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- Date:
- 1965
- Main contributors:
- Joseph Moray, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, John M. Davidson, Richard Gilbert, Arthur M. Kaye, Shirley Tebbe, Francesca Greene, Peter Smith, Carole Eickhoff, Davidson Films
- Summary:
- Delineates interesting facets of the development of our decimal system. Compares the additive, subtractive, multiplicative, and positional notation aspects of the Chinese, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Hindu-Arabic systems. Uses models to explain concepts which lead to greater understanding of base 10 systems. This film traces the historical development of our present decimal system--the Hindu-Arabic system of numeration. The meaning and importance of base ten, place value, grouping, numerals, and expanded notation are carefully described.
- Date:
- 1965
- Summary:
- Provides an opportunity for the viewer to compare the personality of Dorothea Lange, photographer-artist, with her work. Many of her photographs are presented; these cover various periods, such as the depression, World War II, and the growth of the urban sprawl in contemporary California. Lange is shown in her home as she states she is convinced the world is not being truly photographed at all today. To the present generation of photographers, she proposes a new photographic project with the cities of America as the subject--to be done on a scale comparable to that of the Farm Security Administration Photographic Project of the thirties.
- Date:
- 1965
- Summary:
- Provides a close view of Dorothea Lange and her photographs, enabling the viewer to share her deep involvement in her work and her philosophy as a photographer. Looks in on Lange as she prepares for a one-woman exhibition of her work covering the past fifty years and comments on the reasons and emotions that have moved her to photograph particular scenes. Represents, with her death in October, 1965, a memorial to her and to the despair and hope which she captured so well in her documentary photographs.
- Date:
- 1965
- Summary:
- Traces the development of American jazz dance, from tap dancing through the stylized theatrical form of the 1900's and orchestrated jazz of the Thirties, to the cool, abstract music of the Sixties. Demonstrates the basic steps of tap dance (sand shuffle, waltz clog, time step, buck and wing) as performed by Honi Coles. Presents Paula Kelly, Dudley Williams, and William Luther dancing to "Storyville, New Orleans" and the music recorded by Jelly Roll Morton, and Grover Dale and Michel Harty dancing in "Idiom 59" and to recorded music of the same title by Duke Ellington. Presents John Butler's choreography of music by Gunther Schuller, variations on a theme by John Lewis.
- Date:
- 1965
- Summary:
- Defines movies as glorified shadow shows and traces the motion picture revolution from a simple shadow on a wall to modern movies. Presents a history of the development of the movie camera, film, and other photographic inventions. Includes Al Jolson, Lon Chaney, Laurel and Hardy, and sequences from The Great Train Robbery and a Conquest of Space.
- Date:
- 1965
- Main contributors:
- Richard Lukin, Ron Allen
- Summary:
- Condensed version of "Gift of Choice" episode of Population Problem. Reports on experiments being carried out to determine the factors controlling pregnancies both to aid those who want children and to control fertility for those who want to limit family size.
- Date:
- 1965
- Summary:
- Illustrates Edward Weston's philosophy of photography and life through his writings, which he called "Daybooks." Relates the feelings of the photographer as photographs are presented from Weston's soft-focus period, his abstract photographs, and his work done in Mexico. Evaluates Weston as an artist through discussions by two of his sons, his second wife, and one of his former students.
- Date:
- 1965
- Summary:
- Illustrates Edward Weston's philosophy of photography through his photographs. Includes photographs from his study of Point Lobos, California; his record of California and the western United States; portraits of his cats; and samples from his satirical series and his civil defense series.
- Date:
- 1965
- Main contributors:
- Morton Gould, Sol Schoenbach, Clark Jones
- Summary:
- Introduces the music of the woodwinds. Presents the story of their evolution from outdoor performances to the concert hall. Includes the following: the Second Movement of Haydn's Divertimento in B Flat Major; the First Movement of Antonio Rosetti's Wind Quintet in E Flat; and the Pastorale of Gabriel Pierne.
- Date:
- 1965
- Summary:
- Presents music of the renaissance played by the New York Pro Musica using authentic instruments of the period. Demonstrates the recorder, brumhorn, sackbut, dulcian, viola da gamba, and shawm. Performs such compositions as: Passamezzo for the Coronettas, Galliard of Monsieur Wustrow, Galliard of the Battle, Reprise, Spanish Pavane, Bourree, The Queen's Courante, Passamezzo, and Galliard.
- Date:
- 1964
- Summary:
- The desert plains of central Idaho bore silent witness to many events in history – the coming of the Oregon Trail, the wars between the whites and the Indians, the events of the Old West, Today they are witnessing a change that is far more important – the coming of atomic power. On the lava plains of central Idaho is the National Reactor Testing Station, famous for “firsts” in nuclear energy. Here electricity was first generated from atomic energy and atomic power first was used to light a town. Principles of nuclear submarine propulsion were worked out in “a ship on the desert” in Idaho. “Challenge” visits the National Reactor Testing Station to look at a power plant of the future, a reactor that makes more nuclear fuel than it consumes. The principle is not perpetual motion. This reactor takes the part of uranium that is not fissionable fuel (more than 99 per cent of the total) and converts it into plutonium, a man made element that is a good nuclear fuel. Because the reactor “breeds” plutonium it is called a “breeder” reactor – Experimental Breeder Reactor-II. How this breeding is accomplished, and how fuel for EBR-II is fabricated by remote control, is explained in this program.
- Date:
- 1964
- Summary:
- A few years ago history was made at the United States Atomic Energy Commission’s Argonne National Laboratory where this program was filmed. This is the story of the dedicated research scientists whose search for truth ended a fallacy in chemistry which had existed for more than half a century. Although their efforts were not as exciting as the discovery that the world was round and not flat, the scientists at Argonne disproved that a group of elements called “inert gases” would not react with other elements to form compounds. This is not to imply that these elements – helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon – did not have utility. Helium is the gas used to send balloons aloft. Neon, argon, and krypton are used in light bulbs: xenon in high speed photographic cells; and radon in medical therapy to irradiate cancer cells. What the Argonne scientists investigated was the atomic structure of these elements. For years it had been falsely believed that the electrons within these elements could not combine with electrons within the atoms of other elements. Following a report of Canadian scientists, the researchers at Argonne found that, instead of picking up electrons from other atoms, some of these so-called “inert gases” actually gave up electrons when combined with other elements. Using Krypton, xenon, and radon, in separate experiments, the Argonne scientists succeeded in making compounds which previously were unheard of. In fact, they also found at least one xenon compound for which they weren’t looking. This was xenon trioxide, a powerful explosive, made from xenon and oxygen. Many new uses will doubtless be found for these new compounds, according to the scientists. One might be the use of xenon tetrafluoride to store large quantities of fluorine as an oxidizing agent in rocket fuel.
94. Algae (17:14)
- Date:
- 1964
- Summary:
- Depicts the five major groups of algae, showing growth, movement, reproduction, and nutritional patterns. Describes the tremendous size range of algae from the giant kelp to the minute forms found in a drop of pond water. Discusses the evolutionary development and the economic and ecological importance of the algae.
- Date:
- 1964
- Summary:
- Mr. Hoffer examines the role that works plays in self-esteem as well as the effects of growing automation upon this self-esteem. He comments on the basic human need in all societies, in every period of history, for self-realization. It is, he feels, the feeling of worth derived from productive activity whether it be manual labor or the creation of art, literature and philosophy. Mr. Hoffer points out that early science grew out of Western man’s conception of God as “a master scientist,” and that Leonardo da Vinci, for his art, investigated anatomy and became interested in science because he believed it was “God’s work.” He then traces the development of machines from early civilization to what he terms, “present day over-mechanization and automation.” Today’s fast-growing automation and shrinking labor market is turning early man’s dream of luxury and leisure into a nightmare. Unemployment among workers is outstripping the ability of today’s economy to supply jobs for the unskilled. Mr. Hoffer cites current unemployment figures and projects them into the future, commenting that “when man is cut off from the chance to exercise his skills, he loses his confidence, his joy for life, and his sense of worth. Where you have people without a sense of usefulness, you have a potentially explosive situation ideal for the growth of hatred, bigotry and racism.”
- Date:
- 1964
- Summary:
- Wild animal exhibitions originated with the menagerie, but jungle beasts as performers are relative newcomers to the circus. Because traveling menageries were so successful financially, circus operators around the turn of the century began to incorporate into their shows wild animal exhibitions with “lion tamers” in attendance. The American public flocked to see the dangerous denizens of faraway jungles paraded with great ballyhoo by nerveless human handles, and wild animal acts swiftly became an integral part of the circus. There is another kind of animal act which answers a different interest among circus audiences and comes out of a longer standing tradition than the wild animal acts: the tame animal act in which the animal, through meticulous training, is able to perform tricks exploiting the upper limits of its physical capability and intelligence. It is always with squeals of delight that the audience watches an animal –a seal, pony, chimpanzee, or dog –break into a routine which makes it look “human.”This program concentrates on these two kinds of animal performance. It uses as examples of the tame animal act the skillful and imaginative “Stephenson’s Dogs,” seen in rehearsal on the Ringling lot. In the wild animal category there are three different performers: Clyde Beatty, Pat Anthony, and Robert Baudy. In each case the viewer sees them at work with their “cats” (tigers and lions), while their voices come over their own performance shots describing the dangers of their profession, their training methods, how they groom the animals, and what happens when a snarling cat turns against his master (Anthony, who puts his arm in the mouth of a tiger, tells us that if the animal begins to bite his arm, he bites his ear, which makes the tiger relinquish its hold.) The three trainers on this program represent two different approaches to the art of the wild animal act. Both Pat Anthony (who studied animal training under the G.I. Bill) and veteran Clyde Beatty (whose performances are seen in both old and current film clips) give “fighting acts,” concentrating on the physical aspects of their performances –often wielding the gun and whip irritating the cats into loud roaring, and, in general, making it as clear as possible that a 165-pound man is taking on 8700 pounds of “unleashed jungle fury.” Robert Baudy, a Frenchman, has a different approach. His act emphasizes “style” rather than combat, and, clad in rich costume, he enters the steal arena with a more aesthetic objective than that of his colleagues Beatty and Anthony: he makes his Siberian tigers go through the paces of their impossible tricks with quiet, sinister, grace.
- Date:
- 1964
- Summary:
- In this program research scientists explore a mystery that has baffled man for ages – the life process itself. To gain knowledge that someday might answer questions such as, “How do plants make food?” and “What will control the spread of cancer?” Scientists at the United States Atomic Energy Commission’s Argonne National Laboratory are experimenting with the simplest forms of plant and animal life. One avenue of research is centered on the study of algae, one-celled green plants commonly found in pools of stagnant water. The algae were singled out because, like man, they are basically chemical factories – only infinitely more simple in structure. Scientists explain, in this program, how they have succeeded in growing algae in pure “heavy” water, a rare form of water that has hydrogen atoms that are twice as heavy as Normal hydrogen atoms.From a unique “algae farm” the scientists harvest these tiny plants. Their crop gives them chemicals that have heavy hydrogen in place of ordinary hydrogen atoms. Other larger plants are being grown successfully in mixtures of heavy water and ordinary water, and these also are valuable chemical factories.The scientists found that organisms growing in heavy water grow at a slower rate and have different nutritional requirements than organisms growing in ordinary water. From these findings, research scientists are exploring the possibility that heavy water might cause a slow-down in the aging process. Scientist has experimented also with mice to determine what effect heavy water has on animals. Already, they have succeeded in replacing about 30 percent of the normal water in mice with heavy water. Scientists have found that heavy water retards the growth of mice and that tissue which normally grows the fastest appeared to be the most retarded in growth. This latter finding may someday have a bearing on understanding cancer in humans and may lead to a breakthrough in its treatment.Other startling biological effects also have been demonstrated in organisms which have been given doses of “heavy” carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. In these experiments, scientists were able to alter the growth of the organisms. These alterations may hold further clues to the life process.
- Date:
- 1964
- Summary:
- What fingerprinting is to the F.B.I., spectroscopy is to the scientist. Through its use, astronomers have been able to learn more about the chemical composition of the sun than is known about the composition of the earth. Spectroscopy is used in food research to find impurities in canned food and cans of beer; it is used to trace the origin of paint found on a car in a hit-and-run accident; or to determine how jewelry was made centuries ago. Just how does this technique work? It is a simple story as explained by physicists at Argonne National Laboratory. Yet its applications are extremely precise. The basic instrument is the spectroscope, which can be as simple as a piece of glass used to split sunlight into a “rainbow” of color or as complicated as a piece of delicate apparatus that can single out sixty thousand different colors and requires a room as big as a small house. The use of spectroscopy was extremely important during the development of the atomic bomb. Large quantities of uranium and graphite were needed to produce the bomb, and scientists knew that the very success of the project depended on obtaining these elements in their purist forms. Using a spectroscope, scientists were able to measure the purity of the valuable elements. They knew that each element emits certain colors in the same manner that each man has different fingerprints. Thus, scientists could “look” at two pictures of different samples of uranium and determine which was the purer, since uranium containing impurities gave a different color or wavelength when photographed and compared with photographs of light from pure uranium. Scientists have spent literally years studying photographic plates from the spectrograph to determine the frequencies of light from specimens of chemical elements. The measurement and interpretation is an exacting and time-consuming task which is important if scientists are to understand the structure of atoms.
- Date:
- 1964
- Summary:
- This film, designed primarily for members of the medical, nursing and allied hospital professions, portrays an experiment in maternity care which is being conducted in the obstretical division of St. Mary's Hospital, Evansville, Indiana.
- Date:
- 1964
- Summary:
- The task of today’s mathematicians and computers is to keep abreast of the fast-moving world of nuclear research where yesterday’s successful experiments can be outdated tomorrow. To record the progress being made in this complex field, television camera crews went to the Atomic Energy Commission’s Argonne National Laboratory where in the Mathematics Division men and machines are working daily to process the avalanche of data, the results of thousands experiments that are performed each year at Argonne. In this program, “Machines that think” cameras focus on the latest computers which in a matter of minutes can analyze and solve problems that would take a team of mathematicians a life time to work out. The program reports on computers that have such names as Chloe, Phylis, Engine No.2, and Analog. Chloe is a computer capable of transforming picture patterns, such as chromosome alignments, into numbers, the meaningful language of computers. In the study of radiation effects on chromosomes, for example, Chloe can come up with faster and more accurate answers than human observers. Chloe’s information, in turn, can be fed to other computers which can interpret the findings and “tell” the experimented the results he’s getting while the experiment is still in progress. Still other computers are capable of making adjustments, again while the experiment is in progress, while others can make “decisions,” such as interrupting the function of a main computer to “ask” a question about the experiment. There are other new computers which can tell scientists whether or not their design in experimental models, such as rockets or reactors, will work –even before the machine is built. This is accomplished by feeding the computers mathematical models of the proposed rocket or reactor and asking the computer to test them. Their answers can save scientists years in experimenting by trial and error and millions of dollars necessary to build experimental models.