Making Stuff
Making Stuff is a four-part NOVA documentary series hosted by David Pogue, exploring the materials that will shape our future. What is the strongest material in the world? Could we one day have robots taking "fantastic voyages" in our bodies to kill rogue cells? Can innovations in materials science help clean up our world? Are there physical limits to how fast we can go? What happens when scientists open up nature's toolbox? From spider silk that is stronger than steel and micro-robots that zap diseases to invisibility cloaks, in this series David Pogue explores scientific innovations ushering in a new generation of materials that are stronger, smaller, cleaner, smarter, faster, wilder, colder, and safer than anything we've ever seen.
| Episode 1 - Stronger |
Episode 1 - Stronger
What is the strongest material in the world? Is it steel, Kevlar, carbon nanotubes, or something entirely new? David Pogue explores the world's strongest substances.
Episode 2 - Smaller
How small can we go? Could we one day have robots taking "fantastic voyages" in our bodies to kill rogue cells? David Pogue examines the latest advances in high-powered nano-circuits and micro-robots.
Episode 3 - Cleaner
David Pogue explores the rapidly developing science and business of clean energy and examines alternative ways to generate it, store it, and distribute it.
Episode 4 - Smarter
David Pogue looks at materials that respond to their environments and even learn, such as an airplane wing that changes shape as it flies.
Episode 5 - Faster
Are there physical limits to how fast we can go? David Pogue investigates everything from electric muscle cars and the America's cup sailboat to bicycles that smash speed records.
Episode 6 - Wilder
What happens when scientists open up nature's toolbox? David Pogue explores bold new innovations inspired by the Earth's greatest inventor, life itself.
Episode 7 - Colder
David Pogue explores the frontiers of cold science from saving the lives of severe trauma patients to ultracold physics, where bizarre new properties of matter are the norm and the basis of new technologies.
Episode 8 - Safer
The world has always been a dangerous place, so how do we increase our odds of survival? David Pogue explores the cutting-edge research of scientists and engineers who want to keep us out of harm's way.
| Related Links |
| Nature Tech This is a documentary series exploring biomimetics, the science of looking to nature for answers to modern problems. |
| From Nature to Engineering - Using Animal Models to Develop Materials Building nanostructures based on nature has multiple potential advantages, including low-cost, environmentally benign processing, exquisite control of architectural design, and the energy efficiency offered by complex living organisms. |
| How It Works This is a BBC documentary series presented by Professor Mark Miodownik, revealing the secret alchemy of material science - how we transform materials, and materials transform the world. |
| Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections This looks at how engineers and designers use historic inventions and clues from the natural world in ingenious ways to develop new buildings and machines. |
| Hunting the Elements This looks at how engineers and designers use historic inventions and clues from the natural world in ingenious ways to develop new buildings and machines. |
| Secrets of the Supper Elements Forget oil, coal and gas - a new set of materials is shaping our world and they're so bizarre they may as well be alien technology. In this film, material scientist Prof Mark Miodownik reveals the super elements that underpin our high-tech world. |