Why Craters Are Round, Size of Life, The Real Length of Day – TYTYK
Summary
Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice explore why lunar craters are perfectly circular, explaining how high-speed impacts cause explosions regardless of angle. They discuss the difference between sidereal and solar days, revealing how Earth’s slowing rotation necessitates leap seconds. The episode also covers the physics of size, detailing why large animals need thick limbs while small insects can walk on water due to surface tension.
Topics discussed
Sponsor: Southern New Hampshire University
Host intro and language learning background
Sponsor: Rosetta Stone
Sponsor: ChatGPT and show premise
Why moon craters are perfect circles
Physics of high-speed collisions and snowballs
Kinetic energy vs binding energy explained
Atmosphere effects and Meteor Crater Arizona
Sponsor: Atrui
Sponsor: T-Mobile 5G Home Internet
Sponsor: Strawberry Me Career Coaching
Sponsor: Lost in Space book
Sidereal vs Solar day and Earth's orbit
Variability of solar day length
Atomic clocks and Earth's slowing rotation
Leap seconds and angular momentum
Earthquakes, glaciers, and rotation changes
Historical timekeeping and leap second plans
Sponsor: Toyota
Sponsor: McDonald's and listener shoutout
Why humans can't walk on walls like spiders
Square-cube law: strength vs weight
Insect legs and human body proportions
Buoyancy and why whales are so large
Surface tension and drinking for insects
Limits of life size and Spider-Man physics
Sponsor: UBS Financial Services
Listen ad-free on Castria