Journey back in time for an eye-opening look at the amazing ancient roots of technologies we like to think of as modern. New research suggests that many of the inventions of the last 200 years may, in fact, have already been known to the ancients. In this hour, we explore the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient machine that was discovered deep in the Aegean Sea. Could it perhaps have been an ancient computer? Could Archimedes have had a hand in its creation?

This young Roman emperor had a fearsome reputation as a sadist, a murderer...and a raving lunatic.

When today's warriors go toe-to-toe in combat the weapon they rely on is the machine gun. From the crude machines of the 19th century to the slick weapons of today, Gunny takes us on a journey that looks at the engineering development of this rapid-fire battle winner. Learn how the "potato digger" machine gun got it's name, and why a hand held gun developed in 1965 is still the weapon of choice for the toughest warriors on the planet. Ermey compares the machine guns that stormed the beaches of D-Day--the Bren gun and the B.A.R.--with a classic shooting match. Then, Gunny cuts loose with the Special Forces wonder weapon, the MP-5, as used by the British SAS and American Navy Seals. Not only will you see these weapons in action, but with cutting-edge 3D GFX you will go inside the weapons--to see close up and personal the mechanism, operation and evolution of the machine gun.

The oldest known brothel in the world is discovered in Pompeii. A startling system is revealed that includes widespread prostitution and sexual slavery. Experts piece together the elaborate system and show how the sex trade helped reinforce class and power in Ancient Rome.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

For over 20 years, the Black Hawk has been the US Army's frontline utility helicopter for air assault, air cavalry, and medical evacuation. Today, the Black Hawk remains the world's most advanced twin-turbine military helicopter and flies wherever duty calls, from hot deserts to the icy Arctic. This is the dramatic story of how post-Vietnam, in the 1970s, the America designed and built a new generation of sophisticated helicopters.

Scientists are only now beginning to understand the most complex machine in the known universe--the brain. Go on a voyage of discovery into the evolutionary history of our last biological frontier. From early civilizations' attempts at neurosurgery to today's robotic laser surgery, revolutionary new techniques are finally unlocking the story of the brain. As a result, we've learned more in the last five years than in the past 100.

Albert Einstein's revolutionary theory that turned the world upside down might have been dismissed but for a math mistake, a cloudy sky, and the start of World War I. This fascinating two-hour special tells the story of Einstein's little-known, 15-year struggle to prove one of his most radical theories -- a theory that upended Newton and three centuries of scientific thought and called into question the definitions of space and light and gravity -- the game-changing concept known as the Theory of General Relativity. Today, more than a century since the "Miracle Year" in which he published many of his breakthrough papers, Einstein's ideas remain a living, vibrant influence. They continue to push scientists farther, and deeper, into the universe than even he could have imagined.

Outer space is already an essential part of America's ability to fight wars. Our military depends on satellites for many things, such as communications, reconnaissance and targeting information. But so far, no country has put weapons into space, although the U.S. and China have both shown they can shoot down satellites with ground-based missiles. If weapons do become a part of space, how will they work, how effective will they be, and what type of damage could they do? From ground-based lasers to telephone-pole sized rods hurtling from space at two miles per second to the far out weapons of the distant future, it's time to "lock and load" for Space Wars.

On alien planets, they rain from the sky as scalding iron. On distant moons, even at hundreds of degrees below zero, they slosh around in pristine lakes of methane. They can cover entire planets in miles-deep oceans of electrified hydrogen metal. Or erupt on alien worlds through miles-high geysers. They churn in the interiors of dead stars and even our own planet. They're so rare in the universe, they almost don't exist, but these are the magical liquids of our Liquid Universe.

They sort of sound like the same phenomenon, but Pulsars and Quasars are very different. Pulsars are tiny--only a few miles across--but they spin as fast as a kitchen blender and sweep the sky with beacons of radiation that make them appear to flash on and off. They have unbelievably strong magnetic fields, are more accurate than atomic clocks...and they can even tell aliens just where to find the Earth! Quasars are at the other end of the spectrum. Quasars are huge cores of galaxies with black holes that are called "monsters" and which spit lobes of radiating gas called "DRAGNs." Quasars are so far away, we see them as they were only in the distant past--meaning they existed only in the early universe, when they may have played a major role in the creation of the galaxies themselves.

Warp speed, transporters, wormholes and lasers--they are all staples of science fiction books, movies, and TV shows. But the fantastic world of tomorrow is quickly becoming the futuristic world of today. While you may not be "beaming" to your next appointment any time soon, researchers are preparing for the first tests of a present-day "transporter." And while scientists have long mocked Hollywood's visions of warp speed and faster-than-light travel as prohibited by Einstein's laws, a new generation of physicists continues to rewrite the fundamental rules of the universe. Is there a way around the cosmic speed limit? Maybe... as long as you're prepared to survive a journey through the ultra-high energies of one of the most violent places in the cosmos--the heart of a twisting, swirling vortex that leads either to strange, new worlds... or certain death.

The Universe is full of explosions that both create and destroy. The Chicxulub impact on the Yucatan peninsula, which may have wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, was two million times more powerful than the largest nuclear bomb ever detonated on Earth. But guess what? That's only good enough for the very bottom of the Biggest Blasts top ten list. This episode works its way up through supernova explosions and gamma ray bursts all the way to the blast that started it all--the Big Bang.

Throughout history, tidal waves have drowned us, storm surges have sunk cities, and hurricanes and cyclones--fueled by the ocean--have blown away all in their path. Today, science forecasts that the oceans are getting fiercer, rising up to reshape our coastlines and create untold devastation, social unrest and economic crisis. Track the history and evolution of the ocean's seven deadliest zones--locations that throughout history have been the direct causes of human devastation by floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, whirlpools, ice, underwater volcanoes, and shipping graveyards. Using expedition footage, 3D animation, and commentary from leading oceanographers, we'll depict the awesome cosmic and geological fluctuations that make the oceans deadly over time.

Catering to more than twenty million truckers, truck stops are bigger and better than ever. These mega-pit stops are essential to the trucks and truckers that haul eight billion tons of freight annually. Tour the world's largest truck stop that offers fuel, food, parking, private showers, a movie theater, a dentist office, and a barbershop. Look at how 18-wheelers can power up their rigs with a high tech parking lot hookup called IdleAire; complete with heat, air conditioning, a telephone line, a computer with high speed internet, and of course satellite TV. We'll also see how 30,000 gallon underground diesel storage tanks are manufactured. And we'll weigh and inspect a truck while it's barely slowing down. In an interview with Willie Nelson, we'll explore one of the most unique truck stops in the United States and the revolutionary fuel it sells: biodiesel.

Faces...and facts...fleshed out from the grave. Unprecedented technology brings to life extraordinary mirror images and powerful last impressions of history's most powerful men. Every line, every wrinkle, every expression tells a story. Forensic-science and anthropology experts have identified that history's most relevant figures left behind highly-detailed casts of their faces, created at their moment of death, to preserve their souls and physical memory for eternity. Using advanced facial-reconstruction techniques and 3-D imprint detailing, these death masks render an exact replica of every feature, and an intimate look at how their characteristics affected their lives. Includes startling new insights into the persistent mysteries surrounding these historic icons like Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon and George Washington, and just may reveal some secrets these men preferred to conceal.

It sprung up overnight in August, 1961--a makeshift blockade separating repressive, Soviet-controlled East Berlin from the Allied-run democracy to the west. Soon the barrier encircled all of West Berlin, sealing its two million citizens off from the rest of the world. As escape attempts escalated, deadlier obstacles were added. Eventually, a 97-mile barrier, virtually impenetrable, snaked along the border between East and West Berlin. And 28 years later, it came down as unexpectedly as it went up. Observe the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (November 9, 2009) with a dramatic look at how a line of railway cars and barbed wire evolved into the massively fortified fortress that came to symbolize the Cold War. Computer-generated imagery, re-enactments, archival footage, and expert commentary provide political and historical context while helping to illustrate how construction progressed over time--and how it was suddenly demolished by civilians in 1989.