Forces of Nature with Brian Cox S01E01 - The Universe in a Snowflake

In episode one, The Universe In A Snowflake, Brian uncovers how the stunning diversity of shapes in our natural world are shadows of the rules that govern the Universe. In Northern Spain he shows how a breathtaking attempt by hundreds of people to build the highest human tower reveals the force that shapes our planet.

In Nepal, honey-hunters seek out giant beehives that cling to precipitous cliff walls. The perfect hexagonal honeycombs made by the bees to store their precious honey conceal a mathematical rule.

Off the coast of Canada Brian explains how some of the most irregular, dangerous shapes in nature - massive icebergs that surge down from Greenland and into shipping lanes of the Atlantic - emerge from a powerful yet infinitely small force of nature. Even the most delicate six-sided snowflake tells an extraordinary story of the forces of nature that forged it - the same forces that created everything in the Universe.