PLUS (PT)

9:00 pm 

Nova  "Making Stuff Stronger"  Technology reporter David Pogue brings his off-beat humor and high-energy style to his role as host for this mini-series. Pogue examines everything from mollusks to a toucan's beak and reviews tests for the world's strongest materials. He travels from the deck of a U.S. naval aircraft carrier to a demolition derby. He checks in with experts who are re-engineering what nature has provided to create strong "stuff." Part 1 of 4G

10:00 pm 

Shattered Sky: The Battle for Energy, Economy, and Environment   Can history inspire us? Thirty years ago, scientists reported a hole in the ozone layer "the size of North America." The culprit was CFCs: the gas in hairspray, refrigerant, and air conditioning. Doctors predicted skyrocketing cancer, but business didn't want to change and politicians were slow to act . D

11:00 pm 

Alan Alda in Scientific American Frontiers  "The Dark Side of the Universe"  Alda joins astronomers as they wrestle with implications of their latest discoveries that indicate we see only a tiny fraction of the cosmos. Much of it may be dark matter or dark energy.G