Johns Hopkins University chemistry professor John H. Andrews demonstrates that all matter vibrates in harmonic wave patterns. He begins by using an oscilloscope and slow motion camera to show a plucked harp string's fundamental vibration at 64 times per second and its harmonics at a faster vibration. He compares this with the two-dimensional vibration of a drum membrane, also viewed on the slow motion camera and oscilloscope. Dr. Andrews then progresses to the three-dimensional wavelength of a sphere and notes that different and more complex harmonic patterns are based on the shape of the object. Since no two statues are alike, their wave patterns are all unique, as evidenced when a gadget taps them repetitively and their sound is recorded on magnetic tape. Dr. Andrews slows the tape to hear specific sounds and compares this to slowing a LP record on a record player from high speed to the proper speed to make the words recognizable. He explains that the aggregate vibration of the whole statue is based on its external shape, like atomic and molecular vibration. He points out that the formula for entropy, the measurement of the complexity of harmonic pattern, is the same as the formula for information theory, the measurement of the amount of information in a communication. Thus, a statue has high information value because its complex external shape gives it a high shape entropy and it communicates more meaning. This concept has implications for the communication values of modern v. classical art.

Lynn Poole and Dr. John Woodburn, with the Masters in Teaching program at Johns Hopkins University, interview five students about their winning Science Fair projects: Roger Roberts demonstrates his computer-programmed "logical mouse" in a maze; Wayne Grimm discusses zonal distribution of land snails of Maryland; Ann Taylor experiments with radioactivity measurement in the dials of a clock; John Clauser demonstrates his electronic interceptor computer; and Jeannie Hodges discusses her study of goose pimples. Mr. Poole also talks with the 1950 National Science Fair winner, Dominic Edelen, who is now a design specialist in the manned satellite division of Martin Co. in Baltimore, Md.

In this first program of a three-part series, Dr. I. M. Levitt, Director of the Fels Planetarium of Philadelphia's Franklin Institute, describes the shape, characteristics, and historical formation of the moon. He explains that over 30,000 craters have been counted on the moon, including Tycho, and that the dark areas called "seas" by Galileo are actually deserts. Dr. Levitt predicts that because of its low gravity and lack of atmosphere the moon will be used as a launching site for exploring the solar system. For the same reasons, the moon is also an ideal place for asthmatics and heart sufferers. He discusses the Saturn rocket project under Wernher von Braun, which will launch a rocket to the moon. He anticipates that between 1962-68 a man will land on the moon, but first robots must probe the lunar surface and gather data such as temperature. A man models a Navy full pressure suit similar to what astronauts will use in their lunar exploration. Dr. Levitt also predicts that within the next 20 years a nearly self-sustaining colony will be established on the moon. Displaying a lunar housing simulation model, Dr. Levitt describes how fuel, water, atmosphere, and quarters can be made from readily available basic elements on the moon and how algae and hydroponics could form the basis of the food supply. He maintains that the moon is the key to the conquest of space because the earth's gravity is so strong it limits our exploratory distance. Lynn Poole concludes the program by recommending Levitt's recent book "Target for Tomorrow."

In this second program of a three-part series, astronomical historian and lecturer John Williams Streeter describes Venus as the morning and evening star and tells the viewers when and where to observe it. He gives the planet's distance from sun and earth, its solar orbiting time, its measurements, and its mass, density, and surface gravity and then announces, "That's all we know." A brief history of the astronomers who made telescopic observations and early drawings of Venus include Galileo in 1609, Francesco Fontana in 1645, Gian Domenico Cassini in 1666, Francesco Bianchini, William Herschel, and Johann Schroter in 1788. Mr. Streeter says that Venus apparently has an atmosphere because it reflects sunlight and thus must be covered by dense white clouds. Venus's atmosphere was first thought to be like that of the carboniferous period on earth, but a subsequent spectroscopic study showed nothing but carbon dioxide, permitting no life as we know it. However, the Venusian ocean may support one-celled animals. Mr. Streeter describes the history of speculated life on Venus and shows early sketches of Venusians. Film clips show the 1959 balloon and gondola designed by Johns Hopkins University's Dr. John Strong and piloted by Navy commander Malcolm Ross. It rose to an altitude of 80,000, and its spectroscopic data, analyzed by physicist Charles Moore, showed measurable water vapor on Venus. In order for a rocket to reach Venus, Mr. Streeter predicts, it would launch from the moon, choose a route requiring the least fuel, and not reach its destination for over two years.

As historical background to 1959 Doppler radar navigation systems, an animated film considers the use of Ptolemy and Mercator's maps, the magnetic compass, and John Hadley's 1731 sextant. Clarence Rice, aviation products manager of the Bendix Radio Division in Baltimore, MD, points out that aviation navigation depends on knowing the ground speed and the path of the aircraft over the earth. He uses a chart to demonstrate the effects of winds on plane direction and the efforts to compensate: a homing device, which did not account for wind drift and also picked up static interference; the radio range system, which used four beams to overcome the drift problem but still received static; and the manual direction finder, which became the standard aid in the 1930s. A film describes how, in 1939, Bendix developed the automatic direction finder (ADF) with omnirange, which also eliminated static. Over the ocean, LORAN, or long range navigation, devices were used. Another animated film shows how Christian Doppler, in 1842, described the Doppler effect based on sound waves and how that principle has been applied to radar's radio waves. The film explains the "plus" Doppler effect for direct measurement of forward speeds and the "minus" for measurement of drift angle. Pitch and roll are also corrected by the radar beams since beam compensation is based on the magnitude of the Doppler shift. A plane's Doppler radar components include a transmitter, antennae, receiver, frequency tracker, and cockpit indicator. Mr. Rice explains how pilots divide their flights into shorter legs, placing the information into the navigational computer. He notes that Doppler radar will not become obsolete with faster aircraft speeds and that it does not require a land-based facility.

In this final program of a three-part series, Robert Neathery, Director of the Science Museum of Philadelphia's Franklin Institute, discusses the possibility of life on Mars by first defining the needs of life as we know it: water, oxygen, food, moderate temperatures, adaptation to gravitational forces, and protection from radiation. He then gives the history of Mars from Francesco Fontana's 1636 drawing of the planet to Christian Huygens' comments on possible inhabitants of Mars and Giovanni Schiaparelli's 1877 observation of Mars's channels (mistakenly translated as "canals" by others). Mr. Neathery describes a diagram of the planet's orbit between 1956-71 indicating its nearness to the earth every 15 years. Aerology, or the study of the features of Mars, is done with telescope, spectroscope, thermocouple, and camera and reveals polar caps that wax and wane and a reddish color, thought to be desert, covering 75% of the planet's surface. Dr. Neathery shows a cactus in a bell jar containing nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, and oxygen in proportions considered similar to those in the Martian atmosphere and compares it to a cactus plant outside the jar. He also uses balloons filled with nitrogen or helium to demonstrate the escape velocity of gravity on earth as compared to the lower surface gravity on Mars. Because oxygen is nearly non-existent on Mars, the temperatures are extreme, and it's unclear whether chlorophyll exists on the planet, Dr. Neathery concludes that Mars is inhospitable to life as we know it. However, he is certain that man's curiosity will take him there. The trip will take eight months, and an artist's rendition shows what will be seen upon landing. Dr. Neathery laments that the public's belief in Orson Welles's 1938 "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast is a sad commentary on their understanding of science.

Lynn Poole summarizes some of the fourteen areas of activities taking place during the International Geophysical Year (IGY), 7/1/57 - 12/30/58: aurora and airglow, cosmic rays, geomagnetism, meteorology, solar activity, glaciography, gravity, ionospherics, longitude and latitude, oceanography, rocketry, satellites, seismology, and world days. IGY was timed to coincide with the high point of the eleven-year cycle of sunspot activity. A few of the highlights include Dr. William Markowitz's Moon Camera for measuring precise time, the use of the sea gravimeter to record changes in the earth's gravity, Dr. Harry Wexler's U.S. expedition to Antarctica to study atmospheric circulation and other meteorological phenomena, a recording of "whistlers" or low frequency radio signals caused by lightning flashes, John Simpson's study of primary and secondary cosmic rays, the use of the Baker-Nunn satellite tracking camera, and Dr. James Van Allen's Explorer I orbiting satellite.

Dr. George Carter, geology professor at Johns Hopkins University, shows a "talking board" discovered in 1868 on Easter Island and discusses previous attempts to decipher its symbols, called rongorongo, as writing or decoration. A film clip of Byrd's expedition party visiting the stone statues on Easter Island sets the scene. Bishop Tepano Jaussen of Tahiti was the first person to investigate this mystery, and he ultimately published a dictionary of identified glyphs in 1898. He was followed by Thomas Crafts, who concluded that the symbols were just decorations; William J. Thomson, who attempted unsuccessfully to have a story board translated; Bishop Claessens, who reported that figures on an island in the Seychelles were similar to the rongorongo; Lacouperie, who discovered seals in south India similar to the Easter Island symbols; and, William Hevesy, who pointed out the similarities of seals excavated in the Indus Valley to forms on Easter Island.

Lynn Poole describes the two formative revolutions during John Locke's lifetime (1632-1704): the Puritan Revolution and the Glorious Revolution. Costumed actors examine Locke's ideas on government that led to his 1690 publication of "Two Treatises of Government," on natural rights theory and the social contract. Locke argued that all governments are a contract between the governing and governed and that the government rests on the consent of the governed. Lynn Poole reads from Locke's "A Letter Concerning Toleration," a religious tract. Subsequent acted scenes show Locke's later influence: a 1750 rationalist claims the most influential works are the Bible and Locke's publishings, such as "Some Thoughts Concerning Education," and "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding;" a 1776 American patriot demonstrates how Locke's political ideas are reflected in the Declaration of Independence; and a 1789 Frenchman explains how Locke's concepts were expanded by Voltaire.

This program, first in a series of six about men who changed the world, shows the impact of Sigmund Freud's ideas on our lives. Lynn Poole briefly discusses Freud's early work with Joseph Breuer, who used hypnosis to treat patients with hysteria. This led to Freud's version of psychoanalysis. He believed that the human personality was composed of the conscious and unconscious mind and that impressions in childhood, predominantly sexual, which the conscious mind refused to accept became neuroses in the unconscious mind. Freud's publications affected all disciplines, as evidenced in the reading of a stream of consciousness passage from James Joyce's "Ulysses." The impact was similar in art works such as Salvador Dali's "Persistence of Memory" and Yves Tanguy's "Mama, Papa is Wounded!" Freud's influence on poetry is proven by comparing love poetry written by William Wordsworth in 1804 with that of W. H. Auden written in 1958. Freud's mark on child rearing is apparent when compared to recent works on the subject.