BBC: The Atom

In this three-part BBC documentary series, Professor Jim Al-Khalili tells the story of one of the greatest scientific discoveries ever: that the material world is made up of atoms.

Each episode is about an hour, but for those who are science geeks, this is cool stuff -- a nice overview of the history of the atom.

1) Atom - The Clash of the Titans

Professor Al-Khalili takes us from the discovery of the atom to the development of quantum mechanics.

2) Atom - The Key to the Cosmos

This episode tackles world-changing discoveries such as radioactivity, the Atom Bomb and the Big Bang, and tries to answer the biggest questions of all - why are we here and how were we made.

3) Atom - The Illusion of Reality

In the last in the series Professor Jim Al-Khalili explores how studying the atom forced us to rethink the nature of reality itself.

He discovers that there might be parallel universes in which different versions of us exist, finds out that empty space isn't empty at all, and investigates the differences in our perception of the world in the universe and the reality.

Tags: BBC, The Atom, Jim Al-Khalili, The Clash of the Titans, The Key to the Cosmos, The Illusion of Reality, space, physics, science