Space Nuts Episode: Dyson Spheres, Dark Matter, and Time Distortions #480
Join Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson in the final fresh episode of the year as they tackle intriguing questions from listeners around the globe. From the mysteries of Dyson spheres to the enigmatic effects of dark matter and the curious nature of time distortion, this Q&A edition is packed with cosmic conundrums and insightful discussions.
Episode Highlights:
- Dyson Spheres and Stellar Light : Explore the concept of Dyson spheres and their impact on planetary light and life. Uncover the truth about these megastructures and how they might affect solar systems.
- Dark Matter's Gravitational Pull : Delve into the hypothetical scenario of encountering a glob of dark matter in space. Understand the gravitational effects and whether a spaceship could be ensnared by dark matter's invisible clutches.
- Black Holes and Time-Space Switch : Investigate the theory that space and time swap roles beyond a black hole's event horizon. Consider the implications of this switch on the nature of escape and time travel.
- Time Distortion Without Gravity : Contemplate the possibility of time distortion occurring independently of gravity. Examine the connection between time, gravity, and acceleration as proposed by Einstein's theories.
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Stay curious, keep looking up, and join us next time for more stellar insights and cosmic wonders. Until then, clear skies and happy stargazing.
00:00 - This is our final regular Space Nuts episode of the year
01:45 - If a Dyson sphere surrounds a star, how does the planet get light
09:00 - Andrew Dunkley: Can dark matter be thrown out of a galaxy
12:38 - Fred from Sweden has yet another question about black holes
14:35 - There's a nice question on um, the physics stack exchange
16:23 - Buddy from Oregon asks question about time distortion and gravity
21:36 - Fred did a search on Google about the biggest astronomy stories of 2024
23:45 - We'll be digging up stories from the archives over the next few weeks
24:54 - Andrew Dunkley thanks Professor Fred Watson
✍️ Episode References
Dyson Sphere
[Dyson Sphere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_sphere)
Science Magazine
[Science Magazine](https://www.sciencemag.org/)
Square Kilometre Array
[Square Kilometre Array](https://www.skatelescope.org/)
Contact (Movie)
[Contact (1997)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118884/)
RAVE Project
[RAVE Project](https://www.rave-survey.org/)
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-nuts--2631155/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-nuts--2631155/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss) .
Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/24757507?utm_source=youtube
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 hi there thanks for joining us this is
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 Space Nuts my name is Andrew Dunley this
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 is our final fresh episode of the year
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 and I'll tell you what we're doing at
00:00:09 --> 00:00:10 the end of the episode over the
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 Christmas New Year period uh but it's a
00:00:12 --> 00:00:15 Q&A episode which means we'll answer
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 audence audience questions uh we'll be
00:00:18 --> 00:00:22 basically um focusing on Dyson fears
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 today uh we'll be um getting a question
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 about the Dark Matter effect as a matter
00:00:28 --> 00:00:31 of fact and black hole effects and time
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 Distortion without gravity and if you
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 can Chuck anything else in we will time
00:00:36 --> 00:00:40 permitting on this Q&A edition of Space
00:00:40 --> 00:00:44 Nuts 15 seconds guidance is internal 10
00:00:44 --> 00:00:49 9 ignition sequence start Space Nuts 5 4
00:00:49 --> 00:00:54 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1 Space Nuts as
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 nuts reported feels good and for the
00:00:57 --> 00:01:00 last last last last last time offici
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 we welcome Professor Fred what's an
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 astronomer large hello Fred hello Andrew
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 good to see you again uh you true really
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 really been missing
00:01:10 --> 00:01:14 you it's been so long um but yes it is
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 our final episode of the year and we've
00:01:16 --> 00:01:20 got all audio questions today and we'll
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 try to answer one or two of them uh but
00:01:23 --> 00:01:24 um yeah it's it's been a busy year
00:01:25 --> 00:01:26 there's been a lot to talk about uh some
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 amazing discoveries some Mysteries that
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 continue to lud us uh and and that's
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 what tends to spawn most of our
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 questions to be perfectly honest uh are
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 you ready to get into it and we'll we'll
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 take question one why don't we do
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 that nothing else to do really I think
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 all all the questions come from regular
00:01:48 --> 00:01:52 contributors our first one comes from
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 Mikey hey FR Andrew hope everything's
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 well done there in the southern Hemi
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 this is Mikey again from Illinois if a
00:02:00 --> 00:02:01 Dyson Sphere is a mega structure
00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 surrounding a star how does the planet
00:02:04 --> 00:02:08 get light or is the planet um inside of
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 the Dyson Sphere as well and if the
00:02:11 --> 00:02:14 latter is the case do you just prevent
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 every other planet or that's already in
00:02:16 --> 00:02:18 that star from receiving any light heat
00:02:18 --> 00:02:19 and
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 energy uh completely wiping out any
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 other chances for life on any of those
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 other planets and our moons orbiting it
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 like you know like um Europa or Titan
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 here I mean without
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 if I'm thinking of this right if a Dyson
00:02:32 --> 00:02:36 spear encases the sun um you know how
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 How is how's life going to get a chance
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 without any heat or sun or any type of
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 energy from that star um anyways just
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 trying to wrap this all around my head
00:02:47 --> 00:02:50 see what you guys think thanks thanks
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 Mikey uh you make it out of perspects
00:02:52 --> 00:02:56 Mikey that's really the
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 solution I don't know that's it's a
00:02:58 --> 00:02:59 really good question I haven't really
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 thought about that side of it um yeah if
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 if if a civilization had enough
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 technology to build a Dyson Sphere and
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 harness the energy of their uh their
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 solar systems star what happens to the
00:03:13 --> 00:03:14 light and what happens to the planets
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 that are reliant on that light and that
00:03:16 --> 00:03:20 energy that's being mopped up by a um by
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 an object that's basically surrounding
00:03:23 --> 00:03:24 the the
00:03:24 --> 00:03:30 sun um so that's the uh that's the
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 I guess the misapprehension that most of
00:03:32 --> 00:03:37 us have on what a Dyson Sphere is and
00:03:37 --> 00:03:41 because Dyson himself uh didn't envisage
00:03:41 --> 00:03:45 that um his his I haven't read the paper
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 actually was published in science back
00:03:47 --> 00:03:47 in
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 1960 uh it's called search for
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 artificial Stellar sources of infrared
00:03:52 --> 00:03:55 radiation and what he's saying is that
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 um if you if you've got a structure
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 built around a star uh
00:04:00 --> 00:04:04 because you've got such an energy hungry
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 civilization uh then you basically you
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 know you you you build things around the
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 star that collect the energy from the
00:04:13 --> 00:04:17 Star uh and turn it into electricity but
00:04:17 --> 00:04:21 they would naturally riate the excess
00:04:21 --> 00:04:25 heat in the uh infrared uh and indeed um
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 he's suspecting that it would be perhaps
00:04:27 --> 00:04:31 thear infared um longer wavelengths so
00:04:32 --> 00:04:36 um the uh and and his proposal was that
00:04:36 --> 00:04:40 that would be far infrared signature uh
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 around a star that you'd expect to be
00:04:42 --> 00:04:45 just pumping out visible light would
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 suggests that there was some sort of
00:04:47 --> 00:04:51 structure around it now um there is a
00:04:51 --> 00:04:55 quotation that I'm reading uh from Dyson
00:04:55 --> 00:04:59 himself who says a solid shell or ring
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 surrounding a star is mechanically
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 impossible the form of biosphere which I
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 envisaged consists of a loose collection
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 or swarm of objects traveling on
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 Independent orbits around the star um
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 and that's basically the bottom line
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 that the Dyson Sphere isn't really a
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 solid sphere uh it's it's a region
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 around the star where you've got many
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 objects in in orbit uh in independent
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 orbits which are turning the the the the
00:05:28 --> 00:05:32 uh energy the star into electricity uh
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 uh so you're not you're not um
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 harvesting all the light of the star uh
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 so Mike's question is is one that I
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 hadn't really thought about before um
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 but is almost directly answered by this
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 because you still have some of the
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 radiation of the star uh that's leaking
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 through or coming between the swarming
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 objects it's not leaking it's probably
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 by far the bulk of that material but
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 you're adding to the light of the star
00:05:59 --> 00:06:00 this far infrared signature that tells
00:06:01 --> 00:06:02 you that there's objects around the star
00:06:02 --> 00:06:06 that are that are artificial um and so
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 it it you could probably put it wherever
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 you want uh I would guess an nion sphere
00:06:11 --> 00:06:12 around the sun will be a swarm of
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 objects perhaps even inside the orbit of
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 mercury uh and so there would be a
00:06:17 --> 00:06:18 slight reduction in the amount of energy
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 going out to the rest of the solar
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 system and it might be one of those
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 things that um would modify the climate
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 of of habitable planets like Earth but
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 uh it wouldn't shut down the light of
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 the star Al together because you can't
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 do that it's mechanically impossible is
00:06:34 --> 00:06:35 Dyson
00:06:35 --> 00:06:39 so yeah uh it certainly makes more sense
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 when you explain it that way and it's
00:06:41 --> 00:06:42 not dissimilar to what we're doing
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 around the planet with communication
00:06:44 --> 00:06:48 satellites so we I I I wonder if um an
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 alien species observing our planet from
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 afar could detect that something's a
00:06:54 --> 00:06:56 little bit off because of all the
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 satellites would that be possible you do
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 you think it would be well it you
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 there's enough you know just
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 straightforward radio radiation leaking
00:07:04 --> 00:07:05 from the earth that that will be
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 detectable by uh by certainly by a
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 civilization having similar facilities
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 to the square kilometer array uh which
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 we have uh the square kilm array claims
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 that it will be able to detect an
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 airport radar at 50 light years so
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 that's telling you that you know uh our
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 airport Radars will be detectable by
00:07:27 --> 00:07:28 somebody at the other end having the
00:07:28 --> 00:07:31 same sort of equipment wow yeah so it's
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 um yeah so we're already we've already
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 given away our presence uh in a cosmic
00:07:36 --> 00:07:39 sense um and I mean it's often quoted
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 that the first high power radio
00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 broadcast that was made from Earth was
00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 um was the 1936 was it Munich Olympic
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 games that was uh broadcast around the
00:07:48 --> 00:07:51 world and so there's a gentleman uh
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 wasn't really a gentleman in that saying
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 a lot of things loudly and with Force at
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 that time in his speeches uh he his
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 voice will be the that would go all
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 around the the the the local environment
00:08:02 --> 00:08:06 of the sun um and make any alien not
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 want to come here I think well that was
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 um portrayed in the movie contact with
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 jod Foster where uh the return signal
00:08:14 --> 00:08:19 from the um yeah alien species was
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 images of the Nazis at the opening
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 ceremony of the El game yeah it was it
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 was well used very well used in that
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 film but in terms of a DI sphere around
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 a star uh yeah not a solid object
00:08:32 --> 00:08:36 blocking light but multiple objects um
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 collecting uh what did you say on the
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 infrared spectrum and um yeah far red
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 yeah well really it is far infrared
00:08:43 --> 00:08:44 that's right they're collecting the
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 visible lights and remitting it as far
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 infrared so it changes the the Spectrum
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 signature of the star and that's what
00:08:50 --> 00:08:51 Dyson's paper is
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 about all right so nothing to worry
00:08:54 --> 00:08:55 about Mikey nothing to worry about it's
00:08:55 --> 00:09:00 all good thanks uh thanks question and
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 next question comes from
00:09:02 --> 00:09:07 Bill hi this bill San Francisco Bay Area
00:09:07 --> 00:09:10 I appreciate you guys answering my last
00:09:10 --> 00:09:14 question which was can dark matter be
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 thrown out of a galaxy and travel
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 through space through some sort of
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 gravitational
00:09:21 --> 00:09:25 event um so I give you a A++ and a gold
00:09:25 --> 00:09:29 star on that answer uh good job and and
00:09:29 --> 00:09:33 my next question is related if there was
00:09:33 --> 00:09:37 a glob of dark Banner floating in space
00:09:37 --> 00:09:39 and I got too close to it in my
00:09:39 --> 00:09:43 spaceship would the Dark Matters gravity
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 F me in and hold on to me and not let me
00:09:46 --> 00:09:51 go so that's my question love the show
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 thanks okay thank you Bill uh we'll be
00:09:53 --> 00:09:56 in San Francisco in a few months Judy
00:09:56 --> 00:09:57 and I
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 so um have we were going to go there
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 once before but we didn't but uh we we
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 regretted that so we're going to go back
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 um yeah the effective dark matter if you
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 run you're in your spaceship and you you
00:10:09 --> 00:10:13 hit a glob of dark matter or you're in
00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 its proximity are you stuck I suspect
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 not no I don't think you would be uh
00:10:18 --> 00:10:23 Andrew I think you're right um because
00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 um we've
00:10:25 --> 00:10:28 got we did some work on the Rave project
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 um
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 which I was involved with back in the
00:10:31 --> 00:10:35 early 2000s uh which looked at the
00:10:35 --> 00:10:39 minimum size of a dark matter blob
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 because we were measuring the velocities
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 of stars and if you've got Blobs of dark
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 matter you would expect that to be
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 revealed in anomalies in the velocities
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 of stars and we didn't see any anomalies
00:10:52 --> 00:10:56 and I think that uh meant that you don't
00:10:56 --> 00:11:00 get dark matter blobs less than I'm
00:11:00 --> 00:11:01 trying to remember the number I think
00:11:01 --> 00:11:04 it's about 100 light years or
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 thereabouts should go back and look
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 through my stuff but but you're talking
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 about very large lumps of stuff being
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 the minimum quantity of dark matter
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 because we don't really know what it is
00:11:15 --> 00:11:18 we don't know how it reacts with itself
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 uh but we believe that dark matter uh
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 doesn't doesn't Clump on those very
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 small scales and so you probably
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 wouldn't notice it in your spaceship
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 probably you know the the it would be
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 such gradual change that um the
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 spacecraft would might deviate a tiny
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 amount but it certainly wouldn't be
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 grabbed hold of so that you couldn't get
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 away so I think you said you wouldn't
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 yeah you wouldn't have alarms going off
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 that's right the the claxons wouldn't be
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 blaring uh it would or whatever it is
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 they use on spaceships to tell you
00:11:49 --> 00:11:50 something's dreadfully wrong something
00:11:50 --> 00:11:54 like that yes yeah so um yeah you
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 probably wouldn't notice anything bill
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 you wouldn't even see it it's just it's
00:11:58 --> 00:12:03 there it's you know um we haven't even
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 proven it except we've proved it we
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 haven't found any is that right no I
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 don't know it's it's one of those
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 Mysteries we're still working on we're
00:12:11 --> 00:12:14 looking for it yeah it's um yes there
00:12:14 --> 00:12:16 are many candidates for what it might be
00:12:16 --> 00:12:20 but we haven't found any of them yet so
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 yeah because of some sort that's the
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 thing yes that's it that's what's the
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 matter all right um thank you Bill this
00:12:28 --> 00:12:31 is Space Nuts with Andrew Dunley and
00:12:31 --> 00:12:35 Professor Fred
00:12:35 --> 00:12:38 Watson also Space Nuts okay our next
00:12:38 --> 00:12:42 question Fred comes from
00:12:42 --> 00:12:45 Sweden hi Fred and Andrew or you're from
00:12:45 --> 00:12:48 the west coast of Sweden here I have yet
00:12:48 --> 00:12:51 another question about black holes is it
00:12:51 --> 00:12:54 true that space and time switch roles
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 the moment you cuse the event risal and
00:12:57 --> 00:13:00 if so does that mean that space can go
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 only in One Direction in one dimension
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 towards the center hence being the
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 reason why nothing can get
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 out uh and does it also mean that time
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 can go in any direction inside the Event
00:13:14 --> 00:13:18 Horizon thanks love the show uh thanks
00:13:18 --> 00:13:21 oi lovely to hear from you uh West Coast
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 is there an east coast of Sweden Fred I
00:13:23 --> 00:13:27 to look at a map certainly is yeah okay
00:13:27 --> 00:13:29 okay
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 in fact it's mostly forgive my ignorance
00:13:31 --> 00:13:33 but I've never been to that part of the
00:13:33 --> 00:13:36 world yeah oh sorry all right so we'll
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 be up there next
00:13:37 --> 00:13:41 month month after oh lovely all right
00:13:41 --> 00:13:44 well we'll be up around that way in July
00:13:44 --> 00:13:47 maybe yeah July next year I would
00:13:47 --> 00:13:51 think um I didn't you now forgotten this
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 question um about it's about time and
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55 space
00:13:55 --> 00:13:58 interchanging uh on the Event Horizon
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 and unfortunately I I haven't had time
00:14:00 --> 00:14:02 to look at these questions in advance
00:14:02 --> 00:14:06 because uh I just had too much to do uh
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 and so um that is one that I would need
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 to follow up uh in a bit more detail
00:14:10 --> 00:14:15 I've heard the same thing uh but uh I
00:14:15 --> 00:14:18 don't really know the physics of it just
00:14:18 --> 00:14:22 let me check something here Andrew I
00:14:22 --> 00:14:24 love it when we do this I love it when
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 we do this just finding the answer on
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 the Fly well it's good if we
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 uh doesn't always
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 work
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 um so here we are there's a nice
00:14:36 --> 00:14:40 question on the physics Stock Exchange
00:14:40 --> 00:14:43 which is our space and time
00:14:43 --> 00:14:45 interchangeable
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 um
00:14:46 --> 00:14:51 yeah and it's quite hard to quite hard
00:14:51 --> 00:14:54 to uh to to tease out what's fact from
00:14:54 --> 00:14:57 what's fiction um right it it it is all
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 about are there some equations I
00:14:59 --> 00:15:02 recognize there that's lovely as a
00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 metric for special relativity there I I
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 I often recognize equations and I
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 quickly turn the
00:15:09 --> 00:15:12 page well that's one yeah used to I used
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 to put that in talks that particular one
00:15:14 --> 00:15:18 when c² dt2 plus dx2 + D y^2 plus DZ s
00:15:18 --> 00:15:21 equal D s² there you go and that's uh
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 basically the it's the special
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 relativity way of interchanging space
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 and time it tells you that there that
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 time is a d mention just like space but
00:15:30 --> 00:15:33 that's not what 's question is uh which
00:15:33 --> 00:15:36 is specifically about how it behaves in
00:15:36 --> 00:15:38 the vicinity of a black hole and I would
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 need to follow up a little bit more
00:15:40 --> 00:15:43 detail on that so apologies for the fact
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 that um that there's been so much going
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 on in the last few days that I haven't
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 got managed to get to that one that's
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 okay we'll put a we'll put a pin in that
00:15:51 --> 00:15:55 one and we will get back to Orie in the
00:15:55 --> 00:15:58 New Year we will have a we'll have an
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 episode in uh in early Jan well mid
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 January I think where we can perhaps
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 discuss that so I'll put a as you said
00:16:03 --> 00:16:06 I'll put a pin next to it all right and
00:16:06 --> 00:16:09 I'm going to use a Stabilo boss
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 highlighter and Mark it as homework
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13 there we go done all right we we won't
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 forget to walk here we and if we do just
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 send us a note and say hey buff heads
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 you forgot my question uh we we'll get
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 back to it uh we've got one final
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 question which is not unrelated actually
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 Fred in
00:16:29 --> 00:16:32 um terms of topic uh this one comes from
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 one of our regular sender renderers here
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 is
00:16:36 --> 00:16:39 Buddy hello space this is Buddy from
00:16:39 --> 00:16:42 Oregon having been thinking about time
00:16:42 --> 00:16:47 Distortion and gravity um if in our
00:16:47 --> 00:16:50 space say there was no gravity but there
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52 was the time Distortion okay what do you
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 think that would feel
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 like seems like to me like there would
00:16:56 --> 00:17:00 be some kind of drag from
00:17:00 --> 00:17:03 the slower end of things slower on the
00:17:03 --> 00:17:06 time time moving things and
00:17:06 --> 00:17:09 uh I'm wondering if if you work that out
00:17:09 --> 00:17:13 that Dr could actually be
00:17:13 --> 00:17:17 gravity all right thanks guys love the
00:17:17 --> 00:17:20 podcast thank you buddy uh he's always
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 got a a bit of a curve ball for us has
00:17:23 --> 00:17:27 buddy uh time Distortion without gravity
00:17:27 --> 00:17:30 ultimately being gravity I think was
00:17:30 --> 00:17:33 what 's question was
00:17:33 --> 00:17:36 and yeah uh look
00:17:36 --> 00:17:41 at well let me let me start because um
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 that's exactly what Einstein's thinking
00:17:43 --> 00:17:48 was uh where he uh when he uh formulated
00:17:48 --> 00:17:51 the speci general relativity Theory but
00:17:51 --> 00:17:54 you got to remember that there is time
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 Distortion in special relativity which
00:17:56 --> 00:17:59 has nothing to do with gravity uh
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 special relativity is the theory that
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 says as things move as they get nearer
00:18:03 --> 00:18:05 the faster nearer the speed of light all
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 kinds of weird things happen and time
00:18:08 --> 00:18:11 Distortion time dilation is one of them
00:18:11 --> 00:18:14 uh your time system changes from The
00:18:14 --> 00:18:17 observed person uh to the person being
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19 observed they've got different time
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 systems and that's just because of
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22 movement it doesn't have gravity in it
00:18:22 --> 00:18:26 at all right so um so budd's right in
00:18:26 --> 00:18:29 that regard um but what Einstein then
00:18:29 --> 00:18:34 thought about was how that uh idea
00:18:34 --> 00:18:38 impacts on the gravity that we
00:18:38 --> 00:18:41 experience he he didn't um he he
00:18:41 --> 00:18:44 basically didn't think of it as a drag
00:18:44 --> 00:18:48 but his thinking was what we call uh
00:18:48 --> 00:18:51 well he was he he dreamed up something
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 that we now call the equivalence
00:18:52 --> 00:18:55 principle uh which says that uh gravity
00:18:55 --> 00:18:59 and acceleration are the same thing so I
00:18:59 --> 00:19:02 know but he's right a drag which you
00:19:02 --> 00:19:05 might think of as a deceleration uh is
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 gravity gravity and acceleration are the
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 same thing and that's what allowed him
00:19:09 --> 00:19:13 to arrive at the uh the um general
00:19:13 --> 00:19:16 theory of relativity because it turns
00:19:16 --> 00:19:19 gravity into a geometrical phenomenon
00:19:19 --> 00:19:21 which we can understand we've got the
00:19:21 --> 00:19:24 mathematics to understand geometry in
00:19:24 --> 00:19:26 something called REM Manan Al algebra
00:19:26 --> 00:19:30 REM Manan manifold is the is the
00:19:30 --> 00:19:33 mathematical shape of space as affected
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 by gravity it twists and turns as you
00:19:34 --> 00:19:38 put matter into it and so so um general
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41 relativity is a geometrical Theory and
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 acceleration is part of that geometry uh
00:19:43 --> 00:19:47 so um yeah so basically buddy that's
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49 what Einstein worked out and that's what
00:19:49 --> 00:19:53 gravity is it's there are uh but we
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 still don't really understand it u i
00:19:55 --> 00:19:57 mean what you're saying is it can be it
00:19:57 --> 00:19:59 is identical to acceleration and that
00:19:59 --> 00:20:01 equivalence principle by the way has
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 been demonstrated with an accuracy of
00:20:03 --> 00:20:06 something like one part in in 18 billion
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 or something like that it's a hugely
00:20:08 --> 00:20:11 accurate equivalence gravity and
00:20:11 --> 00:20:14 acceleration um we we are told by
00:20:14 --> 00:20:17 Einstein that um he imagined himself
00:20:17 --> 00:20:19 when he was when he published the
00:20:19 --> 00:20:21 special theory of relativity was trying
00:20:21 --> 00:20:23 to think how it would affect gravity and
00:20:23 --> 00:20:25 he imagined himself jumping off a
00:20:25 --> 00:20:29 building uh and realized that he would
00:20:29 --> 00:20:33 um be weightless as he fell uh that you
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35 know if he had coins or keys in his hand
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 they'd float out his sound his pipe had
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39 float out of his mouth all of that sort
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 of thing uh and that was what led him to
00:20:42 --> 00:20:45 the um to the the equivalence principle
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47 he called it the what did he call it the
00:20:47 --> 00:20:50 happiest thought of his life wow that um
00:20:50 --> 00:20:52 that gravity and acceleration of the
00:20:53 --> 00:20:56 same thing incredible yeah it's the
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 sudden stop at the bottom that made the
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 big difference there though well yeah
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 you you don't want to carry the analog
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 too far and he didn't do it he didn't
00:21:03 --> 00:21:05 try it out in reality but it's what I
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 always tell people um when you're on a
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 trampoline when your feet are not
00:21:09 --> 00:21:11 touching the mat when you're in the air
00:21:11 --> 00:21:13 you are as weightless as you are in
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 space uh you canceled out gravity
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 because the acceleration is canceling
00:21:16 --> 00:21:19 out the gravity perfectly yeah it's it's
00:21:19 --> 00:21:22 a fleeting moment of Joy that's what
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 that's right
00:21:23 --> 00:21:26 yeah thank you buddy great question and
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 I love where your brain goes I mean yeah
00:21:28 --> 00:21:31 you've got a very sharp mind buddy it's
00:21:32 --> 00:21:36 a yeah it's a delight to hear your
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 questions okay we checked all four
00:21:38 --> 00:21:43 systems and It Go space Nets um a
00:21:43 --> 00:21:45 question without notice Fred your moment
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 of the Year astronomically speaking what
00:21:47 --> 00:21:49 do you reckon oh gosh what tickled your
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 fancy I I I'll give you time to think
00:21:51 --> 00:21:54 but uh I I just did a bit of a search on
00:21:54 --> 00:21:56 Google about the biggest astronomy
00:21:56 --> 00:21:59 stories of 2024 Artemus 2
00:21:59 --> 00:22:01 is up there uh the discovery of Ultram
00:22:01 --> 00:22:04 massive galaxies uh there was a story
00:22:04 --> 00:22:09 about a white dwarf um and major events
00:22:09 --> 00:22:11 like the total solar eclipse in April
00:22:11 --> 00:22:14 and a few other things that uh popped up
00:22:14 --> 00:22:16 during the year those those were
00:22:16 --> 00:22:18 probably the stories that got the most
00:22:18 --> 00:22:20 headlines it doesn't necessarily make
00:22:20 --> 00:22:22 them the the biggest stories of the year
00:22:22 --> 00:22:24 they were probably the most published
00:22:24 --> 00:22:26 from what I've gleaned anything stand
00:22:26 --> 00:22:30 out for you well yeah um several things
00:22:30 --> 00:22:32 actually on the I mean yes the eclipse
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 was
00:22:33 --> 00:22:37 fantastic uh uh on the was it the can't
00:22:37 --> 00:22:39 remember it was in April 6th I think
00:22:39 --> 00:22:43 fourth fourth Fourth let me check it was
00:22:43 --> 00:22:47 it from the was the eth of April yeah so
00:22:47 --> 00:22:51 that was that was fantastic but um you
00:22:51 --> 00:22:54 know eclipse is are every year or so so
00:22:54 --> 00:22:56 you can see a good eclipse this
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58 particular particular one was particular
00:22:58 --> 00:23:00 really good it was a 4 minute long
00:23:00 --> 00:23:03 Eclipse which is long um but a couple of
00:23:03 --> 00:23:05 months before that one one in 20-year
00:23:05 --> 00:23:07 event was the aoral display on the 20th
00:23:08 --> 00:23:11 of May uh was it no 10th of May 10th of
00:23:11 --> 00:23:14 May a event uh and I saw the one 12
00:23:14 --> 00:23:16 years ago uh because I could see that
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 from the center of Edinburgh but
00:23:17 --> 00:23:19 unfortunately the one this year I didn't
00:23:19 --> 00:23:21 see because like you we were under Cloud
00:23:21 --> 00:23:25 for weeks at a time uh the discovery of
00:23:25 --> 00:23:27 the year though um I think it could be
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 something we talked about last episode
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 the fact that it's beginning to look as
00:23:31 --> 00:23:34 though dark energy is not constant um
00:23:34 --> 00:23:37 that could be a Nobel prize winning
00:23:37 --> 00:23:40 Discovery eventually uh so yes that's a
00:23:40 --> 00:23:42 that's that's a big big news
00:23:42 --> 00:23:45 story yeah it's huge it is a huge story
00:23:45 --> 00:23:48 all right um Fred that brings us to the
00:23:48 --> 00:23:50 end of the year uh I'll just tell people
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 what we're doing over the next few weeks
00:23:52 --> 00:23:54 while we're away we'll be uh digging up
00:23:54 --> 00:23:56 stories from the archives yes we've been
00:23:56 --> 00:23:58 around long enough to have archives
00:23:58 --> 00:24:01 uh so we'll be talking about the first
00:24:01 --> 00:24:04 James web images uh the first image of
00:24:04 --> 00:24:07 Sagittarius A star uh those Moon samples
00:24:07 --> 00:24:10 that they took 50 years to open remember
00:24:10 --> 00:24:14 that story uh exoplanets that rain gems
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 uh there's a story in there about Dark
00:24:16 --> 00:24:19 Energy surprisingly enough and uh NASA
00:24:19 --> 00:24:23 with its big warning about um the rising
00:24:23 --> 00:24:25 sea levels and the effect the moon will
00:24:25 --> 00:24:28 have in conjunction with that on tides
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 that was a massive story uh which we did
00:24:30 --> 00:24:33 a well more than three years ago but it
00:24:33 --> 00:24:36 still applies so those stories plus some
00:24:36 --> 00:24:39 updated news uh coming from one of our
00:24:39 --> 00:24:42 colleagues uh on the end of episodes
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 over the Christmas New Year period and
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 we'll be getting back together mid
00:24:45 --> 00:24:47 January with fresh episodes and that
00:24:47 --> 00:24:50 little bit of homework for ory uh in the
00:24:50 --> 00:24:53 meantime um before we finish i' got to
00:24:53 --> 00:24:55 say some thank yoush first of all thank
00:24:55 --> 00:24:57 you to you Fred you are amazing we love
00:24:57 --> 00:25:00 you dearly and um it is such an honor to
00:25:01 --> 00:25:03 have you on Space Nuts and have been
00:25:03 --> 00:25:06 doing it for so long and you know it's
00:25:06 --> 00:25:08 just terrific and people really
00:25:08 --> 00:25:11 appreciate it especially me and Hugh
00:25:11 --> 00:25:13 thank you Andrew um likewise your
00:25:13 --> 00:25:15 efforts and Hugh's efforts behind the
00:25:15 --> 00:25:18 scenes often go un he he doesn't do he
00:25:18 --> 00:25:20 doesn't do anything I know don't go
00:25:20 --> 00:25:23 there but but you you are the consumate
00:25:23 --> 00:25:25 professional when it comes to interviews
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 and broadcasting and it's a pleasure to
00:25:26 --> 00:25:30 work with you as always thanks Fred and
00:25:30 --> 00:25:32 uh I know it's by the time this episode
00:25:32 --> 00:25:34 goes you'll have already had your
00:25:34 --> 00:25:37 birthday but many many happy returns uh
00:25:37 --> 00:25:40 for your birthday uh which was sometime
00:25:40 --> 00:25:42 in December
00:25:42 --> 00:25:47 is so yeah uh I would also like to say
00:25:47 --> 00:25:49 thank you to our audience because
00:25:49 --> 00:25:51 without you we'd be nothing and you are
00:25:51 --> 00:25:53 uh one of the most dedicated audiences
00:25:53 --> 00:25:56 I've ever had the experience to work
00:25:56 --> 00:25:59 with or for and we really do appreciate
00:25:59 --> 00:26:04 and all uh your support our patrons we
00:26:04 --> 00:26:06 we love you thank you for putting money
00:26:06 --> 00:26:08 in the kitty um you don't have to do
00:26:08 --> 00:26:10 that we've never asked for it but you've
00:26:10 --> 00:26:14 um done it anyway um all four or 500 of
00:26:14 --> 00:26:17 you uh incredible and our sponsors of
00:26:17 --> 00:26:20 course um we love them because they keep
00:26:20 --> 00:26:23 Hughes Maserati going which is that's
00:26:23 --> 00:26:26 what it's all about yeah and for me um
00:26:26 --> 00:26:28 it has been a great pleasure this you
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 looking forward to your company in
00:26:30 --> 00:26:33 2025 can you believe we've reached that
00:26:33 --> 00:26:37 Year good G qu of the Year qu of this is
00:26:37 --> 00:26:40 unbelievable it is it is thanks Fred
00:26:40 --> 00:26:42 farewell we'll um have a great Christmas
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 New Year I know this is probably going
00:26:43 --> 00:26:46 to go to air after that but whatever uh
00:26:46 --> 00:26:49 and we will no what I don't know no just
00:26:49 --> 00:26:51 before it'll be just yeah next week next
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 week Christmas I had it all on a
00:26:53 --> 00:26:55 calendar I've lost the calendar but um
00:26:55 --> 00:26:58 yeah that proves I need a holiday take
00:26:58 --> 00:27:00 care Fred and love to mani and everybody
00:27:00 --> 00:27:02 and we'll we'll see you soon sounds
00:27:02 --> 00:27:04 great Andrew send to you thanks very
00:27:04 --> 00:27:06 much Professor Fred Watson astronomer at
00:27:06 --> 00:27:08 large and thanks to H in the studio for
00:27:08 --> 00:27:11 his tiess and uh invisible work getting
00:27:11 --> 00:27:13 this together because he really does
00:27:13 --> 00:27:15 work very very hard and that is no joke
00:27:15 --> 00:27:18 and for me Andrew Dunley uh thank you
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20 again for uh bearing with us for another
00:27:20 --> 00:27:23 year and we'll see you in 25 uh
00:27:23 --> 00:27:26 2025 take care merry Christmas happy New
00:27:26 --> 00:27:28 Year and bye for
00:27:29 --> 00:27:31 Nows you'll been listening to the Space
00:27:31 --> 00:27:33 Nuts
00:27:33 --> 00:27:36 podcast available at Apple podcasts
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00:27:39 --> 00:27:41 podcast player you can also stream on
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00:27:44 --> 00:27:46 another quality podcast production from
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