Very cool, thanks for the pointers!
06.03.2026 16:26
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Very cool, thanks for the pointers!
There's energy loss in that maneuver, but it's by the planet in that case, so it's not helpful for capture.
There has to be some kind of energy loss, meaning: friction from gas/atmosphere, or tidal forces, or a 3rd body like a large moon, or colliding with another moon or asteroid.
Great question! And your instincts are right. If there's no energy transfer, then the incoming kinetic energy is enough to escape the gravity well. So how does it get captured?
Are aliens real? Do they speak physics? Will we become aliens? @danielwhiteson.bsky.social and I are on the case!
If they read them and have any questions, I'm happy to answer!
If your middle schooler is into physics he may also enjoy @danielwhiteson.bsky.social 's books "Do Aliens Speak Physics?: And Other Questions about Science and the Nature of Reality", "We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe", and "Frequently Asked Questions about the Universe"
I have an article in this month's @skepticalinquirer.bsky.social
I don't know -- the distribution agreements are complicated!
Listener email:
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If plagiarism isn't an issue, problem should be solved in 2 seconds. "pip install gcc"
No, the difference is categorical. Massless objects move fundamentally differently from massive objects, even from massive objects moving near the speed of light as seen by you. It's comparing an orange-colored apple to an orange.
Third, this argument is tempting because it seems to extrapolate naturally from things moving NEARLY the speed of light, whose time appears to be slow as you see it, to things moving AT the speed of light. The difference is small, right, so we can dot-dot-dot our way from one to another?
But light has no experience, because there's nothing it's like to be in light's frame, at rest with respect to a photon.
So you can't calculate the rate at which time would appear to pass for light, because it has no frame. (And even if you did, it would only be the appearance for you, not the light's experience).
Second, this works for massive objects, which have inertial frames, frames where they are at rest. That's baked into the calculation, no avoiding it. Light has no mass and no inertial frame. There's no speed or frame in which light is at rest.
First, velocity is relative, and so is time dilation. The closer you get to the speed of light, as seen by someone else, the slower your time appears to pass as seen BY THAT OBSERVER. Your experience of time is unchanged. (It has to, since you have many relative velocities)
This is a commonly repeated bit of sci-comm, because it sounds delicious. But I think it's misleading.
If anyone wants some follow-up reading, here's a link to my popular-science-level essay on the topic that Daniel mentioned in the podcast: arxiv.org/abs/1211.7081
Today we're tackling a listener question: how close are we to making teleportation a reality? The answer includes a very catchy song about quantum physics, and a chat with @danielwhiteson.bsky.social about wormholes!
omny.fm/shows/part-t...
Thanks for the nice "shout-outs" in the second half! And even more thanks for working up to a wonderfully clear account of how entanglement might be explained by a retrocausal hidden variable model, Bell's theorem notwithstanding.
@danielwhiteson.bsky.social
@weinersmith.bsky.social
Picture of Daniel Whiteson, the cover of his book "Do Aliens Speak Physics?" and promotional text for the QPL virtual program Literary Thursdays: Daniel Whiteson, Author of “Do Aliens Speak Physics?”
Our Literary Thursdays series continues with @danielwhiteson.bsky.social, who will talk about his new book "Do Aliens Speak Physics? And Other Questions about Science and the Nature of Reality."
Join us on January 29 at 6PM!
www.queenslibrary.org/calendar/lit...
“We invested zillions of dollars in data centers lured by the hype that chatbots will replace scientists and cure cancer.” ← @danielwhiteson.bsky.social on 2025 themorningnews.org/2025-the-yea...
Pictures of our January Literary Thursdays guests—Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, Robert J. Coplan, the anonymous author of “Diary of an Oxygen Thief," and Daniel Whiteson—and their book covers.
Join us for a brand new year of Literary Thursdays virtual author talks!
Learn More about our January guests: Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, Robert J. Coplan, the anonymous author of “Diary of an Oxygen Thief," and @danielwhiteson.bsky.social!
www.queenslibrary.org/calendar?sea...
No, it doesn't make sense that a star predates the Big Bang. Note the large uncertainties on the age -- likely there's a lot we don't know about star formation in the early Universe.
Lovely listener email:
"I love you both, even when your jokes are a bit corny, I suppose those a moments I realise I'm listening to nerds, but I'm a nerd too so that's not a criticism etc...you make me feel that I've been educated by friends. Thank you so much for what you do."
What do the red lines mean?
