Forces of Nature

Brian Cox uncovers how the stunning diversity of shapes in our natural world are shadows of the rules that govern the Universe. In Nepal, honey-hunters seek out giant beehives. The perfect hexagonal honeycombs made by the bees conceal a mathematical rule. Even snowflakes tell an extraordinary story of the forces of nature that forged them, the same forces that created everything in the Universe.

Our planet is thundering through the universe at breakneck speed. But why can’t we feel it? Brian Cox follows Earth's journey through space. He flies in a jet to race the spin of the planet and reverse the passage of the day. Understanding motion helps us to understand the nature of space and time, leading to the astonishing conclusion that the past, present and future all exist right now.

Prof Cox shows how Earth's basic ingredients, like the pure sulphur mined in a deadly volcano, have become the building blocks of life. Hidden deep in a cave in the Dominican Republic lies a magical world created by the same property of water that makes it essential to life. Clinging to a precipitous dam wall in Italy, baby mountain goats seek out elements essential to their survival.

Professor Brian Cox travels to Iceland, where the delicate splendor of a moonbow reveals the colors that paint our world. By exploring how sunlight transforms the plains of the Serengeti, drives the annual migration of humpback whales to the Caribbean and paints the moon red during a lunar eclipse, he reveals the color signature of our life-supporting planet.