Product Description

Our mastery of cold is something we take for granted, whether it s air conditioning and frozen food or the liquefied gases and superconductivity at the heart of cutting-edge technology. But what is cold? How do you achieve it, and how cold can it get? This two-part NOVA special brings the history of this frosty fascination to life with brilliant dramatic recreations of high moments in low-temperature research and the quest for ever-lower notches on the thermometer.

The first hour, The Conquest of Cold, opens in the 1600s when the nature of cold and heat was a complete mystery. Were they different aspects of the same phenomenon? The experiments that settled these questions helped stoke the Industrial Revolution. In the second hour, The Race For Absolute Zero dramatizes the titanic rivalry between Scottish researcher James Dewar and Dutch physicist Heike Onnes, who plunged cold science to the forbidding realm at which oxygen and then nitrogen turn into liquids. The race continues today as scientists pioneer super-fast computing near absolute zero the ultimate chill of -459.67° F where atoms slow to a virtual standstill.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26476 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-06-03
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 112 minutes

Customer Reviews

Excellent documentary!
This documentary was originally created and broadcast by the BBC and then NOVA purchased it for U.S. Public Television. However, NOVA cut about 14 minutes of footage to include plugs for other NOVA programs. I am hoping this DVD release will put that time back.

This program traces the scientific evolution of the search for absolute zero, from the 17th century through today. It is extremely well done. Like many such programs, it takes high concept science (in this case physics) and brings it to the people. There are reenactments, interviews with experts in the field, and historical footage. The rivalries between past scientists, and the repercussions of such, are frankly examined. The creators did a superb job making the topic approachable without condescending to a non-scientist audience. For the first time, I was able to grasp such concepts as the Bose-Einstein Condensate, absolute zero and how lasers can "cool" atoms. I work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where Eric Cornell did his Nobel Prize-winning work (at Jilla). He is featured in the documentary and easily expresses in layman's terms the ideas and methods his team used. There is some humor throughout the piece (including how he forgot to bow to the king while accepting his Nobel Prize!) to lighten the subject matter. Just recently NIST hosted a lecture with Russell Donnelly, the physicist who helped spearhead this documentary. He worked in cold temperature physics, and was asked for input to the book "Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold." When he looked through the book he was dismayed to see no graphs, or photos or any "science." But once he started reading, he was amazed at how the author told the story of the science through the lives of the scientistis. He realized it would make a great documentary that could reach out to the public - whose support helps keep funding for such endeavors. He also spoke about the extensive process of requesting a grant from NSF, working with the BBC and then NOVA to put this together. He showed footage from the documetary itself and I was amazed at the quality. Unfortunately, when NOVA broadcast the show in January it went up against the New Hampshire primary and then the American Idol premier. Yet, it still managed to draw millions of viewers. I am glad they are releasing it on DVD. I would love to rewatch it, and have the ability to rewind certain points that I may have missed.

Overall, I highly recommend this program to everyone. It would be a great tool for high school science teachers, for fans of Carl Sagan's "Cosmos," and of The National Geographic Channel and other such venues.

Below freezing but hot!
Having watched this program on TV with fascination, I could not wait long enough to obtain the DVD. When it arrived, watching it confirmed my view that this is one of the most stimulating programs ever. Good to watch again, and again, and with a gap, even again!

Excellent viewing
This is a wonderfully put together documentary, my 11 year son was captivated with interest. The re-enactments are excellent. There are two distint films here, the first was the best for me as towards the end of the second it seemed to get a little mundane as scientists were spending a fortune to get just one ten millionth lower.
Definately worth adding to any good documentary collection.