Colour: The Spectrum of Science

NR2015•1h 0m

Documentary

We live in a world ablaze with colour. Rainbows and rainforests, oceans and humanity, Earth is the most colourful place we know of. But the colours we see are far more complex and fascinating than they appear. In this series, Dr Helen Czerski uncovers what colour is, how it works, and how it has written the story of our planet - from the colours that transformed a dull ball of rock into a vivid jewel to the colours that life has used to survive and thrive. But the story doesn't end there - there are also the colours that we can't see, the ones that lie beyond the rainbow. Each one has a fascinating story to tell.

Open in PickFlick

Production

BBC Scotland

Language

Status

Ended

First Aired

November 4, 2015

Last Aired

November 18, 2015

Networks

BBC Four

Created By

Toby Macdonald, Emma Oastler, Alex Hemingway

Trailers & Videos

Where to Watch

Region US · Lang EN

No providers available for this region.

Available in Your Library

Seasons & Episodes

Select a season to view episodes. Reddit links may contain spoilers.

Season

Colours of Earth

Air date: 2015-11-04

In the first episode, Helen seeks out the colours that turned planet Earth multicoloured. To investigate the essence of sunlight Helen travels to California to visit the largest solar telescope in the world. She discovers how the most vivid blue is formed from sulphur atoms deep within the Earth's crust and why the presence of red ochre is a key sign of life. In gold, she discovers why this most precious of metals shouldn't even exist on the surface of the planet and in white, Helen travels to one of the hottest places on Earth to explore the role salt and water played in shaping planet Earth.

Colours of Life

Air date: 2015-11-11

The raw, early Earth had plenty of colour, but that was nothing compared with what was going to come next. That canvas was about to be painted with a vast new palette - and the source of those colours was life. Green is the colour of the natural world and yet it's the one colour that plants have evolved not to use.

Beyond the Rainbow

Air date: 2015-11-18

The colours that we see are only a fraction of what's out there. Beyond the rainbow there are colours invisible to our eyes. In this episode, Dr Helen Czerski tells the story of scientific discovery. To see the universe in a whole new light, Helen takes to the skies in a NASA jumbo jet equipped with a 17-tonne infrared telescope.