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.

This program stresses the importance of caring for our environment and provides an overview of multiple energy sources such as biomass and solar energy. It documents how some states are trying to enact laws that require local power plants to increase their power provided by renewable energy. To preserve our planet's health, scientists explore green projects involving ecologically friendly architecture and sustainable communities with solar homes and green housing developments.

With the retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet in 2011, the role of getting people, satellites and other instruments into space falls to private companies. As of June 2011, there have been only 523 people to reach the 100 kilometer mark (considered human spaceflight), and only 24 have traveled beyond low Earth orbit. It is projected that within ten years, the number of people who will have flown into space will increase by about 600 percent due to the increasing market of suborbital spaceflight and the possibility of private citizens utilizing space flight. This program explains suborbital and orbital spaceflight and the requirements necessary for vehicles to achieve these journeys. We go behind the scenes of many of the private companies involved in taking on the tasks to travel to low Earth orbit and beyond and uncover some of the technology used to accomplish these goals.

Deep in Southern Mexico's jungle, the Villa Luz limestone caves support an ecosystem that thrives in a highly poisonous, acidic environment. This rare type of cave is found in few spots on Earth. The Villa Luz, is known for the bacteria in its thermal sulphur springs that produce hydrogen sulfide gas. When the gases form bonds with oxygen, the result is sulfuric acid. The acid eats away at the cave walls, constantly altering the patterns in the cretaceous limestone. All life forms, from microbial colonies to spiders, fish and bats, are interdependent upon the toxic soup of water, sulphur-oxide and hydrogen monoxide for survival. Surprisingly, the caves are home to spiders, bats, and a unique fish species referred to as the Cave Molly. The caves are also well known for their snottites, which are mucous-like formations that resemble stalactites. Descending into the caves is very dangerous as there are potentially lethal levels of hydrogen sulfide gas. Researchers carefully plan expeditions into the caves to better understand these rare ecosystems and must wear respirators and protective clothing as they enter the cave system in their attempt to document and understand the deadly ecosystem.

Christmas Island, discovered December 25, 1643, is just a speck of land in the Indian Ocean. The annual red crab migration at the beginning of the rainy season, however, is so massive it can be seen from the air. It has been named a wonder of the natural world. This program follows this terrestrial arthropod from its rainforest burrow, across dangerous landscape to the ocean to mate. The park offers the perfect forest ecosystem for the Christmas Island Red Crab, which is endemic to the Cocos Islands and Christmas Island, both in the Indian Ocean. The Red Crabs rely on the rainy season that comes in November or December to initiate their migratory journey from the forests to the coasts. Their timing must be precise because the breeding sequence is also linked to the phases of the moon. Although the Red Crabs live inland, they require a certain level of moisture on their gills to survive. Their journey is filled with many obstacles. The risk of dehydration, predators, and automobile traffic cut the migration short for many crabs. However, locals on Christmas Island have built fences and tunnels to corral the crabs and help funnel them safely under roads to their final breeding destinations on the coasts. After mating, the males will return to their original forest homes, while the females will remain for several weeks to spawn. A large percentage of their offspring will not survive. Sea conditions, ocean predators such as manta rays and huge whale sharks, and possible lack of rains will affect the chances that the larva will survive. However, it only takes two successful years out of every ten to keep their populations healthy.