Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (TV Mini Series) The Electric Boy (2014) User Reviews

We Often Obtruct the Brightest Lights

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 21 January 2015]

This is a close study of the great Michael Faraday, who invented the motor, the generator, and numerous items that have become the foundation for modern technology. He did experiments on the properties of magnets and glass and light and found universal connections. He hooked up with Humphrey Davy as a young man from a poverty background and took his experiments to new levels. His reward? Exile to a glass factory to try to understand the means of making glass that had been hidden by those had already done the research. In other words, to discover methods that already existed. He persevered and through endless experimentation, became the greatest scientist of his era. Even then, he was laughed at because of his base upbringings. Think how much damage things like class structure and religion have done to stop the growth of science, especially in the British scientific community. There are so many things that could have been done to make the world a better place had not these forces intervened. Faraday, who suffered from depression and memory loss, set the table for likes of Albert Einstein and James Clerk Maxwell. Very fine episode.

Great for a class that first studies magnetism and electricity

[e-t-jansen · 9/10 · 11 February 2015]

As we are studying magnetism, electromagnetism, the electric motor, the generator and the transformer in class (secondary school), I showed the class this episode. It is excellent material, the students were watching silently. The combination of correct science, history of science and human interest is great. This episode shows very well how science is built up piece by piece, how show has played a vital role in development, how mathematics is important in physics and of course how magnetism, electricity and light are related (although the latter could have been explained in a bit more detail). Otherwise my only scientific criticism is: when the gravitational field is " shown" in the solar system, the lines that are shown are not field lines but equipotential lines. It would also have been nice to mention that the relation between electricity and magnetism was discovered by H. C. Ørsted in 1820, in Copenhagen. Makes the importance of communication in science and the international component in science stand out a bit more. But then again, this leaves some space for me as a teacher as well :)

I came across this episode because I show other episodes of this show in class where we study astrophysics. I also noticed there is one on relativity. I hope that episode is as good as this one.