Episode Aired: 20th March 21:00
In the third episode of this series Brian talks about Gravity, the force that works on the largest scales influencing Stars, Planets, Galaxies and the fate of the Universe.
Brian Cox explains why one side of our Moon is always facing the Earth, what will happen when the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way collide, and how a neutron star is formed when a massive star explodes as a supernova.
In order to experience what gravity is like on other planets larger than the Earth, Brian takes a spin in a centrifuge and expeiences a max G-force of 5G, which you could see that he found it quite unpleasent. He also takes a trip on the famous 'Vomit Comet', an airplane which simulates weightlessness... it was quite funny watching him attempt to explain the concepts of gravity whilst being jostled about inside the plane!
The nature of gravity known as the Einstein's General Theory of Relativity was explained. Spacetime is the fabric of Space and the Universe. Matter bends space and the greater the mass of an object the greater the curve of the spacetime surrounding the object. Spacetime is full of peaks and valleys... in fact everything in the Universe is falling through spacetime.
Finally we are taken to the centre of our galaxy where a massive black hole is thought to reside. The ultimate curvature of spacetime is a black hole. The analogy of a fast river flow was used to explain what it could be like very close to and inside a black hole.
Various Locations includes a canyon in New Mexico, a river delta and Brian standing alone on top of a mountain.
Once again a fascinating insight into the workings of the Universe.
No comments:
Post a Comment