Things You Thought You Knew – The Karman Line, LED Bulbs, and Banking Turns with Neil deGrasse Tyson

Where does the Earth end? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore the Karman Line, LED light bulbs, banking turns and other things you thought you knew. How do we measure the extent of gaseous objects? We take a deep dive into measurement precision and the Karman Line. How high up does the atmosphere go? What is the diameter of the sun? We break down different ways we could choose to measure Earth’s atmosphere. Does Earth’s atmosphere really extend 100km out? Discover the science behind LED light bulbs. What is the difference between light and heat? We explore the light spectrum from infrared to UV. Should a light bulb be able to get hot? How do LED lights save so much energy compared to an incandescent bulb? Why doesn’t your water spill when you’re on an airplane? You’ll learn the physics of what’s going on when an airplane banks. Speed, turn radius, centripetal force: find out why things stay so normal on an airplane when it turns. Why don’t spaceships need to bank turns? Plus, a quick Star Trek versus Star Wars debate. All that and more on another Things You Thought You Knew Episode of StarTalk! Thanks to our Patrons Shelly Woodcock, Matt, Nathan Schlosser, Hugo Ascencio, Patrick Rhone, Jeff Simon, and karstan harvey for supporting us this week. NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free. Get the NEW Cosmic Queries book (5/5 ⭐s on Amazon!): https://amzn.to/3dYIEQF 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 00:00 - Measuring the Atmosphere 02:44 - How High Does the Atmosphere Go? 06:08 - The Karman Line 09:30 - Diameter of the Sun 11:26 - Oxidizing Fuel in Space & Other Ways of Measuring 14:52 - Light & Heat 17:32 - Why Do LED Light Bulbs Not Get Hot? 21:48 - Watts vs. Lumens 23:59 - Black Light & Phosphorescence 25:30 - Banking Turns & Gravity Vectors 30:10 - Turning without Turning 31:20 - Turning in Space