Episode list

In this first episode, he explores the beauty of the way atoms interact with each other and reveals why fires feel hot.

Why do rubber bands stretch and contract? And why do two magnets feel as though there's something in between them when they repel each other? These are simple enough questions but, as Professor Feynman explains, the answers are surprisingly complicated. Feynman was recruited by the Manhattan Project, a secret World War Two programme aiming to develop the atom bomb. His work with Hans Bethe led to the development of a formula to calculate the explosive yield of atomic weapons.

A trip to the dentist prompts Richard Feynman to ponder on the wonder of electrical and magnetic forces. Using examples from everyday life, the eminent scientist explains how these concepts work and reveals just how important the discovery of electromagnetism was. Combing one's hair isn't such a mundane task after all.

Why do mirrors invert a reflection from right to left but not up to down?

In this brain-boggling session from Professor Feynman, the scientist reveals how imagination leads the way when trying to understand such cosmic phenomena as black holes, quasars and pulsars. He also provides a fascinating explanation as to why Earth's mountains are no higher than Everest. While working on the Manhattan Project, a secret US programme to build an atomic bomb before the Nazis during World War Two, Feynman claimed to be the only spectator present at the first of the bomb trials to view the nuclear explosion without wearing the standard dark glasses. He was confident that ultraviolet rays were the only thing that could potentially damage his eyesight and viewing the spectacle through a truck windscreen would provide sufficient protection against these.

Richard Feynman gives us a glimpse inside his head in this exploration of how we think about complicated ideas. Fellow Nobel Laureate Hans Bethe said of Feynman that he was not only a genius but also a magician because "a magician does things that nobody else could ever do and that seem completely unexpected - and that's Feynman".