Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World

A legendary artist studies the bodies of flying animals in extraordinary detail.

Take a journey through history, told through six objects modern people take for granted.

Take to the sky with the dreamers whose work gave humans the ability to fly.

Check out the history of robots and learn how they are becoming a part of everyday life.

Go for a ride through the 9,000-year history of the ultimate freedom machine: the car.

Blast off into history to see how rockets originated not in the sky, but in a cave.

Dial in to the fascinating history of the smartphone.

Hedy Lamarr invents a way to control torpedoes remotely.

Franklin Chang-Diaz demonstrates the energy required to launch a rocket into space.

In 1886 Karl Benz has his patent accepted for what is regarded as the first automobile.

The invention of the rubber powered plane inspires the famous Wright brothers.

How a New York property boom led to the discovery of the distance to the stars.

In 1923, Edwin Hubble began the manual process of photographing the Andromeda Nebula.

Polybius invents a code so words can be exchanged between battalions freely.

Jim Al-Khalili demonstrates why hydrogen is the ultimate rocket fuel.

In 1909, the Model T’s first year of production, Henry Ford sells over 10,000 cars.

How military robots let the charge towards autonomous machines.

A lab in Germany is developing a robot that could fill factories with mechanical workers.

Legend has it Ibn Firnas jumped from a cliff with feathers attached to his arms and legs.

A modern day jet man tells the story of the pioneer of the jetty engine.

Learn how clear glass was born - and gave us spectacles almost 800 years ago.