Episodes

Once an ice skater gets going, friction between her skate and the ice creates a microscopic layer of water that allows the skate to hydroplane. But before she can get up to speed, and friction can melt the ice, it’s still slippery enough for her to start her glide. Why is ice so slippery? In the 1800s, scientist Michael Faraday conducted experiments to show that ice, even well below freezing, has a very thin layer of water on its surface. But the technology to see this layer did not exist. Nor d...

In 1911, Robert Scott and Roald Amundsen led expeditions to Antarctica, both hoping to be first to the South Pole. Amundsen’s crew left 20 days before Scott, using sled dogs. Scott’s team took a different route, using motorized snow tractors, hoping to speed their passage. After 77 days, Scott and his men finally reached the pole—only to find that Amundsen had beat them to it. With great disappointment, they turned back to their ship … when disaster struck. The temperature plummeted as the Antar...