Things You Thought You Knew – The Color of the Sun

About This Episode

What’s the true color of the sun? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice discuss things you thought you knew about the color of the Sun, the sound of weather, and why friction is our friend.

Neil explains why the Sun’s true color is white. You’ll learn how the atmosphere takes the Sun’s white light and turns it into something else. You’ll also learn why the blue sky is stolen sunlight. Neil gives us a photography lesson and tells us how photographers deal with different light. We investigate indoor vs. outdoor light. All that, plus, Neil explains why snow being white is evidence of the Sun’s white light.

We’ve all experienced our fair share of weather. But have we listened to it? Neil and Chuck investigate the acoustic effects in climactic phenomena. Find out about the shape of lightning and how that influences the sound of thunder. We explore “constructive” and “destructive” interference. Neil explains why we feel some sounds more than we hear them. And, Neil gives us a science trick to help figure out how far you are from the approaching storm. We explore why snow is nature’s sound-proofing. Then, we debate if you can hear an aurora. All that, plus, we investigate hail and Neil shares why “down pause” is one of his favorite weather terms.

Why do we need friction? Usually we talk about friction as a bad thing, slowing things down, heating things up. Neil explains why without friction, life as we know it would not be possible. Discover how every mode of transportation requires friction. Are there any that don’t require friction? We investigate the lack of friction in space and how we push against the earth. Do we move the earth or does the earth only move us? Could we speed up the rotation of the earth if every person ran in the same direction at the same time? Could you push something heavy if you had no friction? We explore momentum and ancient ideas about friction. What did Aristotle and Galileo think about physics? Where did the idea behind friction come from? Plus, find out why spacecraft erupt in flames as they reenter Earth’s atmosphere.

Thanks to our Patrons Jorge Aguirre, C&C Angeli, Len Brandis, Alan Parker, Aaron Ivey, AA-ron or just “AI”, MD Bartlett, Nox, Nicholas Crayford, Adam Collins, Deep Patel, RAHIM THERIOT, Dan Abrams, Dan Thomas, Tig, Gloria Michelle Shirley, Mike Horvath, Daniel Brannon, Tonieh Ellis, Camila Von Malice, Kat, Nickolas Madeo, Marcus Phelps, Daniela Eneva, AndyF, Paul Purington, Paul, Mark Fowler, Thomas Freridge, Corey Ferrell, Mo O, Jacob Johnson, Matt Newcomb, Vladimir Antonovich, Steffen Sommers, Joan Morrissey, yared ts, Danielle Seitz, Edmond Fondahn, Blythe Lucas, Richard Adam, Bryant McFayden, Nayah Sci Fi, Lissett Lamboy, John Lujan, Marie Mckenna, Kaustav Chakravarthy, Hannah Bradley, Joshua Jones, EVA, Gail Knapp, Gavin Dunagan, Decoy, Athena Ozanich, Dakota Barron, William Gibson, Eleanor Dewitt, Tru Shadow, MorningSong, Matt Delashaw, Angela Woods, Eric Gorohoff, Zakary Tackett, Carmen Fragapane, Kristián Žuffa, Michael Dunsavage, Mark Bradshaw, Kelsey Harkness-Jones, Mark Rose, Brent, Mohammed Hamdy, Baz, Andrew Stevens, Rachel Jacobsen, Rick Dawson, Tibor Szabo, Raven Knight, McMarklar, Chris Cummings, FromLongIsland, Wendy Parsons, Denise Asmus, Brad, JimPP, Lauren Cooper, Juan Jove, Brent Bailey, Watts Wire Extension Cords, Graham, sean aley, NotAnotherMike, Robert Currier, Steve Vanspall, Alex Nuss, Thomas PASCAL, Antonín Karásek, Mikayla Trousdale, MC, 22 Simulations, Kasey Marsland, and Stevie for supporting us this week.

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