Big Trouble
Hannah Fry takes a spectacular look at the science of size. Hannah starts by asking whether things could be bigger, including Earth and living things.
This two-part special presented by Hannah Fry shows that when it comes to the universe, size really does matter. Hannah takes the audience into a thought experiment where the size of everything can be changed to reveal why things are the size they are.
Hannah starts her journey by asking whether everything could be bigger, finding out what life would be like on a bigger planet. As the Earth grows to outlandish proportions, gravity is the biggest challenge, and lying down becomes the new standing up. Flying in a Typhoon fighter jet with RAF flight lieutenant Mark Long, the programme discovers how higher G-force affects the human body, and how people could adapt to a high G-force world. But by the time Earth gets to the size of Jupiter, it's all over, as the moon would impact the planet and end life as we know it.
Next, Hannah tries to make living things bigger. The programme examines the gigantopithecus, the biggest ape to ever exist, creates a dog the size of a dinosaur and meets Sultan Kosen, the world's tallest man. Humans are then super-sized with the help of Professor Dean Falk to see what a human body would look like if we were 15m tall.
The sun gets expanded, and Professor Volker Bromm looks back in time to find the largest stars that ever existed, before the sun explodes in perhaps the biggest explosion since the big bang.
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Clips
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What would happen if Earth was bigger?
Duration: 04:07
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Could humans reach five metres tall?
Duration: 03:41
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Behind the scenes: Bringing the impossible to life
Duration: 06:01
Music Played
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James S. Levine
Nu Dimension
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Mansell Clinton Darrell
Shadows of Earth
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Hannah Fry |
Executive Producer | Jasper James |
Director | Matthew Thompson |
Writer | Matthew Thompson |
Director | Cremer van Dango |
Joe | Tyrel Meyer |
Production Company | Screen Glue Ltd |
Broadcasts
- Thu 19 Jul 2018 21:00
- Fri 20 Jul 2018 02:30
- Wed 31 Jul 2019 23:00
- Sun 4 Aug 2019 02:45
- Sun 25 Jul 2021 22:55