Pace and Timing: a review of Adventures in Space and Time

Adventures in Space and Time

Brian Cox’s latest science documentary series, Adventures in Space and Time, is billed as an update on all his previous documentaries, made between 2008 and 2019. You might wonder how much has changed in the realms of astromony and particle physics in that amount of time. The answer is, quite a bit, but not really enough to justify a full documentary series. So what we have is a four-hour series, split into four episodes, which provides a good overview of the things Cox discussed in his prior series, and a glance at some of the changes that have come down, some of which are actually momentous, such as the discovery of gravity waves, and the first image of a black hole.

Not in evidence are such things as the new hypothesis that the center of the Milky Way might be anti-matter rather than a black hole, or the notion that a black hole could retain the data of the matter sucked in. There isn’t mention of the discoveries made by Perseverance on Mars, although the series does give an exciting look at the newly-discovered features of Pluto.

The four episodes each have their own focus. The first is titled, “Space: How Far Can We Go?” and features the challenges of planetary exploration. Not surprisingly, Cox considers Mars to be the limit with our space technology, and it remains a daunting challenge. I was hoping he might explore the ramifications of fusion power, now moving forward at a high velocity, and the subsequent possibility of constant-thrust rockets that could put the entire solar system within our grasp, but not this time.

The second episode is “Aliens: Are We Alone?” and of course there are no significant developments there. No signs yet of Klaatu, the Gubru, or ET. But it’s a good overview of the SETI project with interviews with the more rational dreamers out there.

“What is Gravity?” is a good review of the present state of knowledge of the weak force in the universe that has the most profound impact on us here. Some of the most interesting interviews are with astronauts who have been in microgravity for months.

“What is Time?” is the most intellectually-challenging and thus interesting of the four episodes. He cheerfully explored the mindbending (and proven) concept that time is not a constant, and in local terms, is affected by how far above Earth’s center we are, or how fast our daily trip around Earth’s axis is. (We’re all going eastward, but people at the pole hardly move at all, whilst people at the equator are doing a bit over 1,600 km/hour.) He also explains how entropy ensures that time is a one-way trip.

Not a lot new in this series, but a solid recap of Cox’s prior efforts, done in his effortless approachability and dry wit.

Now on BBC2 and YouTube.