Cosmic Queries – Across the Universe

About This Episode

On this episode of StarTalk Radio, your personal astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is back alongside comic co-host Chuck Nice to answer fan-submitted questions on a variety of topics that take us across the universe and into the unknown. You’ll find out why the universe will ultimately die “not with a bang, but with a whimper. And not in fire, but in ice.” Explore the relationship between time and space as we ponder the fabric of spacetime. You’ll even hear about the possibilities of a universe inside of another universe.

Discover more about the concept of the holographic universe. We investigate electron microscopes and why they let us see more than light-based microscopes. You’ll also learn why matter is waves and particles. You’ll find out more about moving around in zero gravity and how you could propel a wheelchair while floating in space. 

Explore Hawking radiation. You’ll learn more about gravitational redshifts. We calculate the impact of merging black holes. We also discuss time dilation: do electromagnetic signals get warped by time dilation? Neil explains the Fermi paradox and “The Great Filter.” We ponder if the urge to explore the universe is the same urge that might destroy us. 

We try and work out a design that would make solar panels and lasers work together for wireless energy transfer. Get details why the future imagined by the 1950s-60s has been reshaped by the accessibility of information. All that, plus, Neil advocates for common core math and the importance of asking the right questions. 

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: Cosmic Queries – Across the Universe.