Things You Thought You Knew – Where the Earth Ends

About This Episode

Where does the Earth end? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore the Karman Line, LED light bulbs, banking turns, and other things you thought you knew.

How do we measure the extent of gaseous objects? We take a deep dive into measurement precision and the Karman Line. How high up does the atmosphere go? What is the diameter of the sun? We break down different ways we could choose to measure Earth’s atmosphere. Does Earth’s atmosphere really extend 100km out?

Discover the science behind LED light bulbs. What is the difference between light and heat? We explore the light spectrum from infrared to UV. Should a light bulb be able to get hot? How do LED lights save so much energy compared to an incandescent bulb?

Why doesn’t your water spill when you’re on an airplane? You’ll learn the physics of what’s going on when an airplane banks. Speed, turn radius, centripetal force: find out why things stay so normal on an airplane when it turns. Why don’t spaceships need to bank turns? Plus, a quick Star Trek versus Star Wars debate. All that and more on another Things You Thought You Knew Episode of StarTalk!

Thanks to our Patrons Shelly Woodcock, Matt, Nathan Schlosser, Hugo Ascencio, Patrick Rhone, Jeff Simon, and karstan harvey for supporting us this week.

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free.