Things You Thought You Knew – Kicked into Orbit

About This Episode

How do bikes and motorcycles stay up? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly explain how to kick a ball into orbit, what’s going on with cricket, and the physics of bicycles.

How hard do you have to kick a soccer ball to get it into orbit? We talk about the top speed of a soccer ball and Earth’s escape velocity. Where in the solar system could you kick a ball out into space? How fast does an object have to go to leave the whole solar system?

Is cricket easier than baseball? We discuss the difference between the two sports, the Red Sox versus the Yankees, and the impact of the different bat shapes. Plus, Gary mixes things up and explains cricket to Neil.

How do bikes and motorcycles stay up? Learn about gyroscopic and angular momentum. Is the gyroscopic force the main thing keeping the bike up? Find out what other physics factors in and why the system’s center of gravity is the key. Why do people on a high wire use a balance pole? Break down more physics with us…

Thanks to our Patrons Shonuff Brown, Sam, Gary Gaskin, Rodney, james allen, and Daylon Burt for supporting us this week.

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