281. The unity of science (29:59)

Date:
1957
Summary:
Physicists and biophysicists find common ground in interpreting the oscillation of a suspended spring. It is a simple piece of coiled metal which pulses over a small pool of mercury. The spring and the mercury are connected to a battery. Both scientists agree that the motion, regular and seemingly tireless, results from a design embodying the principle of “positive feedback.” From the biophysicist’s point of view, the pulsing spring is rather like the beating human heart. More and more areas of agreement common to all branches of science thus seems, as Professor LeCorbeiller puts it, “too beautiful not to be true.” And if science is one in revealing nature, will it not demonstrate that nature itself is one … animate and inanimate, spring and heart, body and tone?

282. The use of philosophy (29:55)

Date:
1957
Summary:
This is the first of a series of four discussions on philosophy. In it, Dr. Adler defines philosophy and discusses the relationship of philosophy to science and religion. He also answers the question whether man needs a philosophy of life and reveals his belief that philosophy is useful and, in fact, is the foundation of all learning.

283. The V-2 (14:50)

Date:
1957
Summary:
The V-2 was called the A-4 by the Germans and as such should have been the fourth in the A series of missiles. Actually it was the fifth since the A-5 was predecessor to the V-2. The A-4 incorporated most of the latest rocket knowledge and even extrapolated by increasing the dimensions greatly over any missile that had previously been built. Pumping of propellants and cooling of the motor were two major problems that were solved. Since the collapse of Germany, the V-2 has been used in several novel experiments.

284. The Viking (15:12)

Date:
1957
Summary:
Shows fueling operation, static firing, and the actual firing of the Viking missile. Pictures the recovery of the rocket after it has fallen, and explains that upper air information may be obtained by the study of the parts that are recovered.

285. The voices of a string quartet (24:07)

Date:
1957
Summary:
Introduces the instruments of the string quartet and indicates their similarities and differences. Presents selections in a variety of moods, including musical imitations of brasses, organ and harp. Features the Juilliard String Quartet. Includes musical selections by Ravel, Haydn, Casella, and Beethoven.

286. The way of ants (29:22)

Date:
1957
Summary:
The ants are social insects with a fascinating story of division of labor and social organization. Their history of how this social structure developed from very simple beginnings to more complicated systems is interesting too. You’ll find that some ants eat protein food while others are vegetarians, and you’ll discover that the kind of society which ants maintain is related to their food habits. Robert Willey, an entomologist, will demonstrate these things with live colonies of ants. You’ll learn too how to keep an ant colony and what kinds of questions about behavior of ants you might answer by observation. On film, you will see an ant herdsman tending the aphid cows and stoking them to secure their sweet honeydew.

287. The writer's tone of voice (29:15)

Date:
1957
Summary:
Illustrates, through music and poetry, the importance of interpreting the writer's tone of voice in deriving meaning from written communication. Defines tone as the relationship between what is meant and what is said. Points out that all written communication has some kind of tone. Discusses the reader's responsibility in reading the right tone from the printed page. (KETC) Kinescope.

288. Treasures from the land of the Bible (28:48)

Date:
1957
Summary:
Discusses the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls; explains how the scrolls came into being, who wrote them and why, and what they mean today. Includes a study of Palestine, beginning with its earliest recorded history; and shows samples of Palestinian art.

289. Turbojets, Pulse Jets, and Ram Jets (14:41)

Date:
1957
Summary:
Contrasts pulse jets, turbojets, and ramjets to a true rocket. Compares the operation of a true rocket engine with that of a jet engine, and explains the operation of the three types of jet engines showing the advantages and disadvantages of each. (New Mexico College of A. & M.A.)

290. Turtles (29:30)

Date:
1957
Summary:
Turtles are reptiles along with snakes, lizards and crocodiles. The turtle has a remarkable history, too. He has been around for 200 million years and is relatively unchanged from his early ancestors. On this program you’ll find out about the turtle’s adaptations for his kind of life, for instance the way he breathes. Animals with lungs usually use their ribs to aid in expansion of the chest for breathing, but since the turtle’s ribs re part of his armor of shell, he cannot do this. What does he do? You find this out along with meeting several species of turtles and learning how to tell the age of these long-lived reptiles. Fifteen-year-old Frank Maurer, of Newton, Mass. is the guest of Mrs. Grimes. He is generally interested in science and especially in turtles, frogs, and snakes which he keeps as pets.

291. Unconscious understanding (29:54)

Date:
1957
Summary:
What is the role of unconscious understanding, in dreams, in poetry, and in wit and humor? It plays a major part in all of these. In wit, satire, and puns, the unconscious understanding contributes largely to the meaning. Humor often loses all effect if it must be explained, but rather depends upon immediate, unconscious awareness of the point. Prof. Boring gives many amusing examples from literature.

292. Underpainting (29:49)

Date:
1957
Summary:
After putting the outline of his main figure on the canvas, Painter Reinhardt does something which non-artists might consider astonishing: he begins to cover the figure with the “underpainting.” But as he talks and explains what he is doing, another technique of the artist becomes clear. With this part of the job done, the audience is left to await the next step in the making of a painting.

293. Voici la France (28:24)

Date:
1957
Summary:
This stunning Pan Am Airlines travelogue of Paris and France was directed by Harry L. Coleman, and features images of the "City of Lights" from the late 1950s. These include standard tourist fare such as the Notre Dame Cathedral, Eiffel Tower, Versailles, The Louvre, Arch of Triumph, Seine River, Montmartre, etc. to images of everyday life in the bustling city -- with its cars, motorbikes and bicycles -- the bird market of Sacre Couer, and the Paris flea market. A visit to rural areas beyond Paris includes Brittany, the winemaking regions, Champagne, Mont Blanc and the French Alps.

294. Wanderers on the fringe (29:42)

Date:
1957
Summary:
Curator Wilkinson returns on this program to present the story of the Nomad Scythians who ranged the Russian plains during the Sixth Century BC. Exhibits include examples of Scythian metal work, which was extremely avant-garde for that day. Discussion emphasizes the inventiveness, imaginativeness, and other cultural characteristics of these ancestors of the Russians.

295. Water color painting in the world of art (30:12)

Date:
1957
Summary:
In this program, Mr. Fitzpatrick discusses water color, which, because of its spontaneous, lucid quality, is intriguing both to the artist and the layman alike. Watercolor paintings by well-known painters, such as John Marin and Winslow Homer, are discussed as to subject, technique, composition, and total effect. The tools and materials of the craft are explained, and a variety of methods in their use are demonstrated, with emphasis on the creative approach. Experimental, contemporary examples of watercolor painting will be viewed and explained in relation to the processes previously demonstrated.

296. Webs and Their Weavers (29:46)

Date:
1957
Summary:
Many people fear all spiders to such an extent that they have never explored this interesting world of living things. Only a few spiders are harmful to human beings, and the other thousands of kinds are often shunned because of these. Here is a new insight into the spider, a creature with eight eyes, glands to produce several kinds of silk, and instinctual knowledge to build snares so complicated and beautiful that man has to admire their design and efficiency. On beautiful film, taken by Charles Walcott, you’ll see Charlotte, (Aranea cavatics, the barn spider that EB White wrote about in Charlotte’s Web) spin her web and catch prey. Other film sequences will show how a funnel-web spider uses her sheet web, and how a crab spider, camouflaged like a flower, needs no web at all but awaits his victim on a plant.

297. Wellmet House (29:30)

Date:
19uu
Summary:
Explains that Wellmet House attempts to rehabilitate the mentally ill not by gaining conforming behavior but by helping them relate to other people in natural and unstructured ways. Points out that half of the residents are mentally ill and the other half are college students from nearby universities who staff Wellmet House. Emphasizes the need for each patient to find individual expression. Shows patients and staff at dinner, parties, the local pub, and a house meeting.

298. Westward to Greece (29:31)

Date:
1957
Summary:
Discusses current theories on the origin of the Semitic alphabet. Illustrates the acrophonic principle of alphabetization by the development of several letters from the Semitic through the Greek and finally to their Latin forms. Explains the emergence of the Greek letters into Eastern and Western systems. Features Dr. Frank Baxter.

299. Whales and whalermen (21:54)

Date:
1957
Summary:
Depicts a whale hunt in the Indian Ocean off the coast of South Africa. Shows life on board the whaler and events preparatory to the finding and killing of these mammals. Explains that whaling is an important industry centered at the port of Durban in South Africa.

300. What do you like best and least? (29:56)

Date:
1957
Summary:
There is a definite reason for most of your likes and dislikes, says Prof. Boring. He shows how measurements of them can be taken themselves, examples of preferred experiences which are largely results of learning; for example, pleasant pains, dissonance in musical intervals, and cultivated smells. He reminds us that man is a behaving organism that tries to get what he likes and likes what he tries to get, and that his preferences are established by heredity and learning.