00:39:48,587 --> 00:39:51,654
he was the despised
tax collector
711
00:39:51,656 --> 00:39:53,423
who'd built that wall
around Paris.
712
00:39:53,425 --> 00:39:56,760
LITHGOW:
Lavoisier's job
as a tax collector
713
00:39:56,762 --> 00:39:58,628
brought him under suspicion.
714
00:39:58,630 --> 00:39:59,696
He was denounced
715
00:39:59,698 --> 00:40:03,299
by a failed scientist
turned radical journalist,
716
00:40:03,301 --> 00:40:05,468
Jean Paul Marat.
717
00:40:12,978 --> 00:40:14,277
( pounding at door )
718
00:40:17,783 --> 00:40:20,550
( pounding at door )
719
00:40:20,552 --> 00:40:22,485
( knocking at door )
720
00:40:23,955 --> 00:40:25,221
Où est Lavoisi? Je ne sais pas.
721
00:40:25,223 --> 00:40:26,322
Lavoisier!
722
00:40:27,392 --> 00:40:28,324
Lavoisier!
723
00:40:44,810 --> 00:40:46,075
Lavoisier!
724
00:41:01,359 --> 00:41:08,198
( sobbing )
725
00:41:22,914 --> 00:41:27,851
( crowd yelling )
726
00:41:27,853 --> 00:41:30,353
( crowd cheering )
727
00:41:30,355 --> 00:41:31,821
BODANIS:
What Lavoisier did
728
00:41:31,823 --> 00:41:33,523
was absolutely central
to science
729
00:41:33,525 --> 00:41:35,225
and especially
to E equals m c-squared.
730
00:41:35,227 --> 00:41:37,460
Because what he said is,
if you take a bunch of matter,
731
00:41:37,462 --> 00:41:40,597
you can break it apart,
you can recombine it,
732
00:41:40,599 --> 00:41:41,698
you can do anything to it
733
00:41:41,700 --> 00:41:44,968
and the stuff of the matter
won't go away.
734
00:41:44,970 --> 00:41:48,037
If the mob burned Paris
to the ground, utterly razed it,
735
00:41:48,039 --> 00:41:50,139
shattered the bricks
into rubble and dust
736
00:41:50,141 --> 00:41:52,675
and burned the buildings
into ashes and smoke,
737
00:41:52,677 --> 00:41:55,512
it turns out if you put
a huge dome over Paris
738
00:41:55,514 --> 00:41:57,614
and weighed all the smoke
and all the ashes
739
00:41:57,616 --> 00:41:58,848
and all the rubble,
740
00:41:58,850 --> 00:42:02,385
it would add up to the exact
sameeight as the original city
741
00:42:02,387 --> 00:42:03,987
and the air around it before.
742
00:42:03,989 --> 00:42:06,022
Nothing disappears.
743
00:42:24,910 --> 00:42:29,045
LITHGOW:
A century later, all of nature
had been classified
744
00:42:29,047 --> 00:42:31,848
into two great domains.
745
00:42:31,850 --> 00:42:35,552
There was energy-- the forces
that animated objects;
746
00:42:35,554 --> 00:42:37,453
and there was mass--
747
00:42:37,455 --> 00:42:40,623
the physical stuff
that made up those objects.
748
00:42:40,625 --> 00:42:43,626
The whole of 19th-century
science rested
749
00:42:43,628 --> 00:42:46,195
on these two mighty pillars.
750
00:42:46,197 --> 00:42:51,067
The laws that governed one
did not apply to the other.
751
00:42:51,069 --> 00:42:55,305
But young, newly enrolled
physics student Albert Einstein
752
00:42:55,307 --> 00:42:57,674
didn't like laws.
753
00:42:57,676 --> 00:42:58,975
Good grief,
Einstein.
754
00:42:58,977 --> 00:43:00,743
What happened
to you?
755
00:43:00,745 --> 00:43:02,478
It is more
than a little
ironic,
756
00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:04,914
having been
reprimanded
yesterday
757
00:43:04,916 --> 00:43:07,350
by that idiot
Professor Pernet
for poor attendance,
758
00:43:07,352 --> 00:43:09,586
that I should in fact attend
a practical lesson
759
00:43:09,588 --> 00:43:11,421
which was as long
as it was boring,
760
00:43:11,423 --> 00:43:13,056
and utterly pointless,
by the way,
761
00:43:13,058 --> 00:43:15,191
only to be the victim
of an explosion
762
00:43:15,193 --> 00:43:16,593
of my own apparatus.
763
00:43:16,595 --> 00:43:17,594
It was your own fault, then?
764
00:43:17,596 --> 00:43:19,963
Thank you.
765
00:43:19,965 --> 00:43:22,832
And how are you today,
Fraulein Maric?
766
00:43:22,834 --> 00:43:24,233
Extremely well, Herr Einstein.
767
00:43:24,235 --> 00:43:25,401
All the better for seeing
768
00:43:25,403 --> 00:43:27,870
you have escaped the physics
laboratory with your life.
769
00:43:27,872 --> 00:43:32,609
Well, in order not to alarm
you any further, I pledge
770
00:43:32,611 --> 00:43:35,278
to forever continue my studies
here at the Cafe Bahnhof,
771
00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:37,981
reading only the great masters
of theoretical physics
772
00:43:37,983 --> 00:43:40,950
and eschewing the babbling
nonsense of the polytechnicians.
773
00:43:40,952 --> 00:43:42,151
( chuckles )
774
00:43:42,153 --> 00:43:43,753
That's about
all you ever do.
775
00:43:43,755 --> 00:43:48,124
It's getting a little stuffy
in here, Fraulein Maric.
776
00:43:48,126 --> 00:43:51,327
Would you care to take
a walk with me?
777
00:43:51,329 --> 00:43:53,396
There's something
I'd like to discuss with you.
778
00:43:53,398 --> 00:43:56,966
Why, Herr Einstein...
779
00:43:56,968 --> 00:43:58,368
of course.
780
00:44:00,972 --> 00:44:02,572
Perhaps you'd like
me to tell you
781
00:44:02,574 --> 00:44:06,042
what you have missed
in lectures this week?
782
00:44:12,217 --> 00:44:14,784
MAN:
Einstein wasn't exactly
a model student.
783
00:44:14,786 --> 00:44:17,820
He excelled in certain subjects,
especially physics and math,
784
00:44:17,822 --> 00:44:20,523
but he wasn't very diligent
in a lot of his other classes.
785
00:44:20,525 --> 00:44:24,327
He was undoubtedly
very questioning,
786
00:44:24,329 --> 00:44:26,729
which seems to have annoyed
most of his professors
787
00:44:26,731 --> 00:44:27,730
throughout his life.
788
00:44:27,732 --> 00:44:29,465
He would pursue his fascinations
789
00:44:29,467 --> 00:44:31,100
with just incredible
determination.
790
00:44:34,039 --> 00:44:35,838
MAN:
We know from his letters
791
00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:38,141
that Einstein,
even from the age of 16,
792
00:44:38,143 --> 00:44:42,011
was literally obsessed
with the nature of light.
793
00:44:46,217 --> 00:44:49,018
Everyone he could speak to--
his friends, his colleagues,
794
00:44:49,020 --> 00:44:51,988
even his then girlfriend,
Mileva Maric,
795
00:44:51,990 --> 00:44:54,290
who would become his wife--
796
00:44:54,292 --> 00:44:57,660
everyone he badgered with
the question: what is light?
797
00:44:59,497 --> 00:45:02,131
( laughing )
798
00:45:05,704 --> 00:45:09,238
What would I see
if I rode on a beam of light?
799
00:45:09,240 --> 00:45:10,773
What?
800
00:45:10,775 --> 00:45:13,309
A beam of light?
801
00:45:13,311 --> 00:45:17,013
By what method do you propose
to ride on this beam of light?
802
00:45:17,015 --> 00:45:19,082
The method is not important.
803
00:45:19,084 --> 00:45:20,483
Let us just imagine
we two are
804
00:45:20,485 --> 00:45:21,851
( loudly ):
young...
805
00:45:21,853 --> 00:45:23,052
Shh!
806
00:45:23,054 --> 00:45:27,023
( loudly still ):
radical, bohemian experimenters,
807
00:45:27,025 --> 00:45:31,427
hand-in-hand,
on a journey to the outer
reaches of the universe,
808
00:45:31,429 --> 00:45:35,798
and we are riding on
the front of a wave of light.
809
00:45:35,800 --> 00:45:37,166
( laughs )
810
00:45:37,168 --> 00:45:38,067
I really don't know
811
00:45:38,069 --> 00:45:40,136
what you are suggesting,
Herr Einstein.
812
00:45:40,138 --> 00:45:42,472
Do you wish to hold my
hand or ridicule me?
813
00:45:42,474 --> 00:45:43,473
Ridicule you?
814
00:45:43,475 --> 00:45:44,474
No, never.
815
00:45:47,846 --> 00:45:50,146
I merely want you
to help me to understand.
816
00:45:52,117 --> 00:45:53,916
What would we see,
do you think...
817
00:45:53,918 --> 00:45:55,151
Um...
818
00:45:55,153 --> 00:46:01,157
if we were together
and we sped up... and up
819
00:46:01,159 --> 00:46:05,595
until we caught up
to the front of
a beam of light?
820
00:46:15,573 --> 00:46:19,275
LITHGOW:
It was Einstein's relentless
pursuit of light
821
00:46:19,277 --> 00:46:21,978
which would bring about
a revolution in science.
822
00:46:23,148 --> 00:46:25,815
With light he would reinvent
the universe
823
00:46:25,817 --> 00:46:28,050
and find a hidden pathway
824
00:46:28,052 --> 00:46:31,821
that would unite
energy and mass.
825
00:46:37,195 --> 00:46:42,965
Light moves incredibly fast,
670 million miles per hour.
826
00:46:42,967 --> 00:46:45,968
That's why scientists use
the term "c".
827
00:46:45,970 --> 00:46:51,107
It stands for celeritas--
Latin for "swiftness."
828
00:47:03,788 --> 00:47:06,088
Long before the 19th century,
829
00:47:06,090 --> 00:47:08,825
scientists had computed
the speed of light,
830
00:47:08,827 --> 00:47:13,296
but no one knew
what light actually was.
831
00:47:13,298 --> 00:47:16,999
Back in England, a man we've
already met was willing to make
832
00:47:17,001 --> 00:47:21,337
an educated guess.
833
00:47:21,339 --> 00:47:23,372
After Sir Humphry Davy's death,
834
00:47:23,374 --> 00:47:26,409
Michael Faraday became
Professor Faraday,
835
00:47:26,411 --> 00:47:29,779
one of the most important
experimenters in the world.
836
00:47:31,616 --> 00:47:35,117
The scientific establishment
still found it hard to accept
837
00:47:35,119 --> 00:47:38,287
that electricity and magnetism
were just two aspects
838
00:47:38,289 --> 00:47:39,856
of the same phenomenon,
839
00:47:39,858 --> 00:47:44,360
which Faraday called
"electromagnetism."
840
00:47:44,362 --> 00:47:45,628
But now he has
841
00:47:45,630 --> 00:47:50,399
an even more outrageous proposal
for his audience.
842
00:47:54,005 --> 00:47:59,075
Invisible lines
that can emanate
843
00:47:59,077 --> 00:48:01,544
from electricity in a wire,
844
00:48:01,546 --> 00:48:06,682
from a magnet
or... even from the sun.
845
00:48:06,684 --> 00:48:08,751
( crowd laughs )
846
00:48:08,753 --> 00:48:12,321
For it is my contention
847
00:48:12,323 --> 00:48:19,896
that light itself is just one
form of these vibrating lines
848
00:48:19,898 --> 00:48:22,598
of electromagnetism.
849
00:48:22,600 --> 00:48:23,900
( laughter )
850
00:48:23,902 --> 00:48:27,703
LITHGOW:
For 15 years, Faraday struggled
to convince the skeptics
851
00:48:27,705 --> 00:48:30,406
that light was
an electromagnetic wave,
852
00:48:30,408 --> 00:48:34,944
but he lacked the advanced
mathematics to back up his idea.
853
00:48:34,946 --> 00:48:38,247
Eventually, someone came
to his rescue.
854
00:48:41,486 --> 00:48:44,921
Professor James Clerk Maxwell
believed
855
00:48:44,923 --> 00:48:47,056
in Faraday's far-sighted vision,
856
00:48:47,058 --> 00:48:50,359
and he had the mathematical
skill to prove it.
857
00:48:57,869 --> 00:49:02,705
Maxwell and the aging Faraday
became close friends.
858
00:49:09,447 --> 00:49:10,780
James.
859
00:49:11,950 --> 00:49:13,082
James, forgive me.
860
00:49:13,084 --> 00:49:15,351
( gasps )
861
00:49:15,353 --> 00:49:17,753
A word of advice:
don't get old.
862
00:49:17,755 --> 00:49:19,088
( chuckles )
863
00:49:19,090 --> 00:49:20,456
Michael, how are you?
864
00:49:20,458 --> 00:49:21,791
Oh, I'm fine.
865
00:49:21,793 --> 00:49:24,427
Memory isn't too good,
but...
866
00:49:24,429 --> 00:49:26,395
Well, I thought
you might like to see
867
00:49:26,397 --> 00:49:27,630
what I've just published.
868
00:49:27,632 --> 00:49:28,597
Oh, yes, yes.
869
00:49:33,571 --> 00:49:34,503
Splendid.
870
00:49:39,143 --> 00:49:43,746
So your results show that when
electricity flows along a wire,
871
00:49:43,748 --> 00:49:47,350
what it actually does is create
a little bit of magnetism.
872
00:49:47,352 --> 00:49:50,286
Now, as that magnetic
charge moves,
873
00:49:50,288 --> 00:49:52,855
it creates a little piece
of electricity.
874
00:49:52,857 --> 00:49:54,457
Electricity.
875
00:49:54,459 --> 00:49:57,526
Electricity and magnetism
are interwoven,
876
00:49:57,528 --> 00:50:00,162
like a... a never-ending braid.
877
00:50:00,164 --> 00:50:02,164
So it is always pulsing forward.
878
00:50:04,569 --> 00:50:05,534
That's wonderful.
879
00:50:07,672 --> 00:50:08,604
Wonderful.
880
00:50:09,707 --> 00:50:12,208
Michael.
881
00:50:12,210 --> 00:50:15,611
Michael, there's
something very crucial
in maths.
882
00:50:15,613 --> 00:50:17,513
This electricity
producing magnetism
883
00:50:17,515 --> 00:50:19,448
and magnetism
producing electricity--
884
00:50:19,450 --> 00:50:22,151
it can only ever happen
at a very particular speed.
885
00:50:22,153 --> 00:50:24,987
The equations are
very clear about it.
886
00:50:24,989 --> 00:50:28,324
They come up
with just one number:
887
00:50:28,326 --> 00:50:32,395
670 million miles per hour.
888
00:50:33,498 --> 00:50:34,797
I'm not sure I...?
889
00:50:34,799 --> 00:50:37,199
That's the speed of light.
890
00:50:37,201 --> 00:50:39,835
That is the speed of light!
891
00:50:39,837 --> 00:50:42,171
Well, that means you
were right all along.
892
00:50:42,173 --> 00:50:46,008
Light is
an electromagnetic wave.
893
00:50:49,547 --> 00:50:53,082
LITHGOW:
Maxwell had proven Faraday
right.
894
00:50:53,084 --> 00:50:58,921
Electricity and magnetism
are just two aspects
895
00:50:58,923 --> 00:51:03,492
of a deeper unity, a force
now called electromagnetism,
896
00:51:03,494 --> 00:51:07,463
which travels
at 670 million miles per hour.
897
00:51:07,465 --> 00:51:14,336
In its visible form, it is
nothing other than light itself.
898
00:51:16,607 --> 00:51:21,310
And nothing fascinated the young
Einstein more than light.
899
00:51:21,312 --> 00:51:25,414
( playing light romantic piece)
900
00:51:39,964 --> 00:51:41,564
( sighs )
901
00:51:41,566 --> 00:51:43,466
We have lectures
in half an hour.
902
00:51:43,468 --> 00:51:44,733
Oh, let me think.
903
00:51:44,735 --> 00:51:47,203
Professor Weber and his
life-draining monologue
904
00:51:47,205 --> 00:51:49,738
or you... ( kisses )
905
00:51:49,740 --> 00:51:53,809
Mozart and James Clerk Maxwell?
906
00:51:53,811 --> 00:51:54,810
We can't.
907
00:51:54,812 --> 00:51:55,811
We'll get a warning.
908
00:51:55,813 --> 00:51:57,313
Our project
is too precious
909
00:51:57,315 --> 00:51:59,448
to waste time listening
to those dullards.
910
00:51:59,450 --> 00:52:00,616
Come with me,
911
00:52:00,618 --> 00:52:02,551
we'll read Maxwell
912
00:52:02,553 --> 00:52:05,354
and think about
the electromagnetic theory
of light!
913
00:52:05,356 --> 00:52:06,622
( giggling )
914
00:52:06,624 --> 00:52:09,091
Oh, why, my dear
little Johnnie,
915
00:52:09,093 --> 00:52:11,494
how you enchant a lady.
916
00:52:34,986 --> 00:52:36,519
MARIC:
She's very pretty.
917
00:52:38,422 --> 00:52:44,260
Yes, but can she
soar and dance like
our dark souls do?
918
00:52:44,262 --> 00:52:46,428
( sighs )
919
00:52:47,865 --> 00:52:51,000
BODANIS:
Maxwell's equations contained
an incredible prediction.
920
00:52:51,002 --> 00:52:54,136
They said you could never
catch up to a beam of light.
921
00:52:54,138 --> 00:52:57,840
Even if you were traveling
at 670 million miles an hour,
922
00:52:57,842 --> 00:53:00,276
you would still see light
squiggle away from you
923
00:53:00,278 --> 00:53:01,911
at 670 million miles an hour.
924
00:53:04,982 --> 00:53:07,183
Do you see how she stares
at that wave?
925
00:53:07,185 --> 00:53:08,684
Yes.
926
00:53:08,686 --> 00:53:10,286
You see how for her
it is static?
927
00:53:10,288 --> 00:53:11,353
Yes.
928
00:53:11,355 --> 00:53:15,524
She and the wave are traveling
at the same speed.
929
00:53:15,526 --> 00:53:19,395
We see the wave moving
through the water.
930
00:53:19,397 --> 00:53:23,032
But relative to her,
it just sits there.
931
00:53:23,034 --> 00:53:25,334
So is light like that?
932
00:53:25,336 --> 00:53:28,537
Common sense would say that if
you caught up to a light beam,
933
00:53:28,539 --> 00:53:32,474
there would be a wave of light
just sitting there.
934
00:53:32,476 --> 00:53:33,876
Maybe it would be shimmering,
935
00:53:33,878 --> 00:53:36,011
a bit of electricity
and a bit of magnetism.
936
00:53:36,013 --> 00:53:39,748
So if she was traveling
alongside the light wave,
937
00:53:39,750 --> 00:53:40,816
it wouldn't be moving.
938
00:53:40,818 --> 00:53:41,850
It would be static.
939
00:53:41,852 --> 00:53:45,754
But Maxwell says
you can't have static light.
940
00:53:45,756 --> 00:53:47,122
Maybe Maxwell is wrong.
941
00:53:47,124 --> 00:53:49,058
Maybe if you catch up to light,
942
00:53:49,060 --> 00:53:53,495
it is static, Albert,
like a wave next to a boat.
943
00:53:55,166 --> 00:53:59,568
Imagine if I were sitting still
and holding a mirror to my face.
944
00:53:59,570 --> 00:54:04,306
The light travels from my face
to the mirror and I see my face.
945
00:54:04,308 --> 00:54:05,307
Yes.
946
00:54:05,309 --> 00:54:08,777
However, if I and the mirror
947
00:54:08,779 --> 00:54:12,514
were traveling
at the speed of light?
948
00:54:12,516 --> 00:54:15,884
You're going at the same speed
as the light leaving your face?
949
00:54:15,886 --> 00:54:17,553
Exactly.
950
00:54:17,555 --> 00:54:20,422
The light never reaches
the mirror?
951
00:54:20,424 --> 00:54:22,725
So would I be invisible?
952
00:54:22,727 --> 00:54:23,659
Hmm.
953
00:54:27,398 --> 00:54:28,864
That doesn't make sense.
954
00:54:31,869 --> 00:54:34,436
LITHGOW:
Young Einstein was starting
to realize
955
00:54:34,438 --> 00:54:38,073
that light was unlike
any other kind of wave.
956
00:54:45,316 --> 00:54:48,884
Einstein was about to enter
a surreal universe
957
00:54:48,886 --> 00:54:52,087
where energy, mass and
the speed of light intermingled
958
00:54:52,089 --> 00:54:54,556
in a way no one
had ever suspected.
959
00:54:55,793 --> 00:54:58,193
But there was one last
mathematical ingredient
960
00:54:58,195 --> 00:54:59,895
that Einstein would need:
961
00:54:59,897 --> 00:55:03,699
the everyday process
of squaring.
962
00:55:15,046 --> 00:55:17,112
Long before
the French Revolution,
963
00:55:17,114 --> 00:55:21,083
scientists were not sure how
to quantify motion.
964
00:55:21,085 --> 00:55:22,084
Challenge.
965
00:55:23,287 --> 00:55:25,954
LITHGOW:
Equations that explained
966
00:55:25,956 --> 00:55:28,457
how objects moved and collided
were in their infancy.
967
00:55:28,459 --> 00:55:29,458
( growls )
968
00:55:29,460 --> 00:55:31,060
( kisses and giggles )
969
00:55:34,031 --> 00:55:36,298
LITHGOW:
A crucial contribution
to this subject
970
00:55:36,300 --> 00:55:39,001
would come
from an unusual source.
971
00:55:43,641 --> 00:55:46,709
Meet the aristocratic
16-year-old daughter
972
00:55:46,711 --> 00:55:51,380
of one of King Louis XIV's
courtiers, Émilie du Châtelet.
973
00:55:51,382 --> 00:55:53,916
( both grunting )
974
00:55:57,722 --> 00:55:58,754
( groaning )
( giggling )
975
00:56:02,126 --> 00:56:04,059
Quickly, Father
is coming!
976
00:56:07,465 --> 00:56:11,033
LITHGOW:
Émilie du Châtelet would have
a huge effect on physics
977
00:56:11,035 --> 00:56:14,136
in her tragically short
lifetime.
978
00:56:14,138 --> 00:56:16,405
Unheard of for a woman
of her time,
979
00:56:16,407 --> 00:56:18,907
she would publish
many scientific works,
980
00:56:18,909 --> 00:56:22,878
including a translation
of Sir Isaac Newton's Principia,
981
00:56:22,880 --> 00:56:25,814
the greatest treatise on motion
ever written.
982
00:56:25,816 --> 00:56:29,251
Du Châtelet's translation
is still
983
00:56:29,253 --> 00:56:33,021
the standard text in France
today.
984
00:56:33,023 --> 00:56:36,792
Musa, mihi causas memora...
985
00:56:36,794 --> 00:56:39,128
Muse, my memory causes...
986
00:56:39,130 --> 00:56:41,897
O Muse! The causes
and the crimes relate
987
00:56:41,899 --> 00:56:44,933
What goddess was provoked,
and whence her hate
988
00:56:44,935 --> 00:56:47,236
For what offence
the Queen of Heaven began
989
00:56:47,238 --> 00:56:51,039
To persecute so brave,
so just a man!
990
00:56:51,041 --> 00:56:52,674
Do not be cross
with your sister,
991
00:56:52,676 --> 00:56:54,910
because she persecutes
many a just man!
992
00:56:54,912 --> 00:56:55,911
Only the other night,
993
00:56:55,913 --> 00:56:58,380
Émilie silenced
the duc du Luynes
994
00:56:58,382 --> 00:57:01,917
when she divided a ridiculously
long number in her head
995
00:57:01,919 --> 00:57:03,018
in a matter of seconds.
996
00:57:03,020 --> 00:57:05,387
You should have seen the
incredulity on their faces
997
00:57:05,389 --> 00:57:07,756
when they realized Émilie
was correct.
998
00:57:07,758 --> 00:57:10,692
Was it my sister's
astounding intelligence
999
00:57:10,694 --> 00:57:12,127
or her boundless beauty
1000
00:57:12,129 --> 00:57:13,962
that made their mouths gape,
I wonder?
1001
00:57:13,964 --> 00:57:16,398
Ah well, yes, you have
a point, monsieur.
1002
00:57:16,400 --> 00:57:18,801
Messieurs, I thank you
for your kindness.
1003
00:57:18,803 --> 00:57:22,538
I fear, however,
that my wit is only
a curiosity to others.
1004
00:57:22,540 --> 00:57:25,474
If only my mind were
permitted opportunity.
1005
00:57:25,476 --> 00:57:27,242
My dearest Émilie.
1006
00:57:27,244 --> 00:57:30,045
You are blessed
with intellect and courage.
1007
00:57:30,047 --> 00:57:33,582
Use them both and the world
will fall at your feet.
1008
00:57:33,584 --> 00:57:34,716
No...
1009
00:57:39,056 --> 00:57:40,222
WOMAN:
In one sense,
1010
00:57:40,224 --> 00:57:43,425
she is a woman utterly out of
her true time and place.
1011
00:57:43,427 --> 00:57:45,727
She's a philosopher,
a scientist,
1012
00:57:45,729 --> 00:57:48,530
a mathematician,
a linguist.
1013
00:57:48,532 --> 00:57:49,765
She demands a freedom
1014
00:57:49,767 --> 00:57:52,634
that women didn't begin to enjoy
until over 150 years later--
1015
00:57:52,636 --> 00:57:54,770
a freedom to study science,
1016
00:57:54,772 --> 00:57:58,273
to write about it,
and to be published.
1017
00:58:01,312 --> 00:58:05,948
LITHGOW:
Du Châtelet married a general
in the French army at age 19
1018
00:58:05,950 --> 00:58:07,749
and had three children.
1019
00:58:07,751 --> 00:58:09,418
She ran a busy household,
1020
00:58:09,420 --> 00:58:12,721
all the while pursuing
her passion for science.
1021
00:58:12,723 --> 00:58:16,825
She was 23 when she discovered
advanced mathematics.
1022
00:58:16,827 --> 00:58:18,760
She enthusiastically
took lessons
1023
00:58:18,762 --> 00:58:21,196
from one of the greatest
mathematicians of the day,
1024
00:58:21,198 --> 00:58:23,632
Pierre de Maupertuis.
1025
00:58:23,634 --> 00:58:25,501
He was an expert on Newton,
1026
00:58:25,503 --> 00:58:28,070
and she was his eager
young student;
1027
00:58:28,072 --> 00:58:30,205
it seems they had
a brief affair.
1028
00:58:30,207 --> 00:58:34,443
But then he set off
on a polar expedition.
1029
00:58:34,445 --> 00:58:37,012
Du Châtelet then fell
passionately in love
1030
00:58:37,014 --> 00:58:40,682
with Voltaire,
France's greatest poet.
1031
00:58:40,684 --> 00:58:43,552
A fierce critic of the king
and the Catholic Church,
1032
00:58:43,554 --> 00:58:46,054
Voltaire had been in prison
twice
1033
00:58:46,056 --> 00:58:47,556
and exiled to England,
1034
00:58:47,558 --> 00:58:51,226
where he became enthralled
by the ideas of Newton.
1035
00:58:51,228 --> 00:58:52,294
Back in France,
1036
00:58:52,296 --> 00:58:55,797
it wasn't long before he again
insulted the king.
1037
00:58:55,799 --> 00:59:00,636
Du Châtelet hid him
in her country home.
1038
00:59:00,638 --> 00:59:03,071
The poor little creature
is devoted to him.
1039
00:59:03,073 --> 00:59:06,508
LITHGOW:
Isolated far from Paris,
du Châtelet and Voltaire
1040
00:59:06,510 --> 00:59:10,646
turned her chateau into a
palace of learning and culture,
1041
00:59:10,648 --> 00:59:13,248
complete with
its own tiny theater,
1042
00:59:13,250 --> 00:59:17,753
and all with the apparent
blessing of her husband.
1043
00:59:17,755 --> 00:59:20,656
FARA:
There's a great deal of myth
surrounding du Châtelet
1044
00:59:20,658 --> 00:59:22,491
and her love life
1045
00:59:22,493 --> 00:59:24,326
and most of it is
very exaggerated.
1046
00:59:24,328 --> 00:59:27,763
But her husband did accept
Voltaire into his household,
1047
00:59:27,765 --> 00:59:30,599
and he often went to Paris
on behalf of Voltaire;
1048
00:59:30,601 --> 00:59:33,201
he went to his publisher
to plead Voltaire's case
1049
00:59:33,203 --> 00:59:35,871
to keep Voltaire out of jail.
1050
00:59:35,873 --> 00:59:38,674
And it is also true
that Émilie du Châtelet
1051
00:59:38,676 --> 00:59:41,677
did have several affairs
of a fleeting nature.
1052
00:59:43,881 --> 00:59:46,348
( audience applauding )
1053
00:59:46,350 --> 00:59:47,549
Bravo! Bravo!
1054
00:59:47,551 --> 00:59:50,552
ZINSSER:
She created an institution
to rival that
1055
00:59:50,554 --> 00:59:53,188
of France's Royal
Academies of Sciences.
1056
00:59:53,190 --> 00:59:55,857
Many of the great
philosophers, poets
1057
00:59:55,859 --> 00:59:58,260
and scientists of the day
visited.
1058
01:00:00,798 --> 01:00:04,800
Ah, monsieur...
you are young.
1059
01:00:04,802 --> 01:00:06,602
I hope that soon
you will judge me
1060
01:00:06,604 --> 01:00:08,804
for my own merits,
or lack of them,
1061
01:00:08,806 --> 01:00:10,906
but do not look upon me
1062
01:00:10,908 --> 01:00:12,941
as an appendage
to this great general
1063
01:00:12,943 --> 01:00:15,644
or that renowned scholar.
1064
01:00:15,646 --> 01:00:17,346
I am in my own right
1065
01:00:17,348 --> 01:00:18,647
a whole person,
1066
01:00:18,649 --> 01:00:20,449
responsible
to myself alone
1067
01:00:20,451 --> 01:00:22,451
for all that I am,
1068
01:00:22,453 --> 01:00:24,186
all that I say...
1069
01:00:24,188 --> 01:00:25,187
( blows )
1070
01:00:25,189 --> 01:00:26,188
all that I do.
1071
01:00:28,959 --> 01:00:32,461
LITHGOW:
Du Châtelet learned from
the brilliant men around her,
1072
01:00:32,463 --> 01:00:35,097
but she quickly developed
ideas of her own.
1073
01:00:35,099 --> 01:00:38,300
Much to the horror
of her mentors,
1074
01:00:38,302 --> 01:00:41,036
she even dared to suspect
that there was a flaw
1075
01:00:41,038 --> 01:00:45,941
in the great
Sir Isaac Newton's thinking.
1076
01:00:45,943 --> 01:00:48,777
Newton stated that
the energy of an object,
1077
01:00:48,779 --> 01:00:52,247
the force with which it
collided with another object,
1078
01:00:52,249 --> 01:00:53,915
could very simply be
accounted for
1079
01:00:53,917 --> 01:00:57,686
by its mass
times its velocity.
1080
01:00:57,688 --> 01:01:00,489
In correspondence
with scientists in Germany,
1081
01:01:00,491 --> 01:01:02,891
du Châtelet learned
of another view,
1082
01:01:02,893 --> 01:01:05,827
that of Gottfried Leibniz.
1083
01:01:05,829 --> 01:01:09,798
He proposed that moving objects
had a kind of inner spirit.
1084
01:01:09,800 --> 01:01:13,935
He called it Vis Viva,
Latin for "livinforce."
1085
01:01:13,937 --> 01:01:17,739
Many discounted his ideas,
but Leibniz was convinced
1086
01:01:17,741 --> 01:01:20,342
that the energy of an object
was made up
1087
01:01:20,344 --> 01:01:24,379
of its mass
times its velocity squared.
1088
01:01:27,518 --> 01:01:29,918
Taking the square of something
is an ancient procedure.
1089
01:01:29,920 --> 01:01:31,353
If you say a garden is
four square,
1090
01:01:31,355 --> 01:01:33,355
you mean that it might be
built up
1091
01:01:33,357 --> 01:01:36,224
by four slabs along one edge
and four along the other.
1092
01:01:36,226 --> 01:01:38,160
So the total number of
paving slabs is
1093
01:01:38,162 --> 01:01:40,028
four times four: 16.
1094
01:01:40,030 --> 01:01:42,264
If the garden is eight square--
eight by eight--
1095
01:01:42,266 --> 01:01:43,965
well, eight squared is 64.
1096
01:01:43,967 --> 01:01:45,701
It'll have 64 slabs in it.
1097
01:01:45,703 --> 01:01:48,403
This huge multiplication,
this building up by squares,
1098
01:01:48,405 --> 01:01:50,605
is something you find in nature
all the time.
1099
01:01:51,675 --> 01:01:53,875
Émilie?
1100
01:01:53,877 --> 01:01:55,811
Émilie, you are
being absurd!
1101
01:01:55,813 --> 01:01:57,846
Why ascribe
to an object
1102
01:01:57,848 --> 01:02:01,917
a vague and
immeasurable force
like Vis Viva?
1103
01:02:01,919 --> 01:02:03,285
It is a return
to the old ways!
1104
01:02:06,724 --> 01:02:08,590
It is the occult!
1105
01:02:10,861 --> 01:02:12,694
When movement commences,
1106
01:02:12,696 --> 01:02:14,463
you say it is true
that a force is produced
1107
01:02:14,465 --> 01:02:16,431
which did not exist until now.
1108
01:02:16,433 --> 01:02:18,433
Think of our bodies--
to have free will
1109
01:02:18,435 --> 01:02:20,469
we must be free
to initiate motion.
1110
01:02:20,471 --> 01:02:22,070
So all Leibniz is asking is,
1111
01:02:22,072 --> 01:02:23,572
where does all
this force come from?
1112
01:02:23,574 --> 01:02:24,606
In your case, my dear,
1113
01:02:24,608 --> 01:02:26,675
the force, I am sure,
is primeval.
1114
01:02:26,677 --> 01:02:28,944
Oh! You're infuriating!
1115
01:02:28,946 --> 01:02:30,779
You hide behind wit and sarcasm.
1116
01:02:30,781 --> 01:02:33,348
You only think
you understand Newton.
1117
01:02:33,350 --> 01:02:35,784
You are incapable
of understanding
Leibniz.
1118
01:02:35,786 --> 01:02:37,385
You are a provocateur.
1119
01:02:37,387 --> 01:02:39,387
Everything you do is
about something else
1120
01:02:39,389 --> 01:02:40,922
and makes trouble
for you.
1121
01:02:40,924 --> 01:02:43,125
Criticize this,
denounce that.
1122
01:02:43,127 --> 01:02:45,427
Are you capable of discovering
something of your own?
1123
01:02:50,934 --> 01:02:52,868
I discovered you!
1124
01:02:59,009 --> 01:03:01,576
LITHGOW:
Despite the overwhelming support
for Newton,
1125
01:03:01,578 --> 01:03:05,080
du Châtelet did not waver
in her belief.
1126
01:03:13,323 --> 01:03:15,991
Eventually, she came across
an experiment
1127
01:03:15,993 --> 01:03:19,427
performed by a Dutch scientist,
Willem 'sGravesande,
1128
01:03:19,429 --> 01:03:21,463
that would prove her point.
1129
01:03:22,699 --> 01:03:25,400
S'Gravesande in Leiden
has been dropping lead balls
1130
01:03:25,402 --> 01:03:27,002
into a pan of clay.
1131
01:03:27,004 --> 01:03:30,939
( sarcastically ):
Dropping lead balls into clay!
1132
01:03:30,941 --> 01:03:32,974
How very
imaginative.
1133
01:03:32,976 --> 01:03:36,044
DU CHATELET:
Using Newton's formulas, Monsieur Voltaire,
1134
01:03:36,046 --> 01:03:38,847
he then drops a second ball from a higher height,
1135
01:03:38,849 --> 01:03:41,183
calculated to exactly double the speed
1136
01:03:41,185 --> 01:03:43,451
of the first ball on impact.
1137
01:03:43,453 --> 01:03:46,888
So, messieurs, care
for a little wager?
1138
01:03:48,592 --> 01:03:52,194
Newton tells us that by doubling
the speed of the ball,
1139
01:03:52,196 --> 01:03:54,596
we will double the distance
it travels
1140
01:03:54,598 --> 01:03:55,764
into the clay.
1141
01:03:55,766 --> 01:03:58,834
Leibniz asks us
to square that speed.
1142
01:03:58,836 --> 01:04:02,003
If he is correct,
the ball will travel not two,
1143
01:04:02,005 --> 01:04:04,039
but four times as far.
1144
01:04:04,041 --> 01:04:06,074
So who is correct?
1145
01:04:07,144 --> 01:04:08,143
Messieurs,
1146
01:04:08,145 --> 01:04:11,713
I feel Mr. Newton's
reputation dwindling
1147
01:04:11,715 --> 01:04:12,547
ever so
slightly.
1148
01:04:12,549 --> 01:04:13,648
Oh,
Maupertuis!
1149
01:04:13,650 --> 01:04:15,183
Do not succumb to her!
1150
01:04:15,185 --> 01:04:16,418
There is no
earthly reason
1151
01:04:16,420 --> 01:04:17,886
to ascribe
hidden forces
1152
01:04:17,888 --> 01:04:20,889
to this Dutchman's
lead balls!
1153
01:04:20,891 --> 01:04:22,357
( men laughing )
1154
01:04:23,894 --> 01:04:24,993
Well...
1155
01:04:24,995 --> 01:04:30,098
the ball travels
fo times further.
1156
01:04:32,569 --> 01:04:34,903
Turns out Leibniz is
the one who is right--
1157
01:04:34,905 --> 01:04:37,939
it's the best way to express
the energy of a moving object.
1158
01:04:37,941 --> 01:04:40,275
If you drive a car
at 20 miles an hour,
1159
01:04:40,277 --> 01:04:42,777
it takes a certain distance to
stop if you slam on the brakes.
1160
01:04:42,779 --> 01:04:44,346
If you're going three times
as fast--
1161
01:04:44,348 --> 01:04:45,547
you're going 60 miles an hour--
1162
01:04:45,549 --> 01:04:47,415
it won't take you three times
as long to stop,
1163
01:04:47,417 --> 01:04:50,552
it'll take you nine times as long to stop.
1164
01:04:50,554 --> 01:04:54,256
Oh. Well... it does seem
1165
01:04:54,258 --> 01:04:56,925
worth consideration.
1166
01:04:56,927 --> 01:04:59,761
Perhaps we might look over
his calculations?
1167
01:04:59,763 --> 01:05:01,963
I have already checked
his figures.
1168
01:05:01,965 --> 01:05:04,266
I am sure Leibniz is correct
on this point.
1169
01:05:04,268 --> 01:05:05,667
I intend
to include
1170
01:05:05,669 --> 01:05:07,402
a section on this matter
in my book.
1171
01:05:08,272 --> 01:05:10,071
MAUPERTUIS:
Really?
1172
01:05:10,073 --> 01:05:12,974
Do be careful, madame.
1173
01:05:12,976 --> 01:05:16,378
Do you think the Academy
is ready for such an opinion?
1174
01:05:16,380 --> 01:05:17,379
Quite, quite.
1175
01:05:17,381 --> 01:05:18,546
We really should be
careful.
1176
01:05:18,548 --> 01:05:20,615
"We"?
1177
01:05:20,617 --> 01:05:23,251
I see no reason to delay.
1178
01:05:23,253 --> 01:05:26,454
There is no right time
for the truth.
1179
01:05:28,859 --> 01:05:30,892
ZINSSER:
Émilie du Châtelet published
1180
01:05:30,894 --> 01:05:32,928
her Institutions of Physics
in 1740,
1181
01:05:32,930 --> 01:05:36,298
and it provoked
great controversy.
1182
01:05:39,970 --> 01:05:42,404
Voltaire wrote
1183
01:05:42,406 --> 01:05:47,175
that "She was a great man whose
only fault was being a woman."
1184
01:05:47,177 --> 01:05:50,445
In her day,
that was a great compliment.
1185
01:06:05,329 --> 01:06:07,963
I am with child.
1186
01:06:13,203 --> 01:06:15,203
You are sure?
1187
01:06:15,205 --> 01:06:16,338
Undoubtedly.
1188
01:06:16,340 --> 01:06:18,273
Two to three
months.
1189
01:06:20,077 --> 01:06:21,409
I'm afraid that...
1190
01:06:21,411 --> 01:06:22,911
You are afraid?
1191
01:06:22,913 --> 01:06:24,813
You should have...
1192
01:06:33,523 --> 01:06:35,223
Well, this child is
obviously not mine.
1193
01:06:38,195 --> 01:06:41,229
Nor is it your husband's.
1194
01:06:44,801 --> 01:06:46,001
( sighs )
1195
01:06:46,003 --> 01:06:47,135
Oh, Émilie.
1196
01:06:47,137 --> 01:06:48,036
Émilie.
1197
01:06:52,442 --> 01:06:54,442
Émilie du Châtelet knew
that in the 18th century
1198
01:06:54,444 --> 01:06:56,578
for a woman to become pregnant
at the age of 43
1199
01:06:56,580 --> 01:06:58,146
was really very dangerous,
1200
01:06:58,148 --> 01:06:59,714
and all the while
she was pregnant
1201
01:06:59,716 --> 01:07:03,051
she had terrible premonitions
about what was going to happen.
1202
01:07:05,522 --> 01:07:08,690
LITHGOW:
All her life, du Châtelet
had tried to rise above
1203
01:07:08,692 --> 01:07:10,825
the limitations
placed on her gender.
1204
01:07:10,827 --> 01:07:14,629
In the end, it was an affair
with a young soldier
1205
01:07:14,631 --> 01:07:17,032
that led to her demise.
1206
01:07:17,034 --> 01:07:19,968
Six days after giving birth
to her fourth child,
1207
01:07:19,970 --> 01:07:22,570
she suffered an embolism
and died.
1208
01:07:28,745 --> 01:07:31,012
Émilie du Châtelet's
conviction
1209
01:07:31,014 --> 01:07:32,847
that the energy of an object
1210
01:07:32,849 --> 01:07:35,450
is a function
of the square of its speed
1211
01:07:35,452 --> 01:07:38,286
sparked a fierce debate.
1212
01:07:38,288 --> 01:07:39,421
After her death,
1213
01:07:39,423 --> 01:07:42,624
it took a hundred years
for the idea to be accepted--
1214
01:07:42,626 --> 01:07:47,629
just in time for Einstein
to use this brilliant insight
1215
01:07:47,631 --> 01:07:52,100
to finally bring energy
and mass together with light.
1216
01:08:00,844 --> 01:08:06,014
Einstein pursued light right
through university and beyond.
1217
01:08:06,016 --> 01:08:08,950
Unfortunately, he'd upset
so many professors
1218
01:08:08,952 --> 01:08:11,619
that no one would write him
a reference.
1219
01:08:11,621 --> 01:08:17,025
He accepted a low-paying job
in the Swiss patent office.
1220
01:08:17,027 --> 01:08:19,527
He and Mileva married
and had a child.
1221
01:08:19,529 --> 01:08:21,930
The young family struggled.
1222
01:08:21,932 --> 01:08:25,767
But none of it seems
to bother Albert.
1223
01:08:25,769 --> 01:08:27,402
Einstein?
1224
01:08:27,404 --> 01:08:29,204
I see you are busy,
1225
01:08:29,206 --> 01:08:31,139
as usual.
1226
01:08:31,141 --> 01:08:33,308
Look, Einstein...
1227
01:08:33,310 --> 01:08:35,977
Albert.
1228
01:08:35,979 --> 01:08:40,381
You have shown
some quite good
achievements.
1229
01:08:40,383 --> 01:08:42,584
But, listen...
1230
01:08:42,586 --> 01:08:45,053
About your promotion.
1231
01:08:45,055 --> 01:08:46,721
I really think it would be
better to wait
1232
01:08:46,723 --> 01:08:48,556
until you have
become more fully familiar
1233
01:08:48,558 --> 01:08:50,959
with mechanical
engineering.
1234
01:08:50,961 --> 01:08:52,861
I'm sorry.
1235
01:08:52,863 --> 01:08:56,164
Perhaps
next time, hmm?
1236
01:09:00,637 --> 01:09:02,070
MILEVA:
But I wanted to hire a maid
1237
01:09:02,072 --> 01:09:04,772
so I can get back
and finish my degree.
1238
01:09:04,774 --> 01:09:06,908
Now I will never pass
my dissertation.
1239
01:09:06,910 --> 01:09:09,210
Oh, come, come,
my pretty little duck.
1240
01:09:09,212 --> 01:09:11,646
All will be fine, you'll see.
1241
01:09:11,648 --> 01:09:13,448
But how will it be fine,
Albert?!
1242
01:09:13,450 --> 01:09:14,983
Do I have to just wait
another year
1243
01:09:14,985 --> 01:09:17,485
until you are promoted?
1244
01:09:17,487 --> 01:09:18,486
( baby crying )
1245
01:09:18,488 --> 01:09:19,487
Come on.
1246
01:09:19,489 --> 01:09:21,422
Come on, my little one.
1247
01:09:21,424 --> 01:09:22,557
Oh, there we are.
1248
01:09:22,559 --> 01:09:28,263
( baby continues crying )
1249
01:09:30,000 --> 01:09:33,034
All will be fine.
1250
01:09:33,036 --> 01:09:35,170
All will be fine, you'll see.
1251
01:09:38,341 --> 01:09:39,641
There really is a very charming,
1252
01:09:39,643 --> 01:09:42,243
but kind of a self-centered
streak to Einstein.
1253
01:09:42,245 --> 01:09:44,145
He focuses only on
his particular obsessions.
1254
01:09:44,147 --> 01:09:46,748
If the rest of the world fits in
around him, that's fine,
1255
01:09:46,750 --> 01:09:49,384
if they can't,
it doesn't bother him.
1256
01:10:02,199 --> 01:10:03,398
( no voice )
1257
01:10:34,097 --> 01:10:36,397
Albert, Albert, Albert.
1258
01:10:36,399 --> 01:10:38,433
A pretty neck
and your head spins.
1259
01:10:38,435 --> 01:10:42,503
Besso, we must behold and
comprehend the mysterious.
1260
01:10:42,505 --> 01:10:46,074
Well, that kind of mysterious is
going to get you into trouble.
1261
01:10:46,076 --> 01:10:47,675
I'll tell you what is
truly mysterious:
1262
01:10:47,677 --> 01:10:49,844
the secret of a long
and happy marriage.
1263
01:10:52,115 --> 01:10:55,283
The mathematics are fine,
if a little unconventional,
1264
01:10:55,285 --> 01:10:57,719
but this only works
for big systems.
1265
01:10:57,721 --> 01:10:59,687
It'll fall down when
you apply it to small systems.
1266
01:10:59,689 --> 01:11:01,522
I disagree.
1267
01:11:01,524 --> 01:11:02,223
BESSO:
Oh, no.
1268
01:11:02,225 --> 01:11:03,224
Here we go--
1269
01:11:03,226 --> 01:11:05,260
another grand theory
by Herr Albert Einstein,
1270
01:11:05,262 --> 01:11:06,261
Patent Clerk,
1271
01:11:06,263 --> 01:11:07,729
Third Class.
1272
01:11:07,731 --> 01:11:11,165
What would happen
if one applied those formulae
1273
01:11:11,167 --> 01:11:12,467
to electromagnetic radiation?
1274
01:11:12,469 --> 01:11:13,568
Albert,
1275
01:11:13,570 --> 01:11:16,170
you can't just take one bit
of physics and apply it
1276
01:11:16,172 --> 01:11:18,973
without proper regard
to a completely different area.
1277
01:11:18,975 --> 01:11:21,442
Why not?
1278
01:11:21,444 --> 01:11:22,477
Albert.
1279
01:11:22,479 --> 01:11:25,346
I know you like
the grand linkages,
1280
01:11:25,348 --> 01:11:26,614
the big theories,
1281
01:11:26,616 --> 01:11:28,983
but wouldn't things
be better all round
1282
01:11:28,985 --> 01:11:31,719
if you just got going
in some small area?
1283
01:11:31,721 --> 01:11:32,920
Got a university post.
1284
01:11:32,922 --> 01:11:35,623
Get a decent wage,
for God's sake.
1285
01:11:35,625 --> 01:11:37,091
At least Mileva
could study again.
1286
01:11:37,093 --> 01:11:39,093
Then she'd be happy,
and you'd be happy.
1287
01:11:39,095 --> 01:11:44,465
Ah, the vulgar struggle
for survival: food and sex.
1288
01:11:44,467 --> 01:11:47,101
Spoken like
a true bourgeois.
1289
01:11:47,103 --> 01:11:53,041
Besso, I want to know
how God created this world.
1290
01:11:53,043 --> 01:11:56,444
I am not interested
in this or that phenomenon,
1291
01:11:56,446 --> 01:11:59,213
in the spectrum of this
or that element.
1292
01:11:59,215 --> 01:12:01,349
I want to know His thoughts.
1293
01:12:01,351 --> 01:12:05,453
The rest... they're details.
1294
01:12:05,455 --> 01:12:07,021
Yes, but you can't
feed your children
1295
01:12:07,023 --> 01:12:09,057
on His thoughts, Bertie.
1296
01:12:20,437 --> 01:12:22,804
KAISER:
So it turns out,
Einstein was going for a walk
1297
01:12:22,806 --> 01:12:24,505
with his very close friend,
Michele Besso.
1298
01:12:24,507 --> 01:12:25,940
They'd studied physics together
1299
01:12:25,942 --> 01:12:28,343
and talked about physics and
philosophy for years and years.
1300
01:12:28,345 --> 01:12:30,278
They were very close.
1301
01:12:30,280 --> 01:12:32,013
They had cornered
the question of light
1302
01:12:32,015 --> 01:12:33,114
from every possible angle.
1303
01:12:37,687 --> 01:12:40,221
See these clocks are over here?
1304
01:12:40,223 --> 01:12:42,123
LITHGOW:
As Einstein and Besso
were ruminating
1305
01:12:42,125 --> 01:12:44,192
on how much time it would take
light to reach them
1306
01:12:44,194 --> 01:12:47,128
from clocks at different
distances,
1307
01:12:47,130 --> 01:12:51,032
Einstein had a monumental
insight.
1308
01:12:52,435 --> 01:12:55,903
( church bell tolling )
1309
01:12:55,905 --> 01:12:58,272
( exhales deeply )
1310
01:12:58,274 --> 01:13:00,608
Thank you.
1311
01:13:00,610 --> 01:13:03,878
Thank you.
1312
01:13:03,880 --> 01:13:08,116
I have completely solved
the problem.
1313
01:13:10,653 --> 01:13:12,887
Albert!
1314
01:13:16,393 --> 01:13:21,129
BODANIS:
What Einstein did was completely
turn the problem on its head.
1315
01:13:21,131 --> 01:13:23,264
Other scientists
had found it impossible
1316
01:13:23,266 --> 01:13:24,665
to accept Maxwell's idea--
1317
01:13:24,667 --> 01:13:26,934
that light would always move
away from you
1318
01:13:26,936 --> 01:13:28,569
at 670 million miles an hour,
1319
01:13:28,571 --> 01:13:31,005
even if you, too, were traveling
really fast.
1320
01:13:31,007 --> 01:13:34,108
But Einstein just accepted that
as a fact:
1321
01:13:34,110 --> 01:13:36,577
light's speed
never ever changes.
1322
01:13:36,579 --> 01:13:37,945
Then what he did was bend
1323
01:13:37,947 --> 01:13:39,914
everything we know
about the universe
1324
01:13:39,916 --> 01:13:41,349
to fit light's fixed speed.
1325
01:13:42,919 --> 01:13:45,787
What he discovered
was that to do that
1326
01:13:45,789 --> 01:13:47,855
you have to slow down time.
1327
01:13:49,325 --> 01:13:52,026
His extraordinary insight
is that time...
1328
01:13:52,028 --> 01:13:54,362
as you approach
the speed of light,
1329
01:13:54,364 --> 01:13:56,931
time itself will slow down.
1330
01:13:56,933 --> 01:13:59,734
It's a monumental shift
in how we see the world.
1331
01:14:04,808 --> 01:14:07,108
The instant, the very instant
1332
01:14:07,110 --> 01:14:10,211
when Einstein had
this brilliant insight
1333
01:14:10,213 --> 01:14:12,280
that time could slow down,
1334
01:14:12,282 --> 01:14:14,849
well, the floodgates
began to open.
1335
01:14:14,851 --> 01:14:18,386
( clocks ticking )
1336
01:14:18,388 --> 01:14:21,722
You see,
before then people had assumed
1337
01:14:21,724 --> 01:14:25,626
that time was like a wristwatch
on God's hand,
1338
01:14:25,628 --> 01:14:28,930
that it beat at a steady rate
throughout the universe,
1339
01:14:28,932 --> 01:14:30,331
no matter were you were.
1340
01:14:30,333 --> 01:14:31,799
( clock's ticking slowing )
1341
01:14:31,801 --> 01:14:33,100
Einstein said no--
1342
01:14:33,102 --> 01:14:36,404
that the "tick, tick, tick"
of this wristwatch
1343
01:14:36,406 --> 01:14:38,806
was actually
the "click, click, click"
1344
01:14:38,808 --> 01:14:41,275
of electricity turning
into magnetism
1345
01:14:41,277 --> 01:14:42,743
turning into electricity.
1346
01:14:42,745 --> 01:14:45,913
In other words,
the steadyace of light itself.
1347
01:14:56,259 --> 01:15:00,294
BODANIS:
1905 was a miraculous year
for Einstein and for physics.
1348
01:15:02,765 --> 01:15:05,666
He had an unbelievable
outpouring of creativity.
1349
01:15:05,668 --> 01:15:08,402
It starts with his publication
of a paper
1350
01:15:08,404 --> 01:15:11,272
on how to work out
the true size of atoms.
1351
01:15:11,274 --> 01:15:12,406
Two months later
1352
01:15:12,408 --> 01:15:15,176
is the publication of his paper
on the nature of light--
1353
01:15:15,178 --> 01:15:17,278
that's what will earn him
the Nobel Prize.
1354
01:15:17,280 --> 01:15:19,313
The third paper,
only a month later,
1355
01:15:19,315 --> 01:15:21,415
is on how molecules move
when heated,
1356
01:15:21,417 --> 01:15:25,086
and that finally ends the debate
on whether atoms really exist.
1357
01:15:25,088 --> 01:15:26,754
The fourth paper is published
1358
01:15:26,756 --> 01:15:28,756
at the end
of this half-year period.
1359
01:15:28,758 --> 01:15:30,091
In it Einstein sets out
1360
01:15:30,093 --> 01:15:32,126
his theory of light,
time and space.
1361
01:15:32,128 --> 01:15:34,128
It was the Theory
of Special Relativity.
1362
01:15:34,130 --> 01:15:38,299
That changed the way
we see the world.
1363
01:15:38,301 --> 01:15:41,769
LITHGOW:
In Einstein's new world,
1364
01:15:41,771 --> 01:15:48,175
the one true constant was not
time or even space, but light.
1365
01:15:50,580 --> 01:15:54,148
( steam whistle blowing, train chugging )
1366
01:15:55,885 --> 01:16:00,421
But Einstein's miracle year
was not over.
1367
01:16:00,423 --> 01:16:02,857
( steam hissing, fire roaring)
1368
01:16:05,395 --> 01:16:09,564
In one last great 1905 paper,
1369
01:16:09,566 --> 01:16:12,867
he would propose
an even deeper unity.
1370
01:16:12,869 --> 01:16:14,468
( steam whistle blowing )
1371
01:16:14,470 --> 01:16:16,470
As he computed
1372
01:16:16,472 --> 01:16:19,540
all the implications
of his new theory,
1373
01:16:19,542 --> 01:16:22,743
he noticed
another strange connection,
1374
01:16:22,745 --> 01:16:27,081
this one between energy,
mass and light.
1375
01:16:35,792 --> 01:16:37,792
( train whistle blowing )
1376
01:16:41,264 --> 01:16:43,297
Einstein realizes
that the speed of light
1377
01:16:43,299 --> 01:16:45,199
is kind of like
a cosmic speed limit.
1378
01:16:45,201 --> 01:16:48,436
Nothing can go faster.
1379
01:16:49,973 --> 01:16:52,206
So imagine we have a train
charging along,
1380
01:16:52,208 --> 01:16:54,942
and let's say it's getting
up to the speed of light
1381
01:16:54,944 --> 01:16:57,878
and we're stuffing
more and more energy in,
1382
01:16:57,880 --> 01:17:00,314
trying to get it to go
faster and faster.
1383
01:17:00,316 --> 01:17:03,784
But it's still bumping up
against the speed of light.
1384
01:17:03,786 --> 01:17:05,553
So all this energy,
where does it go?
1385
01:17:05,555 --> 01:17:07,455
It has to go somewhere.
1386
01:17:07,457 --> 01:17:09,624
Amazingly, it goes
into the object's mass.
1387
01:17:11,127 --> 01:17:14,528
From our point of view,
the train actually gets heavier;
1388
01:17:14,530 --> 01:17:16,597
the energy becomes mass.
1389
01:17:26,309 --> 01:17:28,409
It's an incredible idea.
1390
01:17:28,411 --> 01:17:31,012
Even Einstein is amazed by it.
1391
01:17:34,851 --> 01:17:37,618
I think I have
found a connection
1392
01:17:37,620 --> 01:17:39,820
between energy and mass.
1393
01:17:39,822 --> 01:17:44,592
If I am right, then energy
and mass are not absolute.
1394
01:17:44,594 --> 01:17:46,794
They are not distinct--
1395
01:17:46,796 --> 01:17:50,297
they can be converted
into one another.
1396
01:17:50,299 --> 01:17:54,869
Energy can become mass,
and mass can become energy.
1397
01:17:54,871 --> 01:17:58,539
And not just energy
equaling mass.
1398
01:17:58,541 --> 01:18:04,745
Energy equals mass times the
square of the speed of light.
1399
01:18:04,747 --> 01:18:07,014
( cackles; laughs softly )
1400
01:18:07,016 --> 01:18:10,084
Would you like me to check
your mathematics?
1401
01:18:17,160 --> 01:18:23,631
LITHGOW:
Einstein sent his fifth great
1905 paper for publication.
1402
01:18:23,633 --> 01:18:28,235
In three pages he simply stated
that energy and mass
1403
01:18:28,237 --> 01:18:32,873
were connected by the square
of the speed of light--
1404
01:18:32,875 --> 01:18:36,610
E equals m c-squared.
1405
01:18:42,785 --> 01:18:46,987
With four familiar notes
in the scale of nature,
1406
01:18:46,989 --> 01:18:53,360
this patent ficer had composed
a totally fresh melody--
1407
01:18:53,362 --> 01:18:58,199
the culmination of his ten-year
journey into light.
1408
01:19:01,070 --> 01:19:02,903
Here we are
for thousands of years
1409
01:19:02,905 --> 01:19:06,107
thinking that over here is
a world of objects, of matter,
1410
01:19:06,109 --> 01:19:08,676
and over there is
an entirely separate world
1411
01:19:08,678 --> 01:19:10,644
of movement,
of forces, of energy.
1412
01:19:10,646 --> 01:19:13,347
And Einstein says,
"No, they are not separate."
1413
01:19:13,349 --> 01:19:14,882
Energy can become mass,
1414
01:19:14,884 --> 01:19:17,685
and crucially,
mass can also become energy.
1415
01:19:17,687 --> 01:19:21,722
There is a deep unity between
energy, matter and light.
1416
01:19:24,827 --> 01:19:26,861
KAKU:
E equals m c-squared.
1417
01:19:26,863 --> 01:19:31,031
That equation shows that every
piece of matter in our universe
1418
01:19:31,033 --> 01:19:35,302
has stored within it
a fantastic amount of energy.
1419
01:19:35,304 --> 01:19:37,304
The speed of light, for example,
1420
01:19:37,306 --> 01:19:39,740
is about 300 million meters
per second.
1421
01:19:39,742 --> 01:19:43,944
You multiply that by itself
and you get 90 quadrillion.
1422
01:19:43,946 --> 01:19:46,413
So in other words,
what is matter?
1423
01:19:46,415 --> 01:19:50,284
In some sense, matter is nothing
but the condensation
1424
01:19:50,286 --> 01:19:52,253
of vast amounts of energy.
1425
01:19:52,255 --> 01:19:54,355
So in other words,
if you could unlock...
1426
01:19:54,357 --> 01:19:58,726
somehow unlock all the energy
stored within my pen,
1427
01:19:58,728 --> 01:20:03,364
that would erupt with a force
comparable to an atomic bomb.
1428
01:20:15,111 --> 01:20:17,611
After Einstein's fifth
great 1905 paper,
1429
01:20:17,613 --> 01:20:21,415
physicists no longer spoke
of mass or energy--
1430
01:20:21,417 --> 01:20:23,517
they are now
the same thing to us.
1431
01:20:23,519 --> 01:20:24,485
( steam hissing )
1432
01:20:39,035 --> 01:20:44,205
LITHGOW:
Probably the most miraculous
year in science ends in silence.
1433
01:20:47,109 --> 01:20:52,746
The articles are published
to resounding. nothing.
1434
01:20:52,748 --> 01:20:55,449
EINSTEIN ( voice echoing ):
I think the Gods
1435
01:20:55,451 --> 01:20:56,584
are laughing at me.
1436
01:20:58,754 --> 01:21:02,857
LITHGOW:
Then slowly it starts.
1437
01:21:02,859 --> 01:21:05,492
A letter here, a letter there.
1438
01:21:05,494 --> 01:21:09,864
For four years Einstein swered
each inquiry dutifully,
1439
01:21:09,866 --> 01:21:13,300
trying to explain
his difficult, complex ideas
1440
01:21:13,302 --> 01:21:16,003
to a confused physics community.
1441
01:21:18,708 --> 01:21:22,676
GATES:
I love the idea that life
just went on as normal.
1442
01:21:22,678 --> 01:21:27,748
Here are these universe-changing
papers circling around,
1443
01:21:27,750 --> 01:21:30,718
and the world is... struggling
to come to terms with them.
1444
01:21:34,757 --> 01:21:36,891
KAKU:
Einstein had a fan club
1445
01:21:36,893 --> 01:21:38,659
of just one.
1446
01:21:38,661 --> 01:21:43,097
Luckily it happened to be the
most important living physicist.
1447
01:21:43,099 --> 01:21:45,633
SUPERVISOR:
Einstein.
1448
01:21:45,635 --> 01:21:47,768
Einstein.
1449
01:21:47,770 --> 01:21:50,971
Max Planck has sent
someone to see you.
1450
01:21:50,973 --> 01:21:51,972
Max Planck?
1451
01:21:51,974 --> 01:21:52,973
Yes.
1452
01:21:52,975 --> 01:21:54,775
He has sent
his assistant.
1453
01:21:54,777 --> 01:21:56,644
He's here to see you.
1454
01:22:02,785 --> 01:22:07,254
LITHGOW:
Max Planck encourages the
world's most eminent physicists
1455
01:22:07,256 --> 01:22:09,089
to take Einstein seriously.
1456
01:22:10,293 --> 01:22:12,426
After four years of waiting,
1457
01:22:12,428 --> 01:22:16,931
he is appointed professor of
physics at Zurich University.
1458
01:22:18,634 --> 01:22:21,936
From there his career
is meteoric.
1459
01:22:21,938 --> 01:22:26,073
He is made
professor of physics in Berlin,
1460
01:22:26,075 --> 01:22:31,111
achieves world renown
and becomes a household name.
1461
01:22:31,113 --> 01:22:36,283
He is the undisputed father
of modern physics.
1462
01:22:51,267 --> 01:22:55,903
But Einstein's success was
the downfall of his marriage.
1463
01:22:59,275 --> 01:23:03,944
In 1919 he divorced Mileva
and married his cousin.
1464
01:23:09,452 --> 01:23:11,318
His fame led to
numerous affairs.
1465
01:23:47,590 --> 01:23:52,026
E equals m c-squared became
the Holy Grail of science.
1466
01:23:52,028 --> 01:23:56,163
It held out the promise
of vast reserves of energy
1467
01:23:56,165 --> 01:23:58,532
locked deep inside the atom.
1468
01:23:58,534 --> 01:24:00,034
Einstein suspected
1469
01:24:00,036 --> 01:24:02,903
that it would take a hundred
years of research to unlock it.
1470
01:24:02,905 --> 01:24:06,340
But he hadn't banked on
the Second World War
1471
01:24:06,342 --> 01:24:10,477
and the genius of a Jewish woman
in Hitler's Germany.
1472
01:24:31,567 --> 01:24:37,471
28-year-old Austrian
Lise Meitner was painfully shy.
1473
01:24:37,473 --> 01:24:39,039
Despite her anxiety,
1474
01:24:39,041 --> 01:24:42,576
the young doctor of physics
arrived in Berlin
1475
01:24:42,578 --> 01:24:44,878
determined to pursue a career
1476
01:24:44,880 --> 01:24:48,248
in the exciting new field
of radioactivity.
1477
01:24:48,250 --> 01:24:50,150
Unfortunately, in 1907,
1478
01:24:50,152 --> 01:24:54,354
German universities did not
employ female graduates.
1479
01:24:59,728 --> 01:25:04,131
Luckily,
one man came to her aid.
1480
01:25:06,035 --> 01:25:08,035
Fraulein Meitner?
1481
01:25:08,037 --> 01:25:09,536
Yes?
1482
01:25:09,538 --> 01:25:12,439
Otto Hahn. I'm a researcher
in the Chemistry Institute.
1483
01:25:12,441 --> 01:25:13,941
Professor Planck
suggested I...
1484
01:25:13,943 --> 01:25:17,611
Herr Hahn, I have read
your papers on thorium
and on mesothorium,
1485
01:25:17,613 --> 01:25:19,046
and Dr. Planck
suggested that I...
1486
01:25:19,048 --> 01:25:20,781
Yes, he suggested
that I speak with you.
1487
01:25:20,783 --> 01:25:22,116
I need someone
to collaborate...
1488
01:25:22,118 --> 01:25:24,785
I think I could really help
with the physical analysis.
1489
01:25:24,787 --> 01:25:26,153
And the mathematics?
1490
01:25:27,256 --> 01:25:29,723
Yes, yes--
and the mathematics.
1491
01:25:29,725 --> 01:25:30,924
Studying radioactive atoms
1492
01:25:30,926 --> 01:25:32,459
has become
so much a collaboration
1493
01:25:32,461 --> 01:25:34,328
between emistry
and physics these days.
1494
01:25:34,330 --> 01:25:36,563
Yes, yes.
1495
01:25:36,565 --> 01:25:38,799
I'll ask Fischer
for a laboratory, then.
1496
01:25:38,801 --> 01:25:40,634
Excellent.
1497
01:25:42,037 --> 01:25:43,437
I'll speak to you soon.
1498
01:25:44,874 --> 01:25:48,542
LITHGOW:
Lise Meitner had just taken
the first step on a journey
1499
01:25:48,544 --> 01:25:51,512
that would irrevocably change
world history.
1500
01:25:51,514 --> 01:25:55,349
For her it would be a road
marked with success and renown,
1501
01:25:55,351 --> 01:25:59,253
but also with terror
and betrayal.
1502
01:26:04,627 --> 01:26:07,794
BODANIS:
At this time, not a lot
was known about the atom.
1503
01:26:09,498 --> 01:26:10,697
At first, people thought
1504
01:26:10,699 --> 01:26:12,633
it was like
a miniature solar system;
1505
01:26:12,635 --> 01:26:14,935
there's a solid nucleus
of the center
1506
01:26:14,937 --> 01:26:17,104
and electrons would spin
around it,
1507
01:26:17,106 --> 01:26:19,373
sort of like planets
around our sun.
1508
01:26:19,375 --> 01:26:21,475
A little later, some researchers
proposed
1509
01:26:21,477 --> 01:26:24,077
that the nucleus itself
wasn't a solid chunk
1510
01:26:24,079 --> 01:26:25,846
but was made up
of separate particles,
1511
01:26:25,848 --> 01:26:27,047
of protons and neutrons.
1512
01:26:27,049 --> 01:26:30,184
But then-- in what are called
radioactive metals,
1513
01:26:30,186 --> 01:26:32,286
things like radium and uranium--
1514
01:26:32,288 --> 01:26:34,922
the nucleus itself
seemed to be unstable,
1515
01:26:34,924 --> 01:26:37,057
leaking out energy
and particles.
1516
01:26:37,059 --> 01:26:40,194
Perhaps this was an example
of E equals m c-squared--
1517
01:26:40,196 --> 01:26:42,696
the mass of a nucleus
turning into energy.
1518
01:26:47,236 --> 01:26:50,204
LITHGOW:
Meitner and Hahn's collaboration
1519
01:26:50,206 --> 01:26:53,507
to unlock the secrets
of the atom started out
1520
01:26:53,509 --> 01:26:55,709
on an extremely unequal footing.
1521
01:26:55,711 --> 01:26:58,245
He was given a laboratory.
1522
01:26:58,247 --> 01:27:00,847
She was forced to work
in a wood shop.
1523
01:27:00,849 --> 01:27:02,983
I see you haven't set
your hair on fire.
1524
01:27:04,386 --> 01:27:06,053
Herr Hahn?
1525
01:27:06,055 --> 01:27:07,955
The boss-- he thinks
that if he lets women
1526
01:27:07,957 --> 01:27:09,256
into the Chemistry Institute
1527
01:27:09,258 --> 01:27:10,891
they'll set
their hair on fire.
1528
01:27:10,893 --> 01:27:13,594
Oh... so his beard
must be fireproof.
1529
01:27:14,763 --> 01:27:16,396
( footsteps approaching )
1530
01:27:18,100 --> 01:27:19,333
Good day, Herr Hahn.
1531
01:27:19,335 --> 01:27:21,268
Good day.
1532
01:27:24,406 --> 01:27:25,906
You see?
1533
01:27:25,908 --> 01:27:28,008
I am nonexistent
1534
01:27:28,010 --> 01:27:29,743
to this place.
1535
01:27:29,745 --> 01:27:33,547
At least physicists recognize me
for my abilities.
1536
01:27:33,549 --> 01:27:35,415
Yes, where would
we chemists be
1537
01:27:35,417 --> 01:27:38,085
without the steadying hand
of the physicist?
1538
01:27:53,669 --> 01:27:57,904
WOMAN:
It took years, but Lise lost
her shyness eventually.
1539
01:27:57,906 --> 01:28:00,540
In 1912, she and Hahn moved
1540
01:28:00,542 --> 01:28:03,644
to the brand-new Kaiser Wilhelm
Institute for Chemistry,
1541
01:28:03,646 --> 01:28:06,280
where their status
was really that of equals.
1542
01:28:09,251 --> 01:28:11,285
Lise became the first woman
in Germany ever
1543
01:28:11,287 --> 01:28:13,620
to have the title of professor.
1544
01:28:31,840 --> 01:28:36,476
Lise... I have news.
1545
01:28:38,380 --> 01:28:39,413
Oh?
1546
01:28:39,415 --> 01:28:41,148
You remember the art student
1547
01:28:41,150 --> 01:28:42,416
I told you of?
1548
01:28:42,418 --> 01:28:44,351
Yes, Edith.
1549
01:28:44,353 --> 01:28:49,122
Yes, well, I have, um...
1550
01:28:49,124 --> 01:28:51,224
asked her to marry me,
and she has accepted.
1551
01:28:55,230 --> 01:28:56,496
Oh...
1552
01:28:56,498 --> 01:28:58,899
Oh, Dr. Hahn,
congratulations.
1553
01:29:01,036 --> 01:29:03,470
Yes, well...
1554
01:29:03,472 --> 01:29:06,606
I wanted you to be
the first to know.
1555
01:29:06,608 --> 01:29:10,243
I'm very pleased for you.
1556
01:29:12,748 --> 01:29:14,214
Very pleased.
1557
01:29:22,991 --> 01:29:25,525
SIME:
Lise Meitner
was warm-hearted by nature.
1558
01:29:25,527 --> 01:29:28,261
She had many friends
1559
01:29:28,263 --> 01:29:32,699
and she may have wanted to have
a closer relationship with Otto.
1560
01:29:32,701 --> 01:29:36,970
But it really does seem that
physics was Lise's first love--
1561
01:29:36,972 --> 01:29:38,805
maybe even her passion.
1562
01:29:41,343 --> 01:29:46,346
LITHGOW:
The 1920s and '30s were the
golden age of nuclear research.
1563
01:29:46,348 --> 01:29:48,715
The largest known nucleus
at the time
1564
01:29:48,717 --> 01:29:51,051
was that of the uranium atom,
1565
01:29:51,053 --> 01:29:55,055
containing
238 protons and neutrons.
1566
01:29:55,057 --> 01:29:56,990
Meitner and Hahn
were leading the race
1567
01:29:56,992 --> 01:29:59,993
to see if even bigger nuclei
could be created
1568
01:29:59,995 --> 01:30:03,063
by adding more neutrons.
1569
01:30:03,065 --> 01:30:07,701
So... the atom, pretty familiar:
1570
01:30:07,703 --> 01:30:13,073
Nucleus in the center,
electrons... orbiting around.
1571
01:30:15,711 --> 01:30:18,211
The nucleus is ourocus.
1572
01:30:18,213 --> 01:30:24,151
The nucleus, made up
of protons... and neutrons.
1573
01:30:24,153 --> 01:30:27,387
Now, the largest nucleus
that we know
1574
01:30:27,389 --> 01:30:29,956
is that of the uranium atom.
1575
01:30:29,958 --> 01:30:33,660
Its nucleus is
a tightly packed structure
1576
01:30:33,662 --> 01:30:39,833
of 238 protons and neutrons.
1577
01:30:39,835 --> 01:30:46,573
The thrust of our work
is to try to fire neutrons
1578
01:30:46,575 --> 01:30:49,976
into this huge structure,
1579
01:30:49,978 --> 01:30:54,548
and if we can get a neutron
to stick in here,
1580
01:30:54,550 --> 01:30:57,484
that will be a breakthrough.
1581
01:31:08,063 --> 01:31:11,865
LITHGOW:
Meitner may have been on
the brink of a major discovery,
1582
01:31:11,867 --> 01:31:16,136
but Germany in the 1930s
was a dangerous place to be,
1583
01:31:16,138 --> 01:31:18,738
even for a world-class
scientist.
1584
01:31:20,542 --> 01:31:22,676
The Jewess endangers
our institute.
1585
01:31:27,783 --> 01:31:30,517
When the Nazis came to power,
one of the first things they did
1586
01:31:30,519 --> 01:31:34,654
was to drive out Jewish
academics from the universities.
1587
01:31:34,656 --> 01:31:36,790
Einstein was very prominent
1588
01:31:36,792 --> 01:31:39,493
and for that reason
he was one of the first to go.
1589
01:31:39,495 --> 01:31:42,929
He was hounded out of Germany
in 1933.
1590
01:31:42,931 --> 01:31:46,500
Lise was not dismissed
at that time.
1591
01:31:46,502 --> 01:31:49,936
She was able to stay
because she was Austrian.
1592
01:31:49,938 --> 01:31:53,607
But in March 1938,
Austria was annexed into Germany
1593
01:31:53,609 --> 01:31:58,111
and at that point her situation
became untenable.
1594
01:31:58,113 --> 01:32:00,213
( inaudible )
1595
01:32:05,654 --> 01:32:07,320
What is it?
1596
01:32:11,627 --> 01:32:12,959
Frightening news.
1597
01:32:12,961 --> 01:32:14,561
What's happened?
1598
01:32:16,932 --> 01:32:19,533
Kurt Hess is going around saying
that I should be got rid of.
1599
01:32:22,271 --> 01:32:24,671
I, um... I actually knew.
1600
01:32:24,673 --> 01:32:25,672
I heard today.
1601
01:32:25,674 --> 01:32:26,840
I was going to speak
1602
01:32:26,842 --> 01:32:28,475
to the treasurer
of the institute
1603
01:32:28,477 --> 01:32:30,010
before I told you.
1604
01:32:30,012 --> 01:32:31,745
We're speaking tomorrow.
1605
01:32:34,383 --> 01:32:36,049
Come on,
let's get you home.
1606
01:32:36,051 --> 01:32:37,918
It's late.
1607
01:32:43,559 --> 01:32:45,191
We'll finish up.
1608
01:32:47,162 --> 01:32:50,230
LITHGOW:
The pressure on Meitner
was unbearable.
1609
01:32:50,232 --> 01:32:53,900
Hahn, who was known
for his anti-Nazi views,
1610
01:32:53,902 --> 01:32:57,437
did his best to protect her,
at least initially.
1611
01:32:59,308 --> 01:33:00,674
I need to talk to you
about Lise.
1612
01:33:00,676 --> 01:33:02,275
Not now,
I'm too busy.
1613
01:33:02,277 --> 01:33:03,910
We have to protect her.
1614
01:33:03,912 --> 01:33:05,979
( sighs )
1615
01:33:05,981 --> 01:33:07,881
How?
1616
01:33:07,883 --> 01:33:10,116
What can we do?
1617
01:33:10,118 --> 01:33:12,185
The situation
is the way it is.
1618
01:33:12,187 --> 01:33:14,588
Who knows what
will happen next?
1619
01:33:14,590 --> 01:33:17,557
She can't stay;
it's just not tenable.
1620
01:33:17,559 --> 01:33:20,393
But she hasn't got a visa
or even a valid passport.
1621
01:33:20,395 --> 01:33:23,163
And she may soon be
forbidden to leave Germany.
1622
01:33:26,301 --> 01:33:29,269
We can't harbor a Jew.
1623
01:33:29,271 --> 01:33:33,473
If she stays, the regime
will shut us all down!
1624
01:33:43,785 --> 01:33:44,718
Lise...
1625
01:33:50,192 --> 01:33:53,426
Horlein demands
that you leave.
1626
01:33:55,197 --> 01:33:57,530
You can't
throw her out.
1627
01:34:00,836 --> 01:34:03,003
Horlein says
you should not come
1628
01:34:03,005 --> 01:34:04,571
into the institute
anymore.
1629
01:34:07,075 --> 01:34:08,308
Well, I have to write up
1630
01:34:08,310 --> 01:34:11,111
the thorium irradiation
tomorrow,
1631
01:34:11,113 --> 01:34:12,345
so I have to come in.
1632
01:34:12,347 --> 01:34:14,981
You've given up.
1633
01:34:33,568 --> 01:34:36,369
LITHGOW:
When it became clear that
Meitner would be dismissed
1634
01:34:36,371 --> 01:34:38,104
and probably arrested,
1635
01:34:38,106 --> 01:34:40,907
physicists all around Europe
wrote letters
1636
01:34:40,909 --> 01:34:42,876
inviting her to conferences,
1637
01:34:42,878 --> 01:34:45,478
giving her an excuse
to leave Germany.
1638
01:34:45,480 --> 01:34:48,148
The Nazis refused to let her go.
1639
01:34:49,484 --> 01:34:52,552
In July of 1938,
1640
01:34:52,554 --> 01:34:54,554
a Dutch colleague
traveled to Berlin
1641
01:34:54,556 --> 01:34:57,357
and illegally took Lise
back with him
1642
01:34:57,359 --> 01:34:58,992
on a train to Holland.
1643
01:34:58,994 --> 01:35:00,760
The trip was so frightening
1644
01:35:00,762 --> 01:35:03,530
that at one point
she begged to go back.
1645
01:35:03,532 --> 01:35:07,500
Despite the great danger,
she got through.
1646
01:35:15,444 --> 01:35:19,379
SIME:
She had lost everything--
her home, her position,
1647
01:35:19,381 --> 01:35:22,849
her books,
her salary, her pension,
1648
01:35:22,851 --> 01:35:26,653
even her native language.
1649
01:35:26,655 --> 01:35:29,989
She had been cut off
from her work just at the time
1650
01:35:29,991 --> 01:35:31,458
when she was leading the field
1651
01:35:31,460 --> 01:35:35,361
and was on the brink of
a major scientific discovery.
1652
01:35:37,733 --> 01:35:40,400
LITHGOW:
No matter what
privations she suffered,
1653
01:35:40,402 --> 01:35:43,670
Lise was still thinking
of physics.
1654
01:35:43,672 --> 01:35:49,509
Amazingly, she and Hahn were
able to collaborate by letter.
1655
01:35:49,511 --> 01:35:52,979
MEITNER ( composing ):
I hope, my dear Otto,
that after 30 years
1656
01:35:52,981 --> 01:35:55,615
of work together and friendship
in the institute,
1657
01:35:55,617 --> 01:35:58,051
that at least
the possibility remains
1658
01:35:58,053 --> 01:35:59,919
that you tell me
as much as you can
1659
01:35:59,921 --> 01:36:02,055
about what
is happening back there.
1660
01:36:21,977 --> 01:36:25,044
SIME:
Lise was invited by
an old student friend
1661
01:36:25,046 --> 01:36:28,982
to spend Christmas
on the west coast of Sweden.
1662
01:36:28,984 --> 01:36:33,787
Her nephew, Otto Robert Frisch,
who was also a physicist,
1663
01:36:33,789 --> 01:36:35,288
came to join her there.
1664
01:36:35,290 --> 01:36:37,991
Aunt?
1665
01:36:37,993 --> 01:36:41,694
Aunt?
1666
01:36:41,696 --> 01:36:43,830
Aunt?
1667
01:36:43,832 --> 01:36:45,498
Lise, how are you,
my dear?
1668
01:36:48,270 --> 01:36:49,769
Merry Christmas.
1669
01:36:49,771 --> 01:36:51,337
Aunt?
1670
01:36:51,339 --> 01:36:53,206
Hmm, I need your help.
1671
01:36:53,208 --> 01:36:55,074
Come on, let's go out.
1672
01:36:55,944 --> 01:36:58,278
But I was
hoping you'd help me.
1673
01:37:03,084 --> 01:37:07,120
LITHGOW:
Back in Berlin, Hahn
was getting strange results.
1674
01:37:07,122 --> 01:37:09,022
He found no evidence
to suggest
1675
01:37:09,024 --> 01:37:11,925
that bombarding the uranium
nucleus with neutrons
1676
01:37:11,927 --> 01:37:14,427
had caused it
to increase in size.
1677
01:37:14,429 --> 01:37:18,164
In fact, his experiments
seemed to be contaminated
1678
01:37:18,166 --> 01:37:21,167
with radium, a smaller atom.
1679
01:37:21,169 --> 01:37:25,672
He desperately needed
Meitner's expert analysis.
1680
01:37:25,674 --> 01:37:27,607
From afar,
she was starting to suspect
1681
01:37:27,609 --> 01:37:29,509
that something very different
was happening
1682
01:37:29,511 --> 01:37:30,944
in their experiment.
1683
01:37:33,315 --> 01:37:36,082
Hahn and Strassman are getting
some strange results
1684
01:37:36,084 --> 01:37:37,150
with the uranium work.
1685
01:37:37,152 --> 01:37:38,518
Really?
1686
01:37:38,520 --> 01:37:40,520
A couple of months ago,
Hahn told me
1687
01:37:40,522 --> 01:37:44,724
that they were finding radium
amongst the uranium products.
1688
01:37:44,726 --> 01:37:46,793
We are looking for
a much bigger element,
1689
01:37:46,795 --> 01:37:50,930
and... here we're finding
something much smaller.
1690
01:37:50,932 --> 01:37:55,335
I urged Hahn to check again--
it couldn't be radium.
1691
01:37:55,337 --> 01:37:56,870
And now he writes to me
1692
01:37:56,872 --> 01:38:00,673
and tells me that
it's not radium,
it's barium.
1693
01:38:00,675 --> 01:38:02,208
But that's even smaller.
1694
01:38:02,210 --> 01:38:03,843
Exactly.
1695
01:38:03,845 --> 01:38:06,446
Hahn is sure
that it's another error,
1696
01:38:06,448 --> 01:38:08,181
but I don't know anymore.
1697
01:38:08,183 --> 01:38:11,217
It is at least possible that
barium is being produced.
1698
01:38:11,219 --> 01:38:13,586
So Hahn still needs you
to interpret the data.
1699
01:38:13,588 --> 01:38:16,689
It is my work, too, you know.
1700
01:38:16,691 --> 01:38:18,725
Exactly.
1701
01:38:18,727 --> 01:38:22,629
Well, I can't be there, can I?
1702
01:38:25,600 --> 01:38:27,533
Come on, let's walk.
1703
01:38:35,677 --> 01:38:38,444
Surely he's made
a mistake, hasn't he?
1704
01:38:38,446 --> 01:38:40,446
He hasn't done
what you told him to.
1705
01:38:40,448 --> 01:38:41,614
My darling Robert,
1706
01:38:41,616 --> 01:38:43,616
he may not be
a brilliant theorist,
1707
01:38:43,618 --> 01:38:47,420
but he's
too good a chemist
to get this wrong.
1708
01:38:54,262 --> 01:38:56,763
SIME:
If you imagine a drop of water--
a big drop--
1709
01:38:56,765 --> 01:39:01,267
it's unstable, on the verge
of breaking apart.
1710
01:39:01,269 --> 01:39:03,636
It turns out
that a big nucleus like uranium
1711
01:39:03,638 --> 01:39:05,538
is just like that.
1712
01:39:05,540 --> 01:39:08,107
Now for four years,
Meitner and Hahn
1713
01:39:08,109 --> 01:39:10,209
and all other physicists
had thought
1714
01:39:10,211 --> 01:39:13,112
that if you pump more neutrons
into this nucleus,
1715
01:39:13,114 --> 01:39:15,682
it'll just get
bigger and heavier.
1716
01:39:18,920 --> 01:39:21,154
But suddenly,
Meitner and Frisch--
1717
01:39:21,156 --> 01:39:24,090
out in the midday snow--
realized
1718
01:39:24,092 --> 01:39:26,292
this nucleus
might just get so big
1719
01:39:26,294 --> 01:39:27,727
that it would split in two.
1720
01:39:34,636 --> 01:39:38,471
If the nucleus is so big that
it has trouble staying together,
1721
01:39:38,473 --> 01:39:43,309
then couldn't just a little,
tiny jog from a neutron...
1722
01:39:43,311 --> 01:39:44,944
Yes, but if the nucleus
did split,
1723
01:39:44,946 --> 01:39:47,613
the two halves would fly apart
with a huge amount of energy.
1724
01:39:47,615 --> 01:39:51,150
Where's that energy going
to come from?
1725
01:39:51,152 --> 01:39:53,353
How much energy?
1726
01:39:53,355 --> 01:39:56,956
Well, we worked out that
the mutual repulsion
between two nuclei
1727
01:39:56,958 --> 01:39:59,192
would generate
about 200 million
electron volts.
1728
01:39:59,194 --> 01:40:02,495
But something
has to supply that energy.
1729
01:40:02,497 --> 01:40:05,698
Wait, let me do
a packing fraction calculation.
1730
01:40:12,974 --> 01:40:15,141
The two nuclei
1731
01:40:15,143 --> 01:40:19,145
are lighter than the original
nucleus of the uranium
1732
01:40:19,147 --> 01:40:21,447
by about one-fifth
of a proton in mass.
1733
01:40:21,449 --> 01:40:23,516
What?
1734
01:40:23,518 --> 01:40:24,884
So some mass has been lost.
1735
01:40:27,222 --> 01:40:29,355
Einstein's
E equals m c-squared.
1736
01:40:31,493 --> 01:40:36,696
If we multiply the lost mass
by the speed of light squared
1737
01:40:36,698 --> 01:40:37,764
we get...
1738
01:40:37,766 --> 01:40:39,232
( scribbling )
1739
01:40:41,970 --> 01:40:44,270
200 million electron volts.
1740
01:40:45,774 --> 01:40:48,908
He's split the atom.
1741
01:40:48,910 --> 01:40:51,077
No, no, no...
1742
01:40:51,079 --> 01:40:52,645
you've split the atom.
1743
01:41:00,955 --> 01:41:04,857
SIME:
It w an amazing discovery.
1744
01:41:04,859 --> 01:41:06,092
Of course, in the laboratory
1745
01:41:06,094 --> 01:41:08,227
we're talking about
tiny amounts of uranium
1746
01:41:08,229 --> 01:41:11,431
and correspondingly
tiny amounts of energy.
1747
01:41:11,433 --> 01:41:14,333
But the point is that
the amount of energy released
1748
01:41:14,335 --> 01:41:16,302
was relatively large
1749
01:41:16,304 --> 01:41:19,572
and that came from
the mass of the uranium itself.
1750
01:41:19,574 --> 01:41:23,009
The energy released
was entirely consistent
1751
01:41:23,011 --> 01:41:27,113
with Einstein's equation
E equals m c-squared.
1752
01:41:30,618 --> 01:41:33,252
LITHGOW:
Meitner and Frisch
published the discovery
1753
01:41:33,254 --> 01:41:35,721
of what they called
"nuclear fission"
1754
01:41:35,723 --> 01:41:37,423
to great acclaim.
1755
01:41:37,425 --> 01:41:40,359
But betrayal awaited them.
1756
01:41:43,164 --> 01:41:45,998
Otto Hahn was under pressure
from the Nazi regime
1757
01:41:46,000 --> 01:41:49,402
to write his Jewish colleague
out of the story.
1758
01:41:49,404 --> 01:41:54,040
He alone was awarded the 1944
Nobel Prize for the discovery.
1759
01:41:54,042 --> 01:41:56,542
In his speech,
he barely mentioned
1760
01:41:56,544 --> 01:41:58,845
the leading role of Meitner.
1761
01:41:58,847 --> 01:42:01,848
Bizarrely, even after the war,
1762
01:42:01,850 --> 01:42:05,718
Hahn maintained it
was he and not Meitner
1763
01:42:05,720 --> 01:42:08,287
who had discovered
nuclear fission.
1764
01:42:08,289 --> 01:42:11,991
MEITNER ( composing ):
Now, I want to write
something personal,
1765
01:42:11,993 --> 01:42:16,496
which disturbs me
and which I ask you to read
1766
01:42:16,498 --> 01:42:19,365
with our more than
40-year friendship in mind
1767
01:42:19,367 --> 01:42:22,602
and with the desire
to understand me.
1768
01:42:22,604 --> 01:42:28,074
I am now referred to
as "Hahn's long-time co-worker."
1769
01:42:28,076 --> 01:42:31,110
How would you feel
if you were only characterized
1770
01:42:31,112 --> 01:42:34,147
as the long-time
co-worker of me?
1771
01:42:36,818 --> 01:42:38,684
After the last 15 years--
1772
01:42:38,686 --> 01:42:42,555
which I wouldn't wish
on any good friend--
1773
01:42:42,557 --> 01:42:47,894
shall my scientific past
also be taken from me?
1774
01:42:47,896 --> 01:42:50,429
Is that fair?
1775
01:42:50,431 --> 01:42:52,765
And why is it happening?
1776
01:42:59,073 --> 01:43:02,542
BODANIS:
Lise Meitner had been working
on this for 30 years.
1777
01:43:02,544 --> 01:43:05,545
She'd only broken apart
a handful of atoms,
1778
01:43:05,547 --> 01:43:07,313
but that was enough.
1779
01:43:07,315 --> 01:43:10,583
Once she had broken even one,
the genie was out of the bottle.
1780
01:43:12,820 --> 01:43:14,820
What Meitner had started...
after that,
1781
01:43:14,822 --> 01:43:16,322
physicists around the world
1782
01:43:16,324 --> 01:43:20,226
began to realize they could
take it a lot further.
1783
01:43:20,228 --> 01:43:24,297
LITHGOW:
In 1942, an intense effort
to build an atom bomb was begun.
1784
01:43:24,299 --> 01:43:27,400
All over America,
secret installations sprang up
1785
01:43:27,402 --> 01:43:31,904
under the code name
"the Manhattan Project."
1786
01:43:31,906 --> 01:43:34,240
Meitner was asked to join
the Manhattan Project,
1787
01:43:34,242 --> 01:43:35,441
and she refused.
1788
01:43:35,443 --> 01:43:38,177
She refused to have anything
to do with the atomic bomb.
1789
01:43:38,179 --> 01:43:39,845
But Robert Frisch was different.
1790
01:43:39,847 --> 01:43:42,215
He was an important member
of the team,
1791
01:43:42,217 --> 01:43:44,150
because he was convinced
of the need
1792
01:43:44,152 --> 01:43:46,819
to beat the Nazis
in a nuclear arms race.
1793
01:44:03,304 --> 01:44:06,372
LITHGOW:
A nuclear bomb was
never used on Germany,
1794
01:44:06,374 --> 01:44:10,676
but the atomic bombs dropped
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
1795
01:44:10,678 --> 01:44:14,080
demonstrated the terrible
destructive power
1796
01:44:14,082 --> 01:44:16,315
of E equals m c-squared.
1797
01:44:31,065 --> 01:44:33,299
Vast amounts of energy,
1798
01:44:33,301 --> 01:44:35,735
in the form
of electromagnetic radiation,
1799
01:44:35,737 --> 01:44:39,872
were released from a few pounds
of uranium and plutonium.
1800
01:44:48,549 --> 01:44:50,850
While the pure inquisitiveness
1801
01:44:50,852 --> 01:44:53,152
of the world's
most gifted scientists
1802
01:44:53,154 --> 01:44:57,490
ironically had brought humanity
a weapon of mass destruction,
1803
01:44:57,492 --> 01:45:00,760
the equation's life
has a parallel story
1804
01:45:00,762 --> 01:45:03,829
of creation and beauty.
1805
01:45:20,248 --> 01:45:23,816
Today, young physicists
carry on Einstein's quest.
1806
01:45:23,818 --> 01:45:26,052
Ever since its birth,
1807
01:45:26,054 --> 01:45:28,521
E equals m c-squared
has been used
1808
01:45:28,523 --> 01:45:31,490
to delve into the depths
of time,
1809
01:45:31,492 --> 01:45:33,926
to answer the biggest question
of all--
1810
01:45:33,928 --> 01:45:35,628
where did we come from?
1811
01:45:43,805 --> 01:45:46,439
At particle accelerators,
1812
01:45:46,441 --> 01:45:48,974
researchers propel
atomic particles
1813
01:45:48,976 --> 01:45:52,511
to the speed of light
and smash them together,
1814
01:45:52,513 --> 01:45:55,548
creating conditions
like those in the Big Bang.
1815
01:45:57,452 --> 01:45:59,719
KAISER:
E equals m c-squared
actually tells us
1816
01:45:59,721 --> 01:46:02,088
how the Big Bang itself
happened.
1817
01:46:05,960 --> 01:46:07,560
In the first moments
of creation,
1818
01:46:07,562 --> 01:46:09,562
the universe was
this immensely dense,
1819
01:46:09,564 --> 01:46:12,565
immensely concentrated eruption
of energy.
1820
01:46:12,567 --> 01:46:16,702
As it rushed apart and expanded,
huge amounts of energy, or "E,"
1821
01:46:16,704 --> 01:46:18,637
were converted
into mass, or "m."
1822
01:46:18,639 --> 01:46:20,339
Pure energy became matter--
1823
01:46:20,341 --> 01:46:21,941
it became the particles
and atoms
1824
01:46:21,943 --> 01:46:24,343
and it eventually formed
the first stars.
1825
01:46:28,816 --> 01:46:31,817
BODANIS:
Our sun is a huge furnace
floating in space
1826
01:46:31,819 --> 01:46:34,286
and it's powered
by E equals m c-squared.
1827
01:46:35,656 --> 01:46:37,423
Now it turns out, every second,
1828
01:46:37,425 --> 01:46:41,694
four million tons of solid mass
of the sun disappears.
1829
01:46:41,696 --> 01:46:43,062
It comes out as energy.
1830
01:46:43,064 --> 01:46:44,530
Not just a little bit of energy.
1831
01:46:44,532 --> 01:46:47,166
It's enough to light up
our entire solar system,
1832
01:46:47,168 --> 01:46:49,769
make the solar system
glow with heat and light.
1833
01:46:51,873 --> 01:46:53,873
KAKU:
And not only
do stars emit energy,
1834
01:46:53,875 --> 01:46:57,076
in accordance
with E equals m c-squared.
1835
01:46:57,078 --> 01:47:01,847
The whole process
actually creates life itself.
1836
01:47:03,818 --> 01:47:06,986
Eventually, a massive star dies,
1837
01:47:06,988 --> 01:47:10,423
the debris floats around,
clusters together,
1838
01:47:10,425 --> 01:47:12,892
gets pulled into the orbits
of another star
1839
01:47:12,894 --> 01:47:15,027
and becomes a planet.
1840
01:47:17,098 --> 01:47:22,301
We humans and the earth we
stand on are made of stardust.
1841
01:47:22,303 --> 01:47:27,139
We are a direct product
of E equals m c-squared.
1842
01:47:30,645 --> 01:47:35,414
LITHGOW:
Building on the work
of scientists through the ages,
1843
01:47:35,416 --> 01:47:38,317
new generations are searching
for answs.
1844
01:47:40,021 --> 01:47:44,256
Using bold new tools that reach
almost to the speed of light,
1845
01:47:44,258 --> 01:47:46,058
they can now ask questions
1846
01:47:46,060 --> 01:47:49,228
that their predecessors
could never have even imagined.
1847
01:47:58,773 --> 01:48:00,840
As Einstein himself knew,
1848
01:48:00,842 --> 01:48:04,543
the journey of discovery
is sometimes painful,
1849
01:48:04,545 --> 01:48:06,879
sometimes joyful.
1850
01:48:06,881 --> 01:48:10,816
It is as old
as human curiosity itself
1851
01:48:10,818 --> 01:48:14,320
and never, ever ends.
1852
01:48:16,224 --> 01:48:18,958
( train whistle blowing )
1853
01:48:55,096 --> 01:48:58,030
We gave top physicists two short minutes
1854
01:48:58,032 --> 01:49:00,533
to explain Einstein's big idea.
1855
01:49:00,535 --> 01:49:03,435
NOVA's Web site, you can hear how they did it,
1856
01:49:03,437 --> 01:49:05,538
tell us what you think about this program,
1857
01:49:05,540 --> 01:49:07,306
and much more.
1858
01:49:07,308 --> 01:49:08,941
Find it on pbs.org.
1859
01:49:10,945 --> 01:49:12,878
In a labyrinth of Roman ruins, a chamber of mass death.
1860
01:49:27,461 --> 01:49:30,095
This NOVA program is available on DVD.
1861
01:49:30,097 --> 01:49:35,267
To order, visit shopPBS.org, or call 1-800-play-PBS.
151881
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