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Subtitles downloaded from www.OpenSubtitles.org
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"Hiding In The Light"
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<i>The age and size of the cosmos</i>
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<i>are written in light.</i>
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<i>The nature of beauty and
the substance of the stars,</i>
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<i>the laws of space and time...</i>
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<i>they were there all along,</i>
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<i>but we never saw them...</i>
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<i>until we devised
a more powerful way of seeing.</i>
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<i>The story of this awakening
has many beginnings</i>
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<i>and no ending.</i>
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<i>Its heroes come from many times
and places--</i>
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<i>an Ancient Chinese philosopher,</i>


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<i>a wizard who amazed the caliphs
of 11th-century Iraq,</i>
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<i>a poor German orphan enslaved
to a harsh master.</i>
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<i>Each one brought us
a little closer</i>
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<i>to unlocking the secrets
hidden in light.</i>
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<i>Most of their names
are forever lost to us,</i>
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<i>but somewhere, long ago,
someone glanced up</i>
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<i>to see light perform
one of its magic tricks.</i>
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<i>Who knows?</i>
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<i>Maybe that quirk of light</i>
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<i>inspired the very first artist.</i>
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<i>Where did all this come from?</i>
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How did we evolve
from small wandering bands
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of hunters and gatherers living
beneath the stars
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to become the builders
of a global civilization?
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How did we get from there
to here?
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There's no one answer.
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Climate change,
the domestication of fire,
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<i>the invention of tools,
language, agriculture</i>
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<i>all played a role.</i>
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<i>Maybe there was
something else, too.</i>
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<i>In China,
more than 2,000 years ago,</i>
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<i>a philosopher named Mo Tze
is said to have observed</i>
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<i>that light could be made


to paint a picture</i>
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<i>inside a locked treasure room.</i>
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<i>This was the description
of the first camera...</i>
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<i>the camera obscura,</i>
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<i>the prototype of all
image-forming cameras,</i>
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<i>including the one that's
bringing you this picture.</i>
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<i>Taking advantage of this funny
thing that light does</i>
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<i>resulted in what could be
called the first movie.</i>
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<i>Mo Tze, master of light, worked
against all forms of darkness.</i>
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<i>A military genius</i>
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<i>who only used his talents
to prevent violence,</i>
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<i>he was legendary for traveling</i>

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<i>among the kingdoms
of the warring states,</i>
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<i>employing ingenious strategies</i>
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<i>to talk kings out
of going to war.</i>
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<i>He was one of the first
to dream of universal love</i>
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<i>and an end to poverty
and other forms of inequality;</i>
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<i>of government for the people...</i>
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<i>and to argue against
blind obedience</i>
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<i>to ritual and authority.</i>
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<i>In his writings, you can find</i>
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<i>early stirrings
of the scientific approach.</i>
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<i>By Mo Tze's time, the Chinese
had already been recording</i>
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<i>their thoughts in books

for at least a thousand years.</i>


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<i>Still, our knowledge of him
is only fragmentary.</i>
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<i>It consists largely
of the collection of essays</i>
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<i>attributed to him
and his disciples.</i>
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<i>In one of them,
entitled "Against Fate,"</i>
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<i>a three-pronged test
for every doctrine is proposed.</i>
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<i>Question its basis--</i>
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<i>ask if it can be verified</i>
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<i>by the sights and senses
of common people--</i>
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<i>ask how it is to be applied</i>
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<i>and if it will benefit
the greatest number.</i>
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<i>Mo Tze was extremely popular,</i>
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<i>but a few hundred years
after his death,</i>
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<i>Qin Shi Huang,
the first emperor,</i>
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<i>and unifier of China,
took power.</i>
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<i>He took a continent
and turned it into a nation</i>
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<i>that now bears his name... China.</i>
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<i>Most of us know Emperor Qin
for the army of 7,000</i>
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<i>terra cotta warriors
that guard his tomb.</i>
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In Emperor Qin's drive
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to consolidate
his far-flung empire,
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he took drastic measures
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to standardize everything
within it.
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This included mandating

a single coinage,
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making uniform all weights
and measures,
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the widths of carts and roads,
as well as the precise way
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the Chinese language was
to be written,
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including what you were
allowed to write and think.
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Emperor Qin's philosophy-the only one permitted-88
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was called "legalism,"
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which is just what
it sounded like,
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do as the law says... or else.
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<i>It's a philosophy that's
not highly conducive</i>
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<i>to questioning authority.</i>
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...that all the books of
the hundred schools of thought

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shall be be burned,
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that anyone who uses history
to criticize the present
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shall have his family executed.
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<i>The works of
MoTze and Confucius</i>
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<i>and other philosophers
were destroyed</i>
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<i>in the world's first
book burning.</i>
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<i>Hundreds of scholars
bravely resisted</i>
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<i>by trying to preserve
the forbidden books.</i>
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<i>They were buried alive
in the capitol.</i>
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Science needs the light
of free expression to flourish.
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It depends on the fearless
questioning of authority,
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the open exchange of ideas.
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Sparks of curiosity
in the writings of Mo Tze
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and his disciples were
effectively stomped out.
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It would be another thousand
years before the next movie.
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<i>Luckily, our Ship
of the Imagination</i>
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<i>can take us anywhere
in space... and time.</i>
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<i>The ancient Chinese
and Greeks observed</i>
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that light could be made
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to do wonderful things-but no one asked that question
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favored by small children
and geniuses alike. Why?
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Until a thousand years ago...
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<i>In the city of Basra, Iraq,</i>

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<i>there lived
another master of light.</i>
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<i>Ibn al-Hazen had a passionate
desire to understand nature.</i>
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<i>He questioned everything,</i>
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<i>especially those things that
everyone else took for granted.</i>
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<i>"How do we see?" he asked.</i>
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<i>Some of the great authorities
who came before him</i>
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<i>had taught that rays come out
of our eyes and travel</i>
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<i>to the objects we see
before returning to our eyes.</i>
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<i>But al-Hazen reasoned that
the stars were too far distant</i>
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<i>for something in our eyes
to travel all the way to them</i>
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<i>and back in the blink
of an eye.</i>

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<i>Excellent reasoning,
but al-Hazen didn't stop there.</i>
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<i>He searched for ways to compel
nature to divulge her secrets.</i>
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<i>His culture was open
to new ideas and questioning.</i>
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<i>It was the golden age
of science</i>
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<i>in the Islamic world.</i>
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<i>One that stretched from Cordoba
in Spain</i>
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<i>all the way to Samarkand
in Central Asia.</i>
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<i>Christian and Jewish scholars
were honored guests</i>
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<i>at the research institutes
of Baghdad, Cairo,</i>
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<i>and other Islamic capitols.</i>
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<i>Instead of burning books,
the caliphs sent emissaries</i>
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<i>around the world
in search of books.</i>
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The caliphs lavishly funded
projects to translate, study,
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and preserve them
for future generations.
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Much of the light of Ancient
Greek science would have been
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permanently extinguished
without their efforts.
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The reawakening to science
that took place in Europe,
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hundreds of years later,
was kindled by a flame
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that had been long tended
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by Islamic scholars
and scientists.
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The Arabs also imported ideas
from India to the West,
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including the so-called
Arabic numerals
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that we all use today,
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and the concept of zero...
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which comes in handy
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when you want to write
"billions and billions."
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Arabic astronomy was
so influential,
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that we still call most
of the bright stars
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by their Arabic names.
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And the "al's" in algebra,
algorithm, alchemy, and alcohol
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are just some
of the traces left
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from the time when Arabic
was the language of science.
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<i>In the 11th century,
Ibn al-Hazen set about trying</i>
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<i>to test his ideas about light
and how we see.</i>

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So we devised an experiment
to determine how light moves.
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We erected a tent
in full daylight
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and sealed it tightly so that
only a single ray of light
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could pierce its inner darkness.
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With little more than his brains
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and a straight
piece of wood-- a ruler-168
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al-Hazen had accomplished
a great leap forward
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in the history of science.
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He discovered that
light moves in straight lines.
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But he was just getting started.
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Al-Hazen figured out that
the key to forming any image-173
00:11:37,654 --> 00:11:40,690

whether you're talking about


an eye or camera obscura-174
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is a small opening to restrict
the light that can enter
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an otherwise darkened chamber.
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That aperture
excludes the chaos
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of extraneous light rays
that surround us.
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The smaller the aperture,
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the fewer directions
that light can come from.
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And that makes
the image sharper.
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So instead of being blinded
by the light,
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we can see everything
it has to show us.
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<i>Al-Hazen made his own
camera obscura</i>
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<i>and dazzled the caliphs.</i>

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<i>A camera obscura works best
in bright light.</i>
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<i>The stars of the night sky
are way too dim for this.</i>
187
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<i>We somehow need a bigger
opening to collect light,</i>
188
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<i>but we also need
to maintain focus.</i>
189
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<i>A telescope collects light</i>
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<i>from any spot
in its field of view</i>
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<i>across the entire lens
or mirror,</i>
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<i>an opening much larger
than the camera obscura hole.</i>
193
00:12:33,277 --> 00:12:37,180
<i>This is one
of the first telescopes...</i>
194
00:12:37,214 --> 00:12:41,284
<i>the one that Galileo looked
through in 1609.</i>
195
00:12:41,318 --> 00:12:45,555
<i>With it, he pulled aside
the heavy curtain of night</i>

196
00:12:45,589 --> 00:12:48,491
<i>and began to discover
the cosmos.</i>
197
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<i>The lens made it possible</i>
198
00:13:03,140 --> 00:13:06,209
<i>for a telescope to have a much
larger light-collecting area</i>
199
00:13:06,243 --> 00:13:08,544
<i>than our eyes have.</i>
200
00:13:08,579 --> 00:13:11,981
<i>Big buckets catch more rain
than small ones.</i>
201
00:13:12,015 --> 00:13:14,917
<i>Modern telescopes have larger
collecting areas,</i>
202
00:13:14,952 --> 00:13:16,619
<i>highly sensitive detectors,</i>
203
00:13:16,653 --> 00:13:19,555
<i>and they track the same object
for hours at a time</i>
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00:13:19,590 --> 00:13:22,925
<i>to accumulate as much
of its light as possible.</i>
205
00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:25,728
<i>Space-based telescopes
such as the Hubble,</i>
206
00:13:25,762 --> 00:13:27,597
<i>have captured light
from the most distant</i>
207

00:13:27,631 --> 00:13:29,265


<i>and ancient galaxies,</i>
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<i>giving us vastly clearer
pictures of the cosmos.</i>
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Al-Hazen discovered how images
are formed by light,
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00:13:37,841 --> 00:13:40,176
but that was far
from his greatest achievement.
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00:13:40,210 --> 00:13:42,912
Ibn al-Hazen was the first
person ever
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00:13:42,946 --> 00:13:45,615
to set down
the rules of science.
213
00:13:45,649 --> 00:13:48,150
He created
an error-correcting mechanism,
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00:13:48,185 --> 00:13:50,653
a systematic and relentless way
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00:13:50,687 --> 00:13:53,322
to sift out misconceptions
in our thinking.
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00:13:53,357 --> 00:13:58,327
Finding truth is difficult...
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00:13:58,362 --> 00:14:01,330
and the road to it is rough.
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00:14:01,365 --> 00:14:03,633
As seekers after truth,

219
00:14:03,667 --> 00:14:06,769
you will be wise to withhold
judgment and not simply put
220
00:14:06,803 --> 00:14:09,672
your trust in the writings
of the ancients.
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00:14:09,706 --> 00:14:13,509
You must question and critically
examine those writings
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00:14:13,544 --> 00:14:16,045
from every side.
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00:14:16,079 --> 00:14:19,315
You must submit only
to argument and experiment
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and not to the sayings
of any person.
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00:14:22,753 --> 00:14:25,288
For every human being
is vulnerable
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00:14:25,322 --> 00:14:27,990
to all kinds of imperfection.
227
00:14:28,025 --> 00:14:30,459
As seekers after truth,
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00:14:30,494 --> 00:14:32,828
we must also suspect
and question
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00:14:32,863 --> 00:14:36,465
our own ideas as we perform
our investigations,
230
00:14:36,500 --> 00:14:41,404

to avoid falling into prejudice


or careless thinking.
231
00:14:41,438 --> 00:14:46,676
Take this course, and truth
will be revealed to you.
232
00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:06,729
<i>This is the method of science.</i>
233
00:15:06,763 --> 00:15:09,565
<i>So powerful that it's carried
our robotic emissaries</i>
234
00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:13,035
<i>to the edge of
the solar system and beyond.</i>
235
00:15:14,771 --> 00:15:17,073
<i>It has doubled our lifespan,</i>
236
00:15:17,107 --> 00:15:18,874
<i>made the lost worlds
of the past</i>
237
00:15:18,909 --> 00:15:20,910
come alive.
238
00:15:22,312 --> 00:15:24,547
Science has enabled us
to predict events
239
00:15:24,581 --> 00:15:27,049
in the distant future...
240
00:15:27,084 --> 00:15:30,553
and to communicate with each
other at the speed of light,
241
00:15:30,587 --> 00:15:33,189
as I am with you,
right at this moment.

242
00:15:33,223 --> 00:15:35,258
This way of thinking
has given us powers
243
00:15:35,292 --> 00:15:38,928
that al-Hazen himself
would have regarded as wizardry.
244
00:15:42,432 --> 00:15:46,802
But it was he who put us
on this rough, endless road.
245
00:15:48,672 --> 00:15:51,540
And now it has taken us
to a place
246
00:15:51,575 --> 00:15:56,279
where even light itself
is enshrouded in darkness.
247
00:16:06,708 --> 00:16:08,843
Light has properties unlike
anything else
248
00:16:08,877 --> 00:16:10,745
in the realm
of human existence.
249
00:16:10,779 --> 00:16:12,914
Take the speed of light.
250
00:16:12,948 --> 00:16:15,049
The basic particle of light,
the photon,
251
00:16:15,083 --> 00:16:17,752
<i>is born traveling
at the speed of light</i>
252
00:16:17,786 --> 00:16:20,555
as it emerges from
an atom or a molecule.

253
00:16:20,589 --> 00:16:22,723
A photon never knows
any other speed,
254
00:16:22,758 --> 00:16:25,560
and we've not found another
phenomenon that accelerates
255
00:16:25,594 --> 00:16:28,529
from zero to top speed
instantaneously.
256
00:16:28,564 --> 00:16:30,765
Nothing else
could move as fast.
257
00:16:30,799 --> 00:16:33,434
When we try to accelerate other
particles closer and closer
258
00:16:33,468 --> 00:16:36,170
to the speed of light,
they resist more and more,
259
00:16:36,205 --> 00:16:37,939
as though they're getting
heavier and heavier.
260
00:16:37,973 --> 00:16:39,407
No experiment yet devised
261
00:16:39,441 --> 00:16:43,444
has ever made a particle
move as fast as light.
262
00:16:50,118 --> 00:16:52,753
What was that?
263
00:16:52,788 --> 00:16:54,956
You hear something?
264
00:16:54,990 --> 00:16:57,124

Where was I? Oh, yeah.


265
00:16:57,159 --> 00:17:01,229
I don't know anything else
in life that behaves like light.
266
00:17:01,263 --> 00:17:04,699
I cannot reconcile
its strange properties
267
00:17:04,733 --> 00:17:07,368
with everything else
my senses tell me.
268
00:17:07,402 --> 00:17:10,371
Our urge to trust
our senses overpowers
269
00:17:10,405 --> 00:17:12,473
what our measuring devices
tell us about
270
00:17:12,508 --> 00:17:14,408
the actual nature of reality.
271
00:17:14,443 --> 00:17:16,611
Our senses work fine
for life-size objects
272
00:17:16,645 --> 00:17:18,446
moving at mammal speeds,
273
00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:23,084
but are ill-adapted for the
wonderland laws of lightspeed.
274
00:17:27,256 --> 00:17:30,625
We don't even know why
there's a cosmic speed limit.
275
00:17:30,659 --> 00:17:34,095
Time stands still when you're
traveling at the speed of light.

276
00:17:34,129 --> 00:17:36,597
<i>What is light, anyway?</i>
277
00:17:40,135 --> 00:17:43,638
<i>Isaac Newton's enduring
fascination with light</i>
278
00:17:43,672 --> 00:17:45,840
<i>began when he was a child...</i>
279
00:17:48,277 --> 00:17:50,711
<i>in this very house.</i>
280
00:17:55,784 --> 00:17:59,954
By the time he was in his 20s,
Newton became the first person
281
00:17:59,988 --> 00:18:03,157
to decipher the mystery
of the rainbow.
282
00:18:06,862 --> 00:18:10,164
<i>Newton discovered that some
light, or white light,</i>
283
00:18:10,199 --> 00:18:13,167
<i>is a mixture of all the colors
of the rainbow.</i>
284
00:18:15,704 --> 00:18:17,772
<i>Major discovery.</i>
285
00:18:17,806 --> 00:18:20,341
<i>He named the displays of colors
a "spectrum"</i>
286
00:18:20,375 --> 00:18:24,645
<i>from the Latin for "phantom"
or "apparition."</i>
287
00:18:36,892 --> 00:18:38,860

Begging your pardon,


Master Newton,
288
00:18:38,894 --> 00:18:41,596
the cook frets that your dinner
will spoil, sir.
289
00:18:44,500 --> 00:18:46,667
<i>No, Isaac, don't
put the magnifying glass down!</i>
290
00:18:46,702 --> 00:18:50,471
<i>Something even more amazing
is hidden in the light--</i>
291
00:18:50,506 --> 00:18:53,007
<i>a code, a key to the cosmos.</i>
292
00:18:59,781 --> 00:19:03,684
Isaac Newton didn't miss much,
but that one was a beaut.
293
00:19:03,719 --> 00:19:06,821
He just walked right past
the door to a hidden universe;
294
00:19:06,855 --> 00:19:10,892
a door that would not swing open
again for another 150 years.
295
00:19:10,926 --> 00:19:13,227
It would fall
on another scientist,
296
00:19:13,262 --> 00:19:14,929
working in the year 1800,
297
00:19:14,963 --> 00:19:16,931
to stumble
on a piece of evidence
298
00:19:16,965 --> 00:19:19,967
for the unseen worlds

that surround us.


299
00:19:23,539 --> 00:19:25,972
By night, William Herschel
scanned the heavens
300
00:19:26,006 --> 00:19:28,475
with the largest telescope
of his time.
301
00:19:28,509 --> 00:19:31,445
By day, Herschel performed
experiments.
302
00:19:31,479 --> 00:19:34,114
From Newton's earlier work,
it was known that sunlight
303
00:19:34,148 --> 00:19:36,516
is a blend of different colors.
304
00:19:36,551 --> 00:19:38,918
And everyone knew,
just from being outside,
305
00:19:38,953 --> 00:19:41,153
that sunlight carries heat.
306
00:19:42,689 --> 00:19:44,690
<i>William Herschel asked</i>
307
00:19:44,724 --> 00:19:47,293
<i>whether some colors of light
carry more heat than others.</i>
308
00:19:47,327 --> 00:19:51,430
<i>The nature of scientific genius
is to question</i>
309
00:19:51,465 --> 00:19:54,266
<i>what the rest of us
take for granted...</i>

310
00:19:54,301 --> 00:19:56,867
<i>and then do the experiment.</i>
311
00:19:58,904 --> 00:20:02,340
<i>The thermometer that Herschel
placed outside the spectrum</i>
312
00:20:02,374 --> 00:20:04,375
<i>was his control.</i>
313
00:20:06,078 --> 00:20:07,979
<i>The control in any experiment</i>
314
00:20:08,013 --> 00:20:10,648
<i>always lacks
the factor being tested.</i>
315
00:20:10,682 --> 00:20:12,782
<i>That way, you know
if what you're testing is</i>
316
00:20:12,817 --> 00:20:14,918
<i>really the thing responsible
for the observation.</i>
317
00:20:16,053 --> 00:20:17,354
<i>In Herschel's experiment,</i>
318
00:20:17,388 --> 00:20:18,989
<i>the relationship between</i>
319
00:20:19,023 --> 00:20:20,390
<i>color and temperature
was being tested,</i>
320
00:20:20,425 --> 00:20:23,494
<i>and so his control was
a thermometer</i>
321
00:20:23,528 --> 00:20:25,195
<i>over the part
of the white sheet</i>

322
00:20:25,230 --> 00:20:28,531
<i>that was not illuminated
by sunlight at all.</i>
323
00:20:30,867 --> 00:20:32,401
<i>There's that sound again.</i>
324
00:20:32,436 --> 00:20:35,171
<i>What is that?</i>
325
00:20:40,910 --> 00:20:43,412
<i>Okay, red light is warmer
than blue light.</i>
326
00:20:43,447 --> 00:20:48,517
<i>Interesting discovery,
but not exactly revolutionary.</i>
327
00:21:10,038 --> 00:21:13,740
<i>No, there's nothing wrong
with your thermometer.</i>
328
00:21:13,775 --> 00:21:17,143
<i>You've just discovered
a new kind of light.</i>
329
00:21:25,986 --> 00:21:29,055
Herschel was the first
to detect this unseen presence
330
00:21:29,089 --> 00:21:32,291
lurking just below
the red end of the spectrum.
331
00:21:32,325 --> 00:21:35,227
That's why it came
to be called "infrared."
332
00:21:35,261 --> 00:21:37,429
"Infra" is Latin
for the word "below."

333
00:21:37,463 --> 00:21:39,030
It's invisible.
334
00:21:39,065 --> 00:21:41,433
Our eyes are not sensitive
to this kind of light,
335
00:21:41,467 --> 00:21:44,336
but our skin is-we feel it as heat.
336
00:21:44,370 --> 00:21:46,171
Now, that's
a really big discovery.
337
00:21:46,206 --> 00:21:48,606
But far greater secrets
were still hiding
338
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:51,108
deep inside the light.
339
00:21:59,062 --> 00:22:01,096
<i>At about the
same time that William Herschel</i>
340
00:22:01,130 --> 00:22:04,031
<i>was discovering infrared light
in his parlor in England,</i>
341
00:22:04,066 --> 00:22:06,534
<i>a young boy named
Joseph Fraunhofer</i>
342
00:22:06,569 --> 00:22:09,036
<i>was trapped
in hopeless drudgery.</i>
343
00:22:09,071 --> 00:22:12,006
<i>He stood over a cauldron
of toxic chemicals</i>
344

00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:14,409


<i>and endlessly stirred.</i>
345
00:22:16,311 --> 00:22:19,113
<i>Joseph had been orphaned
at the age of 11</i>
346
00:22:19,147 --> 00:22:22,949
<i>and given to a harsh master
named Weichselberger,</i>
347
00:22:22,984 --> 00:22:25,919
<i>the royal mirror-maker.</i>
348
00:22:25,953 --> 00:22:28,221
<i>He prevented Joseph
from going to school.</i>
349
00:22:28,256 --> 00:22:31,458
<i>Instead, Joseph labored in</i>
350
00:22:31,493 --> 00:22:33,427
<i>the glass-making
workshop by day,</i>
351
00:22:33,461 --> 00:22:35,928
<i>and tended to the master's
household chores by night.</i>
352
00:22:41,435 --> 00:22:42,935
Hurry up, stupid!
353
00:22:42,969 --> 00:22:45,905
And remember, no reading.
354
00:22:50,277 --> 00:22:53,111
<i>Until Joseph got his big break.</i>
355
00:22:53,145 --> 00:22:57,238
<i>Weichselberger's
house collapsed.</i>
356

00:23:15,297 --> 00:23:17,165


<i>Maximilian, the future
king of Bavaria,</i>
357
00:23:17,199 --> 00:23:19,100
<i>hurried to the scene
of the calamity</i>
358
00:23:19,134 --> 00:23:20,668
<i>to see if he could help.</i>
359
00:23:20,703 --> 00:23:23,137
<i>Maximilian was known for</i>
360
00:23:23,172 --> 00:23:24,772
<i>taking an interest
in his subjects,</i>
361
00:23:24,807 --> 00:23:27,008
<i>which was highly unusual
for its time.</i>
362
00:23:40,890 --> 00:23:44,025
<i>In attracting the concern
of the future king of Bavaria,</i>
363
00:23:44,059 --> 00:23:45,660
<i>young Joseph Fraunhofer</i>
364
00:23:45,694 --> 00:23:48,496
<i>found an aperture into
a different universe.</i>
365
00:23:48,530 --> 00:23:50,965
<i>And not just for himself.</i>
366
00:23:53,769 --> 00:23:55,537
<i>Prince Maximilian
gave Joseph money</i>
367
00:23:55,571 --> 00:23:57,372
<i>and asked his privy councilor</i>

368
00:23:57,406 --> 00:23:58,840
<i>to provide further
help to the boy,</i>
369
00:23:58,874 --> 00:24:01,242
<i>should it be needed.</i>
370
00:24:06,115 --> 00:24:08,817
<i>Weichselberger continued
to exploit him</i>
371
00:24:08,851 --> 00:24:11,152
<i>and prevent him
from attending school.</i>
372
00:24:11,187 --> 00:24:13,221
<i>But the prince's councilor
intervened,</i>
373
00:24:13,255 --> 00:24:16,758
<i>offering Joseph a position
at the Optical Institute.</i>
374
00:24:16,792 --> 00:24:21,930
<i>This small gesture of kindness
really paid off.</i>
375
00:24:34,276 --> 00:24:37,112
By the time he was 27,
376
00:24:37,146 --> 00:24:39,381
Joseph Fraunhofer was
the world's leading designer
377
00:24:39,415 --> 00:24:41,416
of high-quality lenses,
378
00:24:41,450 --> 00:24:44,119
telescopes and other
optical instruments.
379
00:24:44,153 --> 00:24:48,023

His firm was housed here,


in the old Benediktbeuren Abbey.
380
00:24:48,057 --> 00:24:50,225
In the early 19th century,
381
00:24:50,259 --> 00:24:53,561
this was top-secret,
ultra-high technology.
382
00:24:56,599 --> 00:24:58,800
The Benedictine monks
of earlier times
383
00:24:58,834 --> 00:25:00,802
had taken a vow of secrecy.
384
00:25:00,836 --> 00:25:02,804
This local tradition,
385
00:25:02,838 --> 00:25:04,305
and the ability
to restrict access
386
00:25:04,340 --> 00:25:05,874
to Fraunhofer's laboratory,
387
00:25:05,908 --> 00:25:07,876
allowed him to maintain control
388
00:25:07,910 --> 00:25:10,979
of trade and state secrets.
389
00:25:16,085 --> 00:25:18,386
<i>Fraunhofer was experimenting
with prisms</i>
390
00:25:18,421 --> 00:25:21,823
<i>to find the best types of glass
for precision lenses.</i>
391
00:25:21,857 --> 00:25:24,559

<i>How, he wondered,
could he get a better look</i>
392
00:25:24,593 --> 00:25:26,594
<i>at the spectrum that
a prism produced?</i>
393
00:25:29,765 --> 00:25:33,568
Friedrich, bring me
the theodolite, please.
394
00:25:33,602 --> 00:25:36,504
Okay, while Fraunhofer
sets up his theodolite-395
00:25:36,539 --> 00:25:38,340
it's a kind of telescope-396
00:25:38,374 --> 00:25:41,676
I want to show you something
in another part of the abbey.
397
00:25:46,315 --> 00:25:50,051
<i>Sound waves are
so beautiful to hear.</i>
398
00:25:51,887 --> 00:25:56,591
<i>Imagine how beautiful
they'd be to see.</i>
399
00:25:56,625 --> 00:25:59,828
You ever wondered why organ
pipes have different lengths?
400
00:26:02,064 --> 00:26:03,298
I press a key...
401
00:26:05,801 --> 00:26:07,202
it sends compressed air
402
00:26:07,236 --> 00:26:08,470
into a particular pipe,

403
00:26:08,504 --> 00:26:10,305
producing sound waves.
404
00:26:10,339 --> 00:26:13,041
If we could slow the sound waves
down a few hundred times,
405
00:26:13,075 --> 00:26:15,210
they would look like this.
406
00:26:18,914 --> 00:26:20,548
The length of the pipe
407
00:26:20,583 --> 00:26:22,017
determines the length
of the sound wave
408
00:26:22,051 --> 00:26:23,518
that can fit inside it.
409
00:26:23,552 --> 00:26:25,620
A short pipe gives you
a short sound wave.
410
00:26:27,656 --> 00:26:30,392
Short sounds waves have
high pitch, or frequency.
411
00:26:35,898 --> 00:26:38,566
Let's stop the waves
for a better look.
412
00:26:42,938 --> 00:26:44,873
The distance between
adjacent waves
413
00:26:44,907 --> 00:26:46,675
is called the wavelength.
414
00:26:46,709 --> 00:26:49,210
A long pipe gives you
a long sound wave

415
00:26:49,245 --> 00:26:51,613
with a low pitch,
or low frequency.
416
00:27:43,165 --> 00:27:46,067
The medieval manuscript of
this music, "Carmina Burana,"
417
00:27:46,102 --> 00:27:49,270
was discovered
in this very abbey.
418
00:27:52,475 --> 00:27:54,909
Sound waves can't travel
through a vacuum.
419
00:27:54,944 --> 00:27:56,811
They need matter to ride on,
420
00:27:56,846 --> 00:28:00,315
like molecules of air,
or water, or rock.
421
00:28:00,349 --> 00:28:02,450
But light waves fly solo.
422
00:28:02,485 --> 00:28:04,653
They can move
through empty space.
423
00:28:04,687 --> 00:28:06,287
And fast-424
00:28:06,322 --> 00:28:09,424
a million times faster
than sound waves in air.
425
00:28:09,458 --> 00:28:11,426
And the wavelengths
of the light we see
426

00:28:11,460 --> 00:28:13,962


are so much shorter
than sound waves.
427
00:28:13,996 --> 00:28:16,831
About 50,000 light waves
428
00:28:16,866 --> 00:28:19,300
would fit right in here.
429
00:28:20,469 --> 00:28:22,003
Oh, yeah.
430
00:28:22,038 --> 00:28:23,471
Fraunhofer.
431
00:28:30,112 --> 00:28:31,446
Just in time.
432
00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:33,114
We didn't miss it.
433
00:28:33,149 --> 00:28:35,316
<i>Just as the wavelength of sound</i>
434
00:28:35,351 --> 00:28:37,318
<i>determines the pitch
that we hear,</i>
435
00:28:37,353 --> 00:28:38,820
<i>the wavelength of light</i>
436
00:28:38,854 --> 00:28:41,289
<i>determines the color
that we see.</i>
437
00:28:41,323 --> 00:28:43,758
<i>But how does a prism
spread out the colors</i>
438
00:28:43,793 --> 00:28:46,294
<i>concealed in

a beam of sunlight?</i>
439
00:28:46,328 --> 00:28:50,265
<i>When light travels
through air or space,</i>
440
00:28:50,299 --> 00:28:52,667
<i>all its colors move
at the same speed.</i>
441
00:28:54,704 --> 00:28:57,472
<i>But when it hits glass
at an angle,</i>
442
00:28:57,506 --> 00:28:59,908
<i>the light slows down
and changes direction.</i>
443
00:29:01,477 --> 00:29:03,445
<i>Inside the prism,</i>
444
00:29:03,479 --> 00:29:05,480
<i>each color moves
at a different speed.</i>
445
00:29:09,819 --> 00:29:11,619
<i>In glass, violet light,</i>
446
00:29:11,654 --> 00:29:13,822
<i>which is carried by
the shortest waves we see,</i>
447
00:29:13,856 --> 00:29:15,857
<i>slows down more than red light,</i>
448
00:29:15,891 --> 00:29:18,326
<i>which has the longest waves.</i>
449
00:29:20,162 --> 00:29:22,564
<i>These changes in speed</i>
450
00:29:22,598 --> 00:29:25,133

<i>pry the colors apart,</i>


451
00:29:25,167 --> 00:29:26,968
<i>sending their waves off</i>
452
00:29:27,002 --> 00:29:29,404
<i>in slightly different
directions.</i>
453
00:29:30,606 --> 00:29:32,607
That's how a prism works.
454
00:29:34,744 --> 00:29:37,011
If I seem unduly
emotional about this,
455
00:29:37,046 --> 00:29:39,848
it's because Joseph Fraunhofer
is about to do
456
00:29:39,882 --> 00:29:43,385
what Isaac Newton
could've done, but didn't.
457
00:29:43,419 --> 00:29:45,487
And it'll have a powerful effect
458
00:29:45,521 --> 00:29:47,355
on the course of my own life.
459
00:30:10,379 --> 00:30:12,414
<i>You are witnessing the marriage</i>
460
00:30:12,448 --> 00:30:14,049
<i>of physics and astronomy,</i>
461
00:30:14,083 --> 00:30:17,952
<i>the birth of my own
field of science,</i>
462
00:30:17,987 --> 00:30:20,422
<i>astrophysics.</i>

463
00:30:22,425 --> 00:30:24,192
Written in the light,
464
00:30:24,226 --> 00:30:27,629
in those vertical black lines...
465
00:30:29,065 --> 00:30:32,033
is secret code.
466
00:30:32,068 --> 00:30:34,869
<i>Fraunhofer looked at them,
and wondered...</i>
467
00:30:34,904 --> 00:30:36,905
Why?
468
00:30:39,750 --> 00:30:43,085
<i>A code that comes to us</i>
469
00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:45,554
<i>from an alien universe.</i>
470
00:30:57,283 --> 00:30:58,530
<i>What is the message</i>
471
00:30:58,616 --> 00:31:02,220
<i>written in these dark,
vertical lines?</i>
472
00:31:07,293 --> 00:31:09,360
It took a hundred years
of thinking,
473
00:31:09,395 --> 00:31:12,697
questioning, searching
to decipher it.
474
00:31:32,251 --> 00:31:34,385
Lovely, isn't it?
475

00:31:34,420 --> 00:31:35,954


Why?
476
00:31:35,988 --> 00:31:39,457
There are many layers to
the fine structure of beauty...
477
00:31:39,492 --> 00:31:42,627
<i>the chemistry of the Earth
and its atmosphere...</i>
478
00:31:42,661 --> 00:31:45,597
<i>the evolution of life...</i>
479
00:31:45,631 --> 00:31:49,200
<i>Many distinct threads.</i>
480
00:31:49,235 --> 00:31:52,303
Let's just examine one,
at the surface...
481
00:31:52,338 --> 00:31:54,739
the colors of nature
that dazzle us.
482
00:31:54,773 --> 00:31:57,876
<i>What's really happening?</i>
483
00:31:57,910 --> 00:31:59,777
<i>How does the red, the blue...</i>
484
00:31:59,812 --> 00:32:02,780
<i>the astonishing palette
of nature's colors...</i>
485
00:32:06,785 --> 00:32:09,420
how do they happen?
486
00:32:12,091 --> 00:32:14,259
Light waves of different lengths
from the Sun
487

00:32:14,293 --> 00:32:15,693


strike the Earth.
488
00:32:17,096 --> 00:32:19,130
The petals of these
particular flowers
489
00:32:19,165 --> 00:32:20,732
absorb all the low-energy,
490
00:32:20,766 --> 00:32:23,001
long red wavelengths of light.
491
00:32:23,035 --> 00:32:24,736
But the petals reflect
492
00:32:24,770 --> 00:32:28,072
the shorter, high-energy
blue wavelengths.
493
00:32:28,107 --> 00:32:30,842
That interaction
between starlight and petal-494
00:32:30,876 --> 00:32:32,844
or water, or Van Gogh-495
00:32:32,878 --> 00:32:34,445
is what makes blue.
496
00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:36,614
The longest waves,
497
00:32:36,649 --> 00:32:38,449
the ones we see as red,
498
00:32:38,484 --> 00:32:41,052
have the lowest energy.
499
00:32:43,989 --> 00:32:46,324
Color is the way
our eyes perceive

500
00:32:46,358 --> 00:32:48,226
how energetic light waves are.
501
00:32:50,062 --> 00:32:51,763
<i>A sunset...</i>
502
00:32:51,797 --> 00:32:53,932
<i>a flag...</i>
503
00:32:53,966 --> 00:32:56,367
<i>the eyes of your beloved...</i>
504
00:32:56,402 --> 00:32:58,136
<i>that shiny new car.</i>
505
00:32:58,170 --> 00:33:00,138
The feelings they inspire
506
00:33:00,172 --> 00:33:01,973
happen when something inside you
507
00:33:02,007 --> 00:33:04,476
is triggered by
a particular variation
508
00:33:04,510 --> 00:33:07,979
in the frequency and
energy of light waves.
509
00:33:09,748 --> 00:33:10,882
<i>And the secret message?</i>
510
00:33:10,916 --> 00:33:12,617
<i>Those black vertical lines</i>
511
00:33:12,651 --> 00:33:14,652
<i>in Fraunhofer's spectrum?</i>
512
00:33:14,687 --> 00:33:16,788
<i>What makes them?</i>

513
00:33:16,822 --> 00:33:18,990
<i>They occur when the light waves</i>
514
00:33:19,024 --> 00:33:21,793
<i>of those particular colors
are being absorbed.</i>
515
00:33:21,827 --> 00:33:24,362
<i>It happens on another level
of reality,</i>
516
00:33:24,396 --> 00:33:27,398
<i>far smaller than the world
we're used to operating in.</i>
517
00:33:27,433 --> 00:33:30,001
<i>To get there,
we'll need to become</i>
518
00:33:30,035 --> 00:33:32,770
<i>ten billion times smaller
than we are.</i>
519
00:33:35,541 --> 00:33:37,909
<i>We could pick
any one of these atoms.</i>
520
00:33:37,943 --> 00:33:41,012
<i>But let's go
for the hydrogen atom.</i>
521
00:33:41,046 --> 00:33:43,515
The hydrogen atom is
the most plentiful kind
522
00:33:43,549 --> 00:33:45,917
of atom in the cosmos.
523
00:33:45,951 --> 00:33:48,353
And the simplest.
524

00:33:55,861 --> 00:33:59,030


<i>It has only one electron.</i>
525
00:33:59,064 --> 00:34:01,566
<i>And only one proton.</i>
526
00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:03,668
<i>We've entered
the quantum realm.</i>
527
00:34:03,702 --> 00:34:05,503
<i>It doesn't correspond</i>
528
00:34:05,538 --> 00:34:08,273
<i>to ordinary human experience.</i>
529
00:34:08,307 --> 00:34:11,509
<i>Common sense is
no help here at all.</i>
530
00:34:11,544 --> 00:34:14,546
<i>Take the hydrogen atom's
electron, for example.</i>
531
00:34:16,482 --> 00:34:18,716
<i>In an atom, an electron</i>
532
00:34:18,751 --> 00:34:20,451
<i>doesn't exist between orbitals.</i>
533
00:34:20,486 --> 00:34:22,253
<i>It disappears from one orbital</i>
534
00:34:22,288 --> 00:34:24,923
<i>and reappears in another.</i>
535
00:34:24,957 --> 00:34:26,758
<i>It's as if you took an elevator
from the second floor</i>
536
00:34:26,792 --> 00:34:30,061
<i>to the fourth floor,

but ceased to exist in between.</i>


537
00:34:30,095 --> 00:34:31,796
<i>And another thing.</i>
538
00:34:31,831 --> 00:34:34,766
<i>Quantum elevators only stop
at certain floors.</i>
539
00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:38,203
<i>The sizes of the electron
orbits are strictly limited,</i>
540
00:34:38,237 --> 00:34:41,072
<i>and different
for the atoms of every element.</i>
541
00:34:42,608 --> 00:34:44,943
<i>That's why the elements
are different.</i>
542
00:34:44,977 --> 00:34:46,311
<i>The chemistry
of anything is determined</i>
543
00:34:46,345 --> 00:34:47,912
<i>by its electron orbits.</i>
544
00:34:47,947 --> 00:34:50,815
<i>The force that holds
an electron in orbit</i>
545
00:34:50,850 --> 00:34:52,650
<i>has nothing to do with gravity.</i>
546
00:34:52,685 --> 00:34:56,221
<i>It's a force
of electrical attraction.</i>
547
00:34:56,255 --> 00:34:58,556
<i>The electron dances a wavy ring</i>
548

00:34:58,591 --> 00:35:00,825


<i>around the central nucleus
of a hydrogen atom.</i>
549
00:35:00,860 --> 00:35:03,628
<i>And makes quantum leaps
from orbit to orbit.</i>
550
00:35:03,662 --> 00:35:04,929
<i>Up or down.</i>
551
00:35:04,964 --> 00:35:06,331
<i>The larger the orbit,</i>
552
00:35:06,365 --> 00:35:08,399
<i>the greater the energy
of an electron.</i>
553
00:35:08,434 --> 00:35:10,802
<i>An electron has</i>
554
00:35:10,836 --> 00:35:12,971
<i>to get energy to leap
to a larger orbit.</i>
555
00:35:13,005 --> 00:35:15,807
<i>And it has to lose energy
to jump back down.</i>
556
00:35:15,841 --> 00:35:19,143
<i>Every upward leap
is caused by...</i>
557
00:35:19,178 --> 00:35:22,580
<i>an atom absorbing a light wave.</i>
558
00:35:22,615 --> 00:35:26,417
<i>But we have no idea what causes
the downward leaps.</i>
559
00:35:26,452 --> 00:35:30,021
<i>What we do know that such leaps
always produce a light wave</i>

560
00:35:30,055 --> 00:35:32,690
<i>whose color matches
the energy difference</i>
561
00:35:32,725 --> 00:35:34,492
<i>between the orbitals.</i>
562
00:35:39,398 --> 00:35:43,801
<i>The Sun's surface radiates
light waves of all colors.</i>
563
00:35:43,836 --> 00:35:45,637
<i>If you look at sunlight
through a prism,</i>
564
00:35:45,671 --> 00:35:47,672
<i>you'll see its spectrum.</i>
565
00:35:50,309 --> 00:35:53,144
<i>When you magnify the spectrum
with a telescope,</i>
566
00:35:53,179 --> 00:35:55,046
<i>as Joseph Fraunhofer did,</i>
567
00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:56,648
<i>you raise the curtain</i>
568
00:35:56,682 --> 00:35:59,884
<i>on the electron dance
within the atom.</i>
569
00:35:59,919 --> 00:36:02,120
<i>When the energy
of the electron flags,</i>
570
00:36:02,154 --> 00:36:03,821
<i>and it drops
to a lower orbital,</i>
571
00:36:03,856 --> 00:36:06,224

<i>the light wave


it emits scatters.</i>
572
00:36:06,258 --> 00:36:08,660
<i>Most of it doesn't reach us.</i>
573
00:36:08,694 --> 00:36:10,228
<i>That leaves a dark gap</i>
574
00:36:10,262 --> 00:36:13,164
<i>or black vertical line
in the spectrum.</i>
575
00:36:13,199 --> 00:36:15,733
<i>These dark lines
are the shadows</i>
576
00:36:15,768 --> 00:36:17,368
<i>cast by hydrogen atoms</i>
577
00:36:17,403 --> 00:36:19,337
<i>in the atmosphere of the Sun.</i>
578
00:36:19,371 --> 00:36:22,073
<i>Sodium atoms cast
different shadows.</i>
579
00:36:22,107 --> 00:36:25,176
<i>Their electrons dance
to a different tune.</i>
580
00:36:25,211 --> 00:36:27,078
<i>A grain of table salt
is composed</i>
581
00:36:27,112 --> 00:36:28,913
<i>of sodium and chlorine atoms.</i>
582
00:36:28,948 --> 00:36:31,382
<i>Ten million billion of them</i>
583
00:36:31,417 --> 00:36:33,384

<i>doing their crazy dances</i>


584
00:36:33,419 --> 00:36:36,254
<i>in a single grain of salt.</i>
585
00:36:36,288 --> 00:36:39,190
<i>And a single iron atom
with 26 electrons</i>
586
00:36:39,225 --> 00:36:41,559
<i>is like a great
big production number</i>
587
00:36:41,594 --> 00:36:44,896
<i>in a Broadway musical.</i>
588
00:36:47,299 --> 00:36:51,202
<i>When you look at a star
with a spectroscope,</i>
589
00:36:51,237 --> 00:36:53,671
<i>you see the dark lines
from all the elements</i>
590
00:36:53,706 --> 00:36:55,340
<i>in its atmosphere.</i>
591
00:36:55,374 --> 00:36:57,242
<i>Show me the spectrum
of anything,</i>
592
00:36:57,276 --> 00:37:00,044
<i>whether here on Earth
or from a distant star,</i>
593
00:37:00,079 --> 00:37:03,114
<i>and I'll tell you
what it's made of.</i>
594
00:37:03,148 --> 00:37:06,751
Fraunhofer's lines are
the atomic signatures

595
00:37:06,785 --> 00:37:10,755
of the elements writ large
across the cosmos.
596
00:37:10,789 --> 00:37:12,857
As with every
other major revelation
597
00:37:12,892 --> 00:37:15,393
in the history of science,
it opened the way
598
00:37:15,427 --> 00:37:18,396
to newer and deeper mysteries.
599
00:37:18,430 --> 00:37:21,399
And to the revelation
that there were
600
00:37:21,433 --> 00:37:24,469
many more secrets
hiding in the light.
601
00:37:40,472 --> 00:37:43,408
When Joseph Fraunhofer combined
a prism with a telescope
602
00:37:43,410 --> 00:37:45,677
and turned it toward the skies,
603
00:37:45,679 --> 00:37:49,180
he brought the stars
much closer to us.
604
00:38:00,159 --> 00:38:02,894
<i>When he was only 39,</i>
605
00:38:02,896 --> 00:38:05,063
<i>he contracted a fatal illness.</i>
606
00:38:05,065 --> 00:38:07,732
<i>Perhaps as a result of his

early and long-term exposure</i>


607
00:38:07,734 --> 00:38:10,668
<i>to the toxic chemicals
of glassmaking.</i>
608
00:38:10,670 --> 00:38:14,672
<i>You never know where
the next genius will come from.</i>
609
00:38:18,611 --> 00:38:23,114
<i>How many of them do we leave
in the rubble?</i>
610
00:38:23,116 --> 00:38:26,384
<i>The prince and his kingdom
were immeasurably enriched</i>
611
00:38:26,386 --> 00:38:29,754
<i>by that act of kindness
to a poor orphan.</i>
612
00:38:29,756 --> 00:38:32,190
<i>Fraunhofer's discoveries
transformed Bavaria</i>
613
00:38:32,192 --> 00:38:36,461
<i>from a rural backwater
to a technological powerhouse.</i>
614
00:38:38,297 --> 00:38:40,732
<i>As he lay dying,
the government was desperate</i>
615
00:38:40,734 --> 00:38:43,635
<i>to preserve every shred
of his precious knowledge</i>
616
00:38:43,637 --> 00:38:45,937
<i>about the high technology
of optical glass.</i>
617
00:38:48,974 --> 00:38:50,909

<i>But it could only be divulged


to a person</i>
618
00:38:50,911 --> 00:38:53,111
<i>with top security clearance--</i>
619
00:38:53,113 --> 00:38:54,879
<i>the director of the mint.</i>
620
00:39:11,964 --> 00:39:14,565
<i>The government kept
Fraunhofer's technology</i>
621
00:39:14,567 --> 00:39:16,467
<i>for making perfect
optical glass</i>
622
00:39:16,469 --> 00:39:19,737
<i>a State secret
for another hundred years.</i>
623
00:39:19,739 --> 00:39:21,739
This would prove
to be a major obstacle
624
00:39:21,774 --> 00:39:24,242
for someone we'll meet later
in our journey.
625
00:39:24,276 --> 00:39:26,811
But Fraunhofer would allow
no such secrecy
626
00:39:26,845 --> 00:39:29,414
where his pure scientific
research was concerned.
627
00:39:29,448 --> 00:39:33,051
He knew that science requires
openness to flourish;
628
00:39:33,085 --> 00:39:37,121
that our understanding of nature

belongs to the world.


629
00:39:37,156 --> 00:39:40,058
As soon as Fraunhofer discovered
the spectral lines,
630
00:39:40,092 --> 00:39:42,627
he published everything
he knew about them.
631
00:39:42,661 --> 00:39:45,463
And the reverberations
of his momentous discovery
632
00:39:45,497 --> 00:39:48,266
echo still.
633
00:39:51,437 --> 00:39:55,406
<i>His spectral lines revealed
that the visible cosmos</i>
634
00:39:55,441 --> 00:39:58,710
<i>is all made
of the same elements.</i>
635
00:40:01,747 --> 00:40:04,215
<i>The planets...</i>
636
00:40:12,357 --> 00:40:14,826
<i>The stars...</i>
637
00:40:19,198 --> 00:40:21,332
<i>The galaxies...</i>
638
00:40:25,571 --> 00:40:28,573
<i>We, ourselves,
and all of life...</i>
639
00:40:35,247 --> 00:40:38,783
<i>The same star stuff.</i>
640
00:40:44,223 --> 00:40:45,890

<i>He made it possible


for us to know</i>
641
00:40:45,924 --> 00:40:48,392
<i>what's in the atmosphere
of other worlds.</i>
642
00:40:50,863 --> 00:40:54,499
<i>And in galaxies millions
of light-years away.</i>
643
00:40:54,533 --> 00:40:56,534
<i>Spectral lines revealed
not only the composition</i>
644
00:40:56,568 --> 00:40:59,036
<i>of far-off objects,
but also their motion</i>
645
00:40:59,071 --> 00:41:01,239
<i>towards or away from us.</i>
646
00:41:01,273 --> 00:41:04,342
<i>Using them, we discovered
that our universe is expanding.</i>
647
00:41:04,376 --> 00:41:07,945
<i>But perhaps the greatest
revelation of spectroscopy</i>
648
00:41:07,980 --> 00:41:10,781
<i>is the discovery
of the thing it cannot see.</i>
649
00:41:16,789 --> 00:41:18,956
<i>A hidden universe
of dark matter</i>
650
00:41:18,991 --> 00:41:22,226
<i>six times more massive
than the familiar cosmos.</i>
651
00:41:22,261 --> 00:41:24,428

<i>It's made
of some mysterious substance</i>
652
00:41:24,463 --> 00:41:29,033
<i>that does not emit, reflect
or absorb any kind of light.</i>
653
00:41:29,067 --> 00:41:31,536
<i>We only know it's there
because of its gravity,</i>
654
00:41:31,570 --> 00:41:33,638
<i>which pulls on all the galaxies</i>
655
00:41:33,672 --> 00:41:36,407
<i>and speeds up
the visible stars within them.</i>
656
00:41:40,412 --> 00:41:43,881
There are many more kinds of
light than our eyes can see.
657
00:41:43,916 --> 00:41:47,318
Confining our perception
of nature to visible light
658
00:41:47,352 --> 00:41:49,654
is like listening to music
659
00:41:49,688 --> 00:41:51,255
in only one octave.
660
00:41:53,826 --> 00:41:55,827
There are so many more.
661
00:41:55,861 --> 00:41:57,795
They differ only in wavelength,
662
00:41:57,830 --> 00:41:59,931
but over a huge range.
663
00:41:59,965 --> 00:42:02,533

For instance, infrared light...


664
00:42:07,873 --> 00:42:11,008
<i>the kind that
William Herschel discovered</i>
665
00:42:11,043 --> 00:42:12,810
<i>Or X-ray light.</i>
666
00:42:17,883 --> 00:42:19,951
<i>Or radio light.</i>
667
00:42:24,690 --> 00:42:26,524
<i>Or in gamma-ray light.</i>
668
00:42:32,331 --> 00:42:35,600
<i>These are not just different
ways of seeing the same thing.</i>
669
00:42:35,634 --> 00:42:37,201
<i>These other kinds of light</i>
670
00:42:37,236 --> 00:42:40,838
reveal different objects
and phenomena in the cosmos.
671
00:42:40,873 --> 00:42:44,041
In gamma-ray light, for example,
we can see mysterious explosions
672
00:42:44,076 --> 00:42:45,810
<i>in distant galaxies</i>
673
00:42:45,844 --> 00:42:48,145
<i>that we would otherwise miss.</i>
674
00:42:51,083 --> 00:42:53,951
<i>And in microwave light,
we can see all the way back</i>
675
00:42:53,986 --> 00:42:56,387
<i>to the birth of the universe.</i>

676
00:42:58,924 --> 00:43:02,226
We have only
just opened our eyes.
677
00:43:21,918 --> 00:43:27,528
Sync and corrections by n17t01
Bluray sync by VeRdiKT
www.addic7ed.com
678
00:43:28,305 --> 00:43:34,557
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