Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity

Overview

Professor Jim Al-Khalili tells the electrifying story of our quest to master nature's most mysterious force - electricity. Until fairly recently, electricity was seen as a magical power, but it is now the lifeblood of the modern world and underpins every aspect of our technological advancements. Without electricity, we would be lost. This series tells of dazzling leaps of imagination and extraordinary experiments - a story of maverick geniuses who used electricity to light our cities, to communicate across the seas and through the air, to create modern industry and to give us the digital revolution.

Episodes

Spark

S01E01 Spark

October 6, 2011 45 min
Episode one tells the story of the very first "natural philosophers" who started to unlock the mysteries of electricity. They studied its curious link to life, built strange and powerful instruments to create it and...
The Age of Invention

S01E02 The Age of Invention

October 13, 2011 45 min
Just under 200 years ago scientists discovered something profound, that electricity is connected to another of nature's most fundamental forces - magnetism. In the second episode, Jim discovers how harnessing the link between magnetism and...
Revelations and Revolutions

S01E03 Revelations and Revolutions

October 20, 2011 45 min
Electricity is not just something that creates heat and light, it connects the world through networks and broadcasting. After centuries of man's experiments with electricity, the final episode tells the story of how a new...

Cast

Jim Al-Khalili
Jim Al-Khalili
Self - Presenter

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