1 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:10,559 Speaker 1: So, Daniel, you do a lot of cooking. What is 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: the biggest kitchen implement that you have? 3 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 2: Do We measure kitchen implements by size. Now is the 4 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:20,279 Speaker 2: biggest one? The most important? 5 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,960 Speaker 1: It is to me, I got one giant ladle and 6 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 1: that is the most important. What is let's talk about 7 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: sheer volume? What takes up the most space for you? 8 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:34,599 Speaker 2: Well, actually, we went out and bought a huge soup pot. 9 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 2: Last time, we made soup for about one hundred people. 10 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: One hundred people for dinner. That's a lot. 11 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,240 Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, you know, we were out celebrating solstice and 12 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:46,520 Speaker 2: you got to go a little crazy on the solstice. 13 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:48,520 Speaker 2: So we had one hundred people over for sit down 14 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 2: dinner and we made a lot of soup. 15 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: I would rather burn my kitchen down in a ritualistic 16 00:00:54,360 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: bonfire than do one hundred sets of dishes after that. 17 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 2: That sounds like a great way to celebrate the solstice. Actually, 18 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 2: kitchen bonfire. 19 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: Kitchen effigy. There we go, No more washing dishes. 20 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 2: Hooray, it's the solstice magic. Hi. I'm Daniel. I'm a 21 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 2: particle physicist and a professor a uc irvine and I'm 22 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 2: not into astrology, but I do love the Solstice. 23 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: I am Katie Golden. I host podcast on animal behavior 24 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: called Creature Feature, and I am super duper into Solstice 25 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:53,919 Speaker 1: magics such as logs in the house and putting stones 26 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,800 Speaker 1: up such that they make interesting shapes and the light 27 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: hits them in just such a way. 28 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 2: M I see you're building Katie hinge. 29 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: Katie hinge. You know, Okay for the summer Solstice one, 30 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 1: I actually did talk about Britta Boyne, but I also 31 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: want to talk about how there's a wood hinge as 32 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: well as the stone hinge. And the word hinge it 33 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:23,880 Speaker 1: actually comes from the idea of a thing hanging like 34 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: a hinge hanging. So stone hinge is like hanging rocks, 35 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:33,920 Speaker 1: and wood hinge is another ancient people's way of creating 36 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: basically a annual sun dial, and that was made out 37 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: of wooden timber. 38 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 2: I just always thought they were trying to hinge their bets. 39 00:02:44,639 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 2: I was thinking about starting a hinge. 40 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: Fund, you know, Oh my god, Well we do need 41 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,320 Speaker 1: to teach Daniel about the difference between a hinge and 42 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: a hedge. 43 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 2: Well could you have a hedge hinge? 44 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: Uh? You know what, It's never been done as far 45 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:04,079 Speaker 1: as I know in gardening science, but that never doesn't 46 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: mean never. 47 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 2: Well, okay, how about a biology one that a hedgehog 48 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:08,920 Speaker 2: hinge hedgehog hinge. 49 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 1: Well, you know, maybe there's a hedgehog hinge for hedgehogs 50 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: looking for love. 51 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 2: All right, we'll hedge our bets until we get there. 52 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 2: But anyway, welcome to the podcast Daniel and Jorge Explain 53 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:23,160 Speaker 2: the Universe, a production of iHeartRadio in which we do 54 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 2: not hedge our bets. We go all in on trying 55 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 2: to understand how the universe works and explain it all 56 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 2: to you. We tackle the biggest questions, from the very 57 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 2: nature of the universe to the smallest questions about quantum 58 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 2: particles and the fundamental nature of space and time and 59 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 2: everything in between, including how to get your hedgehogs out 60 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 2: of your hinge. 61 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: So there is a question I always get about hedgehogs, 62 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: and it is how do they reproduce? And my answer 63 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: is very carefully, that's a. 64 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 2: Very pointed answer, Katie. And people have questions about the universe. 65 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 2: They about hedgehogs, They want about quantum particles, they wonder 66 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 2: about quantum hedgehogs, they wonder about hinges and what ancient 67 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 2: people saw in them. They wonder what the solstice means, 68 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 2: and they wonder what's going on between us and distant stars. 69 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 2: And that's all part of doing physics. You don't have 70 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 2: to be a professional academic to be a physicist. You 71 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 2: just have to wonder about the nature of the universe 72 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 2: and then share that curiosity with everybody else, and we 73 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:26,040 Speaker 2: hope you share it with us. If you have a 74 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 2: question about how the universe works, and you can find 75 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,479 Speaker 2: an answer on Google or chat, GPT or your friendly 76 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 2: neighborhood physicists, please write to me to questions at Daniel 77 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 2: and Jorge dot com. We will answer it. Everybody gets 78 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 2: an answer in their inbox, and sometimes we take an 79 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:43,559 Speaker 2: answer and put it right here on the podcast, also 80 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 2: because we've been missing you and we wanted to hear 81 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:46,279 Speaker 2: from you again. 82 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: So ninety nine percent of a part of cul physicists 83 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: job is asking the right questions and one percent is 84 00:04:55,839 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: you know, math or whatever. 85 00:04:58,480 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 2: And this is also got to be rooting there for NAT. 86 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: Napping is crucial, right right, And like a little bit 87 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 1: of grant writing. 88 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 2: Occasionally, and so on today's episode, we'll be answering listener questions. 89 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 2: Winter Solstice Edition, Happy holidays and New Year and Solstice. 90 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,480 Speaker 2: To everybody out there who celebrates whatever it is you celebrate. Today, 91 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 2: we're going to be celebrating my answering a really fun 92 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:29,920 Speaker 2: question from a listener, A question he thought of while 93 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:34,360 Speaker 2: he was in his backyard shed, maybe building his own hinge. 94 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:36,600 Speaker 2: Here's the question from Alex. 95 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 3: Hi, guys, I was working in my backhout on my shed, 96 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 3: and I was using a metal crowbar to help out 97 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 3: one day when I just realized holding it how strong 98 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:52,640 Speaker 3: it was. So my question that came to me was, 99 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 3: what is actually the longest physical possible crowbar made of 100 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 3: metal that could exist in space? Is it possible that 101 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 3: you could build one? One could exist that's long enough 102 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,840 Speaker 3: to stretch between stars, especially if you didn't have to 103 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:17,359 Speaker 3: worry about adding to its length with unlimited supplies, and 104 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 3: if it was nowhere near any other gravitational objects. What 105 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 3: would the ramifications be of having it like a crowbar 106 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 3: where one end was light hours away from the other 107 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:29,039 Speaker 3: or even light years away from the other. It seems 108 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 3: a bit weird to travel light speed and not get 109 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,239 Speaker 3: from one end to the other on one particular object. 110 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:40,679 Speaker 1: Thank you, So you know I have a similar question 111 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,000 Speaker 1: but once I just saw a crow bar on the ground, 112 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 1: I think there were some people working on something like 113 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: a manhole or something sort of nearby. But also I 114 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:54,760 Speaker 1: wondered if the world operates by video game rules, which is, 115 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: if you find a crowbar, is that yours? Now? Do 116 00:06:57,600 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: you pick it up and put it in your inventory? 117 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: Or is that still stealing? 118 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 2: I don't know. Maybe the world operates by checkof rules. 119 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 2: If you find a crowbar in act one, then you're 120 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 2: gonna have about to break into something with it in 121 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:09,280 Speaker 2: Act three. 122 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: I mean that is just video game rules. 123 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 2: Also exactly exactly. I used to play like King's Quest 124 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:18,640 Speaker 2: back in the day, and every time you found like 125 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 2: a weird magic rap mushroom, you put it in your 126 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 2: back pocket because you knew you were going to need 127 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 2: it to solve some puzzle later on. 128 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 1: Get ye bucket. You're gonna need that bucket for the 129 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: dragon at the end of the. 130 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:31,280 Speaker 2: Game, exactly, and you can't go back, So get the 131 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:34,440 Speaker 2: bucket now. And Alex is wondering about like the practical 132 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 2: limits of how big we could build something like, could 133 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,240 Speaker 2: you build a crowbar that's long enough that you can 134 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 2: use it to like poke people on other planets. That 135 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:44,680 Speaker 2: that's pretty crazy, thought, Alex. 136 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 1: It's interesting, right, because sure you could have like a 137 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: large object, but the bigger it gets. Like, there's a 138 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 1: lot of questions here, right, we need to know about 139 00:07:55,720 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: a what are crowbars made out of? Steel? Iron? Steal? 140 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: And so it's like, I guess a lot of it 141 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 1: is basically the strength, like the steal, you know, the 142 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: the what steals made out of? How that would work? 143 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:16,680 Speaker 1: But also you know how even if it's made out 144 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 1: of any material, right, Like let's say crobar made out 145 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: of whatever material, the strongest, hardest material you could get, Like, 146 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 1: is there a limit to the size of physical objects 147 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:30,920 Speaker 1: in the universe before some wacky starts happening? 148 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, this is really fun And there's a really important 149 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:38,480 Speaker 2: lesson here about how we do physics anyway, because an 150 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 2: important sort of often implicit step that we don't talk 151 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 2: about when we do physics is building a simplified model 152 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 2: of the universe. Like you want to answer a physics question, 153 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,679 Speaker 2: you know, like a piano is falling from a window. 154 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:53,960 Speaker 2: Is you going to squish that little doggie? 155 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:54,559 Speaker 1: No? 156 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 2: Oh no, I hope the answer is no. But to 157 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,440 Speaker 2: answer that physics question, what you have to do is 158 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 2: simplify at first. Because you don't care about a lot 159 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:04,439 Speaker 2: of the details. You don't care about the color of 160 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 2: the piano, you can probably ignore the crosswinds. You build 161 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 2: a simplified model that just contains the information necessary to. 162 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: Answer the question, like the breed of the dog for example. 163 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 2: Yeah we don't care, I mean we care, but it 164 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 2: doesn't change the answer. And so the trick there is 165 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 2: to make a model that's simple enough that you can 166 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 2: actually answer it because you've included all the details of 167 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:27,719 Speaker 2: all the quantum particles and be intractable, but is sophisticated 168 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 2: enough that it still provides a realistic answer. That's the 169 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:34,200 Speaker 2: sweet spot for doing physics. And the interesting thing is 170 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:36,880 Speaker 2: that that's a different model in every scenario. You can 171 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:39,319 Speaker 2: ignore the winds in this case, but if you're solving 172 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 2: a different problem like what's going to happen to this 173 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,200 Speaker 2: leaf and a tornado, you can't ignore the winds. So 174 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:46,000 Speaker 2: every time you solve a physics problem, you need to 175 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:49,559 Speaker 2: ask yourself, am I including the right assumptions or the 176 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:52,440 Speaker 2: assumptions I'm making going to ruin it? And so I 177 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 2: run into this all the time with these very long 178 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 2: space rods. 179 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:56,319 Speaker 1: Aly. 180 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,040 Speaker 2: It turns out Alex is not the only person to 181 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 2: think about really long rods up a lot, because people 182 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:04,080 Speaker 2: have this idea that a rod is sort of like 183 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:07,480 Speaker 2: infinitely rigid. Like if I'm across the room from you 184 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:10,200 Speaker 2: and have a dowel like a wooden stick, if I 185 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:12,400 Speaker 2: push it, then you're gonna feel me pushing it. You're 186 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 2: holding the other end, you're gonna feel it. And people 187 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:17,559 Speaker 2: imagine that sort of happens instantaneously, that if I push 188 00:10:17,559 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 2: on the stick on one side, you feel it instantly. 189 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:22,560 Speaker 2: And that's mostly true, and for basically every problem you're 190 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 2: going to solve here on Earth, that's basically the case, 191 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 2: because the information travels very, very fast. But then people wonder, 192 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 2: all right, what if I take a rod and I 193 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 2: build it so it's like four light years long, and 194 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 2: I stretch it from here to Alpha Centauri and some 195 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:39,840 Speaker 2: alien is holding the other side. Can I tap on 196 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:42,880 Speaker 2: my side and use that to communicate faster than the 197 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:45,840 Speaker 2: speed of light. That's a very common question I get, 198 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:48,840 Speaker 2: And the answer is obviously no. You can't break special 199 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:52,080 Speaker 2: relativity with a dowel that's four light years long. 200 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:54,079 Speaker 1: Even dowels have their limits. 201 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:57,000 Speaker 2: I guess yeah, And the reason is that you've broken 202 00:10:57,000 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 2: the assumptions. Down here on Earth, it works to assume 203 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,000 Speaker 2: whom Yeah, The information travels instantly. That when you push 204 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 2: one side of the dowel, the other side moves instantly. 205 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:09,000 Speaker 2: But that doesn't work anymore when the dowel's really really long, 206 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:12,640 Speaker 2: because the time it takes now matters, because a dowel, 207 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 2: even here on Earth, doesn't transmit information instantly. What happens 208 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 2: when you push on one side of the dowel is 209 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:21,600 Speaker 2: that you don't immediately move the other side. You push 210 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:24,599 Speaker 2: on one side and it moves the layer of molecules 211 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:26,600 Speaker 2: that are next to the edge, which you meant the 212 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:28,599 Speaker 2: next layer, which moved the next layer, which moved the 213 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:32,000 Speaker 2: next layer. Because a dowel is not infinitely rigid, it's 214 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:34,440 Speaker 2: like a very stiff version of a tube of water 215 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:36,800 Speaker 2: or like a string. You're pushing on it and there's 216 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:40,440 Speaker 2: a wave of information that travels down the dowel. So 217 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:42,319 Speaker 2: here on Earth, you push on one side of the dowel, 218 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:46,000 Speaker 2: the other side moves very shortly afterwards, but not instantly. 219 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:50,079 Speaker 2: It takes time for that information and move down the dowel. Now, 220 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:52,200 Speaker 2: when your Dowel is four light years long. That time 221 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:54,800 Speaker 2: is no longer something you can ignore. It plays a 222 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:57,840 Speaker 2: big part in how long it takes for the information 223 00:11:57,920 --> 00:11:59,960 Speaker 2: to get there. And if you ignore that, then you 224 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:03,080 Speaker 2: violating special relativity. And it seems like you could send 225 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:05,280 Speaker 2: information to the stars faster than the speed of light, 226 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 2: which of course you can't. 227 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:10,079 Speaker 1: This is actually the same problem from a biological perspective 228 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:13,640 Speaker 1: of having like a giant brain, right, could you have 229 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: an enormous brain that could like communicate instantly, right, like 230 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:24,640 Speaker 1: some galaxy sized brain. And the problem is that the 231 00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:26,800 Speaker 1: way our brains work in the same way that you 232 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:29,480 Speaker 1: talked about, how like the molecules have to push on 233 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 1: the other molecules, like our brain is all physics based. 234 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 1: Our whole bodies are basically a big Rubok Goldberg machine 235 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:41,160 Speaker 1: of molecules bonking into other molecules, which creates things like thought. 236 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:44,960 Speaker 1: And so if you have a say, a giant enough brain, 237 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,480 Speaker 1: the time it would take to like have a single 238 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:53,320 Speaker 1: thought would be incredibly slow. So the bigger the brain, 239 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 1: the more galaxy size the brain, actually the slower it 240 00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:58,319 Speaker 1: would take to have a. 241 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,720 Speaker 2: Thought, Yeah, exactly. And so if you're ignoring that when 242 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:03,520 Speaker 2: you're just thinking about a small brain. You can no 243 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 2: longer ignore that in a large brain. So the lesson is, 244 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:08,559 Speaker 2: when you're doing physics, you have to always think about 245 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:11,679 Speaker 2: what are the assumptions we're making and are those assumptions 246 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,560 Speaker 2: still valid for this scenario. In the case of the 247 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:18,920 Speaker 2: like five light year long rod, if you assume instantaneous 248 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 2: motion from one side to the other, then you're assuming 249 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 2: special relativity is broken. So you can't then go and say, oh, look, 250 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:26,760 Speaker 2: this rod breaks special relativity. Well, you assume to is 251 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 2: broken and that's why you broke it. And so there's 252 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 2: a lot of unpacking of those assumptions in these questions. 253 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:34,960 Speaker 2: But Alex's question is a little bit different. He's not 254 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 2: trying to communicate with aliens. He's just trying to build 255 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:39,720 Speaker 2: a really long rod, and he's wondering, like how big 256 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:42,320 Speaker 2: could you make it? Anyway? And I think that's exactly 257 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:44,880 Speaker 2: what he's digging into, Like what would break down? What 258 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:48,320 Speaker 2: assumptions we make about building long rods would break down 259 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 2: if we try to make one that's like a light 260 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:51,559 Speaker 2: year long, Which is a really. 261 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:54,360 Speaker 1: Cool question, yeah, because I mean there's a lot of 262 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: things that we could say, like on Earth, right, Like, 263 00:13:57,360 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: we could try to build a really long crow bar 264 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:02,720 Speaker 1: and at a certain point it could collapse under its 265 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:07,000 Speaker 1: own weight. But if something's in space, we'd have to 266 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:10,920 Speaker 1: figure out what kinds of forces or how gravity would 267 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:15,360 Speaker 1: be acting on something in a way that's different from Earth, right, Like, yes, 268 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:18,200 Speaker 1: you can. You know, it's like have you ever you 269 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: know whiteboard pins? Like you create a big old lightsaber 270 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:25,200 Speaker 1: out of whiteboard pins and at a certain point there's 271 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 1: too many and it collapses. But that's all using Earth physics. 272 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 1: So you could make a much longer whiteboard pin lightsaber 273 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 1: out in space because gravity is not impacting it in 274 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:40,960 Speaker 1: the same way that it is on Earth. But then 275 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 1: once you get big enough, right with this pin dowel 276 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:49,360 Speaker 1: or iron crowbar or whatever it is, something's happening. And 277 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,000 Speaker 1: this is where I would like you to talk. 278 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. So let's take this question out into deep space. 279 00:14:57,200 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 2: And the first thing the wonder is like, well, what's 280 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,200 Speaker 2: the biggest thing that we'd built in space so far? 281 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:04,520 Speaker 2: And that's the International Space Station. It's not that impressively long, 282 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 2: it's about thirty six meters long, but you know, it's 283 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:10,040 Speaker 2: not very far out in space, and they're not trying 284 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 2: to build something super duper long. I think the longest 285 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,040 Speaker 2: thing that's ever actually been in space, it's more like 286 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:18,120 Speaker 2: a kilometer. They build a space tether, which is like 287 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 2: a really long wire that you dangle from a spaceship 288 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 2: to try to like generate electrical current or to learn 289 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:28,720 Speaker 2: to steer using mechnetic fields. So, like a kilometer long's 290 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:31,760 Speaker 2: the biggest thing that we've ever put into space. But 291 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:34,520 Speaker 2: again that's also just the near Earth orbit. So let's 292 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 2: go deeper out into space and try to build something 293 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:40,720 Speaker 2: that's really long and think about the forces involved. Like 294 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 2: when you build a rod at a steel or even 295 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 2: a dowel out of wood or whatever, how are you 296 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 2: actually building that thing. Usually we ignore it and just say, oh, 297 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 2: it's some smooth, continuous substance. But if you zoom in, 298 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:56,080 Speaker 2: the reason it takes time to propagate information along it 299 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:57,960 Speaker 2: is the same thing that's holding it together, which is 300 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 2: the forces between those molecules. All of these objects in 301 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 2: the end are like a mesh of modules. Yet you 302 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:06,360 Speaker 2: have these little bits of matter tied together by forces 303 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 2: to build something larger, and it's those forces that transmit 304 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 2: the information also limit how big something can get right 305 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,400 Speaker 2: and so out into deep space. What is the thing 306 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 2: that's limiting us. Well, those forces can work. They can 307 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 2: tie something together basically infinitely, there's no limitation there. You 308 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:25,080 Speaker 2: can just keep adding layers and layers and layers to 309 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:27,240 Speaker 2: your rod. The thing that's going to keep you from 310 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,560 Speaker 2: building that rod light years long or infinitely long in 311 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:34,440 Speaker 2: the end, are going to be the gravitational effects, residual 312 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:38,000 Speaker 2: as they are, and the nature of space and time itself. 313 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:41,320 Speaker 2: But let's first talk about the gravitational effects. So one 314 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 2: effect are tidal forces. So you say, well, let's be 315 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:48,000 Speaker 2: out between the stars. AX is actually talking about something 316 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,240 Speaker 2: which stretches between the stars. You have like one end 317 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 2: at one star and the other end at another star. 318 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 2: And if you have something that's like five light years long, 319 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:57,760 Speaker 2: you can't have it that far away from stars because 320 00:16:57,800 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 2: it's going to be big enough. There's always going to 321 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:03,400 Speaker 2: be some nearby. And remember that gravity does more than 322 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:06,080 Speaker 2: just pull on things. It can actually pull things apart. 323 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:08,639 Speaker 2: These are called tidal forces. And for example, if you're 324 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:12,199 Speaker 2: near a black hole, then your head can have a 325 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:14,919 Speaker 2: different gravitational tug on it than your feet, and that 326 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:17,640 Speaker 2: can effectively tear you apart. Like, if the black hole 327 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:19,719 Speaker 2: is pulling on your feet harder than it's pulling on 328 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:22,160 Speaker 2: your head because your feet are a little bit closer, 329 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:24,520 Speaker 2: then it's going to pull you apart because its gravity 330 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:28,080 Speaker 2: is really really strong. But if you're really really long, 331 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:31,120 Speaker 2: then you don't need strong gravity to have tidal forces. 332 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 2: Because if one end of this rod is closer to 333 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:36,240 Speaker 2: the star then the other end, and the rod is 334 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:38,600 Speaker 2: really really long, that's going to be a very large 335 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:41,359 Speaker 2: difference in the gravitational force from one end of the 336 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:42,920 Speaker 2: rod to the other, and that star is going to 337 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:45,760 Speaker 2: tear it apart. Even if the star doesn't have really 338 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:48,920 Speaker 2: powerful gravity like black holes, the sheer length of the 339 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 2: rod makes the tidle forces very significant. 340 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:56,240 Speaker 1: I see. So you can't span a doll from one 341 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 1: start to the other because of the same title forces 342 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:04,560 Speaker 1: that spaghetifies you in a black hole. But what if 343 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:08,639 Speaker 1: you took away the stars? Right? Like, could you get 344 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 1: a like infinity rod if you took away stars and 345 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:18,119 Speaker 1: just had it existing on its own in space without 346 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:18,960 Speaker 1: hitting anything? 347 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:21,600 Speaker 2: Yeah? Right, so's get rid of the other gravity, and 348 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 2: you still have the issue of the gravity of the 349 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:27,920 Speaker 2: rod itself. Right, You can't build an infinitely massive rod, 350 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:30,040 Speaker 2: because eventually that thing is going to have its own 351 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:34,119 Speaker 2: self gravity. It's going to collapse into a black hole. Like, 352 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:36,640 Speaker 2: you can't just make a blob of metal and keep 353 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:38,760 Speaker 2: adding blobs of metal to it and make it as 354 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:41,359 Speaker 2: big as you want, because it's going to start collapsing. 355 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:44,200 Speaker 2: This already happens for things like planets, like the Earth 356 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:47,240 Speaker 2: is about the largest rocky planet you can make. You 357 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 2: can add more rock to it, but that's going to 358 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,520 Speaker 2: mean more gravity, and it's just going to compress the 359 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,520 Speaker 2: Earth further. So as you add more mass to the Earth, 360 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:57,520 Speaker 2: it doesn't get any bigger, it just gets denser. And 361 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:00,200 Speaker 2: eventually you keep adding mass, you're going to end up 362 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:02,359 Speaker 2: up with a black hole. And so there is a 363 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:05,280 Speaker 2: limit to how large and how massive you can make 364 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:08,480 Speaker 2: something before it collapses into a black hole. So something 365 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:11,880 Speaker 2: self gravity will also limit how large you can make 366 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:15,080 Speaker 2: an object out of practical stuff like steel or wood. 367 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:19,040 Speaker 1: Okay, so what about a really thin rod? Now stay 368 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,280 Speaker 1: with me. What if you have a rod that is 369 00:19:22,359 --> 00:19:25,920 Speaker 1: like one atom per unit, right, it is like one 370 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:29,000 Speaker 1: atom thick, and then you just stack a bunch of 371 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:35,600 Speaker 1: atoms into this very long rod. Would that still be 372 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:40,440 Speaker 1: something that would at a certain point start to collapse 373 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,360 Speaker 1: in on itself because of gravity, Or am I already 374 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:46,480 Speaker 1: breaking some laws of physics by trying to create a 375 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,119 Speaker 1: one atom diameter rod. 376 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,480 Speaker 2: Now you could probably make a carbon nanofiber eventually that's 377 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:55,880 Speaker 2: like one atom thick and super duper long. I don't 378 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:58,240 Speaker 2: think it's a technical problem there. But what you're going to 379 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:01,200 Speaker 2: run into is a problem with a nature space and time. 380 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:03,719 Speaker 2: And if you can get rid of gravity the nearby 381 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:06,439 Speaker 2: stars and effectively get rid of the self gravity by 382 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:09,359 Speaker 2: making this thing really really lightweight, you're going to run 383 00:20:09,359 --> 00:20:13,280 Speaker 2: into dark energy. So in short distances, like the size 384 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:15,400 Speaker 2: of our Solar system of the size of our galaxy, 385 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 2: the dominant force is gravity. It holds things together, it 386 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:21,679 Speaker 2: shapes things, it determines the nature of our universe. But 387 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 2: over very large distances, gravity gets weaker. Right, the further 388 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:27,680 Speaker 2: you are away from something, the weaker it's gravity is. 389 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:30,840 Speaker 2: And at those distances something else takes over, which is 390 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:35,119 Speaker 2: dark energy, meaning the expansion of the universe itself. Remember 391 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:38,960 Speaker 2: that everywhere in the universe is expanding. Take any arbitrary 392 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,720 Speaker 2: chunk of space as time goes on, That space is 393 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:45,359 Speaker 2: getting larger. It's making new space. So between the Earth 394 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 2: and the Sun, for example, new space is being made, 395 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,639 Speaker 2: but the gravity of the Earth and the Sun overpowers it. 396 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:54,679 Speaker 2: Between our galaxy and the neighboring galaxy, new space is 397 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:58,119 Speaker 2: being made, but again the gravity overpowers it. But eventually, 398 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:02,879 Speaker 2: between clusters of galaxy, dark energy becomes more powerful because 399 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:05,400 Speaker 2: you have more of these cubes of space and each 400 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 2: one is expanding, so that adds up and gravity gets 401 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:12,679 Speaker 2: very very weak. So take Alex's super duper long, infinitely 402 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:15,719 Speaker 2: thin rod. Eventually it's going to be so long that 403 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 2: dark energy is going to tear it apart. It's going 404 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,879 Speaker 2: to be creating new space between those atoms faster than 405 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:25,320 Speaker 2: those atoms can recover and bind themselves together. So you 406 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:27,879 Speaker 2: can get spaghettified by space and time. 407 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:33,159 Speaker 1: All right, So we cannot make an infinity rod. Unfortunately, 408 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,400 Speaker 1: do we know, like how big something can get before 409 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:42,560 Speaker 1: the expansion of the universe starts to break it apart. 410 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 2: It's gonna be really really big. And remember that nearby 411 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:49,439 Speaker 2: galaxies are millions of light years away, and dark energy 412 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:54,359 Speaker 2: only really dominates between clusters of galaxies, So we're talking 413 00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:57,800 Speaker 2: hundreds of millions of light years. So if you can 414 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:01,600 Speaker 2: overcome the gravity of nearby stars and overcome tidal forces 415 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:05,359 Speaker 2: completely and overcome collapsing due to self gravity, then you 416 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:08,000 Speaker 2: could still build something that's like hundreds of millions of 417 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:11,160 Speaker 2: light years long. So that's pretty good, you know what. 418 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:15,040 Speaker 1: That sounds great. I'm gonna write a grant for U 419 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:21,120 Speaker 1: to get started building on the biggest spaghetti that one could. 420 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:23,639 Speaker 2: Make, exact spaghetti simo. 421 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:26,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, I bet Italy's government would fun. 422 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:30,880 Speaker 2: That's gonna write, yes, in honor of the winter solstice. 423 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:34,080 Speaker 2: I think that's a great idea. All right, Well, thank 424 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:37,600 Speaker 2: you very much Alex for thinking big and wondering about 425 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:40,680 Speaker 2: how far we can push our concepts of distance and 426 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:44,560 Speaker 2: structure and space and time. Really fun way to explore 427 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,560 Speaker 2: all of those different factors, and really appreciate everybody out 428 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,080 Speaker 2: there who's thinking about the universe and wondering about it, 429 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:52,720 Speaker 2: and who's brave enough to write into their favorite Internet 430 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:55,320 Speaker 2: physicists to look for some answers. If you'd like to 431 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 2: see my email in your inbox, write to me two 432 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:00,640 Speaker 2: questions at Daniel and Jorge dot com. I'd sure love 433 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:03,359 Speaker 2: to hear from you. Thanks very much, Katie for pushing 434 00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:05,800 Speaker 2: the boundaries of space and time and humor today. 435 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:10,399 Speaker 1: And thank you for signing on to my petition for 436 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:12,760 Speaker 1: Universe's longest spaghetti. 437 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 2: Funded funded funded. All right, Thanks everyone for listening, and 438 00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:24,880 Speaker 2: tune in next time for more science and curiosity. Come 439 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:27,720 Speaker 2: find us on social media where we answer questions and 440 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 2: post videos. We're on Twitter, This, Org, Instant and now TikTok. 441 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,560 Speaker 2: Thanks for listening, and remember that Daniel and Jorge Explain 442 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:39,640 Speaker 2: the Universe is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts 443 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:44,280 Speaker 2: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 444 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:46,040 Speaker 2: you listen to your favorite shows.