Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World

A legendary artist studies the bodies of flying animals in extraordinary detail. This cements in his mind that, if we are to fly, we will need a machine to do the work for us.

Take to the sky with the dreamers whose work gave humans the ability to fly. From Leonardo da Vinci’s “flying machines” to the modern commercial plane, without these inventions, we may have never left the ground.

The invention of the rubber powered plane by a young Frenchman inspires the famous Wright brothers, who are just children at the time.

Over a thousand years ago, legend has it that Moorish pioneer Abass Ibn Firnas jumped from a cliff with feathers attached to his arms and legs. A modern day wing suit flyer recreates the feat using modern technology, with a spectacular flight.

A modern day jet man tells the story of the pioneer of the jetty engine - and demonstrates his awesome flying suit.

How a New York property boom led to the discovery of the distance to the stars.

In 1923, Edwin Hubble began the manual process of photographing the Andromeda Nebula. He spent many nights at the Hooker telescope collecting data and discovered that Andromeda was not a cluster of stars in our own galaxy but in fact a separate galaxy.

Learn how clear glass was born - and gave us spectacles almost 800 years ago.

Take a mind-blowing journey through human history, told through six iconic objects that modern people take for granted, and see how science, invention and technology built on one another to change everything.