Superhero Science: StarTalk Live! with Charles Liu

Why can’t we run through walls if atoms are mostly empty space? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, Gary O’Reilly, and astrophysicist Charles Liu explore force fields, warp drive, invisibility, and quantum physics behind superhero powers. If Superman swoops in to catch a falling Lois Lane, wouldn’t she hit him like a bug on a windshield? Could his physiology, including his digestive system be super too? And what would happen if Superman’s methane-packed farts met his heat vision? The gang imagines a literal human flamethrower. How can Superman see colors with x-ray vision? Neil recalls DC Comics once asking him to help Superman find Krypton in the night sky, raising questions about how long it took Superman to get here. Could he have traveled through a wormhole? Or warped spacetime like the Enterprise? Charles explains why folding space might be harder than warping ourselves, and how Miguel Alcubierre’s warp bubble could one day make sci-fi travel real. We break down the science of invisibility. What would it mean to be truly unseen? The crew explores stealth technology, light-bending metamaterials, and quantum invisibility. Learn about invisible forces, like the Casimir effect and how quantum fluctuations affect our world. We break down how the Flash can walk through walls. If atoms are mostly empty space why aren’t we falling through the floor? Learn about quantum teleportation, and whether we can use entanglement for quantum communication. We dive into the quantum realm itself with the fictional Pym particles, Dr. Manhattan’s wave function, and the many-worlds theory that spawns infinite universes every second. Neil wonders if that’s a scientific breakthrough or a cosmic cop-out. Charles closes with wisdom: as our knowledge grows, so does the perimeter of our ignorance. In a universe where every possibility happens somewhere, God doesn’t just play dice—He plays all of them at once. Thanks to our Patrons Dave, Downtime Coffee, David, Colby Bechtold, Carlo Gomez, Mark Hanley, zach, David Bishop, Danielle Grant, Brian Petrunik, Micheal, Private Name, Dustin Hurtt, O.C, Cris Martinella, Václav Pechman, MrMcMuffinJr, Matthew Reagan, Kellie, Christopher Peffers, Vishal Ahmed, Chris Hodgins, Linda Nguyen, Ben F, Kirk, Charles Spence, Kirk, Zack Fay, Dave Lora, Mark Wilson, David Gaston, Emily Keck, Julian Walker, Samantha, Mikeland, Amy, M Rrr1994, Daniel Carter, Bill Holub, Craig Crawford, Rajkumar Polepaka, Tom Mison, Neil Disney, Tomas fridrik, Kurt Hayes, GA Armistead, Andrew Hagan, Jordan Wagner, Mai Tai, Ross Walker, Jonathan Price, FatDunb'Murican, Ann, Isaac Bicher, Michael Tiberg, Darrell Messer, Jeff Smith, Kimberly V Silver, Joe Jenkins, Phillips Williams, Archie, Andrew Wery, Jacob Hernke, John Ryan, Arthur Forlin, Tom Jenkins, Mario Miranda, Douglas, Heather Jones, Mancheno, Marcus Lowe, Mister Sandman, Brand0n Rs, Raj Sivakumar, Ryne Thornsen, Sean Doyle, BRAD BRIDGEWATER, Paul Bernard, Karl Desfosses, Kody Remer, Greg Scopel, Sriti Jha, Tim Enfinger, Jacob Glanville, Rilee Jensen, David W., Micheal Austin, Carlos Alberto Gonzalez, JOSH SHE-BONG, George, and Geezapouch for supporting us this week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction: Charles Liu 05:09 - Superman Catching Lois Lane 07:28 - Superman’s Super Digestion 11:23 - X-Ray Vision 13:37 - Neil’s Adventure with Superman 18:25 - Wormholes & Warp Drive 24:38 - The Power of Invisibility 29:58 - Force Fields & The Casimir Effect 36:38 - How Empty is an Atom? 40:10 - How to Run Through Walls 43:23 - Quantum Teleportation & Absolute Zero 53:00 - Getting Larger & Smaller 56:12 - Superposition & Entanglement 1:02:52 - Many Worlds Theory 1:10:28 - Practicality with Quantum Physics 01:14:40 - A Cosmic Perspective Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson