Wednesday, April 4 at 9:00 p.m.
Hunting the Elements
In “Hunting the Elements,” NOVA’s fascinating two-hour documentary, intrepid New York Times technology correspondent David Pogue — host of NOVA’s popular “Making Stuff” series — takes viewers on a quest to understand chemistry and all of the materials of life: the 118 unique elements that make up the amazing periodic table, including the 90 naturallyoccurring elements and those created by scientists. Find out why copper is king, gases are noble and gold is “stand-offish.” What is the rarest? What does it take to create a new element?
Wednesday, April 11at 9:00 p.m.
Deadliest Tornadoes
In April 2011, the worst tornado outbreak in decades left a trail of destruction across the U.S., killing more than 360 people. Why was there such an extreme outbreak? How do such outbreaks form? With modern warning systems, why did so many die? Is our weather getting more extreme — and if so, how bad will it get? In this NOVA special, get a look at the science behind the last year’s outbreak, meeting those affected and the scientists striving to understand the forces behind the outbreak. Could their work improve tornado prediction in the future? Learn how we all can protect ourselves and our communities in the future.
Wednesday, April 18 at
9:00 p.m.
Why Ships Sink
Twenty million passengers embark on cruises each year, vacationing in deluxe "floating cities" that offer everything from swimming pools to shopping malls to ice skating rinks. And the ships just keep getting bigger: The average cruise ship has doubled in size in just the last 10 years. Some engineers fear that these towering behemoths are dangerously unstable, and the recent tragedy of the Costa Concordia has raised new questions about their safety. Now, NOVA brings together marine engineering and safety experts to reconstruct the events that led up to famous cruise disasters, including the ill-fated Concordia, the Sea Diamond and the Oceanos. Are we really safe at sea — or are we on the brink of a 21st century Titanic?
Wednesday, April 25 at 9:00 p.m.
Secrets of the Sun
It contains 99.9 percent of all the matter in our solar system and sheds hot plasma at nearly a million miles an hour. The temperature at its core is a staggering 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. It convulses, it blazes, it sings. You know it as the sun. Scientists know it as one of the most amazing physics laboratories in the universe. Now, with the help of new spacecraft and Earth-based telescopes, scientists are seeing the sun as they never have before and even re-creating in labs what happens at the very center of the sun. Their work will helps us understand aspects of the sun that have puzzled scientists for decades.
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