Tales from the Cosmic Crypt

As we approach the dreaded date of December 21st, 2012 (12/21/12) the world waits with bated breath for the end of our world. Yet would it not be more poetically significant numerically if our End Day have been say, December 12th, 2012 (12/12/12) or even June 6th, 2006 (6/6/6) to make it even more significant biblically.

But, what ever date satisfies your own particular fancy there is no denying the fact that we humans have a special place in our hearts for tales of terror associated with the unseen and supernatural forces that lurk in the darkest recesses of our collective imagination what ever the date of the year.

Today being Halloween my mind couldn’t help but wander over recent tales that humans have waived for themselves before and after the dawn of the space age concerning the terrors that lurk in the depths of cosmic night. Here is a collection of tales from the darkest recesses of the cosmic crypt. The cosmic grim reaper lies in wait; scythe in hand, in some dark corner of the universe ever ready to bestow some dark faith upon us. So happy Halloween to you, one and all and may you all suffer a frightful and delightful night of terror. So go to Cosmic Visions for your terrifying treat.

Authors Note: This special Halloween blog was first posted last year. And one more additional note for our dear readers:

The Great 2012 Scare - and What You Need To Know

On December 21^st, 2012, in all probability the Earth's magnetic poles will not flip, California will not break apart and slide into the sea, and a secret monster planet will not smash into Earth out of the invisible nowhere.

What you basically need to know is that it is all a load of "You Know What."

So we can all sleep a lot more easily tonight.

HybriDiving

Is this the future of underwater exploration? Sure looks good and I like the idea of diving without a heavy tank. However I'm concerned about the idea of ascending with a lung full of compressed air. You will need to breath out all the way to the surface unless you want your lungs to burst.

HybriDiving from Michael V. deGruy on Vimeo.

Thanks to Sarah Jane Pell for the link

When Flying Saucers Really Land

Today marks the seventy-first anniversary of the infamous Orson Welles radio broadcast that panicked America and it is only fitting that we at Discovery Enterprise mark the occasion with a triple video billing.

The UFO Files- When UFOs Arrive

An examination of secretive government policies for dealing with extraterrestrial visitation – from the military reporting guideline "JANAP-146", to a curious chapter in a FEMA disaster guide on what to do in case of a UFO crash.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Or Watch it on Classic Cinema Online.

An alien (Klaatu) with his mighty robot (Gort) land their spacecraft on Cold War-era Earth just after the end of World War II. They bring an important message to the planet that Klaatu wishes to tell to representatives of all nations. However, communication turns out to be difficult, so, after learning something about the natives, Klaatu decides on an alternative approach.

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956)

This is the 1956 film classic whose title speaks for itself.

Watch Earth vs the flying saucers.wmv in Science Fiction | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Ares 1-X Rocket Test Flight Launch a Major Success

Today's test flight launch of the Ares 1-X rocket was a major success today. This brings us step closer to fulfilling NASA's ambition of returning to the Moon and going onward to Mars. The flight test will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I.

Discovering Ardipithecus

We Humans, in every age and across all cultures have had one major question - Where did we come from? It is perhaps the most profound question humans could possibly ask and has been the central driving force in the development and evolution of many of the world’s major religions and all the most important braches of scientific inquiry.

We human beings seem so different from the rest of the animal kingdom that it was easy to conclude that we are the pinnacle of a special act creation. This illusion was to be scattered when Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species” and his conclusion that human beings, like all living creatures in the natural world, evolved through the process of natural selection from a common ancestor shared by the other great apes . But, Darwin did not have the human fossils to support his ideas. Now from a remote African desert, buried for more then four million years, comes the conclusive fossil evidence that Darwin could have only imagined with the discovery of Ardipithecus.

Human Evolution - Discovering Ardipithecus

1983: The Brink of Apocalypse

Today on Discovery Enterprise we look at a crucial date in recent history when we came very close to an all out full scale Nuclear War during a NATO exercise known as Able Archer.

This extremely powerful documentary focuses on 8 November 1983, a date now recognised as one of the most dangerous moments in the entire history of the Cold War. On this near-fateful day, a series of accidents nearly unleashed the Third World War. Senior figures in the Soviet Union had convinced themselves that they were about to come under nuclear attack from the West, and the vast Soviet nuclear arsenal of missiles, bombers and submarines were put on maximum alert, ready to launch a full nuclear retaliatory attack on Western Europe and the US. Armageddon beckoned. This documentary tells the dramatic story behind this sequence of events when Soviet fingers hovered perilously over the nuclear button. The intelligence communities in the US, Europe and the former USSR have never before admitted to the scale of this crisis.

1983: The Brink Of Apocalypse

Planet Earth - Caves

Today join us Discovery Enterprise as we present the fourth episode of the landmark BBC documentary series Planet Earth presented by David Attenborough and continue our exploration of the most exotic and awe inspiring planet in the known universe, our own planet Earth.

For those of us who grew up reading Jules Verne this episode of Planet Earth will bring back some fond memories of his 1864 classic “Journey to the Centre of the Earth”. In today’s instalment host David Attenborough introduces us to some of the extraordinary organisms that make their home deep with some of the most remarkable cave systems of the world.

This episode explores "Planet Earth's final frontier": the world of caves. At a depth of 400 metres (1,300 ft), Mexico's Cave of Swallows is Earth's deepest pit cave freefall drop, allowing entry by BASE jumpers. Its volume could contain New York City's Empire State Building. Equally as impressive, we explore the otherworldly cenotes of the Yucatán Peninsula. Divers appeared to be flying in water as clear as an air, as they give us a glimpse of the hundreds of kilometres of these caves which have already been mapped. Also featured is Borneo's Deer Cave and Gomantong Cave. Inhabitants of the former include three million wrinkle-lipped bats, which have deposited guano on to an enormous mound. In Gomantong Cave, guano is many metres high and is blanketed with hundreds of thousands of cockroaches and other invertebrates. Also depicted are eyeless, subterranean creatures, such as the Texas blind salamander and ("bizarrely") a species of crab. Carlsbad Caverns National Park is featured with its calcite formations. Mexico's Cueva de Villa Luz is also featured, with its flowing stream of sulphuric acid and snottite formations made of living bacteria. A fish species, the shortfin molly, has adapted to this habitat. The programme ends in New Mexico's Lechuguilla Cave (discovered in 1986) where sulphuric acid has produced unusually ornate, gypsum crystal formations. Planet Earth Diaries reveals how a camera team spent a month among the cockroaches on the guano mound in Gomantong Cave and describes the logistics required to photograph Lechuguilla. Permission for the latter took two years and local authorities are unlikely to allow another visit.

Planet Earth - Caves

Cynthia Breazeal’s Personal Robots

Today on Discovery Enterprise we explore developments in personal robotics. Cynthia Breazeal’s eminently charming and huggable creatures appear to have stepped out of Santa’s North Pole workshop. But Breazeal wants you to know that her robots are attempts to create socially intelligent machines “whose behaviors are governed not just by physics but by having a mind,” and which might someday collaborate with humans in critical interactions.

Cynthia Breazeal’s Personal Robots

The Search for a Second Earth

Are we alone in the Universe? Is the Earth unique and the only world in this vast Cosmos where matter has evolved into life and consciousness?

The night sky abounds with billions and billions of stars and this sheer multitude has gripped our imaginations since time immemorial. Yet as far as we know we are alone. Could there be out in the cosmos other worlds teeming with life? Other civilizations just like ours? All over the world some of our most talented scientists have come to one Earth shattering conclusion. They are convinced that life exists beyond the Earth. But proving that has not been easy. Today armed with new technology science is searching for proof of another life supporting planet.....Another Earth.

Beyond the Big Bang

Today on Discovery Enterprise we examine perhaps one of the most profound questions of all time: How did the Universe come into being?

In this stunning documentary, we take a historical odyssey and examine how some of the greatest minds of our species have probed the unknown in search of order, logic, and the answers to how the Cosmos, life and consciousness came into existence.

The Universe - Beyond the Big Bang

Carl Sagan - 'A Glorious Dawn' ft Stephen Hawking (Cosmos Remixed)

Here's something different, a musical version of Cosmos.

Cities beneath the Sea

Today on Discovery Enterprise it gives us great pleasure to present two feature science fiction films depicting undersea colonization and everyday life in an underwater city. Namely, Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969) and Irwin Allen’s City beneath the Sea (1971). Ralph, Dennis and I are very much involved in a very real Undersea Colonization project of our own called the Atlantica Expeditions. We hope that today’s feature films will inspire you to learn more about our project and join in our efforts to explore, protect and colonize Earth’s final frontier - our planetary ocean - Aquatica.

Captain Nemo And The Underwater City (1969)

Captain Nemo and the Underwater City is a 1969 British film, featuring the character Captain Nemo and some of the settings of Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. It was written by Pip and Jane Baker and stars Robert Ryan as Nemo.

It is considered a follow-up film to the 1954 film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and 1961's Mysterious Island.

In this story, Nemo rescues a group of survivors from a sinking ship and takes them to his underwater city, Templemir, a self-sustaining utopian colony with communitarian inhabitants. He will not allow them to leave his colony and return to civilization.

Captain Nemo and the Underwater City - 1969.avi from Juz2C on Veehd.

City Beneath The Sea (1971)

Irwin Allen, produced and directed this fanciful TV-movie. Set in the 21st century, the film concentrates on a group of colonists dwelling in a modernistic underwater city called Pacifica. The emphasis is on drama rather than special effects, as we see the deep-sea denizens struggling to cope with the pressures of their new existence--and their own personal animosities. Stuart Whitman heads a large cast of TV veterans, including Time Tunnel regulars

James Darren, Robert Colbert and Whit Bissell, and onetime Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea star Richard Basehart (as the US President). Expanded from a short "demo" pilot film, City Beneath the Sea is the one Irwin Allen project that could have matured into a truly worthwhile TV series; unfortunately no network was interested in subsidizing this expensive effort.

Walt Disney's Our Friend the Atom

Our Friend the Atom is a rare Walt Disney Science series from 1957 describing the advent of the Nuclear Age. Dr. Heinz Haber, a noted scientist in the field of atomic energy, hosts this look at the possibility of an exciting new power source. He starts by comparing atomic energy to a genie in a bottle, both of which capable of doing both good and evil, and it is up to humankind to develop safe controls over this largely unexplored science.

Remember to take this is in context of the times. Little was known of the problems that would ensue in the future , so its a very optimistic look, which was very much typical of Walt Disney himself.

Planet Earth - Fresh Water

Today join us on Discovery Enterprise as we continue our exploration of the most exotic and awe inspiring planet in the known universe, our own planet Earth and present the third instalment of the landmark BBC documentary series Planet Earth presented by David Attenborough.

Only 3% of the world's water is fresh, yet all life on land is ultimately dependent on it. Its journey begins as a stream in the mountains, illustrated by Venezuela's Auyantepui Tepui, where there is a tropical downpour almost every day. It then travels hundreds of kilometres before forming rapids. With the aid of some expansive helicopter photography, one sequence demonstrates the vastness of Angel Falls, the world's highest free-flowing waterfall. Its waters drop unbroken for nearly 1,000 metres (3,000 feet) and are blown away as a mist before they reach the bottom.

In Japan, the water is inhabited by the biggest amphibian, the two-metre long giant salamander, while in the northern hemisphere, salmon undertake the largest freshwater migration, and are hunted en route by grizzly bears. The erosive nature of rivers is shown by the Grand Canyon, created over five million years by the Colorado River. Also featured are smooth coated otters repelling mugger crocodiles and the latter's Nile cousin ambushing wildebeest as they cross the Mara River. Roseate spoonbills are numerous in the Pantanal and are prey to spectacled caiman. In addition, there are cichlids, piranhas, river dolphins and swimming crab-eating macaques. Planet Earth Diaries shows how a camera crew filmed a piranha feeding frenzy in Brazil — after a two-week search for the opportunity.

Planet Earth - Fresh Water

The Integral Fast Reactor

“In the decade from 1984 to 1994, scientists at Argonne National Laboratory developed an advanced technology that promised safe nuclear power unlimited by fuel supplies, with a waste product sharply reduced both in radioactive lifetime and amount. The program, called the IFR, was cancelled suddenly in 1994, before the technology could be perfected in every detail. Its story is not widely known, nor are its implications widely appreciated. It is a story well worth telling, and this series of articles does precisely that.”

— excerpt from Plentiful Energy and the IFR story by Charles Till, former Associate Director, Argonne National Laboratory.

In my view the IFR was one of the greatest missed opportunities of our time. Had it be developed the world would now have a clean source of energy that could provide nearly endless electricity. Instead we have a world dependent on fossil fuels with all the subsequent problems that entails.

Steve Kirsh explains the Integral Fast Reactor and has a plan for action.:

Congress should add a provision to the climate bills to authorize $3B to have DOE work with industry to build a demonstration Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) plant in order to jump-start this critical clean energy technology.

A successful IFR demonstration can lead to the following important benefits:

1. The only technology we have with a realistic potential to save the planet. The IFR is the first viable solution to how to eliminate CO₂ emissions from coal plants because it can do that without increasing costs. Eliminating emissions from coal plants is required to prevent a climate catastrophe. But using carbon capture adds cost and may not be practical or viable. The IFR, on the other hand, can replace the burner in an existing coal plant while reducing operating costs. This is why the IFR is one of Jim Hansen’s top five priorities for saving the planet.
2. Solves the nuclear waste problem and opens the door for the expansion of nuclear power in the US. The IFR uses today’s nuclear waste as fuel. The waste product from the IFR is minimal and short-lived. Solving the waste problem is required if we are to expand nuclear power in the US. The IFR does this.
3. Opportunity to become the world leader in clean energy. The IFR is the state-of-the-art nuclear technology that everyone wants. It is better in every dimension than any of today’s nuclear reactors. If we make a strategic bet on this technology and heavily invest in it, the US has the opportunity to become the undisputed world leader in clean electric power generation. Nuclear is the elephant of clean power technologies and the IFR was determined to be the best nuclear power technology by an extensive comparative study DOE. It is arguably the most powerful clean power technology on the planet.
4. Creates enormous economic value. It turns our existing nuclear waste into an asset worth over $30 trillion dollars. That is a fantastic return on investment for a one-time $3B investment to jump-start the technology. Nothing else comes close.
5. Unlimited clean power. The IFR allows us to power the entire US electricity needs for the next 1,500 years without doing any additional mining of uranium; just using the “waste” we have on-hand that nobody wants. The power is carbon free. If we mine, we can power the power needs of the entire planet forever.

 More here.

The Science of Superheroes

In every age and across many cultures humanity has always been intrigued by legends and tales of people graced with superhuman strength and who were hybrids of Gods and mere men. With the advent of the industrial age, we saw the argumentation of human strength and speed by merging man with machine.

In the nineteenth century and the dawning of Darwinism and the emergence of nietzschean philosophy, the notion that selective breeding and culture will allow humanity to direct the course of its own evolution towards the improvement of the species and the creation of the Übermensch came into vogue.

The word Übermensch is a German word, which when translated into English means Beyond-Man or the Overman. The next step in our cultural and biological evolution in becoming trans or post-human. However, for many of us the word Übermensch has come to mean Superman.

Will twenty-first century science and technology make possible the creation of a new breed of humans gifted with extraordinary intelligence, strength and agility or even make possible the advent, of that mainstay of many a childhood (and dare I say it) perhaps even adult fantasy – the costumed superhero?

Today we take a closer look at the science behind our favourite comic book heroes and see just what it takes to become a real life man of steel, cape crusader or web slinger.

Science of Superman

A scientific look behind Superman and his powers. The documentary is a property of British Sky Broadcasting. Superman and all related characters are a property of DC Comics. Superman film series and soundtrack are property of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Smallville TV series is a property of The CW Television Network. All rights reserved.

Spider-Man Tech

Scientists consider possibilities of Spider-Man's powers in reality. The documentary is a property of History Channel®. Spider-Man and all related characters are a property of Marvel Comics. Spider-Man film series and soundtrack are property of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved.

Batman Tech

A scientific look behind Batman and his gadgets. The documentary is a property of History Channel®. Batman and all related characters are a property of DC Comics. Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and soundtrack are property of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved.

Homo Futurus

Today on Discovery Enterprise we continue our year long celebration of the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s publication of “On the Origin of Species” by presenting a somewhat controversial documentary concerning the future course of human evolution.

Homo Futurus is controversial because it presents a theory regarding the mechanism driving the evolution of humans from primates to modern man that is distinctly non-Darwinian. The theory being proposed challenges the presently accepted evolutionary premise that genetic mutations and environmental pressures are the prime influencers for natural selection. It also speculates on humanity's long term future evolutionary path. So prepare to take a glimpse at the faces of our descendants.

Homo Futurus Part One or Direct link Via stagevu.






Homo Futurus Part Two or Direct link Via stagevu.

Author’s Note:

I recently learned that Anne Dambricourt Malassé, the French palaeoanthropologist featured in the documentary “Homo Futurus” was associated with an organisation called UIP, a French institute dedicated to promoting Intelligent Design, What struck me about this documentary was the appearance of South African palaeoanthropologist Phillip Tobias, well known for his research at Sterkfontein on Australopithecus and Homo Habilis at Olduvai Gorge. The documentary gave the impression that Tobias appears to support this research. Whether the result of clever editing on the part of the producers or Tobias’ actual opinion is something I would really like to look into. But, it should be noted that in recent years Phillip Tobias (along with such luminaries as David Attenborough and Daniel Dennett) has also lent his support to another controversial hypothesis concerning human evolution namely the Aquatic Hypothesis.

When I was in college I took several elective courses in Anthropology and Biological Anthropology and Tobias is a well respected researcher in this field. So his appearance in the documentary did lend it some legitimacy.

I must admit though, that the research concerning the shifting of the sphenoid, bone situated at the base of the skull in front of the temporal bones and basilar part of the occipital bone, and its role in the evolution of the primate/hominid face and cranial vault did intrigue me. It may prove to be a very important tool in the classification of hominid skulls.

The idea that evolution is following a trajectory leading to greater and greater complexity is not unique to Intelligent Design. In fact you find it hinted at in such fields as diverse as Artificial Life and SETI.

Even Simon Conway Morris seems to believe that complexity is an evolutionary certainty. In fact many leading biologist, foremost being Ernst Mayr, have been critical of SETI because of this idea.

Fantastic Voyage: Destination - My Brilliant Brain

Today join us on Discovery Enterprise as we embark on a fantastic voyage into the inner recesses of the most incredible organ in the known universe – the human brain and probe the inner secrets of the mind.

My Brilliant Brain uses a mix of fascinating experiments, special effects photography and state-of-the-art computer animation to travel into the inner recesses of the mind. Featuring extraordinary people with amazing abilities, this documentary series takes viewers on an unforgettable journey into the brain.

Part One - Make Me A Genius

Part Two - Accidental Genius





Part Three - Born Genius

Cosmic Voyage

Join us today on Discovery Enterprise as we embark on an incredible and visually stunning odyssey through a staggering forty three orders of magnitude. This will be a journey that will take us to the very edge of the observable universe and into the microcosmos for a glimpse at the ultimate constituents of matter – the quarks.

This is an amazing presentation of our present understanding of the Cosmos as revealed by the science of our age and narrated by Morgan Freeman.

"Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure science". -- Edwin P. Hubble

Cosmic Voyage

Buzz Aldrin's Moon Plan

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin has never given up on his desire to see the Moon properly explored and utilized so its good to see he has a new plan to do just that. Rather then another NASA project he envisions a international corporation, similar to Intelsat, to carry out the task. A better aproach for sure but I see one major flaw.

He writes: I propose that America gives form to the president's call for greater global cooperation; in a first step we host a conference in Washington with the goal of creating a new public-private partnership to develop the Moon. I call it the Lunar Infrastructure Development Corporation (LIDC). The purpose of the LIDC would be to enable the nations of the Earth joint together and return to the Moon as an international cooperative venture. The LIDC will pool the financial, technical and human resources of its member nations to build the lunar communication, navigation and transportation systems needed for human exploration of the Moon. It would be a public/private global partnership to make the Moon accessible to all humanity. The LIDC will build the communication and navigation satellites needed by future lunar travelers, develop fuel depots using lunar LOX -- perhaps derived from the recently discovered lunar water -- and construct habitats that will shelter space travelers while on the surface. It will enable a sustainable human presence on the Moon that will be accessible to all the nations on Earth.

Unlike the International Space Station (ISS), which is governed by complex treaties, the LIDC will have the same flexibility as an NGO in working with different nations and private entities to finance build and operate the facilities and equipment needed for lunar exploration. Using a corporate structure, the LIDC will allow nations to join through the purchase of shares and enable them to contribute at a level that is sustainable for their economies. Intelsat, the international corporation that bought the benefits of communication satellites to the nations of the world is an example of the potential benefits of a focused NGO in developing global space infrastructure. Just as NASA provided technical support to Intelsat through its American partner Comsat, NASA will support the LIDC in its development of lunar infrastructure. In this way, America will help lead-but not exclude or dominate -- his new lunar renaissance.

The problem is that unlike international telecommunications, there's no clear way for the company to make a profit on the Moon. Itelsat had consumers willing to pay for the services provided. The LIDIC just has taxpayers forced to fund it. Perhaps He3 or Solar Power Satellites could make it profitable but they are fantasy at present. Of course there is the real estate option.

Secrets of Egypt - Episode 3: The Sphinx

This is the third episode of a new historical documentary series probing the secrets of Ancient Egypt. In today’s episode we probe the mystery of The Sphinx.

One of the ancient world’s more recognizable wonders, it is a massive structure, 65 feet tall, with a lion’s body and human face. But was the Sphinx originally built with a lion’s head and later remodeled? To this day, no one knows definitively who built the Sphinx more than 4,500 years ago. Some historians believe Pharaoh Khafre built it, but the statue’s face does not have his ceremonial false beard. Other experts believe it represents his father, Pharaoh Khufu, the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Was it meant to intimidate, by showing that the dead — but highly feared — Khufu was still watching over the population? And was the statue originally of an early Egyptian “Lion King,” with a lion’s head, only to be modified to honor a human king?

Secrets of Egypt - Episode 3: The Sphinx


Watch Secrets of Egypt - S01E03 - The Sphinx in Educational & How-To | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Planet Earth - Mountains

Today join us on Discovery Enterprise as we continue our exploration of the most exotic and awe inspiring planet in the known universe, our own planet Earth.

Today on Discovery Enterprise we present the second instalment of the landmark BBC documentary series Planet Earth presented by David Attenborough. This episode focuses on the mountains. All the main ranges are explored with extensive aerial photography. Ethiopia's Erta Ale is the longest continually erupting volcano — for over 100 years. On the nearby highlands, geladas (the only primate whose diet is almost entirely of grass) inhabit precipitous slopes nearly five kilometres (3 mi) up, in troops that are 800-strong: the most numerous of their kind. Alongside them live the critically endangered walia ibex, and both species take turns to act as lookout for predatory Ethiopian wolves. The Andes have the most volatile weather and guanacos are shown enduring a flash blizzard, along with an exceptional group sighting of the normally solitary puma. The Alpine summits are always snow-covered, apart from that of the Matterhorn, which is too sheer to allow it to settle. Grizzly bear cubs emerge from their den for the first time in the Rockies, while Himalayan inhabitants include rutting markhor, golden eagles that hunt migrating demoiselle cranes, and the rare snow leopard. At the eastern end of the range, the giant panda cannot hibernate due to its poor nutriment of bamboo and one of them cradles its week-old cub. Also shown is the Earth's biggest mountain glacier: the Baltoro in Pakistan, which is 70 kilometres (43 mi) long and visible from space. Planet Earth Diaries demonstrates the difficulty of obtaining the first ever close-up footage of the snow leopards: a process which took over a year.

Planet Earth - Mountains

50 years of Space Exploration

What does 50 years of Space Exploration look like? Well, it looks like the picture below:

Click on it to appreciate its full grandeur of the infographic. From the National Geographic's Map of the Day via Stevey.com

Secrets of Egypt - Episode 2: The Scorpion King

This is the second episode of a new historical documentary series probing the secrets of Ancient Egypt. The Scorpion King was a mythical Egyptian ruler who predated the pharaohs. Recent developments, such as the excavation of the king's tomb, have revealed surprising new details about early Egyptian civilisation.

Scorpion, also King Scorpion or Scorpion II refers to the second of two kings so-named of Upper Egypt during the Protodynastic Period.

The only pictorial evidence of his existence is the so-called Scorpion Macehead that was found in the Main deposit by archaeologists James E. Quibell and Frederick W. Green in a temple at Nekhen.

Secrets of Egypt - Episode 2: The Scorpion King


Watch Secrets of Egypt - S01E02 in Educational & How-To | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Jared Diamond’s Guns Germs and Steel

Why has Western European Civilization become the most dominant culture on Earth? And, will the entire planet and Western Civilization with it become victims of that success?

This documentary is based on Jared Diamond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name, Guns, Germs and Steel and traces humanity’s journey over the last 13,000 years from the dawn of farming at the end of the last Ice Age to the realities of life in the twenty-first century. Inspired by a question put to him on the island of Papua New Guinea more than thirty years ago, Diamond embarks on a world-wide quest to understand the roots of global inequality.

Fractals - The Colors of Infinity by Arthur C Clarke

Today on Discovery Enterprise we embark on a voyage into the infinite of the distinctly mathematical kind with Arthur C Clarke author of “2001: A Space Odyssey” and inventor of the telecommunications satellite.

Arthur C. Clarke presents this unusual documentary on the mathematical discovery of the Mandelbrot Set (M-Set) and introduces us to the visually stunning and visually spectacular world of fractal geometry. This documentary relates the science of the M-Set to nature in a way that seems to identify the proverbial hand of God in the design of the universe itself. Dr. Benoît Mandelbrot in 1980 discovered the infinitely complex geometrical shape called the Mandelbrot Set using a very simple equation with computers and graphics.

So fasten your seat belts and join us on a visually stunning mathematical odyssey into the infinite M-verse.

Fractals - The Colors Of Infinity (By Arthur Clarke)

2001 and Beyond

Now that the mythical year has come to pass, this documentary was filmed to commemorate the making of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The program chronicles the four years that director Stanley Kubrick spent filming the production. Archival film footage from the set gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at this genius of the film medium, along with the movie's cast, and writer Arthur C. Clarke. Interviews with cast members and Clarke, as well as scientists from NASA, shed light on the film's making and the intertwining of science and fantasy into this masterpiece of science fiction.

2001 and Beyond

Tesla : Master of Lightning

Nikola Tesla invented or developed many of the electrical technologies which form the basis of our technological civilization, including: alternating-current (AC) power transmission and electric motors; high-frequency (HF) communications, the basis for radio and television; neon lighting; remote radio-control; radio astronomy and X-rays. He was the man that developed the technology that electrified America and the world. Yet despite his great body of work he is largely forgotten today.

But, his visionary genius and technical skill was countered by his lack of business acumen and eccentric personality. After dying penniless in 1943, his "missing papers" regarding the construction of a 'death ray' became the focus of international intrigue.

Tesla’s influence could still be felt in the latter part of the twentieth century. His research on particle beam weapons led to several American and Soviet military research programs, including the Strategic Defense Initiative, known as SDI or "Star Wars". And maybe one day, late in the twenty-first century, his work may lead to advances in interstellar flight and take humanity to the stars.

Secrets of Egypt - Episode 1: The Screaming Man

This is a new historical documentary series probing the secrets of Ancient Egypt. In the first episode, scientists attempt to unravel the mystery of a 3,000-yearold "screaming" mummy. The man was recovered from a tomb devoid of the usual trappings of Egyptian burial, with his features locked in a screaming expression. Who was this man and what does his fate reveal about the ancient Egyptian attitude to the afterlife?

Secrets of Egypt Episode 1 - The Screaming Man

Watch Secrets of Egypt - S01E01 - The Screaming Man in Educational & How-To | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Planet Earth - From Pole to Pole

Today join us on Discovery Enterprise as we begin our exploration of the most exotic and awe inspiring planet in the known universe, our own planet Earth.

We begin our odyssey by joining David Attenborough on the first leg of our tour of planet Earth and its inhabitants. The first episode illustrates a 'journey' around the globe and reveals the effect of gradual climatic change and seasonal transitions en route.

Planet Earth is a 2006 television series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Four years in the making, it was the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC, and also the first to be filmed in high definition.[1] The series was co-produced by the Discovery Channel and NHK in association with CBC, and was described by its makers as "the definitive look at the diversity of our planet". The Entire series is available on DVD from Amazon in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Planet Earth Episode One - From Pole to Pole

Galileo's Battle for the Heavens

Today on Discovery Enterprise as part of our year long celebration of the International Year of Astronomy we present this two-hour special, in which we celebrate the story of Galileo Galilei, the father of modern science and his struggle to get Church authorities to accept the truth of his astonishing discoveries. The program is based on Dava Sobel's bestselling book, “Galileo's Daughter”, which reveals a new side to the famously stubborn scientist—that his closest confidante was his illegitimate daughter, Sister Maria Celeste, a cloistered nun.

Galileo's Battle for the Heavens Part One




Galileo's Battle for the Heavens Part Two

E=mc2 - Einstein and the World's Most Famous Equation

Albert Einstein's name will forever be linked with the famous equation E=mc2 equating mass with energy. It is perhaps one of the most quoted and widely seen physics equations in the public domain.

Yet contained in this short and concise equation is the heritage and ultimate destiny of our species. This equation expresses succinctly the process by which all the matter found in stars, planets, galaxies and people came into being. This equation expresses the very essence of cosmic history in a very brief and yet poetic phrase. For contained in this equation is the very essence of cosmic history and how in the span of fourteen billion years energy evolved into matter and matter evolved into life and consciousness. It explains how within the first three minutes of the big bang pure energy condensed into matter and later how, through the process of nuclear fusion, heavy elements were forged in the hearts of distant and massive suns. It’s the existence of these elements that make the existence of living things a possibility. Porpoises, petunias and people owe there existence to the laws of physics expressed and revealed within the expression E=mc2.

Today on Discovery Enterprise we explore the historical and scientific antecedents of Einstein's work and meet the other men and women whose work helped lead to the Theory of Special Relativity.

Also add the book E = mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis to your weekend reading list.

E=mc2 - Einstein and the World's Most Famous Equation

What Darwin Didn't Know

A hundred and fifty years ago Charles Darwin published his master work on the origin of species. His explanation of the why there is so much diversity of life on Earth was so seductive, and so simple that it seems obvious today.

Anyone who is serious about science takes evolution for granted. But it's extraordinary that we do, because Darwin's theory was riddled with holes. It contained, as he freely admitted, much speculation and yet he had no doubt that future generations would complete his work and demonstrate the essential truth of his vision, and for a hundred and fifty years that is what scientist have been doing.

Now as we approach the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s seminal work “On the Origin of Species” on 24th November, 1859, twenty-first century science is providing the evidence to fill the holes in Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. The evolution of life on Earth is no longer a matter of speculation but a well supported fact.

What Darwin Didn't Know

The Hobbit Enigma

Join us today on Discovery Enterprise as we examine one of the greatest controversies in paleoanthropology today: just what did scientists find when they uncovered the tiny, human-like skeleton of a strange creature on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003?

Does Homo floresiensis represent an entirely new branch of the human family or is this discovery one of the greatest paleoanthropological blunders of the twenty-first century.

Since the discovery was made public a bitter dispute has split the world of anthropology. Are the bones a previously unknown and bizarre primitive species of human?

"Some of the sceptics have argued that the Hobbit was simply a sick pygmy - a modern human with a rare disease like microcephaly. However, four years after the initial discovery there is now compelling scientific evidence to support naming the Hobbit as a new species: Homo floresiensis."

'If there was a case where fact is stranger than fiction, this is it.' Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist.

So watch our double bill as we explore the mystery surrounding the Hobbits.

The Hobbit Enigma

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Horizon -- Mysteries of The Human Hobbit

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only one, the Great Pyramid of Cheops survives. But history and archaeology are able to tell us the stories of all seven, including the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Pharos of Alexandria. Join us today on Discovery Enterprise as we take an imaginary voyage through time and space for a guided tour of these magnificent feats of engineering and human ingenuity.

Lost Treasures of the Ancient World-The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: a Virtual Satellite Tour