Things You Thought You Knew – Sonic BOOM!

About This Episode

Where does the wind come from? What is a sonic boom? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice explain things you thought you knew about sonic booms, daily temperatures, and how wind works.

How does sound work? We discuss about airplanes and the noise they make at different speeds. You’ll learn the definition of mach one. What happens to sound when you break the sound barrier? Find out what a supersonic plane and the crack of a whip have in common. Why don’t we have commercial supersonic planes? All that, plus, discover what a “light boom” is and what it has to do with diamonds.

Is it really darkest before the dawn? What is the hottest time of day? Why isn’t it when the sun is at its highest in the sky? We break down Earth, the atmosphere, and where energy gets absorbed. Why is it cold up high in an airplane? Or in a desert at night? Find out about deserts and what makes their temperature shifts so extreme. What’s the coldest time of the day? The hottest month of summer? Plus, find out when celsius and fahrenheit equal each other!

What causes wind? Is it caused by trees waving their branches? We explore air pressure, Earth’s rotation, and the heating of Earth’s surface. What does a low pressure system even mean? We’ll take you from a nightclub for clouds out to the doldrums. How do areas with no wind come to be? Does The Martian have it right that there are wind storms on Mars? All that, plus we discuss what the weather is like on other planets!

Thanks to our Patrons ShrubPuncher, Tim James, Jesse Doucette, Joshua Horton, Andrew D, Bree Fouss, Richard McEnery, Zachary Dubner, Jacob Gartung, Koltan Kaboozo, Ryd, Madison Kramer, Samantha Garcia, Lothar Erkens, Stonemason_stargazer, Rafael C, Bryan Klopenstine, Jeremiah Morgan, Andy Wilson, textilewhiz, Andreas Bjørn Hassing, Phyllis Bernstein, Jeff Patton, DustyRock Creations, Michael Sherman, Vishal, Jeff Otterman, Bill Rodawalt, Nika, Mx Self-Destruct, Britt Michels, Grace, Joe Stallone, Aj Huerta, Tim Reddy, Anna Grasser, Jimmy Sy, Chuck, Mark Okonsky, dru Ravyn, Courtney K, MICHAEL DRIVAS, Kamaria Mosley, Shubham Lakhani, Shawn Luff, langc2427, Peter Hirst, Hybrid Robotix, Cindy Durston, Leonardo TMNT, I.Scream143, Chris Hill, Matt Schifferle, Alina Gatria, Dom, Diane Jones, Shvan Karim, John Holton, Austin Christensen, CM, Rocka Darkoda, Jim Dostie, Joan Flaherty, John Bete, Phil Martell, Graham, Ted, Adam Elkins, JohnRoberts, Xander, J DOUGLAS ARMSTRONG, Brandon Bell, Susan Kraft, Skip Sanders, sankar, Davis, Doug Hall, Remi Paquet, Steve Hale, Cristina Alina, raul, Glen Rosenthal, LosNeimeiers, physicsquestions123, Resonance Gaming Network, Arda Sems, Matthew Mergens, Aaron Rhea, Jake, daHrnyPhyscn, Ardis Graham, Estevan Rios, Glen Phelps, Vince T, Ceals McBeals, David O., Krys Wylie, Aleks Magi, Emily Butler, and Chris for supporting us this week.

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