This two-part scientific detective tale tells the story of a remarkable group of pioneers who wanted to reach the ultimate extreme: absolute zero, a place so cold that the physical world as we know it doesn’t exist, electricity flows without resistance, fluids defy gravity and the speed of light can be reduced to 38 miles per hour.
Each film features a strange cast of eccentric characters, including: Clarence Birds Eye; Frederic ‘Ice King’ Tudor, who founded an empire harvesting ice; and James Dewar, who almost drove himself crazy by trying to liquefy hydrogen.
Absolute zero became the Holy Grail of temperature physicists and is considered the gateway to many new technologies, such as nano-construction, neurological networks and quantum computing. The possibilities, it seems, are limitless.
Episode One – THE CONQUEST OF COLD
The bizarre story of how one court magician’s use of alchemy made a King shiver.
fascinating. had no idea the connection between so many discoveries is the approach toward absolute zero. it seems we are today in our understanding of the power of the cold where we were at the beginning of the industrial revolution in our understanding of the power of heat. the destination of the tech/information revolution may be the nearest approach of absolute zero.