Alien Heists and Scimitars with Neil deGrasse Tyson & Charles Liu | Cosmic Queries

What if the laws of physics were different? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly answer grab bag questions with astrophysicist Charles Liu about alien heists, gravity, and space exploration.

Is there a way to manipulate time? Is time a constant? Learn about time as a dimension, scimitars, and time as a resource. What would happen if advanced aliens could steal the sun? Would we fall into orbit around Jupiter? We consider the possibilities…

Which laws of physics could we change that would have the least effect on everyday? What if the Hubble constant was different? Or if Newton’s laws were slightly tweaked? Plus, learn how one body of mass can have multiple strengths of gravity. When will Earth’s tectonic plates stop moving? We also discuss why we go to space instead of the many unexplored parts of the ocean.

How does weather affect a football match? We explore the impact of weather on sports and how Neil, Chuck, and Gary would do in a survival situation. Is it faster to run or dive to a base in baseball? Find out all about physics and astrophysics in another Grab Bag Cosmic Queries episode!

00:00 - Grab Bag
6:35 - Time as a dimension
12:01 - Could an advanced alien steal the sun before the other side of Earth can notice?
18:05 - Which of laws of physics could you change and have least effect on everyday?
23:46 - Could a body of mass have two different strengths of gravity?
26:35 - How long before techtonic plates stop moving?
29:50 - Why don’t we have a deep sea base?
33:50 - How does the weather affect a football match?
40:20 - How expertise in physics might help with survival?
46:40 - Is diving or running faster?

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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!

#StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson

[mikotagayuna]

Just when you thought Neil is such a know-it-all, you get blown away by Charles. No complaints. The banter is just so awesome to listen to.

[joseimpact]

these 4 guys are national treasures . great episode

[Chemy.]

I love the fact that many people just ask questions no matter how the physics are because the idea is to exercise the mind, i remember making hypothesis and people just saying "no" because they don't understand the question and didn't know physics

[XXIII_]

Chuck Liu is the Liu Kang of science!! Flawless victory!!!

[dunderwood]

I can never get tired of Dr. Charles Liu, If we had him on once or twice a week I wouldn't complain, ENGAGING episode #LordNice #GaryO #Dr.CharlesLiu #DrTyson
Big up from Brooklyn
Gary O and Lord Nice are the perfect co host,
Side note. Dr. Liu recognized Lord Nice's title, I find it interesting that Dr. Tyson chooses to ignore the title of an American Lord
Things that make you say

[petersage]

I can't believe that I'm about to out-geek Charles Liu.
"Double-edged sword" simply means that something "cuts both ways"; it has both positive and negative consequences. This phrase is attested to the late 15th century.
Charles's story of Richard and Saladin is from Sir Walter Scott's _Tales of the Crusaders_ ca. 1825, but it reminds me of the Japanese story of Muramasa and Masamune. In a challenge to see which swordsmith made the most perfect blades, they both placed their finest swords in a river. Every leaf that floated near Muramasa's sword was drawn toward it and cut; every leaf that floated near Masamune's sword passed by completely unperturbed. Presumably, this was because Masamune's sword was so perfectly honed that it didn't disturb the current of the water flowing past it. Of course these stories are both apocryphal; Richard and Saladin never actually met and Muramasa and Masamune were not contemporaries. They're great stories nonetheless.

[mattevans-koch]

The story of the broadsword and the scimitar when I heard it was the iron bar and a silk scarf. Sharp versus brute force. Love these grab bag sessions especially with Charles. Thank you gentlemen.

[joelpainchaud]

I love seeing chuck’s progression from being the class clown to being the class clown getting complimented by the teacher.

[soupbonep]

I love when Charles Liu is on the show! Right off the bat, he captivates us with the physics of the double edge sword. I also uttered and "awe" when Neil announced the end of the show because I could listen to these 4 guys for hours.

[tommygibs]

I am truly amazed at and how fast mr. Liu wraps his head around them questions

[arercee]

I’m trying to go to bed right now, you can’t just post videos titled “what if aliens stole the sun”

[lefenyalefenya]

Charles is such a superb guest. May we please have him back again..

[robbleeker]

This was an extraordinary episode. Really great questions.

[JaymanWuddup]

Following this channel is intoxicating to the brain. Love you guys.

[limppu]

Absolute blast of an episode. Can i order more of these?

[DodgeI]

i don't always get chance to watch the longer episodes but this morning i woke up watching this drinking tea, thanks for the great start of the day.

[SamusSelf-Destruct]

The movie The Core was terrible, but there was one brilliant line that always stuck with me, when one character asks another how we can go into space and know so much about the universe, but we’ve never been to the center of the Earth, and the response is, in a nutshell, “Space is easy, there’s nothing out there.”

[clomok]

The small detail minutiae injected into every answer is the best part of StarTalk. Chucks comedic commentary comes in a close second.

[XavierBetoN]

One of the best StarTalk episodes, where your mind burns in the first grabbag! Thank y'all my dear doctors Neil, Charles, and Lord Nice and Gary!

[nolanmarion]

Make the episodes longer :/ I need 2 hrs of this