1 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:11,639 Speaker 1: Hey, or Hey. You know how sometimes everybody thinks they 2 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: know the answer to a question, but they're actually all wrong. 3 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:17,479 Speaker 1: You mean, like how you think everything weird in space 4 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 1: is because of aliens. Well, that's not a good example. 5 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 1: I think it probably is because of aliens. Or you mean, like, 6 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:25,639 Speaker 1: what why people think this guy is blue? Yeah, a 7 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: lot of people think this guy is blue because of 8 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,159 Speaker 1: the ocean. Wait, it's not because of the ocean. Do 9 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: you even listen to our podcast? We did a whole 10 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: episode about that. I don't listen to our podcast. I'm 11 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: too busy looking out for aliens. Well, if you did 12 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,840 Speaker 1: pay attention, sometimes you'd realize that sometimes there's a question 13 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,199 Speaker 1: in science that everybody assumes they know the answer to, 14 00:00:43,479 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: but it turns out they don't. Hi. I'm or Hey. 15 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: I'm a cartoonists and the creator of PhD comics. Hi 16 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: I'm Daniel. I'm a podcast host and part time particle physicist. 17 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: Have you been downgraded to part time? Now? I decided 18 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: let's make this podcast thing my primary activity. That's right, 19 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:18,920 Speaker 1: it's two hours a week, but it's the most important 20 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 1: and valuable two hours of my week. Two hours of work. 21 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:25,760 Speaker 1: Isn't that too much? For a physicist. Well, you know, 22 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 1: you've got your naps in, you've got your coffee breaks, 23 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: you got your scribbling nonsense on the board to look busy. 24 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: So it's a pretty full day after a while, you 25 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: mean a pretty full week, pretty for a week. Yeah, 26 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: you know. But I modeled my work day after my 27 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: um my cartooning role models. You know. Yeah, sleep in, 28 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: never change out of your pajamas, this kind of stuff. Yeah, No, 29 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: we should all look up to cartoonists as a nation. 30 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: We would all be more productive if we follow the 31 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: cartooning work week. We'd all be a lot more funny, 32 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: that's right. We would do the low way to prosperity. 33 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 1: But you are listeners are listening to our podcast, Daniel 34 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: and Jorge Explain the Universe, a production of I Heart Radio, 35 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: in which we take weird and funny and amazing and 36 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: crazy things about the universe and try to doodle them 37 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 1: into your brain with silly analogies and bad jokes. That's right. 38 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,679 Speaker 1: We try to take you to the corners, the far 39 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: reaching corners of the universe, and to explore the heaviest things, 40 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 1: the biggest things, the brightest things, the smallest things that 41 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: are out there for us to discover that's right, And 42 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: so we have this series of podcasts we've been really 43 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: enjoying about the extreme Universe, Extreme Extreme, in which we 44 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: look at all the weirdest, nastiest, hottest, wettest, craziest things 45 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:43,839 Speaker 1: in the universe, and we have actually done some of those. 46 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 1: We did the hottest, we did the brightest, we did 47 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: the biggest. What else did we do? You Ma, you 48 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: make our podcast sound a little not safe for work there, Daniel. 49 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: That's all in the minds of the listener. Okay, well, 50 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: that's that's kind of the universe totally. The universe is 51 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:00,160 Speaker 1: not safe for work. Oh I thought you meant the 52 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: universe is in the minds of the listener, which is 53 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:04,399 Speaker 1: also sort of true from a philosophical point of view. 54 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: So today we're continuing our series of extreme Things in 55 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: the universe, and in this episode we are going to 56 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: explore what is the dnsest thing in the universe, the 57 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:22,640 Speaker 1: densest thing in the universe, that's right, Not the heaviest, 58 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 1: not the biggest, not the smallest, but the most compact, 59 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 1: the thing with the most stuffed stuffed into it, that's right, 60 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: Not the sharpest thing, the densest thing, that's right, Not 61 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: the brightest thing, but the densest things, right, Not the 62 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: smartest thing in the universe, the dances, that's right. Yeah, 63 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:42,880 Speaker 1: the smartest thing in the universe. That would be an 64 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: interesting discussion. I wonder what is the smartest thing in 65 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 1: the universe. Do you think it's a human? Who? You 66 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: think it's some super intelligent alien race? I think the 67 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: universe is the smartest thing in the universe. Oh snap, 68 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: we are the universe thinking? Is that what you're thinking? 69 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: Where you're going? We are the brain of the universe. 70 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: The universe is us. It's very holistic of you. I 71 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: gotta get some of those banana peals you must have 72 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: been smoking for today's episode. I am one with the universe, 73 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: and the universe is me, and I am thinking the 74 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: thoughts of the universe. Well, I but I don't. I 75 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: don't smoke banana peals. I just I just eat them. Wrong, 76 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: You eat them, you eat the flesh, and I smoked 77 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:17,599 Speaker 1: the peels. So we're a perfect team. Well, so, yeah, 78 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,040 Speaker 1: what is the densest thing you meaning? Like, what is 79 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:24,839 Speaker 1: the most compact crunched up think? Is you know, craziest 80 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:28,280 Speaker 1: most amount of stuff in a small amount of space. 81 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: Thing that exists out there in the universe, that's right. 82 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:33,640 Speaker 1: And the point of this series, the Extreme Universe series, 83 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: is to remind you that our little corner of the 84 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: universe is fairly ho hum. It's not very fast, it's 85 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 1: not very big, it's not very hot, it's not very cold. 86 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: It's sort of just right. And what that means is 87 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,840 Speaker 1: that there is crazy stuff out there, this stuff out 88 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:50,159 Speaker 1: there that's bigger you than you can imagine, that's hotter 89 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:53,600 Speaker 1: than you can imagine, that's emptier than you can imagine. 90 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:56,919 Speaker 1: And one of my funniest extremes is density. To imagine 91 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 1: how much stuff you can cram into the tiniest spot, 92 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,159 Speaker 1: get those atoms all crowded up into each other. Because 93 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 1: when that happens, really weird things happen. Matter does all 94 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:09,039 Speaker 1: sorts of strange stuff when you squeeze it together. And 95 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 1: so a lot of our listeners, a lot of you 96 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:12,920 Speaker 1: listening out there, might be thinking, Oh, I know the 97 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:17,039 Speaker 1: answer to this question. It's obviously a black hole. Hint, 98 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 1: it's not a black hole. It's not a black hole. 99 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. There's a bit of 100 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: a philosophical argument there at the end teaser, there's a 101 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,839 Speaker 1: plot twist. It is it isn't It is it isn't. 102 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: Some people say it is, some people say it isn't. 103 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 1: Those other people throw the other first people into a 104 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,799 Speaker 1: black hole, and the argument and at all just becomes 105 00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:42,919 Speaker 1: a black hole of a mess exactly, it becomes a 106 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: mental black hole. We all get a little denser. So 107 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:49,320 Speaker 1: hopefully that sucked you in into the topic of this podcast, 108 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:51,359 Speaker 1: and so stay tuned to see if it is or 109 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: if it's not a black hole. Daniel says, maybe it 110 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 1: is not, Maybe it is, maybe it's not. Exactly, But 111 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,039 Speaker 1: before we dive into that, I went around and I 112 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 1: asked folks on campus that you see Irvine. I said, 113 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: what do you think is the densest thing in the universe? 114 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:06,160 Speaker 1: Because I was curious, is everybody just going to say 115 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: it's a black hole? To people have other ideas? Have 116 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:11,720 Speaker 1: people done the careful reading about the fundamental issues in 117 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,559 Speaker 1: the corners and the centers black holes? Or maybe people 118 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:17,280 Speaker 1: knew what the densest thing in the universe is. Maybe 119 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:19,760 Speaker 1: there it's it's something else and people knew about it. Yeah, 120 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:22,280 Speaker 1: that's right. Maybe it's the center of some weird kind 121 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 1: of candy and you know, famously dance or something else 122 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 1: weird people have read about. So I walked around I 123 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 1: asked people. I said, what do you think is the 124 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 1: densest thing in the universe? So think about it for 125 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:35,159 Speaker 1: a second, and if somebody asked you on the street, 126 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 1: what is the denist thing in the universe, would you 127 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 1: answer that it's a black hole. Here's what people had 128 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,920 Speaker 1: to say. A black hole. Oh, man, I hope it's 129 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:48,599 Speaker 1: chocolate black hole. Probably a black hole, a black hole, 130 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: neutron stars, something like that. Black holes gets the anti 131 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 1: matter black hole. I think I want to say the core, 132 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: the core core of the Earth, okay, okay, or actually, 133 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:04,880 Speaker 1: so you know universe, probably the sun in the star, right, yeah, 134 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 1: I would say a star al right. So most people 135 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: answered black hole. A lot of people said it's a 136 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: black hole. It's a good go to thing. I think 137 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 1: people think what's the densest thing in the universe and 138 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 1: their mind goes straight to a black hole because they 139 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: imagine a black hole has a lot of stuff stuffed 140 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 1: into it. But it wasn't the only answer. There was 141 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: some pretty interesting ones here. I like the one that 142 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: said it's chocolate exactly. I'm not sure that was a 143 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: serious answer. Somebody out there really had a hanker and 144 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,840 Speaker 1: for some dark, dark chocolate. Right. The thing that interested 145 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: me about these answers maybe they were thinking like richest, 146 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: Like what's the richest thing you've ever tasted? Most? What's 147 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: the most calorie dense thing in the universe? Maybe that's 148 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 1: what they're thinking. There you go, is it still a 149 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 1: black hole? Like what if you eat a black hole? 150 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,120 Speaker 1: That's a lot of calories technically, right, what if you 151 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: ate a black hole? I think that's a physics question 152 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 1: nobody has ever asked me before. While we are breaking 153 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 1: new ground today. One of the things I liked about 154 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 1: these answers is in contrast to someone the other extreme 155 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: universe questions, where you you might have noticed people tended 156 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 1: to answer in their local environment. They're like, thought about 157 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 1: what is the brightest thing in our solar system? Or 158 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:11,800 Speaker 1: what is the biggest thing nearby here? People really went 159 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: s at a universal They really cast their minds into 160 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:18,560 Speaker 1: the entire universe to find something really really dense. I 161 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:20,320 Speaker 1: mean like the person who said it was the core 162 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 1: of the earth exactly, not that person, everybody, but that 163 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: person yeah, all right, Well there were other answers here. 164 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 1: Some people said neutron stars, other people said antimatter. Those 165 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 1: are pretty a space physics the answers yeah, yeah, I 166 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:37,600 Speaker 1: think antimatters a would have stabbed there. You know, Um, 167 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: antimatter is not anymore or less than the normal matter, right, 168 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 1: it's just another kind of matter. It's at the opposite 169 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: kind of matter. But a neutron star is a good answer. Um. 170 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 1: I like the people who said, you know, I don't 171 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:51,680 Speaker 1: know something strange out there in space like that, you know, 172 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: just conveys the whole idea we're trying to get across here, 173 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: which is that space is filled with weird stuff, something 174 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,440 Speaker 1: crazy and strange and you probably can't even imagine. Well, 175 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: that needs to be the answer to every single one 176 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: of these extreme universe episodes. It's like, what's the brightest 177 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:10,920 Speaker 1: thing in the universe, some weird thing out there in space, 178 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 1: something in space. I've noticed this trend that you seem 179 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: to be trying to assemble a sort of universal list 180 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:21,320 Speaker 1: of answers to physics questions, Like how many physics questions 181 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 1: can you just answer with the with the phrase the 182 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: Big bang or space or you know, physics. Um, it's 183 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: like you're trying to find shortcuts or something. Well, you know, 184 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:31,720 Speaker 1: I want to be ready when that physicist approaches me 185 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 1: on the street wearing sandals and asking me strange questions 186 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 1: about the universe. I want to be ready. You know, 187 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:41,680 Speaker 1: you want to be ready. I think we should do 188 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:43,600 Speaker 1: that someday. We should just flip your answers in and 189 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 1: see if any listeners even noticed. Right, do I get 190 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: to Google first? Nobody gets to Google first. There's no 191 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,560 Speaker 1: googling allowed in these questions. It's just what do you know? Now? 192 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:55,440 Speaker 1: What's in your mind? What answer can you construct? All right, well, 193 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:58,679 Speaker 1: let's launch into this discussion, Daniel. Let's figure out what 194 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 1: is the dancest thing in the universe. But first let's 195 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 1: maybe talk about what is density. I think we all 196 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:07,560 Speaker 1: have an intuitive sense of what density is, but you know, 197 00:10:07,559 --> 00:10:10,160 Speaker 1: maybe there's a it's different from the physics definition. Yeah, 198 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:12,319 Speaker 1: and we talk a lot in this podcast about sort 199 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,520 Speaker 1: of the difference between technical physical definitions and sort of 200 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:19,240 Speaker 1: cultural definitions, and in this one case, I think they're 201 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: pretty well aligned. But let's just go through the basics. 202 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:23,920 Speaker 1: Being people up to speed in case they haven't thought 203 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:26,439 Speaker 1: about density. Since you know high school chemistry or something 204 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,560 Speaker 1: um And so density is not a fundamental unit, it's 205 00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 1: a derived unit, which means it's a ratio of two 206 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:35,760 Speaker 1: other things. It's mass over volume. So mass is just 207 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 1: like how much stuff is there. It's different from weight. Right, Wait, 208 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:41,120 Speaker 1: is how much force is there on you from from 209 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 1: Earth's gravity. Mass is just like how much stuff is 210 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:46,959 Speaker 1: there in you? Right, And remember we talked about that 211 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:49,680 Speaker 1: another time. What is mass? And it comes from inertia 212 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: and it's the property of an object to resist changes 213 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:54,840 Speaker 1: in its motion. Right, So that's what mass is. All 214 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:56,839 Speaker 1: the particles inside you and all their energy addupt to 215 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:58,680 Speaker 1: give you a certain amount of mass. And then on 216 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,640 Speaker 1: the bottom of that volume, right, So it's mass over 217 00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:04,080 Speaker 1: a volume. And volume is just how much space do 218 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: you take up? Right? How big are you? So something 219 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: can be really dense if it has a lot of 220 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,640 Speaker 1: mass and not very much volume, or not very much 221 00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:14,679 Speaker 1: mass but even less volume. Right. So it's not about 222 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:17,760 Speaker 1: being extremes in mass or extremes in volume. It's all 223 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: about the ratio. It's having a lot of mass in 224 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:22,640 Speaker 1: a small space. I see. It's not about being the 225 00:11:22,679 --> 00:11:25,760 Speaker 1: biggest thing or about having the most mass. It's about 226 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:29,160 Speaker 1: having the most mass in the smallest amount of space. Yeah, 227 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:31,439 Speaker 1: because you can think of things that are really really 228 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 1: big and really really massive, but not very dense, like 229 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:37,200 Speaker 1: a blimp. Right. You know, a blimp is not that 230 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:39,280 Speaker 1: dense because it can float in the air. Right, It's 231 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:42,360 Speaker 1: filled with a gas that's less dense than air, even 232 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: though it's really big and uh and and it has 233 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 1: a huge amount of mass to it. A blimp is 234 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:49,840 Speaker 1: not actually that dense. But if the blimp was made 235 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 1: out of rocks, that would be really really dense. That's right. 236 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:57,040 Speaker 1: That would be a terrible design for a blimp exactly. Um, 237 00:11:57,080 --> 00:11:59,680 Speaker 1: I don't recommend you buy any stocks and your friends 238 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,200 Speaker 1: rock blimp startup. Well, it depends on what you're trying 239 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:05,680 Speaker 1: to float in, right, If you're trying to float into 240 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:09,360 Speaker 1: something that is denser than rock, then they would work. Yeah, 241 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:12,720 Speaker 1: that's true. I'm not sure where that exists, so you know, 242 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:15,480 Speaker 1: he's lava denser than rock, probably not right, So I'm 243 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:18,280 Speaker 1: not sure where your rock blimp would even work, but 244 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 1: sure yeah, maybe you know, on the surface sid maybe 245 00:12:21,559 --> 00:12:26,280 Speaker 1: in the liquid nitrogen oceans of Jupiter. There you go, there, 246 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,520 Speaker 1: there you go. There's a great reason to invest in 247 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,000 Speaker 1: your in that startup now. Yeah. But the point is, 248 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:35,200 Speaker 1: things can be really big and really massive without being 249 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:37,920 Speaker 1: very dense. Right. Dense requires a huge amount of mass 250 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:40,680 Speaker 1: compacted into a small space. So the densest thing in 251 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 1: the universe doesn't have to be something big. It can 252 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:45,719 Speaker 1: be something small, that's right. And things can be very 253 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 1: very dense without being that big. Right. You can have 254 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:51,560 Speaker 1: a really really small amount of something that's very dense 255 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:54,040 Speaker 1: as long as there's a huge amount of stuff crammed 256 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:56,319 Speaker 1: into it. But it could also be a really big thing, 257 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 1: like you could you know, the densest thing in the 258 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:01,719 Speaker 1: universe could be like a star or a neutron star. 259 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:03,760 Speaker 1: It could be something that big. Yeah, exactly, it could 260 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 1: be big, it could be small. It could be massive, 261 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:07,440 Speaker 1: it could be not that massive. The key is the 262 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:10,200 Speaker 1: ratio again between the mass and the volume, how much 263 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:14,439 Speaker 1: stuff is cramped into a certain amount of space exactly. 264 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 1: And you know, that's physics density, And I think that 265 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:19,640 Speaker 1: matches pretty well with what people's intuition is for density. 266 00:13:19,679 --> 00:13:22,120 Speaker 1: I don't think we have a pretty big disconnect like 267 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:26,360 Speaker 1: we usually do. So congratulation Physics Naming team. You picked 268 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,320 Speaker 1: a good one this time. Well, I guess intuitively, you know, 269 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:31,880 Speaker 1: it's kind of like, um, holding something in your hand. 270 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:34,560 Speaker 1: You know, like if you're holding a little rock that's 271 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:37,559 Speaker 1: dense and you know it's dnse because it feels heavy, 272 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:39,920 Speaker 1: but it still fits in your hand. But if you 273 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:42,200 Speaker 1: have you have like a ball of cotton in your hand, 274 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:44,800 Speaker 1: that's not very dense, that's right. And so one way 275 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:47,840 Speaker 1: to compare densities is to say, I'm going to compare 276 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,440 Speaker 1: different kinds of stuff and have the same volume, so 277 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: the same amount of its same like physical space full 278 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: of it, and then just compare the mass because it's 279 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:58,160 Speaker 1: the ratio of mass to volume. And if you fix 280 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 1: the volume, then you can just compare the mass us. 281 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,000 Speaker 1: So you can compare like a handful of rock to 282 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:06,080 Speaker 1: a handful of cotton, to a handful of air to 283 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:09,160 Speaker 1: a handful of you know, hot lava or whatever. And 284 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:11,480 Speaker 1: don't actually try to get a handful of hot lava, 285 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:15,560 Speaker 1: but hand full of lava sounds like it sounds like 286 00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:17,440 Speaker 1: a you know, a high school band name or something 287 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:23,920 Speaker 1: up next an extreme universe handful of lava. Anyway, Um, yeah, 288 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,480 Speaker 1: you if you fix the volume, then you can compare 289 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:28,760 Speaker 1: the mass. Okay, so you have a couple of great 290 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 1: interesting numbers here for us, and they're all based on 291 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 1: a fixed volume, which is a one teaspoon, right, that's right. 292 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: I thought a teaspoon is like a macroscopic quantity. You know, 293 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 1: you can imagine it's just like a normal kitchen spoonful 294 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 1: of stuff. And then we can think about how heavy, 295 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,120 Speaker 1: how much mass is there in a teaspoon of this 296 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 1: versus a teaspoon of that versus the teaspoon of something else. 297 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 1: So if we fix the volume, then we can just 298 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 1: think about how much mass there is, how much a 299 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 1: teaspoon of something would Wait, that's right now. Wait, of 300 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 1: course is slightly different from mass, but you know they're connected. 301 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 1: And here Earth, something that has more mass has more weight. Um, 302 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 1: you know, far away from the Earth, then you can 303 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,200 Speaker 1: still have mass even if you don't have weight. But 304 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:09,360 Speaker 1: they're the same if we're if we're doing this experiment 305 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:11,440 Speaker 1: on the surface of the Earth, then it's equivalent. So 306 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 1: step us through here, Daniel. All right, so I thought 307 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: we'd start really really light, all right, just sort of 308 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:20,120 Speaker 1: for scale, and imagine if you had, for example, um, 309 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 1: a teaspoon of space right. I mean, I don't know 310 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:24,880 Speaker 1: how you would get that, but so you like scooped 311 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 1: up a teaspoon of space, so you had, you know, 312 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:29,880 Speaker 1: stuff that had the same density of space. Like what 313 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 1: do you mean space, like average space or like if 314 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:35,520 Speaker 1: you win out into space, grabbed the scoop of it 315 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 1: and brought it back to Earth. Is that what you mean? Yeah? 316 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:41,400 Speaker 1: The average amount the average amount of stuff in space. 317 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 1: And remember we did a whole podcast episode about how 318 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:45,400 Speaker 1: space he is space and it turns out that the 319 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:48,040 Speaker 1: answer is pretty different depending on where you get your 320 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:51,200 Speaker 1: scoop of space. But in all cases, as long as 321 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 1: you're far away from the Earth's atmosphere, the answer is 322 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:56,360 Speaker 1: pretty pretty low. You know, you're gonna get less than 323 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 1: one proton in your tea spoon. Okay, so this is 324 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 1: like the average teaspoon of the universe. Yeah, exactly. The 325 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 1: average density of a teaspoon in the universe is one 326 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:11,120 Speaker 1: times ten to the negative twenty seven kilograms, So that's 327 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 1: zero point twenties seven. Zero's one. That's how much a proton. Ways, 328 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:18,920 Speaker 1: so you can have like a whole teaspoon with just 329 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,600 Speaker 1: a proton in it. That's about the average density of 330 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: stuff out there, and a proton is pretty small, right, 331 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:30,280 Speaker 1: I mean it's it's pretty much. Uh, it's it's tiny. 332 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:33,280 Speaker 1: It's almost nothing, right, it's almost a fundamental unit of 333 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:36,200 Speaker 1: of mass. Right. Yeah, it's amazing because it's almost nothing. 334 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:38,560 Speaker 1: But then it makes up everything, right, And it's incredible 335 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 1: how you can get big macroscopic stuff made out of 336 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 1: super tiny stuff. Right. It boggles the mind how small 337 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: a proton is, and then how many protons you need 338 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,160 Speaker 1: to make, Like you know, a cookie or whatever. There's 339 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:51,960 Speaker 1: so many protons in your cookie and you don't even 340 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: think about them as you eat it. Wow. So that's 341 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: the average density of the universe really, right, it's it's 342 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:01,640 Speaker 1: about one proton per teaspoon. And the reason is, you know, 343 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:03,240 Speaker 1: there's a lot of stuff out there in the universe, 344 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:05,320 Speaker 1: a lot of stars and they're big, and a lot 345 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: of galaxies, but most of the universe is pretty empty, 346 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,880 Speaker 1: you know, the stuff between stars and between galaxies. There's 347 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:13,639 Speaker 1: not that much stuff there. And the biggest volume of 348 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:16,359 Speaker 1: the universe are these super voids, you know, between the 349 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:20,239 Speaker 1: sheets of superclusters. But there's really basically almost nothing. And 350 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 1: so because density is mass over volume, and the volume 351 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:27,560 Speaker 1: of the universe is unbelievably gigantic. Then that's why the 352 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 1: density is so small. I mean, it's amazing that it's 353 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: even anywhere close to a proton. Frankly, Wow, that's pretty 354 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 1: incredible to think that if you sort of, like if 355 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:38,720 Speaker 1: you shrank the entire universe into a teaspoon, like everything 356 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:43,200 Speaker 1: that's stuff, stars as planets, would just be about the 357 00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:45,800 Speaker 1: size of a proton exactly. But but the next I thought, 358 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:48,239 Speaker 1: let's let's look at something sort of around here on 359 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 1: the Earth, and and a good sort of normalization for 360 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:54,600 Speaker 1: like a standard for what density is is water, because 361 00:17:54,640 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 1: water is one um gram per cubic centimeter, right, and 362 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 1: a teaspoon is five cubic centimeters, So water is five 363 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:06,400 Speaker 1: grams per cubic centimeter. So you have a teaspoon of water, 364 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:09,560 Speaker 1: it weighs five grams, which is a whole lot more 365 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:13,480 Speaker 1: than a proton. What about a teaspoon of tea? A 366 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:16,080 Speaker 1: teaspoon of tea, that's a good question. It must be 367 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:19,200 Speaker 1: a little bit more dense, right because you put something 368 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:26,160 Speaker 1: into it, but it's about the same, Okay, So that's um. 369 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:28,560 Speaker 1: I think that's a pretty good anchor for people, maybe, 370 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:30,640 Speaker 1: you know, because we're all sort of familiar with how 371 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:34,080 Speaker 1: water feels and how much it wasgs. That's right, And 372 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:36,320 Speaker 1: if you're holding a teaspoon, you can tell the difference 373 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:39,439 Speaker 1: between having a full teaspoon and an empty teaspoon. Right, 374 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: somebody pours water into your teaspoon with your eyes closed, 375 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:43,840 Speaker 1: you can tell the difference. Whereas if I put a 376 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:46,560 Speaker 1: single proton in your teaspoon, you're not gonna notice. So 377 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:49,040 Speaker 1: you can feel it, right, you can feel five grams. 378 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 1: It's not it's not a lot, but it's also not nothing. 379 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:54,879 Speaker 1: That really kind of tells you how empty the universe is, right, Like, 380 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:59,439 Speaker 1: if our average experience of matter is a teaspoon of water, 381 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:02,679 Speaker 1: compare that to a teaspoon with one proton in it. 382 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:05,680 Speaker 1: That's that's really kind of the difference between our everyday 383 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:09,200 Speaker 1: experience and the actual whole other rest of the universe, 384 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 1: exactly at the low extreme, most of the universe is 385 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:14,439 Speaker 1: really not very dense at all, So we live in 386 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:17,360 Speaker 1: a pretty dense place compared to most of the universe. 387 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:20,439 Speaker 1: But then again, as you'll hear, our surroundings are not 388 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:22,879 Speaker 1: very dense at all compared to the densest places in 389 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:25,680 Speaker 1: the universe, So The craziest thing about the universe is 390 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:28,399 Speaker 1: that it has this enormous range. Most of it's not 391 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: very dense at all, and then there's these incredible pockets 392 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 1: of total density. Well, let's keep scooping up more and 393 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:38,280 Speaker 1: more dens for things. But first let's take a quick break. 394 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,600 Speaker 1: All right, we're scooping things up indiscriminately here and measuring 395 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:58,320 Speaker 1: their density to find out the densest thing in the universe. 396 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:00,639 Speaker 1: And we we just scipped up some water. So some 397 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,879 Speaker 1: water is about five grams that's right, five grams per 398 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,800 Speaker 1: tea spoon. And then people, um, a lot of people said, oh, 399 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:08,760 Speaker 1: maybe the sun or a star. That seems like a 400 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:11,360 Speaker 1: dense thing, right, because it seems like it's trapped by 401 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:14,200 Speaker 1: gravity and the reason it's burning is that it's all 402 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:17,200 Speaker 1: this gasp and compressed. So people figure, well, it must 403 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,159 Speaker 1: be pretty dense, right, Well, it is dense, but it's 404 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,879 Speaker 1: surprisingly not that dense. I mean, the density of the 405 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 1: sun is about seven grams per teaspoon, so only a 406 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:29,479 Speaker 1: little bit denser than water. Are you serious? Yeah, the 407 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:33,879 Speaker 1: sun is not that much denser than water. Yeah, the 408 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 1: Sun is not that much denser than the water. Now, 409 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:38,360 Speaker 1: the sun is really big, and the Sun is really hot, 410 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:41,159 Speaker 1: but it's not actually that dense. So this is the 411 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: average density of the Sun, because I imagine the Sun 412 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 1: is dens or at the middle in the middle unless 413 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:49,600 Speaker 1: dense at the edges. Right, the Sun really doesn't like 414 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:51,919 Speaker 1: when you talk about its middle that way. It's been 415 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,440 Speaker 1: working on it for a few billion years um. But yes, 416 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:56,760 Speaker 1: the the density of the Sun does vary. So this 417 00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 1: is the average density exactly. And I think the reason 418 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:03,600 Speaker 1: that it's not more dense is that there's more than 419 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: just gravity going on. Right. Gravity is the thing that 420 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: made the Sun. It pulled all that stuff together, it 421 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:11,400 Speaker 1: starts that fire. But once you have that fire happening, 422 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:15,000 Speaker 1: it's like a constant explosion, and that explosion is making 423 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:18,199 Speaker 1: the Sun less dense. So the Sun is this constant balance, right, 424 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:22,600 Speaker 1: It's a trapped, ongoing nuclear explosion. The explosions are pushing 425 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:25,359 Speaker 1: things out and gravity is pulling things in. And so 426 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:27,240 Speaker 1: if it was just gravity, then you know, the Sun 427 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:30,359 Speaker 1: would collapse into a very very dense state. But the 428 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,040 Speaker 1: reason it doesn't collapse is because it's exploding, so that 429 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:35,120 Speaker 1: keeps it, you know, a little fluffy, So you're really 430 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:38,520 Speaker 1: only kind of measuring the density of the fuel of 431 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:41,520 Speaker 1: the sun, Like once it turns into fire and photons 432 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 1: once it turns into light, you don't really count that 433 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,000 Speaker 1: as part of the density. That's right, we're measuring the 434 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:49,400 Speaker 1: matter density of the sun. But you know a lot 435 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:51,520 Speaker 1: of the photons produced in the sun never leave it 436 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:54,040 Speaker 1: because they're reabsorbed. You make a photon somewhere in the 437 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:56,280 Speaker 1: middle of the sun, it's going to get reabsorbed before 438 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:58,080 Speaker 1: it leaves the sun. But I think they did is 439 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:01,200 Speaker 1: that if you scooped up a teaspoon of the sun, 440 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 1: it would it would sort of feel the same as 441 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:07,040 Speaker 1: this teaspoon of water. It might be a lot brighter, right, 442 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:12,359 Speaker 1: and hotter, but exactly. Yeah, that's the idea, right, Somebody 443 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,240 Speaker 1: out there is imagining being blindfolded, and you're saying, I'm 444 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:17,520 Speaker 1: either going to pour a teaspoon of water into your 445 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:19,879 Speaker 1: teaspoon or a teaspoon of the sun, and you won't 446 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,000 Speaker 1: be able to tell which. And you're thinking, yeah, I 447 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,560 Speaker 1: think I'll be able to tell. But you're right, you 448 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:26,960 Speaker 1: won't be able to tell from the from the heaviness 449 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:28,920 Speaker 1: of it, because it's not that much heavier than water, 450 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:31,320 Speaker 1: all right, And in fact, it seems like things are 451 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:33,800 Speaker 1: even denser here on Earth. Yeah, exactly. And you might 452 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:35,680 Speaker 1: be thinking, well, water is not that dense, and you're right, 453 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,639 Speaker 1: And if you just like bent down and scooped up 454 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:41,800 Speaker 1: a teaspoon of rocks, you know of like gravel or whatever, 455 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 1: then you would have something denser. In fact, the density 456 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,399 Speaker 1: of the Earth, again averaging over everything in the Earth, 457 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:51,960 Speaker 1: is thirty grams per teaspoon. Remember waters five grams, the 458 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:55,960 Speaker 1: sun is seven grams. The Earth is thirty grams per teaspoon. 459 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,280 Speaker 1: That's a lot denser than the Sun. So the Sun 460 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:01,520 Speaker 1: is actually kind of fluffy, right, Yeah, it's like a 461 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:04,919 Speaker 1: big cozy pillow on fire. Yeah. And the reason is right, 462 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 1: the Earth is not on fire. Right. If the Earth 463 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:12,040 Speaker 1: was more massive so that there was more gravity so 464 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:14,679 Speaker 1: we can press it more infusion would get started, then 465 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 1: it would actually get bigger, right, and then it would 466 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:19,879 Speaker 1: be more fluffy. So Earth is more dense because we 467 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: only have gravity going on. We have no outward pressure 468 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 1: from fusion to make us fluffy. We're not living in 469 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,720 Speaker 1: an explosion. We are pretty compact. So but that's kind 470 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:33,360 Speaker 1: of the average density of the Earth. But there must 471 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:36,520 Speaker 1: be things on Earth that are denser than the average density. 472 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:38,840 Speaker 1: Big variation in density. You know, the core of the 473 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:41,280 Speaker 1: Earth is more dense than the rocks under your feet, 474 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:44,680 Speaker 1: for example. So there's a lot of variation. But if 475 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 1: you look around on Earth, for like, what is the 476 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:49,840 Speaker 1: densest thing that occurs on Earth? There's this one element 477 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 1: it's called osmy um, and osmium weighs a hundred ten 478 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:58,119 Speaker 1: grams per teaspoon a hundred and ten grams, so like, um, 479 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,720 Speaker 1: that's a lot. That's like, how much is that like 480 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 1: fifteen scoops of the sun compressed down? Is how much 481 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:11,440 Speaker 1: osm that's right? Um, If you had a teaspoon of osmium, 482 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:13,439 Speaker 1: it would feel like you had like a half a 483 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:16,679 Speaker 1: cup of water in your teaspoon. The stuff is pretty dense. 484 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:18,480 Speaker 1: I've never seen ausman. I don't even know what it 485 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:20,320 Speaker 1: looks like or if you can pour it, if it's 486 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,480 Speaker 1: liquided room temperature or whatever. But it's the densest stuff 487 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:25,960 Speaker 1: on Earth. But that's at the on the surface of 488 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,880 Speaker 1: the Earth. Like maybe down in the center of the Earth, 489 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:31,639 Speaker 1: things are more compact because there's more pressure. Yeah, and 490 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,320 Speaker 1: you're right, the core of the Earth is more dense 491 00:24:34,359 --> 00:24:36,240 Speaker 1: than the rest of the Earth or the Earth's crust 492 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 1: for example, or the average density of the Earth, which 493 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:41,160 Speaker 1: is what we mentioned earlier. But sort of surprisingly, it's 494 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:44,000 Speaker 1: not that much more dense, Like it's twice as dense 495 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:45,840 Speaker 1: at the core of the Earth than it is at 496 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:48,359 Speaker 1: the Earth's crust, which is most of the Earth. But 497 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:51,119 Speaker 1: so it's not crazy. It's not like a jillion times 498 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:53,320 Speaker 1: denser or anything. I mean, twice as dance is a lot, 499 00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:55,679 Speaker 1: but it's not. It's not shocking. Okay, So now take 500 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:57,800 Speaker 1: us out into space, Daniel, what are some of the 501 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:00,879 Speaker 1: densest things out there in space? Well, so, as we 502 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:04,200 Speaker 1: talked about, stars that are normally burning, are not actually 503 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:07,399 Speaker 1: that dense, right, and so in our solar they're pretty fluffy. 504 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:09,480 Speaker 1: In our Solar system, one of the densest things is 505 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:13,160 Speaker 1: just the Earth, right, It's a pretty concentrated blob of rock. 506 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:15,080 Speaker 1: So what you gotta do if you want something really 507 00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:17,639 Speaker 1: dense is something I think one of our listeners on 508 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:19,919 Speaker 1: the street or one of our interviewees on the street 509 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:22,600 Speaker 1: actually mentioned what you need is a failed star or 510 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:25,880 Speaker 1: a star that has gone supernova and then collapsed, right. 511 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:29,760 Speaker 1: And sometimes when a star blows its load, and it's 512 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,679 Speaker 1: finished burning all of its fuel and it's expended all 513 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:35,520 Speaker 1: of its energy, and that it no longer has that 514 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:38,720 Speaker 1: radiation pressure to keep it fluffy. It collapses into a 515 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:42,960 Speaker 1: neutron star. It's called a neutron star because the the 516 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:46,399 Speaker 1: gravity is so intense that it forces all the protons 517 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:48,880 Speaker 1: to give off an electron and become neutrons. And it's 518 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 1: just like a big ball of neutrons and they are 519 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:54,840 Speaker 1: really scrunched in together, right, because there's so many of 520 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:58,639 Speaker 1: them that the gravity really compresses things and makes it really, 521 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:02,359 Speaker 1: really really dense. That's it. It's ridiculously dense because again 522 00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:05,280 Speaker 1: there's no process going on to counteract is, so all 523 00:26:05,359 --> 00:26:07,320 Speaker 1: you have is gravity. Is just like packing these little 524 00:26:07,359 --> 00:26:10,960 Speaker 1: neutrons and imagine like a huge bag of ping pong balls, right, 525 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,359 Speaker 1: and you squeeze it so that they find like every 526 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:15,640 Speaker 1: little gap of space gets squeezed out, and they all 527 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:18,480 Speaker 1: find exactly the tightest way they can all fit together. 528 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:21,199 Speaker 1: And the density of this thing is incredible. I mean, 529 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:23,600 Speaker 1: it's even hard to understand. You know, we're talking about 530 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,800 Speaker 1: a teaspoon. If you had a teaspoon of a neutron star, 531 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:31,360 Speaker 1: it would be fifty times ten to the eleven kilograms. 532 00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:34,680 Speaker 1: That's a lot of eleven Yeah, exactly. I think that's 533 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:38,840 Speaker 1: five thousand billion kilograms per teaspoon. And you rode here, 534 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:43,159 Speaker 1: it's about seven hundred thousand Eiffel towers in a single 535 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:45,680 Speaker 1: tea spoon. Yeah. I was trying to find an understandable 536 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:49,439 Speaker 1: unit of of mass, like you know, what is comparable 537 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:52,080 Speaker 1: in mass to a teaspoon of a neutron star. And 538 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:55,280 Speaker 1: it turns out, you know, it's almost a million Eiffel 539 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:58,000 Speaker 1: towers boiled down into a tea spoon. Like, I mean, 540 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:00,240 Speaker 1: it's ridiculous, Like you couldn't hold up a sing the 541 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:02,600 Speaker 1: Eiffel Tower. I mean, I know you've been working out 542 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: and you're pretty strong and everything, but an Eiffel tower 543 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:07,439 Speaker 1: weighs a lot. Now I take a million Eiffel towers 544 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:10,400 Speaker 1: and then condense them down into a tiny teaspoon, It's 545 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 1: hard to even imagine what that kind of matter is. Like, 546 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:17,919 Speaker 1: what you know I am stronger in France is that 547 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:19,960 Speaker 1: because the Earth is not round, there's a difference in 548 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 1: like the difference from the distance from the center of 549 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:25,240 Speaker 1: the Earth. It's probably just the French wines out there. 550 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:34,040 Speaker 1: You feel stronger in France. Exactly, But I think I 551 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,680 Speaker 1: see what you're saying is that, like a neutron start 552 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:39,119 Speaker 1: is really just a star that went out right, or 553 00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:41,840 Speaker 1: that collapse, Yeah, exactly, it finished burning. And so you're 554 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:45,160 Speaker 1: saying that, like our son would be that dense, except 555 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:49,440 Speaker 1: that since it's exploding, it kind of keeps everything fluffy. 556 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:51,520 Speaker 1: But if you were to suddenly turn it off, all 557 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:55,320 Speaker 1: that stuff woulds crunched down into something like a neutron star. Right. 558 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:57,520 Speaker 1: And so to take the bomb analogy, you know, a 559 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:01,080 Speaker 1: nuclear bomb when it's exploded is not actually that dense. 560 00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:03,520 Speaker 1: It's a huge fireball, right, But the fireball itself is 561 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 1: not that dense. It's much more dense before it explodes, right, 562 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:09,359 Speaker 1: when it has all that fuel compacted into a small place. 563 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,200 Speaker 1: After it explodes, it's much less dense. So an exploding 564 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:15,840 Speaker 1: bomb is less dense than a non exploding bomb. Right. 565 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:17,960 Speaker 1: It's kind of like can candy. You know how can 566 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:21,840 Speaker 1: candy is big and fluffy, but if you like crunch 567 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,960 Speaker 1: it down, then you just get one really dense piece 568 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:28,600 Speaker 1: of candy. Yeah, you're making, uh, the sun sound really 569 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:32,159 Speaker 1: comfortable and cozy. It's like big and fluffy like cotton candy. 570 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:37,720 Speaker 1: You know, every pink pink? What is in the air 571 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:40,240 Speaker 1: over your house that you think the sun is pink? Well, 572 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:43,360 Speaker 1: you know that it depends on your If you're wearing 573 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:47,200 Speaker 1: a rose color glasses, you know, I'll give it to you. 574 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:51,480 Speaker 1: That's your cartoonist license, you know, that's your art um. Yeah, exactly. 575 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:54,040 Speaker 1: So a neutron star is actually one of the densest 576 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:57,360 Speaker 1: things in the universe. It's it's unbelievably dense. You know, 577 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,240 Speaker 1: I think isn't even denser than Thor's hammer. You're the 578 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:04,200 Speaker 1: Marvel Universe guy. I think it is. It is made 579 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:08,880 Speaker 1: from the heart of a dying neutron star. So I 580 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:12,160 Speaker 1: don't know if it's heavier, but it sounds like it's 581 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:14,320 Speaker 1: maybe in the same order of magnitude. Well, so then 582 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:17,400 Speaker 1: do the calculation. You know, if a teaspoon of neutron 583 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:21,200 Speaker 1: star is a million Eiffel towers, then Thor's hammer is what, 584 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:24,880 Speaker 1: I don't know, a hundred teaspoons, a thousand teaspoons. You know, 585 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:28,120 Speaker 1: you're talking a billion Eiffel towers. So every time Thorpe 586 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,280 Speaker 1: picks up that hammer, he's lifting a billion Eiffel towers. 587 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:36,920 Speaker 1: It's a calming book. Wait, we're doing the physics of 588 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,680 Speaker 1: comic books here today, folks. Um. Yeah, but you know, 589 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:41,600 Speaker 1: not only do you have to be strong, but you 590 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:44,200 Speaker 1: have to be worthy right to pick up Thor's hammer. 591 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:47,680 Speaker 1: So so that's pretty dense. If you scoop up some 592 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:50,720 Speaker 1: neutron star in a teaspoon, you would be picking up 593 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:53,800 Speaker 1: a million Eiffel towers. Yeah, so make sure you do 594 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:56,200 Speaker 1: your stretches before you try that, or you're gonna hurt yourself. 595 00:29:56,480 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 1: Make sure you use a strong spoon. Boon made out 596 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:03,920 Speaker 1: of osmium, or a spoon made out of a billion 597 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:11,800 Speaker 1: Eiffel towers, that's right, or vibranium. You sort of give 598 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:13,880 Speaker 1: it away. You said a neutron star is one of 599 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:16,600 Speaker 1: the densest things in the universe. But maybe so you're 600 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:18,760 Speaker 1: saying it's not the densest thing. Well, it's it's a 601 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:21,960 Speaker 1: little bit unclear. Depends a little bit who's camp you're in. 602 00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:25,200 Speaker 1: Are you an Einstein kind of person or are you 603 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:28,080 Speaker 1: a shorting Your kind of person, Because depending on what 604 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:30,960 Speaker 1: you think is going on inside a black hole, black 605 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,960 Speaker 1: holes are either the densest thing in the universe or 606 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:36,960 Speaker 1: not very dense at all. All right time to pick 607 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:41,880 Speaker 1: sides Einstein versus short Anger. But first let's take a 608 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:57,400 Speaker 1: quick break. All right, we're talking about the densest thing 609 00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:00,720 Speaker 1: in the universe, and we got to we are now 610 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:04,480 Speaker 1: at um black holes. That's right, and we are right 611 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:07,920 Speaker 1: smack in the middle of the longest standing physics grudge match. 612 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:13,880 Speaker 1: It's general relativity versus quantum mechanics, Albert Einstein versus Schrodinger 613 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:17,400 Speaker 1: in Heisenberg and all those other smart folks. And so 614 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:20,040 Speaker 1: you might be thinking that there are Let's tell me 615 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:22,160 Speaker 1: how dance is a black hole, because a black hole 616 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:24,880 Speaker 1: is also something that happens after a star collapses. Right, 617 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:27,760 Speaker 1: Sometimes the star performs a neutron star. Sometimes it forms 618 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:29,920 Speaker 1: a black hole. And a black hole seems like it 619 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:32,200 Speaker 1: must be the densest thing in the universe because it 620 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:36,040 Speaker 1: has the strongest gravity. Right. The problem with the black 621 00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:38,520 Speaker 1: hole is that how do you define the edge of 622 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:41,240 Speaker 1: the black hole? Remember that to talk about density, we 623 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:43,960 Speaker 1: have to talk about mass. Black holes have huge masses, 624 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:47,680 Speaker 1: but we also have to talk about volume. So what's 625 00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:50,360 Speaker 1: the denominator? What's the edge of the black hole? And 626 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:53,080 Speaker 1: one very reasonable thing to say is that the edge 627 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:55,360 Speaker 1: of the black hole is the point of no return, 628 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:58,000 Speaker 1: you know, the point where if you're closer to the 629 00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:00,320 Speaker 1: center of the black hole than that than light can't 630 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,200 Speaker 1: escape and nothing can never leave. Right, So you're sort 631 00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:06,240 Speaker 1: of saying, how do you when what do you count 632 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:08,640 Speaker 1: as the black hole? Is the question exactly, because if 633 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:11,840 Speaker 1: you're gonna do density, you have to calculate mass over volume. 634 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:14,920 Speaker 1: So what volume are you including? So you're saying, one 635 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:18,880 Speaker 1: option is to use what they call the event horizon, right, right, 636 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:23,120 Speaker 1: the point where not even light can escape the vicinity 637 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:25,040 Speaker 1: of the black hole. That's right, And I think that's 638 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:28,800 Speaker 1: a reasonable definition because we can't see inside the event horizons. 639 00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:31,720 Speaker 1: We have no idea what's going on inside the event horizon, 640 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:34,920 Speaker 1: so all we really can do is average over it. Right, 641 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:37,000 Speaker 1: we can say, well, we know how much mass there is, 642 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:39,320 Speaker 1: and we know how big it is, what's going on inside? 643 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:42,040 Speaker 1: You know, that's Einstein versus Shortinger. So if you don't 644 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:44,959 Speaker 1: want to be dependent on which physics genius is right 645 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:47,920 Speaker 1: about the universe, then you just need to calculate the 646 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:51,200 Speaker 1: mass the black hole divided by the volume includes enclosed 647 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:53,480 Speaker 1: by that event horizon. So I think you're saying that 648 00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:57,400 Speaker 1: a black hole should be measured by when it's when 649 00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:00,440 Speaker 1: it's black. Yeah, exactly when the black star like that 650 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:05,760 Speaker 1: where the black star and the whole holiness. That's right. 651 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:09,160 Speaker 1: And the issue with black holes then is that they 652 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:11,680 Speaker 1: are really really massive, right, which means it's a huge 653 00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 1: amount of gravity, which means the event horizon is really 654 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,959 Speaker 1: really big. So you say, you don't know what's going 655 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:19,640 Speaker 1: on inside a black hole, but there's a huge amount 656 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:23,560 Speaker 1: of mass in there. The event horizon grows linearly with mass. 657 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:26,320 Speaker 1: So for example, you have twice as much mass, the 658 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:29,720 Speaker 1: event horizon is twice as big. It's it's it's linear. 659 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,360 Speaker 1: It's like a it's like a one to one increase. 660 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:35,840 Speaker 1: I give you double the mass exactly. You double the 661 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:39,800 Speaker 1: radius of the of the black area exactly. You double 662 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:42,600 Speaker 1: the radius of the event horizon. Now, for those of 663 00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:45,560 Speaker 1: you you know something about geometry, think about that sphere 664 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:47,959 Speaker 1: right now. If you double the radius of the sphere, 665 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:50,440 Speaker 1: how much does the volume go up? Well, it goes 666 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:53,880 Speaker 1: up like the radius cubed. Right. So, so you have 667 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:57,840 Speaker 1: some black hole and you double its mass somehow, then 668 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:01,560 Speaker 1: you've increased its mass by two, but you've increased its 669 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:05,480 Speaker 1: volume by eight. Right, two cubed, so the density actually 670 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:08,600 Speaker 1: goes down. So you double the mass of a black hole, 671 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,759 Speaker 1: it's density goes down by a factor of four, which 672 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:14,799 Speaker 1: means really really massive according to your definition of the 673 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:17,560 Speaker 1: of the black holes, if you count the black part 674 00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:19,640 Speaker 1: as the black hole exactly, which seems like a reasonable 675 00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:21,960 Speaker 1: definition though you know, we'll talk about another definition in 676 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:24,279 Speaker 1: a moment. And so what that means is that the 677 00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:27,080 Speaker 1: bigger your black hole is, sorry, the more massive your 678 00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:30,040 Speaker 1: black hole is, the less dense it actually is. But 679 00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:33,040 Speaker 1: you know, I guess it's a your I see what 680 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:35,000 Speaker 1: you're saying, like that you should count the black as 681 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:40,279 Speaker 1: the black hole. But that's it's not like a physical boundary, 682 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:42,600 Speaker 1: you know, And it's not like it's not like a surface, 683 00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:44,080 Speaker 1: do you know what I mean. It's just where the 684 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:48,040 Speaker 1: effect of the gravity starts to get crazy, but it's 685 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:50,120 Speaker 1: not really sort of like you can't really touch the 686 00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:54,840 Speaker 1: surface of the black part, right. I wouldn't recommend it, um, 687 00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:57,480 Speaker 1: but you know, it is a real physical boundary. You know, 688 00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:00,319 Speaker 1: if you're a photon and you are pro do that 689 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:02,520 Speaker 1: and you don't turn, you're gonna fall in. You know. 690 00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:04,640 Speaker 1: It's like saying, how big is the Grand Canyon. While 691 00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:07,239 Speaker 1: you start the definition at the edge of the Grand Canyon, right, 692 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:09,360 Speaker 1: not at the not at the river at the bottom 693 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:11,719 Speaker 1: of it. That made that Grand canyon. Right, you fall 694 00:35:11,719 --> 00:35:13,680 Speaker 1: in the Grand Canyon, you still fell in the Grand Canyon. 695 00:35:13,719 --> 00:35:15,200 Speaker 1: It doesn't matter if you fall into the edge or 696 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:16,840 Speaker 1: if you jump out of a helicopter in the middle. 697 00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:19,879 Speaker 1: So I think it's a pretty reasonable definition that you're 698 00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:23,600 Speaker 1: you're putting the emphasis on the whole part. Well, that's 699 00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:25,759 Speaker 1: what makes the black hole so cool, right, is the 700 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:27,920 Speaker 1: whole part, not the black part. So if you just 701 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:30,359 Speaker 1: think of it the black hole as a whole, then 702 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:33,680 Speaker 1: you have to measure where the whole starts. Yeah, so 703 00:35:33,719 --> 00:35:36,600 Speaker 1: you're saying them the density of the black hole, not 704 00:35:36,719 --> 00:35:39,880 Speaker 1: determined by how much mass is inside of the black hole, 705 00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:41,759 Speaker 1: is just kind of like how big the hole is, 706 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:45,040 Speaker 1: which when it grows, it doesn't help the density, that's right, 707 00:35:45,040 --> 00:35:47,759 Speaker 1: because it's a connection there. Right. The more mass, the 708 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:51,239 Speaker 1: bigger the hole, and the bigger the whole, the less dense, right, 709 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:53,839 Speaker 1: So you sort of trapped there. In fact, to get 710 00:35:53,840 --> 00:35:55,880 Speaker 1: a really dense black hole, what you need to do 711 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:59,920 Speaker 1: is is have um a smaller black hole. Right, If 712 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:02,439 Speaker 1: you take half of the mass away from the black hole, 713 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:05,040 Speaker 1: which of course you can't do, right, Then the mass 714 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:08,200 Speaker 1: goes down by two, but the volume goes down by eight. 715 00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:12,080 Speaker 1: And so now the density increases by a factor of four. Okay, 716 00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:16,000 Speaker 1: so then the smaller the black hole, the denser it is. Yes, exactly, 717 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:18,560 Speaker 1: So start with like a really big black hole, right. 718 00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:21,239 Speaker 1: I did some some calculations here. If you have a 719 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:24,640 Speaker 1: supermassive black hole that has like the mass of four 720 00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:28,719 Speaker 1: billion sons, right, four billion times the mass of our Sun, 721 00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:32,160 Speaker 1: would be really really big black hole. It's event horizon 722 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:34,640 Speaker 1: would be so big that the density of the black 723 00:36:34,640 --> 00:36:37,759 Speaker 1: hole would be the same as water, be five grams 724 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:40,719 Speaker 1: per teaspoon of black hole. Oh, I see, because all 725 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:46,120 Speaker 1: the masses just concentrated inside of this really really big hole. Exactly. 726 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,360 Speaker 1: And again we're saying we don't know where stuff is 727 00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:50,920 Speaker 1: inside the hole. You know, we'll talk about that in 728 00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:53,360 Speaker 1: a moment. But if you have a really really dense 729 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:56,120 Speaker 1: blob of matter that forms a black hole, then it's 730 00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:59,160 Speaker 1: event horizing is so big that it's really on average 731 00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:04,040 Speaker 1: on it's not denser than the water. Do you see 732 00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:06,640 Speaker 1: them unsatisfied by that? Well, I'm just confused a little bit. 733 00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:09,040 Speaker 1: So you're saying it's it's you need a billion sons 734 00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:12,319 Speaker 1: for this, right, four billion sons. Four billion sons. So 735 00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:15,000 Speaker 1: if you stuck four billion sons inside of a sphere 736 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:18,799 Speaker 1: that big, it would be a black hole. It would 737 00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:20,600 Speaker 1: be a black hole. It doesn't matter how those sons 738 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:23,040 Speaker 1: are arranged inside. It could be in a little point 739 00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:26,160 Speaker 1: in the middle, or it could be in a you know, 740 00:37:26,239 --> 00:37:28,880 Speaker 1: the form of unicorns spread all over the whole. It 741 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:31,319 Speaker 1: would still create the same black hole. They could spell 742 00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:34,439 Speaker 1: out your name absolutely. So you're saying that we don't 743 00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:37,840 Speaker 1: know what the mass, how the mass is distributed inside 744 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:40,759 Speaker 1: of that black sphere. It could be anything that's right, 745 00:37:41,239 --> 00:37:43,640 Speaker 1: and we don't because we can't see inside black holes. 746 00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:46,080 Speaker 1: So we don't know what the distribution of mass is. 747 00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:48,000 Speaker 1: Is it all in one little point in the center. 748 00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:51,840 Speaker 1: Is it a little fuzzier because the quantum mechanics is 749 00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:55,320 Speaker 1: it's some broader distribution. We don't know because we can't see. 750 00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:58,239 Speaker 1: That's why it's a reasonable definition to say, you know 751 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:01,320 Speaker 1: everything inside this sphere, because we can't see any deeper anyway. 752 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:04,560 Speaker 1: Anything beyond that requires speculation. I always thought black holes 753 00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:06,680 Speaker 1: had to be like a point. Everything had to be 754 00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:09,160 Speaker 1: inside of a little point. But you're saying that they don't. 755 00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:11,960 Speaker 1: They could. They could really be like like a fluffy 756 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:14,719 Speaker 1: cloud of four billion sons. That's right. And another cool 757 00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:16,880 Speaker 1: thing is that any amount of matter can become a 758 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:19,120 Speaker 1: black hole as long as you put it in the 759 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:22,360 Speaker 1: right density. Right. You take your teaspoon of earth or 760 00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:24,279 Speaker 1: a teaspoon of water, you can make that into a 761 00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:26,520 Speaker 1: black hole if you candense it down to a small 762 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:30,480 Speaker 1: enough area. Right, however small that event horizon has to be. 763 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:33,799 Speaker 1: But if you have enough mass, right then then it 764 00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:37,520 Speaker 1: doesn't have to be that dense. That's the point. Right, 765 00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:39,719 Speaker 1: So you take four billion sons, you can distribute them 766 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:42,040 Speaker 1: in a really big area and it will still be 767 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:45,080 Speaker 1: a black hole, a really huge black hole. So I 768 00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:47,920 Speaker 1: don't recommend that if you are distributing sons around, please 769 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,480 Speaker 1: be careful not to make a black hole. It's easier 770 00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:53,000 Speaker 1: than you think can be careful handling those sons. Yeah, 771 00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:55,719 Speaker 1: So the point is for huge masses, it's easier to 772 00:38:55,760 --> 00:38:57,160 Speaker 1: make a black hole because they don't have to be 773 00:38:57,239 --> 00:38:59,799 Speaker 1: as dense for small masses, like you want to turn 774 00:38:59,840 --> 00:39:02,000 Speaker 1: your teaspoon of water or tea into. A black hole 775 00:39:02,239 --> 00:39:04,439 Speaker 1: has to be really dense to become a black hole. 776 00:39:04,480 --> 00:39:07,120 Speaker 1: There is a number, right, you can calculate how small 777 00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:09,120 Speaker 1: you have to compress that into. But it has to 778 00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:12,480 Speaker 1: be really dense, all right. So then, so a super 779 00:39:12,520 --> 00:39:15,839 Speaker 1: massive black hole that's a four billion times the mass 780 00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:18,200 Speaker 1: of our Sun would actually not be that dense. It 781 00:39:18,239 --> 00:39:20,839 Speaker 1: would be about us dance as a tea spoon of water, 782 00:39:21,160 --> 00:39:23,160 Speaker 1: that's right. But if you made a black hole out 783 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:26,120 Speaker 1: of just one sun, right, then it would be really 784 00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:28,080 Speaker 1: pretty dense. It would be about as dense as a 785 00:39:28,080 --> 00:39:32,400 Speaker 1: neutron star. Oh, I see, huh about us dance, But 786 00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:35,040 Speaker 1: but it could be denser. Well, smaller black holes in 787 00:39:35,120 --> 00:39:37,799 Speaker 1: that could be denser than neutron stars. Yes, but the 788 00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:40,800 Speaker 1: smallest black hole we've ever seen is about six times 789 00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:44,000 Speaker 1: the mass of the Sun. So in terms of actual 790 00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:47,800 Speaker 1: stuff we've we've observed in the universe, then the densest 791 00:39:47,800 --> 00:39:50,920 Speaker 1: black hole we've observed is not as dense as neutron 792 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:55,000 Speaker 1: stars because we've never seen one smaller than six solar 793 00:39:55,040 --> 00:39:57,719 Speaker 1: masses and I have to be smaller than that to 794 00:39:57,719 --> 00:40:00,279 Speaker 1: be denser. But so why haven't we seen one? Could 795 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:04,160 Speaker 1: one exist? They certainly could exist. Yeah, there's no minimum 796 00:40:04,239 --> 00:40:06,600 Speaker 1: size to a black hole. Remember, at the large Hadron Collider, 797 00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:08,680 Speaker 1: we think we might create black holes and those black 798 00:40:08,719 --> 00:40:12,160 Speaker 1: holes would be like particle sized, So there's no minimum 799 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:14,520 Speaker 1: size to a black hole. So they certainly could exist. 800 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:16,520 Speaker 1: There could be black holes out there that are the 801 00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:18,359 Speaker 1: mass of the Sun, or half the mass of the Sun, 802 00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:21,600 Speaker 1: or the mass of one Horge for example. They could exist, 803 00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:24,319 Speaker 1: but they're harder to see, right. Smaller black holes are 804 00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:26,880 Speaker 1: harder to see. So the densest thing in any of 805 00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:30,719 Speaker 1: the universe is probably a black hole, but it would 806 00:40:30,760 --> 00:40:35,760 Speaker 1: have to a be a small black hole less massive 807 00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:39,400 Speaker 1: than our sun and be we haven't seen what. So 808 00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:42,839 Speaker 1: technically the densest thing we've seen is a neutron star. 809 00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:45,760 Speaker 1: But the densest thing that could exist is a small 810 00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:48,880 Speaker 1: black hole unless you're willing to pierce the veil of 811 00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:51,919 Speaker 1: the event horizon and talk about what's going on inside 812 00:40:51,960 --> 00:40:56,080 Speaker 1: the black hole. What's inside a hole? Right, Well, then 813 00:40:56,120 --> 00:40:59,120 Speaker 1: that's the thing we don't know right now. Originally, Einstein 814 00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:01,759 Speaker 1: and general Relative they say, in the center of a 815 00:41:01,800 --> 00:41:04,600 Speaker 1: black hole is a singularity is a point, and a 816 00:41:04,680 --> 00:41:07,600 Speaker 1: singularity means a point of infinite density, right, at a 817 00:41:07,600 --> 00:41:10,120 Speaker 1: point where there is a huge amount of mass in 818 00:41:10,360 --> 00:41:13,400 Speaker 1: zero volume, which is pretty hard to get your mind around, 819 00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:15,840 Speaker 1: like how do you have stuff in no space? But 820 00:41:15,960 --> 00:41:17,960 Speaker 1: black holes are hard to get your mind around anyway, 821 00:41:18,239 --> 00:41:20,080 Speaker 1: So that's what Einstein would say. I would say, Oh, 822 00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:22,880 Speaker 1: the answer this question is obvious, it's the singularity inside 823 00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:26,719 Speaker 1: a black hole. But but que quantum mechanics, and he 824 00:41:26,719 --> 00:41:30,960 Speaker 1: wouldn't say that. His spokesperson would say that, I guess 825 00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:36,839 Speaker 1: um Foundation, that's right, the estate of Albert Einstein Um. 826 00:41:36,880 --> 00:41:39,040 Speaker 1: But the quantum mechanics folks would say, look, we know 827 00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:42,160 Speaker 1: the universe is quantum mechanical, and quantum mechanics says, you 828 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:45,560 Speaker 1: can't have that much stuff in a well defined location, right. 829 00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:48,759 Speaker 1: Quantum mechanics says, we know there can't be a singularity 830 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:50,640 Speaker 1: at the center of black holes. We don't know what's there, 831 00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:52,359 Speaker 1: we don't know how it works, we don't know what's 832 00:41:52,360 --> 00:41:55,560 Speaker 1: going on. And at that point gravity gets so strong 833 00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:57,759 Speaker 1: that our theories of quantum mechanics don't work, and we 834 00:41:57,800 --> 00:42:00,640 Speaker 1: don't have a theory of quantum mechanics that work when 835 00:42:00,680 --> 00:42:04,359 Speaker 1: gravity is really really powerful um, So it's a big mess. 836 00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:06,520 Speaker 1: We don't know what's going on inside a black hole. 837 00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:09,560 Speaker 1: If it's if general relativity is correct, which we're pretty 838 00:42:09,560 --> 00:42:13,120 Speaker 1: sure it's not, then there's an infinite density singularity. If 839 00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:15,880 Speaker 1: quantum mechanics is correct, which we think it is, but 840 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:18,680 Speaker 1: it doesn't work inside a black hole, then we don't know. 841 00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:21,920 Speaker 1: So what's the densest thing in the universe? Apparently it's 842 00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:27,520 Speaker 1: the ignorance of physicists. We don't really know i'near these things. 843 00:42:28,239 --> 00:42:30,239 Speaker 1: We have no idea, that's the answer. We have no 844 00:42:30,320 --> 00:42:32,680 Speaker 1: idea what the densest thing in the universe is. It 845 00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:34,959 Speaker 1: could be a neutron star. It could be a small 846 00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:37,239 Speaker 1: black hole, It could be a singularity at the center 847 00:42:37,280 --> 00:42:39,360 Speaker 1: of a black hole. It could be something else weird 848 00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:41,959 Speaker 1: and quantum mechanical that's going on inside a black hole. 849 00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:44,319 Speaker 1: We just don't know, all right. So that so that's 850 00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:45,840 Speaker 1: the answer to what is the dnist thing at the 851 00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:48,359 Speaker 1: universe is? We don't know exactly, and it kind of 852 00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:53,120 Speaker 1: depends on what we've observed and what the true theory 853 00:42:53,239 --> 00:42:57,040 Speaker 1: of physics is at these extreme situations. That's right. But 854 00:42:57,080 --> 00:43:00,160 Speaker 1: the densest thing we've ever found is a neutrons are, 855 00:43:00,239 --> 00:43:04,680 Speaker 1: which is plenty dance to impress you about extreme densities 856 00:43:04,719 --> 00:43:07,520 Speaker 1: in the universe, right, it goes from like a proton 857 00:43:08,120 --> 00:43:11,000 Speaker 1: in a teaspoon up to a million Eiffel towers in 858 00:43:11,040 --> 00:43:14,239 Speaker 1: the teaspoon. So there's an enormous range of densities. You know. 859 00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:17,480 Speaker 1: The universe is not just like uniform and spread out right, 860 00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:21,960 Speaker 1: it's like mostly empty with these incrediblely tight packed pockets. 861 00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:25,360 Speaker 1: And that works even in France. That works email in France, 862 00:43:25,480 --> 00:43:28,319 Speaker 1: exactly all right. Thanks for joining us and another one 863 00:43:28,360 --> 00:43:31,480 Speaker 1: of our Extreme Universe series. We hope you enjoyed that. 864 00:43:31,719 --> 00:43:33,400 Speaker 1: Thanks for tuning in, and hey, if you have a 865 00:43:33,480 --> 00:43:36,040 Speaker 1: question about the universe or or want us to talk 866 00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:38,560 Speaker 1: about another extreme thing in the universe, let us know. 867 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:48,719 Speaker 1: If you still have a question after listening to all 868 00:43:48,760 --> 00:43:51,960 Speaker 1: these explanations, please drop us a line. We'd love to 869 00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:54,400 Speaker 1: hear from you. You can find us at Facebook, Twitter, 870 00:43:54,520 --> 00:43:58,160 Speaker 1: and Instagram at Daniel and Jorge That's one word, or 871 00:43:58,280 --> 00:44:02,520 Speaker 1: email us at Feedback Daniel and Jorge dot com. Thanks 872 00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:05,160 Speaker 1: for listening and remember that Daniel and Jorge Explain the 873 00:44:05,239 --> 00:44:08,359 Speaker 1: Universe is a production of I Heart Radio. For more 874 00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:11,759 Speaker 1: podcast from my Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, 875 00:44:12,080 --> 00:44:15,560 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,