Independent Lens
Season 10 Episode 6 - The Atom Smashers
THE ATOM SMASHERS explores what happens when politicians, not scientists, decide which scientific projects will be funded and which will be cut, and depicts the contradictions that arise when the most educated population in the world begins to doubt the place and value of science. Archival film and vintage footage illustrate the history of Fermilab and cultural attitudes towards science in America, with key scientific ideas brought to life through animation. Despite the setbacks, the physicists at Fermilab continue the search. Until Europe’s atom smasher goes online and starts generating the massive amounts of collisions it takes to find such a minute particle, there’s still a chance that they can win the race. As physicist John Conway says, “This work is too important not to be done somewhere.” But will it be done here in the U.S.? Or will he and the rest of the physicists at Fermilab soon be packing their bags for Europe?
Episodes in Season 10
Chicago 10
60 min
Dinner with the President: A Nation's Journey
60 min
Knee Deep
60 min
Lioness
60 min
March Point
60 min
The Atom Smashers
60 min
Wonders Are Many: The Making of "Doctor Atomic"
60 min
Wonders Are Many: The Making of 'Doctor Atomic'
60 min
Grey Gardens: From East Hampton to Broadway
60 min
Helvetica
60 min
Adjust You Color: The Truth of Petey Greene
60 min
Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Greene
60 min
The Order of Myths/Bi-Racial Hair
60 min
The Order of Myths
60 min
Lakshmi and Me
60 min
Recycle
60 min
Milking the Rhino
60 min
Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai
60 min
Steal a Pencil for Me
60 min
At Home in Utopia
60 min
Wings of Defeat
60 min
Crips and Bloods: Made in America
60 min
Stranded: The Andes Plane Crash Survivors
60 min
Steal a Pencil for Me
60 min
Ask Not
60 min
