The first programme begins 350 years ago when a small group of friends, colleagues and rivals defied everything that was known about the world at that time.
Stephen Hawking and Jim Al-Khalili explain how Isaac Newton saw mathematics at the root of everything, from gravity to light.
James Dyson demonstrates Robert Boyle's air pump, which revealed the life-giving invisible world around us, whose laws could be understood through experiment and reason.
David Attenborough celebrates the many interests of Christopher Wren, who was best known as an architect, but was equally fascinated by surgery and astronomy.
Richard Dawkins explores Robert Hooke's revelatory microscopic world, and champions the virtues of a scientist whose name was almost wiped from the history books by men who despised him: most notably his arch-rival Newton.
And Kathy Sykes charts Edmond Halley's exploration of the stars, which helped Britain's sailors to rule the waves.
SERIES:
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Series 1 Episode 1
The first programme begins 350 years ago when a small group of friends, colleagues and rivals defied everything that…
- This programme has episodes with subtitles available.
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Series 1 Episode 2
This episode looks at the scientific spark that ignited the Industrial Revolution in Britain.
- This programme has episodes with subtitles available.
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Series 1 Episode 3
This episode looks at the scientific titans of the 19th century, whose drive and ambitions created the railways…
- This programme has episodes with subtitles available.
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Series 1 Episode 4
This episode examines how war can bring with it innovation as well as horror.
- This programme has episodes with subtitles available.
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Series 1 Episode 5
The final programme in the series looks at the incredible discoveries of the last 50 years and reveals where some of…
- This programme has episodes with subtitles available.
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