StarTalk Radio Our Burning Questions – Free Will Emergence
6 snips
Dec 26, 2025 Dive into the mysteries of physics as Neil deGrasse Tyson tackles listener questions about gravity and the strong nuclear force. Discover how cosmic rays influence electronics and the significance of space weather during solar cycles. Explore the intriguing concept of free will as an emergent property and its societal implications. Neil even shares insights on the quark structure of protons and how trees store solar energy. It's a captivating journey through some of the year's most compelling scientific inquiries!
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Gravity: Force Or Curvature?
- Gravity can be treated as a force locally but as spacetime curvature in general relativity when acceleration and reference frames matter.
- Neil deGrasse Tyson says the distinction is practically immaterial because the situations are experimentally indistinguishable.
Cosmic Rays Hit Atmosphere, Not Directly Surface
- Cosmic rays create particle showers in the atmosphere rather than arriving unchanged at the surface.
- Satellites and high-altitude systems face far greater exposure and require hardening against these particles.
Strong Force Acts Like A Stretching Spring
- The strong force grows with separation, behaving like a stretched spring that binds quarks with increasing energy.
- Gluons mediate this force inside nucleons and their spillover binds protons into nuclei.