Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World
How visionaries changed the world.
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UPCOMING EPISODES
Mon, 3/30 at 1:00 pm America/Chicago on Austin PBS WORLD
The Telescope
A look at how the telescope was invented, from Galileo to Edwin Hubble, and how the invention reaches the universe 13 billion light-years out.
Mon, 3/30 at 2:00 pm America/Chicago on Austin PBS WORLD
The Airplane
A look at inventions that gave humans the ability to fly, from Leonardo da Vinci's flying machines to modern commercial planes.
Mon, 3/30 at 3:00 pm America/Chicago on Austin PBS WORLD
The Robot
Robots are first conceptualized in ancient Rome; how uses for robots have evolved over the centuries, from the calculator to the Roomba; what future robots might be able to do.
Tue, 3/31 at 1:00 pm America/Chicago on Austin PBS WORLD
The Car
The 9,000-year history of the car, from its roots in dog sleds to Henry Ford's Model T; the next generation of self-driving automobiles.
Tue, 3/31 at 2:00 pm America/Chicago on Austin PBS WORLD
The Rocket
The history of the rocket, from its origin in ancient China to its use as a weapon of war; how adding hydrogen allowed rockets to carry astronauts to the moon.
Tue, 3/31 at 3:00 pm America/Chicago on Austin PBS WORLD
The Smartphone
The history of the smartphone, from its roots in Morse code to Apple's unveiling of the first-ever iPhone in 2007; how the next generation of smartphones may allow for communication just by thinking.