• 2004
  • 5h
Inventions That Changed the World

Summary A five part BBC 2 TV documentary series, presented by Jeremy Clarkson, that took a look at some of the inventions that have helped to shape the modern world. First broadcast on Thursday 15 January 2004, 8p.m., the series looked at 1) the gun; 2) the computer; 3) the jet plane; 4) the telephone; and in the final part, 5) television. View more details

  • 2004
  • 5h

Inventions That Changed the World

Directed : Unknown

Written : Unknown

Stars : Jeremy Clarkson Robin Sebastian James Mellor Richard Fleming

All cast & crew

8

Details

Genres : Documentary

Release date : Jan 14, 2004

Countries of origin : United Kingdom

Language : English

Summary A five part BBC 2 TV documentary series, presented by Jeremy Clarkson, that took a look at some of the inventions that have helped to shape the modern world. First broadcast on Thursday 15 January 2004, 8p.m., the series looked at 1) the gun; 2) the computer; 3) the jet plane; 4) the telephone; and in the final part, 5) television. View more details

Details

Genres : Documentary

Release date : Jan 14, 2004

Countries of origin : United Kingdom

Language : English

Photos

Jeremy Clarkson in Inventions That Changed the World (2004) Jeremy Clarkson in Inventions That Changed the World (2004) Jeremy Clarkson in Inventions That Changed the World (2004) Inventions That Changed the World (2004) Inventions That Changed the World (2004) Inventions That Changed the World (2004) Inventions That Changed the World (2004) Inventions That Changed the World (2004) Inventions That Changed the World (2004)

Episodes

View All Seasons
Episode 1 • Jan 14, 2004
Gun
There would be no guns without gunpowder, the volatile mixture of saltpetre (potassium nitrate), charcoal and sulphur that came to Europe in the 14th century. Chinese chemists were experimenting with early forms of gunpowder by the 9th century or even earlier. Mixing gunpowder was a tricky procedure largely carried out by hand under the constant threat of accidental explosions. Gunpowder production was as dirty as it was dangerous. To make saltpetre, workers mixed rotting vegetable waste and animal (or human!) excreta together in large beds and waited for nitrates to form as a white powder, which was later refined.
Episode 2 • Jan 21, 2004
Computer
In Victorian times 'computers' were people who added up rows of figures. Now they are mechanical wonders - without them we couldn't fly planes, drive cars or even run our dishwashers. We need them, but will they ever get smart enough to take over? Jeremy tells the remarkable story of the computer's evolution from man with pencil to android with sub-machine gun. It's an epic spanning three centuries, a tale of passion, espionage and suicide - and it's far from over. Jeremy discovers that the threat from computers lies not with Schwarzenegger's Terminator but from a much more devastating computer - Armageddon. The computer might yet change the world in a way that none of us are expecting.
Episode 3 • Jan 28, 2004
Jet
Jeremy Clarkson flies around the world in around 72 hours to demonstrate just how small the jet engine has made the world - or has it.
Episode 4 • Feb 04, 2004
Telephone
Jeremy Clarkson takes a look at our global telecommunications networks and shows us how much these networks have changed how we live and communicate.
Episode 5 • Feb 11, 2004
Television
Television would never have developed without the cathode ray tube (CRT). It was invented by a German, Karl Ferdinand Braun, in 1897. A CRT is a glass vacuum tube with a narrow neck that flares into a flat "screen" at one end. The inside surface of the screen is covered with a phosphorescent layer. Electrons are fired at high voltage along the tube, illuminating when they hit the phosphorescent layer. Refined versions of this basic tube were at the heart of millions of TVs, radars and computer monitors manufactured in the 20th century.
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