Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World

Science and Nature Series / 1 Season

Take a mind-blowing journey through human history, told through six iconic objects that modern people take for granted, and see how science, invention and technology built on one another to change everything. These are the secrets of how we got to our modern world.

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Hollywood Icon Hedy Lamarr

2m 56s / TV-PG

In 1941 the Nazi’s are winning the war in Europe. The Nazi U boats are fast and agile and the allied torpedoes are not very accurate. Hollywood star, a secret inventor, Hedy Lamarr is determined to help fight the Nazis. Inspired by a player piano, she invents a way to control torpedoes remotely and creates the world’s first secret communications system.

Episode 6 Preview | The Smartphone

30s / TV-PG

Dial in to the fascinating history of the smartphone, from its roots in Morse Code to 2007, when Apple unveiled the first-ever iPhone. Plus, see how the next generation of smartphones will allow us to communicate through them just by thinking.

Polybius Square

1m 42s / TV-PG

Polybius, a Greek statesman and tutor to the Roman general, Scipio Africanus, sees that the Romans' method of signaling on the battlefield is limited to a small number of messages. He decides to invent a code so words can be exchanged between battalions freely. The result: the first long distance messaging system.

Episode 5 Preview | The Rocket

30s / TV-PG

Learn the explosive history of the rocket, from its origin in ancient China, to its use as a weapon of war, to how adding hydrogen allowed it to carry astronauts all the way to the moon.

The First Long Distance Test Drive

2m 48s / TV-PG

In 1886, German inventor and engineer, Karl Benz, has his patent accepted for what is regarded as the world’s first automobile, but it’s a failure. Benz doesn't sell a single one for two years. Facing financial ruin he plunges into depression. Thankfully for humanity one person sees great potential in his "motor wagon" - someone who also knows how to create a bit of publicity, his wife Bertha.

Episode 4 Preview | The Car

30s / TV-PG

Go for a ride through the 9,000-year history of the car, from its roots in dogsleds to Henry Ford’s affordable and assembly line-built Model T, and meet the scientists working on the next generation of self-driving automobiles.

A Chicago Slaughterhouse

3m 23s / TV-PG

In 1909, the Model T’s first year of production, Henry Ford sells over 10,000 cars at $825 each. It’s a promising start, but it’s still only affordable for the well off. Ford has set his sights on creating a car for "everyman." He needs to speed up the Model T’s construction and slash its price in half. Therein lays the challenge. The solution comes from a visit to a Chicago slaughterhouse.

Episode 3 Preview | The Robot

30s / TV-PG

Learn how robots were first conceptualized in ancient Rome and see how their use has evolved over the centuries, from the calculator to the Roomba. Then, take a sneak peek at what future robots will be able to do.

Episode 2 Preview | The Airplane

30s / TV-PG

Take to the sky with the dreamers whose work gave humans the ability to fly. From Leonardo da Vinci’s “flying machines” to the modern commercial plane, without these inventions, we may have never left the ground.

Abass Ibn Firnas

2m 53s / TV-PG

Over a thousand years ago, legend has it that Moorish pioneer Abass Ibn Firnas jumped from a cliff with feathers attached to his arms and legs. A modern day wing suit flyer recreates the feat using modern technology, with a spectacular flight.

Discovering the Big Bang

5m 28s / TV-PG

In 1923, Edwin Hubble began the manual process of photographing the Andromeda Nebula. He spent many nights at the Hooker telescope collecting data and discovered that Andromeda was not a cluster of stars in our own galaxy but in fact a separate galaxy.

Preview

30s / TV-PG

Take a mind-blowing journey through human history, told through six iconic objects that modern people take for granted, and see how science, invention and technology built on one another to change everything.

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