Astrophysicist Charles Liu joins Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly to answer questions about aliens, gravitons, and the unknowns of the universe. They discuss the concept of fields and particles, time travel and energy release, the importance of understanding AI, gravity's voice, time and relativity, and the debate over the largest objects in the universe.
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Quick takeaways
The observable universe is defined by the limit of how far light has had time to reach us since the beginning of the universe, regardless of the telescope's location in a distant galaxy.
Burning fossil fuels releases stored energy from the sun and redistributes it to our planet, contributing to climate change by intensifying energy in our atmosphere through the greenhouse effect.
Deep dives
The Observable Universe
The observable universe is not affected by the location of a telescope in a distant galaxy. The observable universe is defined by the limit of how far light has had time to reach us since the beginning of the universe. No matter where we place a telescope, the observable universe will remain the same.
Fossil Fuels and Energy Distribution
Fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, store energy from the sun that has been trapped over millions of years. When we extract and burn these fossil fuels, we release the stored energy in the form of heat and light. This does not create new energy, but rather redistributes energy from its original location to our planet.
Energy Conservation and Fossil Fuels
While energy cannot be created or destroyed according to the law of conservation of energy, the burning of fossil fuels does release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. This is because the carbon dioxide adds to the greenhouse effect, trapping more heat and intensifying energy in our atmosphere.
The Largest Objects in the Universe
The largest objects in the universe are superclusters of galaxies. Superclusters contain thousands to hundreds of thousands of galaxies, bound together by gravity. These massive structures, composed of immense amounts of matter, including dark matter, form the largest coherent objects in the universe.
Are we thinking about the fundamentals of the universe wrong? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly answer grab bag questions about aliens, gravitons, and the big unknowns with astrophysicist Charles Liu.