Liquefied by a Neutron Star | Because Science Footnotes

Kyle graphs some data (nefariously), responds to your comments, and more!
Follow Kyle Hill: / sci_phile
Follow us on FB: / becausescience
Follow us on Twitter: / becausescience
Follow us on Instagram: / becausescience
Follow Nerdist: / nerdist

[@becausescience]

Thanks for watching, Super Nerds! *Here's the link to the last episode* if you haven't peeped it yet: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2GUe5KrdrWAbJY -- kH

[@ribbitgoesthedoglastnamehe4681]

I have a question: Can the expansion of the universe be explained by radiation/photonic etc. energy "pushing" the boundaries of the universe, and "warping" the spacetime itself, so that the galaxies are not actually moving so much in velocity, as simply becoming more distant of each other as universe gets bigger?

[@Telendil]

Hm got expected number alive today 17 people. And not even a chart. Should i be worried.

[@noofdavy]

Umm in answer to your question, we can only imagine acceleration as a force, but don't think about the bianary as pushing you, you just fall towards it but it moves out of the way, and you don't "feel" forces in free fall.

[@noofdavy]

@@ribbitgoesthedoglastnamehe4681 "boundary" of the observable universe is not a physical thing that reacts to pressure, if you're arguing that classical radiation is behind the expansion the math doesn't work out with observations.

[@sonsofsparda22]

Still didn't answer my original question friend :/

[@DaremoTen]

"I love when legitimately intelligent people comment on these videos." What about the legitimately stupid people, we get no love? I mean them. They. Dammit!

[@mrjaz666]

RIP Science Asylum, died from a totally natural and non-suspicious orbital strike, 2019.

[@dew7555]

Kyle: "I love that legitimately intelligent people such as you comment on these videos" Everyone without a Master's thesis on white dwarf stars: "...k"

[@Jadae]

I mean... he's prolly named after a South Park character so it's all good.

[@yohumanfrisk]

You know, Paul, you aren't wrong. But the only people who had that train of thought were legitamately intelligent but didn't have that Master's. I, on the other hand, never feel as intelligent as the people around me say I am... I feel very ignorant most of the time, as well, and that's probably why I feel so unintelligent.

[@Syde_Saffar]

if we make intelligents people not breathing...thats mean we r intelligent people...then other people will...wait..wait a minute...

[@ehta2413]

Well having a bachelor on astronomy and having made my thesis about lunar bases for NASA, I feel I can slightly comment on something regardless of being Master only on planetary geology and other stuff... :D

[@skylx0812]

...you need a youtube peanut gallery to make you feel included? Cheer up bunky. Google's new terms of service threatening to delete channels they deem not "commercially viable" and COPPA will probably end up purging us all.

[@CheckersMcGavern]

"I'm not a supervillain, I just made a mistake" I wonder how many people have said this to an ex. lol

[@Sacremas]

Yeah, he's not a supervillain... but he keeps promoting Wolfram Alpha, well enough, except that "Wolfram & Hart" was a demonic law firm on the show Angel, and represented evil incarnate. Coincidence? I think not!

[@CheckersMcGavern]

@@Sacremas I'm so glad I'm not the only person who made this connection

[@Zarlos01]

I'm beginning to think that he is not a real supervillain, but a mad scientist. You know not lawful evil but chaotic good.

[@keithinadhd6693]

I just want to point out that The Science Asylum has an absolutely fantastic KZbin channel.

[@eladpeleg745]

Yeah I agree. I started laughing uncontrollably when I heard "science asylum"...

[@saltwtaffymc6673]

Agreed

[@jparky1972]

OMG! The other Kyle's! He's cleaning up his clones after having skipped an episode of Because Science!

[@DigitalJedi]

It's a scorched earth policy against Kyles. I should warn the 5 I know.

[@davidj2074]

The Kyle Clone Wars. That Kyle must be Jango Fett with some buyers remorse.

[@Telendil]

But he`s to slow … i got expected number alive today 17 People with my real name. And not even a chart. Thats the way to go.

[@Infernofist666]

This show is getting a mini series thats basically Super Villain History

[@OldMate94]

"What is a cup if not just a tall bowl" my next shirt 🤣😂

[@acadiangeek8483]

Missed opportunity for "there can be only one" quote at the end I'm slightly disappointed

[@storyspren]

"Tiny mouth shovel" isn't wrong at all my dude. It's the most right.

[@PignaofLegends]

The intro was glorious.

[@jaunusender6166]

"Protecting other planets from micro-organisms." They sent her to retrieve the water bears didn't they...

[@discflame]

i'm 20 and the most common age for my name is 4 years old i am the first of my name

[@Yora21]

As I predicted, Martin is common at every age. It only goes down past 70s.

[@pizzas4breakfast]

Diskflame, the first of his name, breaker of chains, father of dragons....

[@mrjaz666]

All those 4yo diskflames out there :)

[@DigitalJedi]

Ngl. Diskflame is a pretty cool name for a toddler.

[@thelionskiln]

@@pizzas4breakfast I swear this said dickflame. Can't unsee it now.

[@godsoloved24]

I hope the next episode has something to do with sharks with freaking laser beams attached to their heads, which wouldn't be very helpful underwater.

[@chrispeefeart4655]

My favorite part of this episode is that ending. He just did a major plot twist on his supervillain arch. He's been saying I love you before hanging up for a while and now he just developed that into being his mother. I love character development.

[@camplays487]

To everyone including Kyle, there is a mini documentary movie - “evacuating earth” that I highly recommend! It could even be the subject matter of an episode of because science?

[@phodon129]

Ooh, that one is one of my favourites! The narration is a tad over the top, but everything else is really great. It was also accidentally a better Mass Effect Andromeda than the actual Mass Effect Andromeda.

[@GISP]

Sharks are our freinds Kyle! Use mutated ill-tempered sea bass instead.

[@sdfkjgh]

GISP: Please don't use sea bass. Their stocks are still slightly depleted. Go with the Krill Kill Cult instead: Mutated, murderous Krill henchbeings.

[@Nutlicker683]

*this post was made by shark gang*

[@Merennulli]

"What frickuency lasers on their frickin heads?" And, yeah, I call my mom when planning evil too.

[@Jd-gq5zb]

footnotes at 2am, I should got to bed

[@TeeteringTod]

You should also got some proper vernacular ;)

[@MotoCat91]

Australian's unite! [I made an assumption here and I'm sorry if I was incorrect]

[@jasonyoung7705]

If the Laser Bee's are indiscriminate, then have you not just put yourself at great danger?

[@LMFAOdudeification]

Bold of you to assume he isn't in his super-secret bunker already.

[@adolfodef]

It is really easy to explain: "Kyle" is not his REAL name (also: The "Laser Bees" have shinigami eyes, obviously). Alternatively: He is in a place Laser Bees can not reach. Ever. Poor Kile.

[@NitroVortox]

Kyle: "I made a mistake." Me: "A CALCULATED MISTAKE!"

[@vincentmccue7481]

Call your mom, unless your relationship with her is toxic to your well-being, then don't feel obligated to talk to her. Call someone else's mom if you still want to call one.

[@skylx0812]

Some women experience an orgasam during childbirth. It was said this was part of the bonding process since human newborns are the most vunerable at birth and would ensure their safety. If you don't get along with your mom then maybe at least just send her a card.

[@vincentmccue7481]

@@skylx0812 So what about the ones that don't experience that? How would those children be ensured safety?

[@erickgutierrez924]

@@vincentmccue7481 they dieded

[@hapkituto2196]

THIS super combo of jokes, from velociraptor, to biceps guns. Oh my God! Here sir, is my thumbs up!

[@philipcollier4883]

6:11 So let me see if I can understand this: since the force of gravity pulls equally on all parts of a small object, the stress to the object is less for the same acceleration vs a rocket. Ex you are in deep space and your rocket is accelerating at 1G you feel...1G. However if you are in freefall over earth accelerating to the ground at 1G you feel effectively weightless...until you hit the ground of course. Same deal in a stable orbit. The crew of the IST are weightless while constantly accelerating around the earth. If we are able to exploit that with binary dwarf stars to pull sick G's w/o feeling it, that would really be "falling with style" PS thanks for reading my comment it really made my day 😁

[@Ansatz66]

We still must not forget tidal forces, especially when dealing with very large gravitational forces like neutron stars. The point is that the force of gravity changes depending on distance, so if the gravity is strong enough you can actually feel it because it will be pulling on your near side more strongly than your far side, perhaps even strongly enough to stretch your feet away from your head. This is sometimes called spaghettification, and neutron stars are known for being able to do this if you get too close.

[@nobodx]

There really should have been a bee flying around in the end...

[@xtieburn]

Assuming its the same 'The Science Asylum' they actually run their own youtube channel explaining some awesome physics. I highly recommend it.

[@eladpeleg745]

It is the same one. How awesome is that?

[@albertjackinson]

14:13 to 14:22 All that nerdy analysis for no reason at all?! That's why I Iove this channel! Because science!

[@soranuareane]

Regarding the mistake addressed at the end of the video: we all make mistakes. Some mistakes are bigger than others. Some mistakes are more impactful than others. However, *addressing* those mistakes and explaining the truth behind your mistake and the reality you attempted to explain is what makes you awesome. Thank you for doing these footnotes episodes and spreading this wonderful knowledge to the world. Can't wait for the next episode.

[@jerreu7136]

There's expectedto be 10 people with my mom's name, I know at least two of them

[@Captaincory1]

I just wanted frickin sharks with frickin laserbeams attached to their frickin heads

[@theguylevi]

When I was a tot, my family would often ask 'Pick or shovel?' when setting the table for dinner.

[@1TheRaven]

Im glad he took the correction a lot better than the previous ones. Hehe Love the show my man, Kyle!

[@adorimable9690]

Don't know what I expected with Kevin, really not surprised

[@alexiswelsh5821]

So have all of Kyle’s villainous phone calls been to his mom?

[@FlyingDominion]

Kyle's mom (assuming that's who he's been calling) is now officially part of the Because Science-iverse. ... Voidiverse? Becausiverse?

[@kensheldon7430]

Can't wait for the next EP!

[@01ehlert]

So I'm an author and the neutron star slingshot episode helped me so much in worldbuilding my travel system in my sci fi story. A huge part of the story is a basic understanding of inertia and acceleration. I have built a whole system for launching ships into orbit using a series of railguns and a basic hydraulic shock absorber. And the whole point is without it you can't have acceleration. I've read so much Dyson I'm thinking about just getting a physics degree, since I have basically spent the last year teaching myself as many of his concepts as I possibly could. For me, magic systems in worldbuilding are very important. And what is physics if not OUR magic systems

[@No1important88]

Actually Kyle, there's a wide age distribution for the name Robert, and all those need to be added to the Bob list.

[@skepticalbadger]

Yes! I just commented on this before I saw your comment.

[@Novyar]

😂😂 bro there are some people in the U.S that named their child "God". Im done bro😂

[@klowbi2913]

In my country is kinda normal that there's parents that named their child from bible characters, but "god" is the first time. 😂😂 it's so pretentious.

[@Novyar]

@@klowbi2913 lol

[@xPanda25]

There are people who name their child Jesus! Especially in Hispanic countries like whaaaaat? (/s)

[@fearless4him595]

Lol what? 😂

[@thenasadude6878]

Dio translates to God in Italian, so Ronnie James Dio and Dio Brando qualify. Dea (which means Goddess) is also a name in Italian, albeith very very rare. Era (Hera in English and Greek) is also a rare name in Italy. But then Maria (Mary) is very very common

[@jamesbailey4304]

"What is a cup if not a tall bowl" shall be my new go-to phrase to throw people off tilt when they're already confused with me.

[@jnco300]

Hey Kyle, Love the show. Just wanted to say you're my inspiration for staying involved in all things science as a hobby Keep up the villainy

[@SynymynBuhnz]

Could we currently make a trace rifle like in Destiny 2? Could we ever make one in real life?

[@Ar_ceum]

But witch one: The damage ramp-up of the frost gun. The fire lazer with the big hotspot. The switching void lazer. The critical cannon from the vex. The choise is youres to make!

[@SynymynBuhnz]

@@Ar_ceum I think Prometheus Lens would be the easiest to make, Coldheart would the most difficult to make though.

[@ArkaSaurusRex218]

@@Ar_ceum Wavesplitter would just be a laser beam, that you can change the intensity of, which will not be too hard to make. Prometheus lens is maybe possible, if we make laser beam with an everwiding beam width,vbwith maybe something like camera shutters? Divinity would be very easy, because laser's are already very precise. Coldheart uses a cold laser beam, which I'm pretty sure is impossible.

[@Syde_Saffar]

if i can 1 shot someone with it...ill take it..anything..

[@thehipnip939]

Eric Xu actually they use lasers to super cool things toward absolute zero. Essential they excite atoms by pushing electrons to a higher states. Here’s the journal if you’re interested journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.173201

[@Baplar]

The idea of a network of gravity assist relays reminds me of the latest video from Kurzgezagt, which explores a similar idea using physical tethers instead of gravity.

[@William1w1]

Kyle! The reason Dyson only needed to worry about tidal forces in the calculation was that gravity is NOT a contact force. It does not create an acceleration gradient across a body, but rather maintains the relative spacing of all particles inside the body. This is different from when you get in a car accident and some parts of your body are accelerated before others.

[@shreyanshanchlia]

Kyle accidentally killed himself at 1:45

[@flabort]

He's got back-ups in the Void. He's gonna lose a lot of them, if they awaken the moment the prime body dies, but as long as they aren't "Kyle" until they're aware, he's fiiiine

[@Nutlicker683]

what if his name is... kile

[@altman575]

All of this sounds like a Mass Effect Generator.

[@Justinius117]

Right?

[@robertagu5533]

Maybe that means Kyle had a plan to quasi conventionally defeat the Reapers too..

[@Victoria-bh2ht]

This is why I love science and scientists. When they're proven to be in error about something, they admit it, accept it, and move on.

[@RSN_Charizard_Op]

Give us more of the doctor! Thank you for being awesome kyle.

[@joosevettenranta]

LOL, I have never heard my name pronounced the way Kyle did :D

[@KumaBones]

Kyle Hill... You're also names Kyle, so your Lazer bees could also target you.

[@scottlampe70]

Hi, not being mean or anything, and you might have done it on purpose (lazertag), but just in case, it's laser, not lazer.

[@KumaBones]

@@scottlampe70 it was on purpose, because lazer bees would be playing lazertag with all kyles

[@KumaBones]

@@scottlampe70 Thanks for the correction btw; I did appreciate you looking out.

[@th3_rezur3ct1on]

Thank you I love the show! What video games are on your radar? How does the technology of VR influence the possibility of video games and such.

[@optimus2200]

the chronicle of the villain kyle is just getting better and better

[@KumaBones]

"it's canon... And it has cannons" oh dude, your jokes are OUT OF THIS WORLD... So please go tell them in another world.

[@becausescience]

Enjoy the free content. -- kH

[@KumaBones]

@@becausescience YOU DID TELL THEM IN ANOTHER WORLD!!! Ok, i'm impressed. Touché

[@donofspades1141]

I'm going to capture the laser bee you sent for me and reverse engineer it. Watch out.

[@SimonvanTilburg]

I enjoy science in this way. Back on school it never was this fun. Teachers. Learn of this man!!😁😁😁👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@ankokuraven]

Id imagine that since the gravitational acceleration effects all molecules of everything on the ship effectively evenly, it wouldnt present a danger to the passengers. Its really the difference in acceleration that damages an object. when one part is accelerating differently there is internal stresses that do the damage (crushing or ripping the object)

[@bradreeder7635]

The only way your theory would not work is the extreme gravity of a black hole, or neutron star. Yes, your theory works because humans would not subject the craft to that kind of gravity, but think spaghettization when falling into a black hole. Because the forward facing part of your body is several inches closer to the black hole, it is accelerated more than the back. Thus stretching you out like silly putty until you are atoms.

[@alexkosanke2498]

I love this show and want my 6 year old daughter to watch with me. Any recommendations on a good episode to start her with?

[@DigitalJedi]

I got into this with the "why you don't want superpowers" videos. Though these may be a little scary for little kids. People die in bad ways as results of the powers.

[@EpiphoneShredzzzzz]

Maybe the Naruto running episode? Then get her into Naruto if she doesn't already watch it lol

[@skylx0812]

Doing that could be the death of this channel under COPPA regs. If they have to list a video as directed to children KZbin will designate the entire channel as such and lock it away under the new parameters. The most important being the removal of comments. If the channel violate the new rules the FTC will go after the content creator. This channel relies on comments if KZbin removes them because children watch its videos there goes the interaction with viewers.

[@t3hfluff]

Coppa is too broad so any popular franchise (i.e. star wars) could be considered popular for children even though the targeted audience for this channel is high school, college students and adults. Nerdist/BS should have a disclaimer and leave it up to parental discretion because you do need to be 13 years old to create an account and participate.

[@t3hfluff]

As for the op, you have seen the older episodes right? If you screen them, you should be able to determine which videos are appropriate for your child based on their interests. Do not leave it up to comments on the internet. Eta: I approve specific videos for my daughter to watch and although she doesnt pay attention to these sciencey shows, she still hears the language as its played on the tv while shes playing in the room.

[@yourrealnightmare]

Alright, I'm going to start shipping Kyle and Dr. Moo from now on

[@becausescience]

Nah -- kH

[@charlescochran5103]

Today I learned that no Kyle has lived past the age of 60. Good luck for the next 30 years Kyle.

[@JasonWW2000]

Obviously the spike will continue to move. Next year will be 61, then 62, etc... It will continue forever as it doesnt show who is alive or dead.

[@kylehudson9658]

Well.... this is news

[@ciudadanubis]

Hey Kyle, love your show! I'm watching the comments about the neutron star slingshot, and came to my mind that using a Neutron Star could be pointless. The fact is, if you use a Neutron star instead a White dwarf, is because you want to orbit nearer the star and use the extra rotational velocity of the pair compared with a pair of white dwarfs, but the gavitational tidal forces could destroy your ship in the process, even when they are not a black holes. So, you must orbit farther to avoid the tides. But you may can't because you must orbit in the plane of the neutron stars pair, and to avoid rip your ship appart, you must enter exactly in the middle of the two Neutron stars (in the exact center of the pair the gravitational forces cancel each other and there is no tides), so your approach can't be in a low angle (that makes you acelerate at maximum, but ripping you apart), instead you must enter in the rotation plane almost perpendicular to the imaginary line made by the pair, and slingshot assist can´t be achieved. You can also use one of the neutron stars and enter perpendicular to the rotation plane, but you can't came close to the star because of the tides, so the Neutron stars pair have no practical advantages in front of a pair of white dwarfs. Even if you could using a pair of Neutron Stars to go from one Solar system to another, is like using your car to drive one block, and park it 10 blocks away, you must first travel to the first Neutron stars pair, do the slingshot, travel to the second Neutron stars pair, reverse the slingshot and then travel to the another solar system.

[@Wingdnadlla]

Can you talk about how GN drives work from gundam 00

[@cavey92347284life20]

I'd rather hear a out phase shift armor but anything Gundam I'll take

[@stapuft]

How about explaining "newtypes" lol

[@Syde_Saffar]

because anime?

[@shoootme]

​@@cavey92347284life20 Oh PS armor brakes everything so bad, immune to physical attacks AKA has no braking point there for can take any load/stress/strain as long as its powered. give me 100 ton of this stuff and as many solar panels as you can get and I will link the earth and the moon with a hairs thread of material that will wreck titled system and maybe the Earth as well, that or I use it as a big clothes line to swipe the PLANT from space with the rotation of a the Earth. Please the blue cosmos and ZAFT were so unoriginal, I mean death lazes, nukes and Grazers? Kyle would have taken them all apart and hes a natural. Why? Because Science. :-) PS still have no clue how GN drives work but i assume its as much hand wave as PS, gundanium, Minovsky, etc, all a bit of fun for us.

[@haladmirknowsbest]

I know one of those other Kyles. He's a cool person, so please no Terminator bee for him

[@FlagCutie]

Same. The Kyle in my life is super rad and one of my best friend's husband, so no termination.

[@davekavanagh7599]

That very last call you mom bit earned that like

[@andresymedio625]

omg, just when I thought because science couldn't be any cooler, you're doing the shark with fricking laser beams attached to their heads thing! awesome! :D

[@xenar974]

1 watch and 47 likes, yesss!!!!

[@altair5258]

first ? :O

[@clueless4085]

9:16 Someone has been watching bro science lol. The lazer sounds were a nice touch.

[@Urza9814]

SBNation did a two part series on the frequency of the name Bob, particularly in sports, a few months back ("The Bob Emergency")... Interesting to see you opening with similar charts today! ...also...did I miss the reason for that or was it just a fun tip? Lol

[@SpicyChedderJack]

I'm 21 and the Name Jack has persisted a level of popularity seemingly through all ages, with peaks in their 0-10s and those in their 60's with a significant valley coming at its lowest starting in the 20's until late 30's

[@pajaf0341]

Dear Mr. BS, love your show, missmuskwatch. You two were great together. Also, Science Asylum is the most factual physics communicator. Where Dereck, Joe and Michael are imprecise, that channel did not even finish its warmup. And while he stays funny and play, he really knows how to get surprising complicatet stuff through. Up until now I was able to understand any concept over there, and I am no academic. You should promote him or do a collab, if he does like to, it can only benefit both of you.

[@feffo9908]

Acceleration doesn't damage your body if it is evenly distributed in your whole volume. Just think that you are constantly under acceleration from earth gravity and it doesn't thore you apart. What it kills you is differential acceleration, which cames from different gravity at different distances from the gravity source (e.g. spaghettification) also called "tidal force". What it says in the paper is not "you need an 80 meters ship", but "even an 80 meters ship would suffer no damage from tidal force (due from the tip being at 80 meters closer to the neutron star than the tail)"

[@Sawtooth44]

next episode is going to be *GLORIOUS!* i love the Austin Powers movies

[@wrodrigues1]

Hi Kyle! Awesome show! I checked Wolfram Alpha for my first name and it seems there are about only 217 Wagners in US and most common age is 6.

[@Grato537]

Hey Kyle the reason the acceleration does not cause a problem is that it is purely gravitational in an inertial frame. It's for the same reason astronauts are 'weightless'. They are accelerating constantly but it's a free fall around the earth. Falling toward orbiting stars would be the same sort of thing. Hope that helps!

[@killa117pro9]

Did Kyle just order his own indiscriminate death with laser bees? My my, Evil genius Kyle you have found what we like to call karma. Love the show!

[@mathdemigod8162]

Wolfram Alpha is such an amazing resource. Thank you for reminding me that it exists!

[@RacketRacketRacket]

I’m thrilled that you’re finally unveiling to the world your fleet of laser sharks. Are we getting closer to exploring the training and physics of jumping a laser shark. Could anything be cooler?

[@countchompula1896]

The only thing liquefied here is my brain trying to understand all this.

[@thecrappyeditor6557]

My MOJO is tingling at Kyle's supervillainy

[@Shockwave-ob2tx]

Laser bee flies into Because Science office..."Kyle?", Kyle answering automatically, "Yea...oh, crap..."

[@djpowerboy]

omg! the plot twist at the end! 😂😂😂

[@GentlemanQ]

It felt like this whole episode was based on cyborg 009 serie. acceleration, sharks with weapons attached to them, what's next? High-intelegent spy dolphins X) loved the episode,keep it up!

[@randylizotte]

Yes I’ve been asking for an episode on shark with laser beams attached to their head forever

[@GameTesterBootCamp]

You'd be shocked at all the crazy crap Wolfram tracks. They are just down the road from me in Champaign and it always looked like such a dope place to work.

[@takeawayeverything]

Hi, Kyle. Apologies for asking something off topic here, but which do you think would be plausible a) Few population in the world riding an EV. and the rest has no access what so ever to auto-mobiles. (E.V.s are Echo-friendly, but there simply isn't enough platinum supplies for the whole population.) b) More people in the world riding cars, using Shale Oil (Which I imagine isn't echo-friendly as an E.V.)

[@chargin6044]

Kyle's super villain mistakes this episode: 1. Telling everyone his plan 2. Not ordering additional laser bees to provision for failed attacks, the estimated number of Kyles being understated and/or natural population growth 3. Targeting himself in the attack by not specifying he was to be excluded from the list of targets

[@fatmn]

0:34 The true nerdgasm - crossover between BS and Jon Bois (Chart Party, Bob Emergency)

[@Urza9814]

Man, I had to scroll a while to find this comment. Almost thought I was the only one here who'd seen those!

[@JubeiKibagamiFez]

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

[@AP2922]

Looking up names is literally the only thing I use Wolframalpha for.

[@clintbenson8742]

A point about the large acceleration values is that acceleration due to gravity is much, much different than acceleration due to an engine. You see gravity acts the entirety a body almost uniformly. This is why you the vomit comet works and it is also why you feel weightless in space. Unless the space ship is actively trying to fight the gravitational acceleration of a near by object, both the ship and it's occupants will fall toward the object at the same rate and thus no force is needed to keep you from slamming into the walls of your ship. Also tidal forces come from the fact that gravitational acceleration gets stronger as you get closer to an object. This means the side of your ship that's closer to the object it's falling toward wants to accelerate slightly faster than the side further away which means a tension force supplied by materials of you ship to make up the difference. At most human scales and under most gravitational accelerations the tidal forces are minuscule, but if you increase the scale of the object or the strength of your gravitational field the can become significant enough to rip things apart (also known as spaghettification). Essentially (x+1)^2-x^2 gets bigger as x gets bigger and x can symbolize the scale of your ship or the strength of your field.

[@NullEntityGames]

Well from one Kyle to another.. Thanks for doing that for me XD

[@rbradhill]

legit lold at the awesomeness of Starship Velociraptor.

[@TheFuzzled]

Is anyone else jealous of Kyle's insane control over his eyebrows?

[@dustinking2965]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned the halo drive, which gets a gravity assist from a spinning black hole instead of a neutron star. You don't even have to fly close to the black hole, you just shoot a laser beam near the black hole in a way that it loops around the black hole and comes back to you. The rotation of the black hole adds energy to the beam that you can use for propulsion and to recharge your ship. It's on the Cool Worlds channel.

[@Cpl_Tunnel]

The scientist finds a way to accelerate to .25c and the engineer has to find a way to slow it down.

[@petermirtitsch1235]

+Because Science - Larry Niven wrote a story CALLED "!Neutron Star" and it detailed some of the hassles involved, especially tidal effects.

[@rune12358]

Re: Dyson, tides, big spaceships and squishy things gravitationally accelerated. Thing is, you want a ship _smaller_ than those 80m in diameter. Else the tides would strain it too much. Tidal forces are internal forces that arise out of the differential pull of gravity on different places of an object, due to the difference in distance from the source of gravity (this is how black holes spaghettify you). The bigger your ship is, the larger the difference in distance from say, the bow and the stern from the neutron star. Now, squishy things such as humans would only be squeezed by tidal forces in such a system, because gravity is accelerating all of the atoms in the ship pretty much the same amount (minus tidal effects). It's not exhaust pushing on a nozzle pushing on a spaceship pushing on you, where the force is transfered internally, like rockets, it is a uniform acceleration provided to all the matter inside the gravitational field. Same reason you don't feel acceleration if you are free-falling in vaccum, for example in orbit at the ISS. You don't feel the one G that you are accelerating at, instead you feel 'microgravity', or more correctly, free-falling. Just like you do during a gravity assist, no matter your change in velocity.

[@piguyalamode164]

You could also use Giant sun powered lasers to get up to .25 c. Of course, one problem is the radiation experienced by such a ship, but you have that with neutron stars as well. And you can put pushing stations on rouge planets and asteroids to clear out the debris in the way and you can power these stations with the giant lasers

[@Vastin]

Tidal stresses increase with the difference in radius from the star from one edge of your hull (or body) to the other. So in a very large ship, either the ship could be torn apart, or the difference between the ships overall acceleration and your personal acceleration standing against the inner hull might become great enough to kill you. Thus, Dyson's reference to a ship with an 80m circumference is probably the Upper Bound of safe size, not the lower bound. You want to traverse the slingshot in a fairly small ship to minimize tidal stresses. If you want to pull this stunt with Neutron stars or Black Hole binaries, you'll need a substantially smaller ship than that.

[@callamirvine9278]

hey kyle love your work and knowledge can you use that knowledge to determine who would win in combat, Thor or Superman.