Superscience Season 8, Episode 7: O2 The Molecule That Made the World

Solar Powered Flight

Engineers wondered if a plane that operated solely on solar power could be built. Their efforts over a decade result in the Solar Impulse HB-SIA, the plane that triumphantly takes to the air. Making a 26-hour nonstop day-night-day flight climaxes the success of the Solar Impulse.

60 min

Star Clock BC

Over a century ago, sponge divers recovered an extremely complex mechanical device from a shipwreck. It was decades before they determined it's purpose, to accurately track the movement of the stars in the night sky. Dubbed the Antikythera mechanism (for the location of the shipwreck from which it came), the device is considered the world's first computer, developed by the Greeks around the 1st century B.C. Scientists continue to marvel at its intricate system of gears which rival that of the most complex Swiss watch.

60 min

The Book That Can't Be Read

The centuries-old Voynich manuscript has remained an enigma. Filled with bizarre drawings and written in a language that even the best cryptographers cannot decipher, the tome has remained a puzzling mystery. The efforts to decode the book and determine its unknown author continue.

60 min

Living in a Parallel Universe

Parallel universes, strange hidden worlds, where an alternative reality exists have haunted science fiction for decades. Parallel universes sound like a myth, but a surprising number of leading scientists believe they are real. National Geographic delves into the mysterious science of other universes and discovers that many of physics most cherished theories actually predict that there are other universes beside our own. But what are they like? Could we ever visit them? And if we did, who or what would we meet? The reality is weirder than any science fiction.

60 min

Venom Power

Bryan Fry has always been intrigued with things that can kill you. Since surviving a near fatal rattlesnake bite this scientist, turned venom hunter, has made it his mission to seek out the worlds deadliest creatures. Each venom he collects may hold the secret to creating life-saving medicines. Now Bryan targets North America and three of its most toxic species.

60 min

Sea Strikers

Go on an action packed, hi-tech fishing expedition with the Sea Strikers. When the ocean's top predators strike, their prey doesn't even know what hit them! NGC dives into the attack strategies that sea hunters employ to deliver killer blows. Biologists use an high-speed underwater camera to capture the hunting techniques of the goliath grouper, barracuda, bonito and bull shark, and provides also never-before-seen footage of the feeding habits of the ocean's other top predators — mackerel, mahi mahi, wahoo, tuna and billfish. Biologists Steve Huskey and Nicolai Konow, and underwater cameraman Andy Casagrande embark on a high-tech fishing expedition to capture the hunting techniques of some of the oceans top predators using a slow motion camera that produces breathtaking images.

60 min

Volcano Devils

The 1991 eruption of Japan's Mount Unzen, which killed 43 people, including three volcanologists, is recalled. Included: archival footage; survivor testimonies.

60 min

Space Vacation

60 min