StarTalk Radio - Cosmic Queries – The Deep Part II

Episode Date: January 20, 2020

Time to get even deeper! Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice answer fan-submitted questions on the multiverse, the Big Bang, time travel, dark matter, sunlight, and more in Part II of Cosmic Queries – The Deep. NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons and All-Access subscribers can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://www.startalkradio.net/show/cosmic-queries-the-deep-part-ii/ Thanks to this week’s Patrons for supporting us: Ryan MacNeil, Mark Medina, Dan Wuduku Mayn Kennedy, Keelia Silvis, Shane A McDaniel. Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Caltech/P.Ogle et al; Optical: NASA/STScI; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to new episodes ad-free and a whole week early.

Welcome to StarTalk, your place in the universe where science and pop culture collide. StarTalk begins right now. This is StarTalk. Neil deGrasse Tyson, your personal astrophysicist, reporting to you live from my office at the Hayden Planetarium. Chuck, nice. That's right, sir. What's happening? We've got Cosmic Queries.

And so what's today's topic? Well, you know, we did Cosmic Queries, The Deep. What does that mean? I forgot. You know, we went deep on some issues. Like, you know, we got a little more in-depth than we normally do. Oh, it was multiple topics. We just got deep.

We just got deep. And now we're going The Deep Part 2 because there were so many questions. The Deep, the sequel. Oh, look at that. This time, it's personal. You know, the movie The Deep, I think, had an astrophysicist in it.

Okay, wait. And it was directed by... Is that Ed Harris, The Deep? Yes! That is Ed Harris. I think it was. And so there were creatures from outer space, but yet they resided in the ocean. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Right. Yeah, not bad. And it was love, of course, at the end that redeemed us as a species and caused them to say, you know what, we're not going to destroy you. All right, cool. Well, this is, of course... Aliens are so not going to be like that. No, they're not.

By the way, probably they'd be like, you do realize love is nothing but a biological function that you guys experience in your brains, and we have no idea what it really is. And, yep, you're food. Food to us, yes. You're food to us. It's a cookbook.

Go. All right, we always start with the Patreon. And I don't always know the answers. No, you don't know. Well, you don't know the questions. So, you know, how would you I don't always know the answers. No, you don't know. Well, you don't know the questions. So, you know. Yeah, I don't have a question. How would you know if you would know the answers?

But you do always have an answer. You may not know the answer, but you have an answer. That's for sure. I don't know if that was a compliment or an insult. I have to think that through. Not neither. That was just an observation. That was, you know.

No, you normally do have the answer, which I find fascinating, you know, to be honest. And whatever. What else would I be? Just to be clear, the goal of Cosmic Queries is not to try to stump you. That's not the point of this. No, it's people ask questions. If you've got questions and I have the answer, I'll share it. There you go.

This is John Donahue. And he says, how is there anything at all? Which came first? Space or the Big Bang? Chicken and egg with the universe. First of all,

the chicken and egg has been solved. So stop mentioning chicken and egg. Really? Yeah, egg came first. Alright. Thanks for that. Okay. Are we done there? Where did the egg. Really? Yeah, egg came first. All right. Thanks for that. Okay. Are we done there? Where did the egg come from? From a bird that was not a chicken.

Oh, snap. Okay. That is just crazy. How's that? That's just evolution by natural selection. That's natural selection. At some point, the bird that lays the egg that you're calling a chicken is some other bird that you're not calling a chicken. Right.

Now, obviously, it's probably several generations. It took some time. Philosophically, this is what's happening. But it... So the egg came first. We're done there. We're done.

The egg came first. There you go. All right, so now, I can tell you what our thinking is, but there's not some measurement of this to verify it. Our thinking... That makes sense.

Our thinking is that the Big Bang exploded into existence space matter matter and energy as well as the hour of time itself.

So time, space, and matter. So to even ask what was around before the Big Bang we'd be like asking what is north of the North Pole? Oh, I got you. What is north of the North Pole?

The question has no meaning. There you go. Got you. See? Just because you can put nouns and verbs in the right sequence doesn't mean that they have actual meaning. Don't mean jack. Okay, so let me get this straight.

Yeah. This singularity happens. Boom. A second later, everything else that is, is inside of that. Yes. So time and space and all the matter. Energy and matter. Energy and matter, which we're going to call the same thing.

You know, one turns into the other. All of that is inside of this thing that now is in existence. Yes. Dude, that's crazy what you just said that's our current understanding dude that's amazing so that would mean that if space is nothing oh my head is hurting right now because i'm trying to think about if you want space to be nothing yes where there's no then what would you you need how word. How do you make the nothing? Because nothing is space. You need a word to describe where there is no space. Wow, dude.

Oh my God, that's crazy. Where there is no nothing. That's right. So now, so here's what I'm trying. You don't really have a word for that. No, you don't. Right. Now, in fact.

Let's call it something. No, we should call that nothing. And we should call what we have something. Like it's something that's nothing. Yes. Ooh, Chuck invents a word. There you go. Something.

Because really nothing is what we're talking about. That's really what we're talking about. That's really what we're talking about is nothing. But now we want to talk about something that is nothing. That should be something. Ooh, Chuck. Nice. Chuck bucking for the OED.

Tomorrow morning you get the phone. Hello, this is the Oxford English Dictionary. Did you invent a word yesterday? Oh, man. So now what I'm trying to envision is what is around that singularity? It's embedded in a higher dimension. Right. It's like if you're an ant crawling inside this sheet of paper

and that's your world you have no concept of what's above or below it even though we do because we're higher dimension because you can lift the paper up and see underneath the paper while the ant

is still on the paper but that ant can never see underneath that paper he can't see no no the ant is in the paper right that's what I'm saying

no it's in the paper in the paper so he can't see above or below he can never see what's underneath it correct that's crazy that's what I'm saying. No, it's in the paper. In the paper. So he can't see above or below. Correct. He can never see what's underneath it. Correct. That's crazy. That's dimensionality.

So that's it. So basically what we're talking about, this nothing is really only resonant in a higher dimension at the time when the singularity is... Now, the higher dimension, people might say, it's embedded in this thing that they call something. Right. Even though if it's nothing to us.

Wow. Yeah. Wow. Even though if it's nothing to us. Wow. Yeah. Wow. That is great. That was, dude, what's his name? John? John, thank you for that. John Donahue?

John Donahue. All right. Nice. That was excellent. Oh, I need a second. I'm sorry. You need a cigarette? Yeah, I was going to say, we should smoke a cigarette.

That was really good, man. All right. All right. Let's move to the next one. This is from Facebook. This is Chris. These are Patreons? No, this is Facebook.

That was Patreon. The first one. You led off with the Patreon. I did. Because, of course, Patreon patrons actually support us financially. Okay? So, you know. That's cold.

That's like saying, unlike the rest of y'all. No, I'm just saying that they're special because they support us financially. You know what I mean? Anyone who listens to the ads that fund this program are also supporting us.

If you're listening. So the people I really have a problem with are the people who don't listen to the ads. Right. Especially since you're the voice on a lot of the ads.

I pretty much am. You're dissing Chuck. Thank you don't listen to the ads. Right. Especially since you're the voice on a lot of the ads. I pretty much am. You're dissing Chuck. Thank you. So listen to our ads or support us on Patreon and skip the middleman and give us a direct infusion of cash. All right.

Here we go. Enough of that. Chuck! I'm sorry. I can't help it. Don't buy the Campbell soup so that they buy the ad. Right.

Just walk right up. Just right. Just go get it. Knock on the door. Knock on the door and give Mr. Campbell $5. All right, here we go. This is Chris Coghlan

who wants to know this. I'd love to hear your take of the multiverse theory. Do you believe that every choice ever made by everyone has resulted in other realities such as a crossroads example

for options left, right, straight, on, and turn around. The theory would have you make all four choices and only be aware of the one along a linear timeline, which would be your linear timeline. Interesting. So let's back that up. Yeah, let's back that up. Let's back up. Because he's packed a lot of stuff.

Here's where the multiverse concept comes from. Okay. When you take Einstein's general theory of relativity, the modern theory of gravity. Correct. Gives us our understanding of the curvature of space and time. All right. That's how we get our understanding of the Big Bang

and all the modern cosmology has that as its foundation. Right. Then you have quantum physics. Okay. Which came out, interestingly, 10 years after general relativity. This is now in the 1920s. Quantum physics is all about molecules and atoms and nuclei and particles. Okay.

Those two theories do not play nicely with each other in the sandbox. Okay. They each work in their own regimes, but you try to bring them together, they are inconsistent with each other. Worlds colliding, Jerry. Worlds colliding. It is figuratively that. Right.

All right, so now, what happens at the beginning of the universe when the entire universe was the size of an atom? Whose rules are in charge? Whoa. You have a shotgun wedding. There you go. Between quantum physics and general relativity. Oh, my God.

And all of us are pretty sure that quantum physics wins. And in so doing, quantum physics, where it pops particles in and out of existence, it could pop universes in and out of existence, it could pop universes in and out of existence. Whole universes, if the universe is the size of a particle. Absolutely. So the point is, let's go back in time when the whole universe was the size of a particle.

What are the rules of quantum physics telling us? They're telling us that multiple universes could be popping in and out of existence. And we are just one of them. Gotcha. Each one with a slightly different law of physics. Okay. So, let's start there. So now, there's no limit

on how many of these universes there could be. Let's say there's infinite. Okay. If there's an infinite, that means there's every possible combination of all particles there ever were. Right. Including combinations of particles with you on another universe on a podcast where you have an evil mustache. Well, you already have a mustache.

I already have an evil mustache. You have an evil goatee. I already have an evil goatee. Okay. There's the nice Chuck. Right. I was going to say. Clean shaven Chuck.

Nice Chuck in the other universe. And he's still a virgin, by the way. Right. So they, it's been hypothesized that every version of you exists. Virgin nice, Chuck. Every version. Every version. So, you only happen to be in the one version that you are in.

Right. So, here's what I would say. Go ahead. People like thinking about this as a means of immortality. True. However, why would this Chuck, with all your atoms in this way, have any consciousness overlap with the Chuck in the other universe?

None. There would be. There's no reason to be. There's no reason. For me to think so, because... That Chuck's living his own best life. Living his own best life. Right.

You don't have overlapping consciousness with your twin. No. And they're in the same damn universe as you. And if they're identical, they came from the exact same single cell. Single cell. No. And they're in the same damn universe as you. And if they're identical, they came from the exact same single cell. Single cell. Right.

So if you don't share consciousness Right. with your twin, I'm not giving reason to think you would share consciousness with somebody else

who has the same molecular DNA construct as you, but in another freaking universe. Right. There you go. So there you have it.

So, yeah. I mean, that makes perfect sense. Yeah. I mean, that makes perfect sense. Yeah. You know, that makes perfect sense. Hey, nice question there, Chris. We've got time for one more, I think, before we break. Before we break.

Okay, here we go. Let's go with Claudio Ramirez. Claudio. Claudio coming in from... Ramirez. Ramirez from Instagram says this. If all matter is spaghettified at the event horizon of a black hole into what is light spaghettified, whoa, smaller pieces, photons, or is it that since the photon is actually energy, it is absorbed by the mass of the black hole so the light that goes into a black hole how is that spaghettified as a wave and a particle at the same time are you ready oh yeah are you can you

but you can't handle the truth i don't know if i can do you want the truth i do want the truth you can't handle the truth all right so first of all it's not the event horizon where the action is. Right. The action is someplace closer to the center of the black hole where the title forces do rip you apart. Okay. Okay? I imagine there could be some black holes

where the title forces are strong enough at the event horizon for this to happen to you. But if you're falling, you will fall through the event horizon. You won't know any different. Okay. Before, during, or after. Right. There will be're falling, you will fall through the event horizon and you won't know any different. Okay. Before, during, or after. Right. There'll be a point

before you reach the singularity where you were ripped to shreds. Gotcha. Okay, spaghettified. Now, how about light? Light is in a way spaghettified. Already? No, in a way.

Okay. Light also gets spaghettified. Okay, also gets spaghettified. So let's take a wavelength of light. Uh-huh. Let's call it blue light and it has a wavelength this big. All right.

Actually, it's microscopic. It's a small one. But just, okay, let's be literal. Here's a wavelength of microwaves, a couple of centimeters across. Okay. Okay, you can see that wavelength. All right.

As this falls into the black hole. Right. Okay. If you're watching that fall into a black hole. Right. It stretches. The wavelength stretches. Yes.

Wow. It becomes, as we say, redshifted, but it simply means it becomes a bigger... A bigger wavelength. We said red because we talked about visible light shifting to the red side of that spectrum. Gotcha. But I'm using microwaves,

which is already redder than the red, but we kept the term. It's getting bigger. And it would then become sort of infinitely redshifted as it goes down to the bottom of the horizon. Wow. So it really does

magnify in some sense. You can't fit the photon of longer wavelength than the size of the black hole itself into the black hole. So there's a limit to how big is the wavelength that fits in. Gotcha.

Okay. The funny thing about the wavelength of these particles is you can trap them. You could do interesting things with them by creating boundaries smaller than the wavelength. Right.

Like your microwave oven. Which has little holes in it. This is the size of the microwave. Right. How big are the holes on your microwave door? Just say smaller. Smaller.

Right. Smaller than the wavelength. Smaller than the wavelength of the microwave. Yeah, so it doesn't come out. They better be. That's smaller. Smaller. Right. Smaller than a wavelength. Smaller than a wavelength in a microwave. Yeah, so it doesn't come out. They better be. That's why you don't fry your eyeballs.

Put your eyeball looking in. Right. If they weren't... Are these burritos done? Oh my God! Right. That's a laugh. I'm okay.

Yeah. That's funny. Yeah, that would be a badly designed microwave oven. Yeah. So that's how you can have a transparent door to light, visible light, but it's not transparent to microwaves. Sweet.

Microwaves reflect off because it's smaller. So that's what will happen in a black hole to light. Nice. Got to take a break. Okay. When we come back, more Cosmic Queries. The Deep. Down deep.

Part two. When we return. We're back. StarTalk Cosmic Queries. The deep. The deep. Oh, it's good. The deep.

The deep. The deep. Nice. Has your voice gotten deeper than mine yet? No. You still going through puberty? I was about to say, I am going through adult puberty, so I'm looking forward to it. The deep.

The deep. No, you got that vibrato, that scotch vibrato. That's what it is. Scotch. I don't drink scotch. I love scotch. Scotch, scotch, scotch. I drink wine, and wine doesn't do that to your voice. No, wine doesn't do that.

As a matter of fact, you drink enough wine, and then all of a sudden. Oh, you can become. Wine becomes wine. You become thirsting. Oh, my God. Is that a Chateau Neuf de Pape? Why do you become thirsting? How absurd.

It just works. It just works. Chateau Neuf de Pape. It just works. It just works. All right. Back to our questions. We have TheRealJP from YouTube says this.

That means he's famous if he's TheRealJP. If he's famous, that means somebody did it. Put TheReal before him. That's right. Yeah. How would you explain what weather was if we were, in fact, in a simulation? No, they would just be simulating the weather. Yeah. No.

It'd be the same. It's just a simulation of weather, right? Correct. And if they want to be convincing as simulators, they would simulate everything that you would otherwise experience, that they experience in their world. So they would have particles that, you know, they wouldn't even have to be actual oxygen-nitrogen until you make the measurement, right? And then you quickly, that's the flag that goes up. That's the flag that goes up and it says like, yo, that's what it is. Yeah, program in the oxygen-nitrogen molecules and carbon dioxide, unfortunately. And so they wouldn't have to have everything be that, but you just program that in.

But here's something about the air. Go ahead. Do you know the quote from, was it Ogden Nash? Wind is caused by trees waving their branches. Oh, that's very, I like that. Yeah, isn't that beautiful? That's a lovely lovely sentiment because of course we see trees reacting to the manifest well how do you know exactly that's

what i'm saying so perhaps that reaction is the manifestation when you turn on the light how do you know it just didn't suck all the dark out because i'm not five. So when I was in middle school, I converted my bathroom into a dark room. A dark room where you develop... Yeah, yeah. It had a little photography business. Look at you. When I was in middle school.

Jesus Christ. And so we had an interior bathroom that didn't have a window. So that way I can make it completely dark. So I had a little sign I put outside and it said, don't open the door, otherwise the dark will leak out that's funny that's what i had i had i might still have that sign too i had a sign i said don't open the door unless you want to be

horrified i'm a teenage boy damn it stuff is going on in here all right all. By the way, what I find really cool about what you just said is that is what we're doing. We create simulations right now to tell us about the weather and what it's going to do. Oh, interesting. That's exactly what we do. Yes. And we do that based on... I say we like I'm a scientist. Look at me.

I love the way... I've been hanging out with you guys too long. Keep going. I'm loving it. So it me. I love the way. I've been hanging out with you guys too long. Keep going. I'm loving it. So it's called climate models. Exactly. And those models are made. The reason they know they work is because they're made and tested on data that's already happened.

That's correct. So it's so cool. Like you, you know. There you go. Yeah. So. All right. Nice.

All right. All right. By the way, one evidence when we don't really know what's going on? Right. When they say 50% chance of rain. That's pretty funny, man. That is the best evidence when that model does not work. Flip a coin.

Right. Does not work. That's funny. Okay. We got nothing is really what they're saying. Okay. So, in the future, you want weather forecast to be 100% of this or 0% of that. Then you know you've got the right model. That's true to be 100% of this or 0% of that. Right.

Then you know you've got the right models. That's true, because you're really just covering your ass. You are. C-Y-freaking-A. Oh, my God. Yes. You dirty little weatherman. You didn't notice? You dirty, cheating weatherman.

Every time they give a statistic, they're covering their ass. 50% chance of rain. That just means we don't know what's going to happen. Oh, my gosh. Yep. All right. Sam Champion, we're't know what's going to happen. Oh my gosh. Alright. Sam Champion, we're coming for you. Alright. Okay. Alright, here we go. This is Warium Sidhu.

Warium Sidhu from YouTube says, why is everything spherical and curvy in the universe? Spherical and curvy. I wrote a whole essay on this did you? called On Being Round nice

I think it was one of my better top ten essays On Being Round On Being Round and so I'm almost not even going to try to actually I that essay appears in

in my Death by Black Hole book. Oh, really? They produced there. Oh, sweet. And I don't think I put it in my... So it's out there. Okay. So should I spend time on that here and now?

Or should you just go buy the book? Death by Black Hole? Warum? Sidhu? Here's your answer. Death by Black Hole. Amazon. It's a whole chapter there on being

round. And it's, I'll say in simple terms, multiple laws of physics conspire to make things round when you might want them some other shape. And that goes for soap bubbles. There's no cubic soap

bubbles. It goes for forming planets. It goes for forming stars. It goes for soap bubbles. There's no cubic soap bubbles. It goes for forming planets. It goes for forming stars. It goes for, what else? It goes for beads of water that ball up on your freshly waxed car after it rains. Absolutely. It even goes for vegetables, things that have come out of the ground. Like carrots? Well, carrots, they're curvy. No, we're talking about

spherical round things. That's all I'm saying. Like anything that hangs from a vine? Hangs will be round. Anything that hangs from a vine ends up being round. So the laws of physics conspire to make this happen, and that essay is an entire exposition on that. And you can just Google... Dude, you are such a

tease, because you did not tell this guy why. I think you can get the essay without having to buy the book. Okay. Just Google Mike. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Google deGrasse. That takes out Mike Tyson

in case he wrote anything. That's right. Let me tell you something. First of all, I'm just saying this. So Google deGrasse and On Being Round round and that should go straight to it i i have a book called on being on the ground it's where i bite your ear off and i knock you out on being on the ground okay anyway all right there you go um by the way when i do an internet search right tyson i have to you just subtract have to subtract out chicken.

That's true. And I subtract out boxing. And that tightens up the search. And that tightens up the search. All right. So on being round, and that'll give you a more in-depth because we don't have time to go into it. Yeah, it's a lot. It's a lot there.

All right. Here we go. Wesley. Yes. Wesley Sang wants to know this. Hey there. My name is Wesley and I to know this. the Big Bang itself. Shortly after the Big Bang happened, the cosmos awakened. Thank you for all of the knowledge that you have given

and that I have gleaned from StarTalk. Wow. That's a higher literate thing right there. Yes. Compositionally and everything. Exactly. He went there.

Man. Somebody has Grammarly. Somebody speaks good. Somebody speak good. Somebody speaks good. Somebody speak good. You speak good. So, the answer is no. Oh, right. Next question.

There you go. No, here's why. Here's why. Right. Life is made of what we call organic ingredients. Correct. So, our life is. Yes. Right. Correct. So our life is. Yes.

Right. Okay. So we've got oxygen, nitrogen, carbon. These are organic elements. Okay. Organic chemistry is all about what those elements do, plus when they attach something else to it. Right.

All life on earth has those elements in it. Exactly. Those elements weren't around at the Big Bang. Ooh. There you go. They were manufactured in the cores of it. Exactly. Those elements weren't around at the Big Bang. Ooh. There you go. They were manufactured in the cores of stars. Nice.

Of a kind of star that happens to then re-release it out into space. Sweet. So you have to stockpile generations of these supernova explosions that have made these elements

and enriched the galaxy. You have to stockpile generations of them so that a later gas cloud doesn't only have the hydrogen and helium it was endowed with at the Big Bang. It's got these extra contaminant enrichments. And out of those enrichments,

the next generation of star systems will have the ingredients that can make planets and people. That is really very... And life in general. I wish that that was common knowledge, that what you just said right there is so important in terms of an origin story.

Yes. It's so important. It's our origin story. It's our origin story. Origin story of life. Yeah. Wow. Hey, man, that's a great question.

If you're looking at very, very old stars in the galaxy, it's pointless to try to find planets with life on them. We think. Right. That's why if you're looking at very, very old stars in the galaxy, it's pointless to try to find planets with life on them. We think. Right. That makes sense. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of like looking at cookie dough and thinking that you're going to one day just see a cookie. No. It's like that dough

has to go through. Are you hungry now? I am so hungry. How did you know? You went from the freaking Big Bang to cookie dough. You know what? I am hungry. That's the best you can do for me?

I could have done so much better. I know. I'm so disappointed. I'm starving. Cookie dough. And it's chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate chip cookies are the galaxies. How about that?

There you go. And it expands the galaxies received. No, that's a really great point, though. That's our origin story. That's very cool. I ask five billion years from now where even more generations of stars have emerged. No, that's a really great point, though. That's our origin story. That's very cool. So you might ask, five billion years from now, where even more generations of stars have emerged,

could those star systems have so much organic material that they'd be teeming with life? Life on Earth has only one genesis, as far as we know. Maybe there are planets with multiple genesis of life. Like they're just tripping over life. Tripping over life.

Because there's so much material there to make life. So much material to make life. Wow. Dude, that's... God, I wish everybody knew that. Okay. All right, time for one more question. All right, we got time for one more.

Before this segment. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Here we go. This is from Keep Looking Up on Instagram. Somebody's got to keep looking up. Yeah, that's their title, right? Really? Keep Looking Up on Instagram. Oh, my God. keep looking up on instagram but somebody's got to keep looking up yeah that's their title right keep looking up on instagram oh my god what if backwards time travel is possible but it's only possible at the same pace as we move forwards and we will also be forgetting our memories

as it moves so it's kind of a pointless in the end because you know you just be reversing the clock okay no one thinks that when they're thinking of time travel nobody nobody's saying i want to go backwards in time and then just start living backwards the benjamin button version of time travel right that's not really time travel no it isn't that's moving forward in time while your sorry ass is moving backwards in time. That's basically what it is, yeah. Yeah, that's Benjamin Button.

That's the Benjamin Button. So a famous author wrote that. Who? F. Scott Fitzgerald. That's pretty famous. That's pretty famous. Yeah. In fact, he has

one of the most brilliant sentences I've ever read in my life. Alrighty. It was the sentence i read that convinced me i will never be a novelist oh wow because i said i can't write that right like damn this guy just did it like okay it can't can i tell you the sentence go ahead you ready go ahead okay it's from the great gatsby all right okay remember it's a big party there's a lot of like you know sex drugs and rock and roll yeah okay roaring 20s right all

right here it goes in his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths amid the champagne the whispers and the stars. That's a great line. Oh, my. I'm done. I can't. That is, it is not possible for that sentence to come out of me.

That's an excellent, that's really well done. God, that says so much. It says so much? So much. Yeah. No, that's it. Okay.

Yeah. F. Scott Fitzgerald. Dude, that's it. All right. Chuck, we got to take a break. Okay. Come back third segment. All right.

Be there. Star Talk. Chuck, we got to take a break. Okay. Come back third segment. All right. Be there. Star Talk. How's my fur? Hey, we'd like to give a Patreon shout out to the following Patreon patrons, Mark Medina and Ryan McNeil. Thanks, guys, for helping us make our way through the cosmos, because without you, we couldn't do it. McNeil. Thanks guys for helping us make our way through the cosmos because without you

we couldn't do it. And for any of you who'd like your very own Patreon shout out, make sure you go to patreon.com slash startalkradio and support us. We're back. Startalk Cosmic Queries. These are your deepest questions

that otherwise defied category, I think. Right. Is that right, Chuck? I just kind of like, yeah, we don't care where they come from as long as they invoke thought. As long as they're deep thought. Right. I think the ones we've read so far are exactly that. Pretty good.

Yeah. Yeah. I've enjoyed it so far. You know, nice job, people. All right. Here we go. Let's do another Patreon patron. All right.

And this is Jensen Smart. Okay. What an apropos name for this show, Jensen. What's a name like Jensen? Jensen. That's a cool name too, you know. How do we know dark energy is not caused by black holes? I hope Chuck is there on this one.

I don't know why he said that. Because we love you, Chuck. Oh, that's so nice. We love you, Chuck. Oh, that's so nice. We love you, Chuck. Yeah. So there we go. How do we know that? He's not comfortable enough in his masculinity to say that,

but I'll say that. We love you, Chuck. Oh, thanks. I love you, too. This is weird. Go ahead. So here's why. All right.

So dark energy, I think he's being a little swayed by the word dark. It is some pressure in the vacuum of space forcing the universe to accelerate in its expansion. And a black hole, don't play that. Right. Black hole is the opposite of that. Right. It wants to pull things in. Right.

Now, let's ask, maybe could that same question be put forth in reference to dark matter? Okay. Is dark matter black holes? Right. Not likely. In fact, almost certainly not because we can account for the matter that is occupied by black holes. Okay. As well as stars and planets and all the normal matter we're accustomed to

that's made of the elements you find on a periodic table. Dark energy is made of none of that. Ooh. It behaves completely differently. Right. Not gravitationally, but it does not interact with light. It does not. The things that everything else does to light with light. It does not. The things that everything else does

to light, that dark energy does not. Wow. So we don't understand it. Interesting. So dark energy is truly a mystery. Yes! Sorry. Yes. Sorry. Why yes?

It's the longest unsolved problem in modern astrophysics. It's been with unsolved problem in modern astrophysics. It's been with us since 1936. Right. Yeah. So, oh, man. In fact, it was originally called missing matter, the missing matter problem. Interesting.

You had this gravity, but where's the matter? Right. Because what would be this gravitational effect, basically? What's causing this? Yeah, something's causing this. Something's got to be causing that, so it's not good. Where's the matter? Yeah.

Gotcha. Wow. So, dark really is just unknown. Unknown. And I've made a case, I think a strong case, that dark matter should be renamed dark gravity. Yes. Because that's what it actually is. Right.

We don't know what has made it matter or anything. See, now, if you call it dark gravity, now we've actually given it a thing. And we should call it black gravity. Okay? Because then they will find out what it is. The cops will be all over that. Yeah, let me tell you something. No, stop.

They will find out. Can't have this black gravity. Tugging on a universe. We don't know what this black gravity is doing to the universe. Tugging every which way on the universe. We got to find out what is happening. Sheriff. All right.

We'll round up some men. There you go. We're going to get to the bottom of this black gravity. I'm telling you that right now. We're going to find out. Okay. All right. Oh, Jesus.

Who was it that joked? A friend of mine, I think one of y'all did. It's how do you outlaw guns in the United States overnight? No. Who? How?

You create the Black Gun Owners Association. There you go. Instead of the NRA. The BRA. The BRA. We got to do something with this. We got to, right.

Right? So every black person has a gun. They pass laws. Right. That's hilarious. Right quick. You're right. I forget the name.

Well, they did it in California. When the Black Panthers walked around with the rifles, it was completely legal to do that. And after that, they made it illegal. No more. There you have it. We solved the problem. There you go.

Look up the laws in California. It's the concealed weapon law. At the time, there was no law. There was no law. Yeah. There you go. Gun control in America. We found it.

Give a brother a gun day. All right. Here we go. and what's that other one there was speaking of guns uh what's the one there's the law that's the stand your ground stand your ground that's florida and florida i mean 20 something states now so if you kill someone when they're trying to encroach on your space right it's just okay so ask yourself, did that apply back to the Native Americans? Oh, man. We pass it along after. Right.

After the land got took. Exactly. All right. All right, here we go. This is Jonas. You got more questions. Jonas Klippenstein wants to know this. Wants to know this.

How can sunlight, which transfers heat molecularly, spend eight full seconds in frozen space and still be warm? Why is moonlight not the same? Seeing as it is a reflection of sunlight, it's an interesting question question you don't feel warmth of the moon but you damn sure feel the warmth of the sun 93 million miles away interesting well the moon is not very bright compared to the sun that is so true so because we can look directly at the moon for as long as your eyes are not going to burn out okay okay right nobody says shield your eyes at the full moon that long as we want. And your eyes are not going to burn out. Right. Okay? Okay. Right.

Nobody says, shield your eyes at the full moon. That is not happening. That has never happened. You can stare the moon down. Let me tell you how dim the full moon is. How dim? Okay.

Did you see the eclipse back in 2017? Yes, I did. Merkur's eclipse? Merkur. If you eclipsed, if you didn't see the total eclipse, don't tell me you saw the eclipse. Okay? Oh, well, then I didn't see the eclipse.

Okay? I'm not like you who gets invited to secret places in Tennessee. I was in a secret place. It was in Idaho. Oh, Idaho. But fine. So, here's the thing. Even worse.

Here's why a partial eclipse is nothing like a total eclipse. Okay. It's not just a slightly lesser version of the full. Ready? Go ahead. When the sun is 99% covered by the moon, with just a thin little smidgen, the amount of light that reaches Earth

from that smidgen From that little smidgen. equals the light of 10,000 full moons. Holy crap. So that little sliver of light The 1% of the sun. the circumference of the moon blocking out the sun that tiny little bit is brighter than 10,000 full moons correct wow all right so just put that in context damn that's that's all right so don't cry about on a snapple cap okay so don't

so don't cry about that one. Right. Do you understand? Yeah, we're good. We're good. Plus, the moon, you know how reflective the moon is? No. So the moon is only reflecting not much more than 10% of the sunlight that hits it. The rest is getting absorbed. Right.

So the moon, don't turn to the moon and moon bathe. It ain't happening. Right, okay. So, that's A. B, the photon is a packet of energy, and it doesn't make sense to think of it as having temperature. It's just energy moving through space. Gotcha.

Okay? Interesting. Then when you absorb it, it vibrates the molecules in that which absorbed it, and that is measured as temperature. So the disruption of your molecular makeup is really what is the heat that you're experiencing. When the energy you absorb increases the vibration rate of your molecules, you experience that as heat. That's it. That's correct.

increases the vibration rate of your molecules, you experience that as heat. That's it. That's correct. So it's not like a bunch of photons are laying on your body and making you warm. No, no. That's not it. You're absorbing them.

Entirely. The disruption of your molecular makeup. It's not disruption. It's vibration. That's why I say. By the way, there are photons that you don't absorb that way. Really? Yes.

Okay, now what is that? Like ultraviolet photons. Oh my God, that's right. You absorb an ultraviolet photon. You don't feel the way. Really? Yes. Okay, now what is that? Like ultraviolet photons. Oh my God, that's right. You absorb an ultraviolet photon, you don't feel the heat. That's right. What it does is it breaks apart. Rather than making you vibrate more,

it breaks apart molecules in your body and leads to skin cancer. So now I know why you made me not use the word disruption because that's a disruption. That's a disruption. Gotcha. See, I was using disruption as just a disturbance, but it's not. No.

The disruption is an ultraviolet. You can break a molecule. That's why we don't experience ultraviolet as heat. Gotcha. We experience infrared as heat. That's right. Yet it's both energy and, in fact, an ultraviolet photon has more energy than an infrared photon. Right.

You just don't receive them the same way. Oh, that's so great. It's only when you absorb it and increase the vibrations do you then feel heat. I got to tell you something. This show is good. It's a good show.

People should listen to this. I think we have to end on that question, but I have one more point. People should listen to this show. Go ahead. We have to end on that question, but I have one more point. Okay.

Okay? The photon has another view of the world. All right. Okay? Do you remember Einstein view of the world. All right. Okay? Do you remember Einstein, the faster you go, slower time ticks for you? Correct. At the speed of light, time stops.

Are you saying photons don't experience time at all? Holy crap. So the instant the photon was created in what we call the photosphere of the sun, the outer surface. Okay. And then it went on its 8-minute and 20-second journey to Earth. If you're the photon, you are born and you land on someone's buttocks in the same moment. Oh, snap. Yes.

Oh. Oh, that's amazing. You have no concept of time at all. No concept of that time passing. Look at that. You were born concept of time at all. No concept of that time passing. Look at that. You were born and absorbed in the same instant. Dude, that's awesome. That's really cool.

I'm just saying. There you go. I'm just saying. We ran out of time. I know. All right. Chuck. Yeah, man.

This was good, man. This was good. It was good. What do we call the show again? I don't know. Moon bathing. Moon bathing. Star. Yeah, man. This was good, man. This was good. It was good. What do we call the show again? I don't know. Moon bathing. Moon bathing. Star Talk.

Star Talk. Star Talk. Cosmic queries. Deep questions. I'm impressed we had a bin of these. Yeah, man. So thanks for joining us, Chuck Nice, tweeting at Chuck Nice Comics. Thank you, sir.

I've been Neil deGrasse Tyson. Many of you are watching this. Some are listening. And either way you take us, we are watching this. Some are listening. And either way you take us, we are StarTalk. And I bid you to keep looking up.