Brian Cox & Neil deGrasse Tyson Explain Lightsabers & More

Could lightsabers work in real life? On this explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice sit down with physicist Brian Cox to break down lightsabers, nerd fights, and the eternality of matter itself.

Can light bounce off other light? Learn about gamma-gamma scattering and what it means for light to interact with itself. Brian shares a comedy sketch involving Stephan Hawking and his new cosmology show Horizons. Are space and time fundamental or do they come from something deeper? How many civilizations are in a galaxy? What does it mean to live a finite life within an infinite universe? What happens to the stuff that falls into a black hole when it dies? Do black holes destroy information? All that, and we discuss Brian’s upcoming projects!

Brian's North American and Global tour dates ⬇️

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About StarTalk:
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
0:53 - Brian Cox’s Titles
1:24 - U.K.’s Public Engagement Program
2:19 - Brian’s Rockstar Past
4:32 - Brian’s Credits
4:51 - Neil and Brian’s Nerd Fight
9:30 - Brian’s ‘Horizons’
14:24 - Hawking Radiation & Eternality Of Matter
16:52 - Closing Notes

[StarTalk]

Do you think space-time is fundamental? And what deeper theory could exist?

[jumpbcb]

The community DEMANDS the full episode, please! This was awesome!

[jenniferdragonfly]

OMG!!! 😃 WHY ISN'T THIS A 2 HOUR VIDEO?! 3 of my favourite people! Love you all and thank you so much! Things can ONLY get better 🤩 and it just did for me!

[Mwolves]

Brian is such a gift to humanity, love this.

[KooladKubrick]

Best guest ever... This is such a short video! We want more of this...

[DrumsTheWord]

You teasers!! We all want more of this discussion...just as it was getting "juicy"!!

[VNavale]

Brian is more poetic and philosophical whereas Neil is more light-hearted but they are both equally clever and interesting to listen to. They both have the gift of story telling in their own unique ways .

[arkobanerjee]

OMG!! Brian and Neil together. This is just incredible. We need a full episode, preferably one which runs around couple of days!!

[HussainFilm]

Those of us who grew up in England were so lucky to watch Brian Cox's BBC science documentaries. Some of my fondest child education memories. So great to see Americans deserve this legend. Would highly recommend buying tickets if he comes to your state/city on this tour.

[Emoralis]

Felt like this ended on a cliff hanger. Left me wanting to know what they found in studying black holes and this mystery about space and time. Can we come back to this and elaborate?

[IIxViiprzv]

Please get Brian back on for a longer show, please! 2 hours minimum 😄

[shuttersounds__jpg]

One of the best star talk explainers ever if not the best. What a cliff hanger at the end (at least for me)

[kokorolex]

Can you please do a 2 hour version of sci-fi/pop culture getting science wrong?
I'd pay to see that!

[russelllomando]

When I lived in England, I always watched BC's shows & broadcasts. He's fantastic.

[benspivey]

This was awesome, gotta get more of Brian on for sure

[NM-exjk]

Chuck telling Brian to rock his haircut is the positivity men need to give to each other. Nice modelling Chuck!

[kornizz]

Got tickets to Brian show. Never missed his live shows, been in all of them.

[Izz_]

Oh man 17 mins feels like 1 min, we need more of brian

[jarkmodels]

What a treat! Two of the biggest science communicators ever. I could've listen to them for hours! Please, do a longer episode!

[shahbaz_]

We need 2 hours full show with Brian 🙏