The Story of Energy
- Episode aired Oct 16, 2012
- 59m
IMDb RATING
8.7/10
44
YOUR RATING
The history of physics: Thermal energy (thermodynamics)The history of physics: Thermal energy (thermodynamics)The history of physics: Thermal energy (thermodynamics)
Photos
Jim Al-Khalili
- Self - Presenter
- (as Professor Jim Al-Khalili)
Peter Atkins
- Self - University of Oxford
- (as Professor Peter Atkins)
Simon Schaffer
- Self - University of Cambridge
- (as Professor Simon Schaffer)
Andrea Sella
- Self - University College London
- (as Professor Andrea Sella)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Featured review
A story of energy that leaves a lot out
Right at the beginning, we are implicitly promised an answer to what energy is, but alas, the show never gives it. Instead, it changes it focus after the midpoint to entropy.
Now, there is a definite answer, and physicists know even if most of the public does not, but the film never even it touches upon it (for the curious: look up Noether's theorem).
Also, for something billed as "the story of energy" it is quite incomplete. Potential energy (Leibniz's "dead force") is never mentioned, and radiation and mass-energy are only alluded to in the most indirect terms. If anything, it should have been billed as the story of *thermal energy*, but even as such it is so incomplete as to be misleading.
The film implies that Boltzman came up with kinetic theory, but in fact Daniel Bernoulli did about 150 years before him; the link Joule established between mechanical and thermal Energy, Loschmidt's role in pointing out the difficulty in linking entropy to time, and Gibbs' achievements in organizing our modern understanding of statistical mechanics are all left out.
The film does have nice visuals, and some of the physics concepts and historical contexts are laid out in an engaging way, but in the end it feels like a bait and switch: we get entropy instead of energy, and the illusion of understanding, whether it be historical or physical, instead of the real thing.
Now, there is a definite answer, and physicists know even if most of the public does not, but the film never even it touches upon it (for the curious: look up Noether's theorem).
Also, for something billed as "the story of energy" it is quite incomplete. Potential energy (Leibniz's "dead force") is never mentioned, and radiation and mass-energy are only alluded to in the most indirect terms. If anything, it should have been billed as the story of *thermal energy*, but even as such it is so incomplete as to be misleading.
The film implies that Boltzman came up with kinetic theory, but in fact Daniel Bernoulli did about 150 years before him; the link Joule established between mechanical and thermal Energy, Loschmidt's role in pointing out the difficulty in linking entropy to time, and Gibbs' achievements in organizing our modern understanding of statistical mechanics are all left out.
The film does have nice visuals, and some of the physics concepts and historical contexts are laid out in an engaging way, but in the end it feels like a bait and switch: we get entropy instead of energy, and the illusion of understanding, whether it be historical or physical, instead of the real thing.
helpful•00
- Armin_Nikkhah_Shirazi
- Aug 2, 2022
Details
- Runtime59 minutes
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
Top Gap
What is the broadcast (satellite or terrestrial TV) release date of The Story of Energy (2012) in Australia?
Answer