Einstein’s Quantum Riddle
Over the past century, scientists have made huge strides in understanding the mind-bending rules that govern the microworld of atoms and subatomic particles. But these rules, called quantum mechanics, contain one particularly bizarre, unexplained phenomenon: quantum entanglement. Imagine two subatomic particles that mirror changes in each other instantaneously over any distance without communicating.
Einstein called it “spooky action at a distance” and although no one can explain how it works, scientists have already begun to harness its power. So-called quantum computing could give rise to computers that can shatter existing data encryption in minutes and use the laws of physics to create a totally secure, unhackable network.
But even as researchers are poised to transform the digital world with entanglement, a few doubts about it remain, and to rule them out will take a ground-breaking experiment. NOVA takes viewers to a frigid mountaintop in the Canary Islands where physicists will use massive telescopes to catch light from quasars at opposite ends of the universe to control detectors in a record-breaking experiment that might settle the remaining questions once and for all.
Kilauea: Hawaii on Fire
volcano erupted, obliterating neighborhoods with devastating force and uprooting thousands of local residents. It is Hawaii’s most destructive volcanic eruption in generations. How can one of the most beautiful places on Earth suddenly transform into a roaring inferno, sputtering molten lava and bombs of volcanic rock the size of refrigerators?
https://youtu.be/BQ__i4FMeT4
On the ground in the early days of the eruption, NOVA joins scientists and residents alike on a breathtaking journey to investigate Kilauea’s recent spike in activity. Along the way, some of Hawaii’s biggest secrets are revealed: Why did these geologically distinctive volcanoes form in the middle of the Pacific? How did life establish itself on the remote islands? What does this tell us about the future of Hawaii? And what dangers lurk for the inhabitants of the island paradise.
The 6 million-ton Great Pyramid of Giza is the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. How did the Egyptians engineer the mighty pharaoh Khufu’s tomb so precisely, with none of today’s surveying and power tools? And who were the thousands of laborers who raised the stones? Were they slaves or volunteers, and how were they housed, fed, and organized? Decoding the Great Pyramid presents the latest evidence from groundbreaking archaeological research that has transformed our understanding of the ancient world’s most ambitious engineering project, revealing a “lost city” and intimate details of the lives of the laborers and officials who toiled on the vast construction.
French archaeologists recently found the logbook of a labor team leader that delivered limestone blocks to build the Great Pyramid, yielding crucial insights into the planning and logistics behind the operation. The program also traces how mobilizing the colossal labor and resources invested in the monument transformed ancient Egypt, uniting a nation behind the common goal of ensuring eternity for the pharaoh and continuing prosperity for everyone in this life and the next.