The unstoppable Jim Al-Khalili reveals how humanity discovered the rules that drive the universe, and mastered the two most important concepts of the modern age – energy and information.

Energy is vital to us all, but what exactly is energy? In attempting to answer this question Jim investigates a strange set of laws that link together everything from engines to humans to stars. It turns out that energy, so critical to daily existence, actually helps us make sense of the entire universe.

In the second programme he discovers how we harnessed the power of symbols – everything from the first alphabet to the electric telegraph through to the modern digital age. But on this journey he learns that information isn't just about human communication, it's woven very profoundly into the fabric of reality…