
NOVA is airing a two part special called “Absolute Zero: The Story of the Harnessing of Cold and the Race to Reach the Lowest Temperature Possible.” The two, one hour specials explore the mysterious realm of the coldest of cold. Part one starts at the turn of the 16th century and explores the first pursuits of scientists to understand hot and cold; the second half follows things up to the present day as scientists look for ways to get within fractions of a degree from absolute zero. Catch it on PBS Tuesday, January 8 and 15 at 8pm EST.
I highly recommend checking out NOVA’s website for some great articles in relation to the special (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/). Did you know refrigeration is one of the three inventions that most impacted the formation of cities? The three essentials were elevators (allowing for tall buildings = lots of people in small spaces), the telegraph [and later the telephone](allowing manufacturers and businesses to be away from their consumers and/or their producers), and refrigeration (so you didn’t have to have a farm nearby). The article points out that the locomotive often gets the most credit for settling the west, but refrigeration was a comparable development.

Picture Credit: http://www.mudsugar.com/uploads/a_christmas_story.jpg
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/zero/hot.html
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