TELEVISION

How the Earth Works

Series: How the Earth Works
3.8
(4)
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Episodes
48
Rating
TVPG
Year
2008
Language
English
Publisher
The Great Courses

About

We live on a planet that is constantly in motion-except we see it in extreme slow motion. In this exciting course, you effectively speed up the action to witness the history of our planet unfold in spectacular detail, learning what the Earth is made of, where it came from, and, above all, how it works.

Related Subjects

Episodes

1 to 3 of 48

1. Geology's Impact on History

31m

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If you could view Earth's history at high speed, you'd see continents whiz about, ocean basins grow and shrink, and mountain ranges rise and erode away. This lecture sets the stage for investigating our dynamic planet.

2. Geologic History-Dating the Earth

32m

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Discovering Earth's exact age took centuries of detective work. Rock strata provide relative ages, but only with the discovery of radioactivity was it possible to determine the absolute geologic timescale.

3. Earth's Structure-Journey to Earth's Center

32m

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Analysis of seismic waves from earthquakes allows scientists to map the structure inside Earth. Using this technique, we take a modern-day journey to the center of the Earth in the style of Jules Verne.

4. Earth's Heat-Conduction and Convection

31m

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We reverse the direction of the previous lecture to see how heat flows from the center of Earth toward the surface, exploring the phenomena of heat radiation, conduction, and convection.

5. The Basics of Plate Tectonics

32m

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The theory of plate tectonics accounts for the existence of continents, oceans, mountains, earthquakes, volcanoes, mineral resource distribution, climate changes, and many other aspects of our planet.

6. Making Matter-The Big Bang and Big Bangs

30m

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We investigate the big bang and the early evolution of the universe to learn the origin of atoms, stars, and planets. The supernovae of dying stars played a key role in forging heavy elements.

Extended Details

  • Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

The Great Coursesdirector
The Great Coursesproducer
Michael E. Wysessionactor