Is There an Edge to the Universe?

Today on Discovery Enterprise we join Morgan Freeman on a voyage to the edge of the Cosmos and beyond.

The Invisible Machine: Electromagnetic Warfare

Today on Discovery Enterprise we take a look at the future of warfare and a new class of weaponry utilizing the awesome destructive force of an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP). 

Humanity may be facing an “Electronic Armageddon” of its own making, which will in a matter of seconds plunge our technological civilization to levels reminiscent of the eightieth or nineteenth centuries. In the blink of eye the technological comforts and marvels of our age would be reduced to mere junk.

Known Universe - Construction Zone

The inside of the O'Neil colony that can house cities, rolling mountains and cloud formations.

Humanity may one day make its home amongst the stars. Our ability to build large scale structures in outer space will make that vision a reality. Engineering in space represents the future of human civilization, but also poses some of our greatest technical challenges.

Today on Discovery Enterprise we present another exciting episode of the acclaimed documentary series the Known Universe – Construction Zone.

Lost Science of the Bible

Today on Discovery Enterprise we present another exciting episode from the acclaimed documentary series “Ancient Discoveries” were we go in search of the – Lost Science of the Bible.

Might the stories of the Bible have their basis in ancient scientific fact? How big was the giant Goliath, and what was the tech of the sling that brought him down? We'll demonstrate that the tower of Babel could have been as tall as two miles in height. Create fire from water as Elijah may have done. And, in a never before attempted scientific investigation, we watch as archaeologists fully levitate a replica of the Ark of the Covenant.

Mars Science Laboratory

Later this year the Mars Science Laboratory will be launched to Mars. It should help answer the great question about Mars: Is there, or has there ever been, life on Mars?

Here's a NASA animation of the mission. The robot does have a remarkable resemblance to WALL-E .

The Known Universe - Extreme Space Tech

Today on Discovery Enterprise we present another exciting episode of the acclaimed documentary series the Known Universe –Extreme Space Tech.

Humans have come to recognize Earth as an environment where we are in control. Where humanity is continually creating technologies that get bigger, faster, and are making us more interconnected.

In this instalment of the Known Universe we will explore how science is re-thinking the physics of the universe to take everything from basic household items and vehicles to our most advanced technologies here on Earth and transforming them for use in outer space.

Is There Life After Death?

Through the Wormhole With Morgan FreemanThrough The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman (2 DVD Set)Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman (2 DVD Set)

Today on Discovery Enterprise we return to an existential question first explored in a previous posting entitled “The Day I Died”. It is perhaps the ultimate existential question - Is There Life After Death? Will Near Death Experiences open the doorway into another realm of existence?

Can the mind survive the death of the body and does life exist after death? These are questions central to many of the world’s religious faiths and may open a door on to a new understanding of the nature of human consciousness that may overturn half a century of neuroscience.

Dennis & Claudia on NPR

Dennis and Claudia Chamberland were recently interviewed on National Public Radio. Listen to the interview below.

Manta Rays: Masters of Fluid Dynamics

Manta Rays are one of the most majestic creatures of the undersea realm of Aquatica. Do they hold the secret of an entirely new means of propulsion through the air and sea? Are Manta Rays the real masters of fluid dynamics?

Underwater Universe - Killer Shockwaves

The Underwater Universe will present unprecedented beauty and peril in equal measure to future undersea colonists. One of these perils will be - Killer Shockwaves.

In Search of Alien Fireballs

Today on Discovery Enterprise the race is on as we go in search of - Alien Fireballs.

On a clear, Friday night in Ontario, Canada a flaming fireball lights up the night sky as it streaks to Earth.

It could carry with it secrets about the origins of our Solar System or evidence of life on other planets.

But in order to study it, scientists first need to find it. At the University of Western Ontario, planetary scientists capture the entire event using a sophisticated network of specialized cameras, radar and listening equipment aimed at the heavens. This event may be the best documented meteorite fall in history. Now, scientists plot a search area and mount a team to hunt for it. The race is on, to find Earth’s latest visitor.

"Naked Science- Alien Fireballs" is one documentary you should add to your DVD collection and is available at the National Geographic online store.

Naked Science- Alien Fireballs

Area 51 Finally Declassified

Today on Discovery Enterprise we visit the world’s most famous military installation - Area 51.

It’s the most famous military installation in the world, yet it doesn’t officially exist. Area 51. Area 51 was a site for covert Cold War operations and has long been a magnet for crackpots, conspiracy theorists, and the overly curious.

The Mega Machines of the Ancients

"Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth." ~ Archimedes

Today on Discovery Enterprise we get to the bottom of a very heavy subject: how could ancient engineers build and move impossibly large structures with only human power?

In this episode of Ancient Discoveries we take a close look at the ancient Mega Machines that were used in the large-scale engineering projects in the ancient world. Three thousand years before steam power, engineers achieved remarkable feats of heavy lifting.

VW Hovercraft

This titbit of news came to my attention today from the Discovery News Network.

VW HOVERCRAFT BRING US ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE JETSONS

Analysis by Emad Hanna

Zhang Yuan, a 21-year-old Chinese designer, has plans for a vehicle called the Volkswagen Aqua that can hover and thereby negotiate all kinds of terrain, including road, sand, ice, snow and water! The design for the invention has been shortlisted in the annual Car Design Awards competition, sponsored in part by Volkswagen.

Iron Sky

Alex's recent post on Nazi UFOs brings to mind this up coming movie:

Masters of Space

Today on Discovery Enterprise we present “Masters of Space” an episode from the Canadian Science series “The Nature of Things” presented by Dr. David Suzuki.

“The Nature of Things” is produced by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and has been on the air since 1960.

This episode of the Nature of Things explores two important questions: Is space becoming a new war zone? This documentary is a revealing look at the fine line between space-faring and space warfare.

Nazi UFO Conspiracy

Today on Discovery Enterprise we look at a conspiracy claim involving flying saucers and Nazis.

Are UFOs a manifestation of terrestrial rather than extraterrestrial technology? Were Nazi scientists really behind this technology and was this technology later co-opted by the United States after Operation Paperclip for developing advanced military technology? I personally have my reservations on all this conspiracy theory nonsense but, I’ll let you be the judge.

Buried Beneath Our Feet – The Lost Cities of Egypt

"Buried cities are beneath our feet; the ground on which we tread is the pavement of a tomb." ~ Winwood Reade, The Martyrdom of Man (1872)

Today on Discovery Enterprise we join the search for – the Lost Cities of Egypt.

According to archaeologists ninety nine percent of the magnificent wonders of Ancient Egypt have yet to be discovered.

But now, thanks to the pioneering work of Dr Sarah Parcak, that is about to change.

A Twenty- First Century War of the Worlds

No-one would have believed, in the second decade of the twenty-first century that human affairs were being watched across the timeless void of interstellar space. No one could have dreamed that humanity and Earth’s biosphere was being scrutinized as someone with a microscope studies creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.

Few people, as they went about their humdrum affairs, even considered the possibility of life on other planets or the possibility that extraterrestrial intelligence had any interest in our blue abode of life. And yet, across the gulf of space, minds immeasurably superior to ours regarded this Earth with envious eyes, and slowly, and surely, they drew their plans against us. Yet, fortunately a few farsighted people, amongst our number, anticipated this eventuality and drew plans of their own.

The Seven Wonders of Ancient Greece

Today Discovery Enterprise we take another voyage to antiquity and visit the birthplace of western civilization – Ancient Greece and its seven magnificent wonders.

In today’s documentary we will travel back in time to a land of breathtaking beauty, ancient intellect and philosophical wisdom.

Crossing the Ice

In 2008 two intrepid explorers, James Castrission and Justin Jones, made history by being the first to successfully kayak across the Tasman Sea. This year they will attempt  another great adventure, the first unsupported  expedition to the South Pole and back. 

Life on Two Alien Worlds

Today on Discovery Enterprise we will explore the life on two imaginary worlds - Aurelia and the Blue Moon.

“Extraterrestrial” is a two-hour science special which brings imaginary aliens and their entire biosphere to life as some of the world’s leading astrobiologists and astronomers report from the Planetary Investigation Lab – where two new planets have been identified.

Aurelia and the Blue Moon may be fictitious worlds but scientists believe that worlds like these could exist and sustain life.

Underwater Universe – The Seven Deadly Seas

Today on Discovery Enterprise we embark on a voyage into the realm of inner space and visit the Underwater Universe of Aquatica.

Underwater Universe is a documentary series that tracks the history and evolution of the ocean’s seven deadliest zones. Locations that throughout history have been the direct cause of human devastation - floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, whirlpools, ice, underwater volcanoes, and shipping graveyards.

A Tribute to America’s Space Shuttle Fleet

After more than 30 years of service, America’s shuttle fleet will take to the skies no more. The Space Shuttle program has been marked by incredible triumphs and blighted by devastating tragedies but will be remembered as an impressive chapter in the history of human space exploration .

The very last shuttle flight is scheduled for July 8th, 2011. This mission will be the third shuttle flight of 2011 and is officially called STS-135; this mission will be flown by space shuttle Atlantis. NASA's two other orbiters, Discovery and Endeavour, are now retired for good.

Today on Discovery Enterprise we bid a fond farewell to America’s Space Shuttle program with this unique and poignant BBC Horizon documentary.

Finding the Lost Civilization of Atlantis

Could Plato’s fabled lost city of Atlantis have at last been located? Not off the coast of Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean on the Aegean island of Santorini but, in the marshlands of southern Spain.

The Lost Cities of Aquatica

Today on Discovery Enterprise we go in search of the lost cities and lost civilizations that litter the undersea realm of Aquatica. Our modern day landscapes are littered with the remains of ancient superstructures. Now, cutting edge archaeology is beginning to reveal that this century's most exciting discoveries actually lie at the bottom of the ocean.

Passport to Pluto and Beyond

Today on Discovery Enterprise we present "Passport to Pluto” a documentary regarding NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. On February 18th, 1930 Clyde W. Tombaugh, twenty four years old and fresh off a farm in Kansas patiently scans photographic plates at the Lowell observatory. He finds a tiny spec that turns out to be a new planet that would later be named Pluto.

Star Wars Tech

Today on Discovery Enterprise we look at the science behind George Lucas’ epic science fantasy saga – Star Wars.

Ancient Discoveries - Roman Ships

Today on Discovery Enterprise we take another foray into the field of marine archaeology with the History Channel’s acclaimed documentary series “Ancient Discoveries”.

This episode of Ancient Discoveries uncovers the secrets of the titans of Roman naval engineering--the Nemi Ships and also presents a fascinating brief history of Underwater Archaeology beginning with the work of the Renaissance humanist polymath, Leon Battista Alberti and a century later in 1535 by Francesco De Marchi who employed a diving suit designed by Leonardo da Vinci to explore the ships on the bottom of Lake Nemi.

Success for Copenhagen Suborbitals !

Well limited success anyway. Private rocketeers Copenhagen Suborbitals manage to launch their rocket which achieves an altitude of 2.5 km. The parachute failed to open but it was a major step in their goal for a human space launch.:

A private Danish rocket launched into the sky today (June 3) on its first successful test flight — a trip that didn't reach anywhere near space but did mark a huge step forward for the team's plan to eventually loft people on cheap suborbital spaceflights. The Danish non-profit outfit Copenhagen Suborbitals launched its homemade rocket, called HEAT-1X, at about 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) from a floating platform in the Baltic Sea. "We did it …" the group announced on its website after the successful flight.

The Casebook of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Today on Discovery Enterprise we present two real life crimes from the casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the legendary fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.


Arthur Conan Doyle implemented the powerful tools of deduction in solving real crimes just as chilling and baffling as those investigated by his own creation Sherlock Holmes.


Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s two most infamous cases, involved tracking down a madman who mutilated horses and brought terror to a quiet, leafy English village, and the brutal murder of a wealthy spinster which led Doyle to expose corruption at the heart of Britain's justice system.

Mysteries of Deep Space - To the Edge of Space

Today on Discovery Enterprise we present the second episode of the acclaimed PBS series “Mysteries of Deep Space”.

In the second instalment of the series we will be taking a voyage to the edge of space, where we will encounter stars coming to life and dying violent deaths.


To some there is no vision more reassuring: the cycles of the sun and the moon, the heavens ceaselessly turning. The night sky is unchanging and eternal -- Or so it seems.

Secrets of World War II - When Hitler Invaded America

Today on Discovery Enterprise we present “Secrets of World War II - When Hitler Invaded America”.

This documentary, part of the Secrets of WWII series, describes Operation Pastorius, in which a U-boat delivered four Abwehr agents to Long Island, NY shore. Their purpose was sabotage; their goal, the United States armaments industry. To aid them in their mission they carried forged papers and a supply of explosives. This film details the intensive planning behind the plot, the training of the operatives, and the circumstances in which they were discovered and captured before they could fulfil their mission.

The Elegant Universe - Welcome to the 11th dimension

Today on Discovery Enterprise we present the third and final episode of Brian Greene’s “The Elegant Universe”.


In this final instalment of the “The Elegant Universe” we will be visiting the eleventh dimension.