Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Time Dilation

Is time relative? On this explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore facts about Einstein’s theory of relativity that keep them up at night. Does time always move at the same rate?

Discover fascinating properties of the fabric of space and time. Is it true that the faster you move, the slower time ticks for you? What other variables affect the passage of time? Find out about the passage of time on objects orbiting Earth and how we compensate for that here on the surface. Does time dilation affect satellites? What is time like for an object traveling at the speed of light?

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Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!

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0:00 - Introduction
0:27 - Neil deGrasse Tyson explains Relativity
2:16 - GPS satellites run on different time...
4:51 - How time moves at 99% the speed of light
5:55 - How particles decay in an accelerator
7:19 - Time at the perspective of a photon
10:21 - Outro

[MambaBreezy]

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."

Neil does it effortlessly. Amazing video.

[MarkB-vpki]

To me, the craziest thing about this is how Einstein conceptualized these theories in his time. I wonder how much different things would be today if he had never lived and we had to wait 50 years for someone to come up with these in say the 1950's or 1960's. Einstein is the GOAT in science without a doubt.

[jasonmack]

I said this to a friend some years ago. On a hypothetical world moving much faster than we are through the universe, if they were to look at us through a telescope, they would see the whole of human existence has already passed by. On a hypothetical world moving more slowly, it hasn't even begun.

If you take that concept and stretch it out, you see that because of the way time works in our universe, it preserves a perfect copy of our lives. In a very real sense, each of us has always existed, and always will exist.

[IamGroot]

Mind blowing stuff. I recently watched "Interstellar" and so many references are made to Einstein's theories such as time dilation and gravitational effects. Great film!

[garbuckle]

I remember as a teenager learning that time travel is definitely possible, but only going forward in time. It's just a one way trip. Gives new meaning to "I'll hit you into next week".
It also boggles the mind that if a photon has no time, then a light-year really is extremely large.

[jimmyispromo]

Chuck Nice is smarter than all of us think he is. He really understands and questions things we wouldn't. I love it

[MaartenSFS]

I consider myself to be smarter than the average bloke, but I am constantly impressed by Chuck’s lines of questioning AND his snappy comedical quips. His contribution is what makes the format of Star Talk so succesful. Fascinating and entertaining at once!

[xxqshbq]

These two need a show. A REAL show like late night.. Absolutely insane. And this is why I love science..

[Nigelrathbone]

No matter how many times I hear this explanation I still can't wrap my brain around it.

[judahdavid]

Even though science wasn't my thing in college, Neil breaks this down in a way that I can understand. Mind successfully blown.

[alihadimajeed]

Imagine having a teacher like Neil for all of your school and university stages.

[Magnaheim]

I am always obsessed with space and future tech type concepts. Time Dilation has been something I could never really grasp much until this video. Explaining how the photon from 30, 000 years ago doesn't experience any time itself made so much sense, it's a good comparison to show why people experience less time when traveling near that speed.

[ecadfb]

"The photon has no knowledge of that trip." I can never un-hear that. Now, I too will lay awake, staring at the ceiling... knowing the light from my neighbors porch light, the light from the moon, the light from Saturn, the light from the center of the Milky Way and the light from the edge of the known universe all reach my eye in exactly the same amount of time (relatively speaking from the photon's perspective)...

[furbabydaddy]

I’ve honestly never wondered if light aged, or not. But finding that out that it does not, is a mindblower.

[laurabenevelli]

It’s beyond amazing how Einstein could conceptualize this when he was alive in a time before any space travel or extreme telescopes like we have today. There was no way to prove his theory of relativity when he was alive. It took so long to be able to confirm it. How he even came up with this is incredible.

[Focus.D]

I feel so privileged to be able to enjoy the ramblings of our greatest minds at any time. TY Universe, Chuck, and Neil.

[pandaprophetable]

really cool to see chuck’s aha moments, and the depth of his questions. Thanks chuck for translating for us!

[peggywoods]

After seeing how much Chuck figured out and understood on his own, it's starting to look like he should be in line for an honorary degree! He has had the best teacher... it was really fun watching Chuck realize he knew what was going on and paraphrasing/explaining with glee. This was fun to watch.

[William_Clinton_Muguai]

Times slows down when one:
(1) Moves near the speed of light.
(2) Gets towards strong gravitational field strengths.

[JoseMTamez]

Man, for the longest time, I was asking myself what the gravitational pull of a planet has to do with time dilation and you finally answered it for me. I was watching every video on this search and not one mentioned a planet's gravitational pull. I'm telling myself, there has to be more to this story. Then bam! Out of nowhere, you began to explain that it wasn't until ten years later it was formulated that the stronger the planet's gravitational pull the slower time tics. Thanks for clearing that up for me and now I'm left wondering why this isn't mentioned more in any of the other videos. Go figure!