Show Me Science - Advanced - Season 1

Almost fifty years ago the first industrial robot was "employed" in an automobile assembly plant. Robots are regularly used for hazardous, super-heavy and difficult tasks in manufacturing, agriculture, entertainment, medicine, and space exploration. Welding robots with touch sensing and seam tracking abilities increase assembly plant efficiency, while robotic surgery results in less pain, quicker recovery and shorter hospital stays. NASA's robotic rovers Spirit and Opportunity are mapping the terrain and searching for evidence of water on Mars. Honda Motor Company's humanoid robot, ASIMO, can walk, run, recognize people and identify sounds and voices.

In a gas turbine, the linear motion of gas causes rotors to spin, ultimately creating electricity. The forward rotating blades pump air under high pressure into the combustion chamber where natural gas ignites on contact with the air. At 1,500 degrees Celsius, the stream of gas rushes past the rear turbine blades, causing the entire rotor to spin. A generator transforms that rotational energy into electricity. This program shows the extreme precision required to build a turbine, how it works and how it's used.

Engineers and architects are creating bridges that combine the best of both art and design. Bridges are no longer just a tool to get from one side of the river to the other. Some bridges have the goal of being aesthetically pleasing and efficient for pedestrians. Others rely on the cantilever design to span a distance equivalent to three and a half jumbo jets. Bridges are often classified by their structure and how the forces of tension, compression, bending, torsion and shear are distributed. In this program, students will learn how designs vary depending on the function of the bridge, the environmental factors, the materials, and technology used to construct them.

The Mexican free-tailed bat is one of the most abundant mammals in North America. Outside of San Antonio, Texas there is a cave that is home to over 40 million of these bats. Roosting in large numbers in relatively few areas makes them especially vulnerable to human disturbance and habitat destruction. Documented declines at some roosts are cause for concern because there is a delicate balance in the ecosystem that depends on the bats. There is also cause for concern among other bat species that are falling victim to white nose syndrome, which is a condition named for a distinctive fungal growth around the muzzles and on the wings of affected animals. It is a cold-loving fungus that grows at temperatures below 20 °C (68 °F). It grows on bats when they are hibernating in winter. The fungus appears to disrupt the normal patterns of hibernation, causing bats to arouse too frequently from torpor and starve to death. This program goes deep into the caves where the Mexican free-tailed bats roost and shows a glimpse into their behavior, reproductive habits, diet and how they utilize echolocation.

Join the theater department of the University of California at Berkeley on an in-depth journey to the heart of William Shakespeare's plays. Simple but brilliant reenactments of plays from both cultures, featuring beautiful costumes and accessible acting make both worlds interesting and easy to understand despite the barriers of language. Shakespeare and the Spanish Connection is a must for students, teachers, and Shakespeare scholars of all ages. Experience the plays of traditional Spanish theater firsthand and see how they parallel many of Shakespeare's most famous works. See how these plays were brought to early California with the founding of the missions, and how many of these plays are still performed and remain an integral part of Spanish culture in modern-day America. See the archetypal "stock characters" of traditional Spanish theater manifest themselves in Shakespeare's plays… from the black hat villain (Don John in "Much Ado About Nothing") to the nag (Juliet's Nurse in "Romeo and Juliet") to the foolish braggart (Falstaff in "Henry IV," "Henry V" and "The Merry Wives of Windsor"). Watch scenes from these well-known characters alongside the scenes of Spanish theater from which they derive their roots. (N/P) Despite the obvious influence of Spanish theater and culture over many of Shakespeare's works, not one of his plays is actually set in Spain. "Romeo and Juliet" and "Much Ado About Nothing" are both set in Italy, while Falstaff had his adventures in Britain. But nevertheless, throughout all of Shakespeare's plays, the influence of Spanish theater and culture is evident.