Things You Thought You Knew – Fun with Fusion

About This Episode

What is thermonuclear fusion? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice break down the Department of Energy’s breakthrough, thermonuclear fusion at the center of stars, supernovae, and how stars are born.

Can we do nuclear fusion in a controlled setting? Find out how the world’s most powerful lasers at The Lawrence Livermore National Lab got hydrogen atoms to come together. How do you get two protons to join the same nucleus? Learn about the fundamental forces that make nuclear fusion possible as well as really difficult. We explore E = MC2 and how it continues to transform civilization. What does unlocking nuclear fusion mean for the future of sustainable energy?

Learn about thermonuclear fusion on the inside of stars and how it eventually leads to star death. At what point do fission and fusion meet? Discover how stars hold themselves up from gravitational collapse and what causes supernovae. Why does the creation of iron cause a star to explode?

We explore the birth and life cycles of stars. How does thermonuclear fusion even begin? Learn about stellar nurseries and what conditions help make stars. Are spiral galaxies or elliptical galaxies better at making stars? Find out where all the elements come from and why we are all stardust.

Thanks to our Patrons Manny Baez, Carlo Falcigno, jason walsh, Nuno Nebel, and Michael Hart for supporting us this week.

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

About the prints that flank Neil in this video:
“Black Swan” & “White Swan” limited edition serigraph prints by Coast Salish artist Jane Kwatleematt Marston. For more information about this artist and her work, visit Inuit Gallery of Vancouver.