Underwater science in HD

Want to watch live, underwater science experiments in widescreen HDTV? Researchers at three different universities did, so they put together a complete mobile research setup. Using robotic submersibles, the researchers and students are viewing hydrothermal vents in the middle of the Atlantic, via 52-inch Plasma Display Panel HD sets.

Leave all of this high-tech to the man who found the Titanic, Robert Ballard. Ballard currently directs an archaeologoy oceanography program at the University of Rhode Island and created the concept used for the remote experiments. The entire operation is comprised of fiber-optic cables, satellite feeds and internet connections that return an HDTV signal to participants. The best part of the operation: the live feed is shared with various museums and aquariums, as well as 50 Boys and Girls clubs.