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Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World
2019 8.0 (3 votes) 1 Seasons
Official Website
Genres
Documentary
Networks
PBS
BBC Four

Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World

Overview

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.

Key Crew

Director: Ben Harding

Producer: Tim Green

Top Cast

Jim Al-Khalili
Jim Al-Khalili

Self - Presenter

Seasons

Season 1 (2019)

No overview available.

6 episodes

Episodes
Episode 1: The Telescope
2019-04-21

Meet the brilliant minds throughout history, from Galileo to Edwin Hubble, responsible for creating the telescope. Today, their invention allows humanity to reach the furthest limits of seeing 13 billion light-years out.

Runtime: 60 min
Episode 2: The Airplane
2019-04-28

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.

Runtime: 60 min
Episode 3: The Robot
2019-05-05

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.

Runtime: 60 min
Episode 4: The Car
2019-05-12

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.

Runtime: 60 min
Episode 5: The Rocket
2019-05-19

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.

Runtime: 60 min
Episode 6: The Smartphone
2019-05-26

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.

Runtime: 60 min

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