low temperatures

Presents the history of low-temperature research and the quest for ever-lower notches on the thermometer. The conquest of cold opens with experiments in the 1600s that asked what heat and cold are and whether they are different aspects of the same phenomenon. Shows how the experiments that settled those questions helped stoke the Industrial Revolution. The race for absolute zero dramatizes the rivalry between Scottish researcher James Dewar and Dutch physicist Heike Onnes, who plunged cold science to the forbidding realm at which oxygen and then hydrogen turn into liquids. Shows how the quest continues today as scientists pioneer super-fast computing near absolute zero--the ultimate chill of -459.67? F, where atoms slow to a virtual standstill.

Introduces the scientific study of temperature extremes and how it relates to technology.

Looks at how temperatures are measured, and provides an introduction to positive and negative numbers through visits to places throughout the world that experience temperature extremes.

Traces the history of scientific efforts to learn and master the secrets of cold, and discusses the advances in civilization, comfort, and technology that have been achieved through cold research.