|
Genre Documentary Producer by Mick Jackson Directed by Mick Jackson Writer by James Burke Cast James Burke / Mark Wing-Davey Production company British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Original channel British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Original language English Country of origin United kingdom Broadcast dates 17 October 1978 (UK) Original runing time 17 October 1978 – 19 December 1978 Episode duration 50 minutes (without adverts) Picture format 16:9 1080i HD (Series 1-) Studio London, England, UK Episode summary Often, materials discovered by accident alter the course of the world. In the 1600s Dutch commercial freighters controlled Atlantic trade routes. Competing British lines induced America to produce pitch to protect hulls of their royal vessels. This arrangement lasted until 1776, after which a Scottish inventor tried to produce pitch from coal tar. By the time he succeeded the navy was using copper instead. Subsequent experiments with coal tar yielded gaslight lamps, waterproofed garments, a brilliant mauve dye that established the German chemical industry and nylon, the first of the miracle plastics. Fun and viewer review Watch Entire Show: www.youtube.com More Shows: www.youtube.com Episode 8 of James Burke's most well-known series "Connections" which explores the surprising and unexpected ways that our modern technological world came into existence. Each episode investigates the background of usually one particular modern invention and how it came into being. These explorations are an attempt to locate the "connections" between various historical figures who seemingly had nothing to do with each other in their own times, however once connected, these same figures combined to produce some of the most profound impacts on our modern day world; in a "1+1=3" type of way. It is this type of investigation that is the core idea behind the Knowledge Web project, whereby sophisticated software is being developed to attempt to discover these subtle interconnections automatically. See k-web.org. Note This clip contains one of Mr. Burke's most well-known scenes: the famous "rocket takeoff scene" (also mentioned in re-Connections : see playlists) See channel page for purchase options. If any video is not working or any episode of any show is missing , share your comments . If any of your favourite show is missing , kindly inform us by commenting , We will upload it as soon as possible . thanks |
Labels: BBC Connections Season 1
