Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Flying Cars

Where the heck are our flying cars? In this explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice discuss scientists’ promise of us zipping around in flying cars and why we don’t have them yet. What’s the hold up?!
We explore the practical issues of flying cars and why we may, in essence, have flying cars already. Why do we even want flying cars? What sort of wish fulfillment would it give us? Are helicopters close enough?
Discover the multi-dimensionality of a traffic jam. We break down the hyperloop and the noisiness of drones. Could our Jetson’s dreams only be a fantasy? Could perhaps Earth’s magnetic field be used to achieve flight? We get into magnetically levitated trains and our transportation future. All that, plus, find out why Neil is underwhelmed by the concept of levitating hoverboards!
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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!
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[@bpo1975]

Neil's greatest talent is the ability to take a concept and break it down to a basic common sense level for the layman.

[@Leftyotism]

For the layman of life? xD

[@albaniod]

Yup he's a true educator through and through and that's all he wants to be. His belief and enthusiasm in not just the pursuit of knowledge but the sharing of it is legendary and using his influence to reach every single person he can is respectable. There's many more like him that worj in there own spheres and I applaud them all

[@steve-o6413]

So he's right China is more Advanced Technology wise and there's nothing we can do about it lol...

[@MeeMee-gz5vp]

@@steve-o6413 It’s been that way since forever, hasn’t it? 🤷‍♀️

[@theamateur8562]

I swear someone’s said this in pretty much all his videos. Feel like people just say it for clout now.

[@olssonolov]

Given how people drive in two dimensions, can you really trust them to drive in three dimensions?

[@l_e3eau]

Do you trust your pilot when you travel..

[@iamhawkeye3162]

@@l_e3eau no but I trust air traffic control

[@Corn0nTheCobb]

no

[@WetaMantis]

Gives you a third dimension to evade a crash though. And a third dimension not to get close to someone in the first place.

[@bigred9428]

You're being too literal again. If we had flying cars, they would be flawlessly self-piloted, never crash, and only make that pleasant sound that was demonstrated to alert our spouses and children that we are home again.

[@Abaris84]

Me: I want a flying car. Neil: Take the subway. You're welcome.

[@Nauda999]

At the start Neil also said that flying car = helicopter/drone

[@powdereyes2210]

is there a possibility that you could make a hovering car with the combination of magnets metals and making magnet tubes to allow the cars to fly into them by focusing the metal that it has inside upwards so the magnet will follow the metal moving up with the pressure plate inside the magnet car and then when it gets to the magnet tube which is upwards you can just put the metal back inside and use another pressure plate to push the metal forwards to allow the car to move forwards and if you'll need to stop move it to the back actually on second thought that would be way too expensive but it is an idea videogame creators could use to make another type of transportation

[@myoriverwood6408]

@@Nauda999 lo[l9ok o~millón~

[@spec24]

Some Guy: I want a flying car. Neil: Take the sub way, you're welcome. Someone smarter than Tyson: you're still locked into two dimensions in a subway, you idiot. Neil: If a regular human bites a vampire, shouldn't the vampire turn back into a human?

[@MeeMee-gz5vp]

StarTalk is the only channel where I know I can get educated and entertained at the same time 😎

[@FireFoxCosworth]

Startalk helps me go to sleep every night.

[@billymetcalfe7698]

Edutainment

[@thunder_birdfps8294]

Crash Course

[@VNExperience]

There's more of them out there for sure. Depends on what you find entertaining of course. I dig Veritasium and SmarterEveryDay. Destin is an engineer and does a great job making science entertaining by flying on fighter jets and helicopters, exploring nuclear submarines etc. But Star Talk is one of my favorites too.

[@jude_foster280]

@@FireFoxCosworth compliment or insult ?

[@Hugh_Jas]

The Jetson flying car sound was PERFECT!

[@jonathanperry8331]

I dreamed of flying cars when I was a kid but now that I grew up it just sounds like an insurance nightmare. Funny how you get jaded after a while

[@MeeMee-gz5vp]

Lol right.

[@JohnDoe-jh5yr]

The real issue is freedom of movement. You don't trust people to move in three dimensions reliably as you add in an element of gravity that isn't as critical in two dimensional travel. That makes sense, because just try a flight sim; It's harder than it seems. As Chuck mentions, magnetic fields are one such possibility to create mag-lev infrastructure that can be used for travel. It still requires construction, but hopefully with less environmental impact than interstate highway bridges crossing over each other as you have in big cities.

[@chrono8233]

Hoverboards will have to do.

[@Kepe]

@@JohnDoe-jh5yr Flying cars in cities and any other areas with any sort of population would need to be autonomous. We already have autopilot in our planes, we're on the brink of having totally autonomous cars. Combine those and add vehicle to vehicle data links and an automated air traffic control system which directs the traffic so that there aren't any crashes. The only real issue is creating a technology that makes the cars fly economically, quietly and without creating a small local storm when it lands on the street somewhere. A more feasible solution to city traffic could be autonomous non-flying cars that all communicate with each other or are guided by a centralized system, and no traffic lights. As the cars know where other cars are coming from and how fast, they can drive right past each other in intersections by speeding up or slowing down a little bit so that everyone avoids a collision. Even better solution would be that everyone whose job doesn't require doing physical labor somewhere, works from home. And everyone's shopping is delivered to their houses or buildings. A single delivery van can deliver everyday items to dozens of homes at a time, dramatically reducing the number of cars driving to shops and back home.

[@jsmithers.]

@@Kepe The problem will be the cars will still allow for or have a manual override. And people will do it all the time, because people like the freedom and fun of driving themselves. And if you say no manual override allowed, what about emergency situations where the system malfunctions, or when emergency vehicles and police need to reach a destination ahead of everyone else?

[@lZGamerzI]

Us: WE NEED FLYING CARS Neil: we already have flying cars at home flying cars at home: * *Helicopter* *

[@topsecret1837]

The best part about this comment is that it’s based on an overused meme that already exists, but it applies to Tyson’s narrative perfectly.

[@onesketchyguy6050]

I love these longer videos, nothing quite like a conversation where you can't remember how you started it

[@TigerBiteMods]

Hearing Neil say S#!T made my year😂🥳

[@changleon7441]

Fun fact: helicopters can glide when their engines fail. It’s called “autorotation”. It’s essential training for all helicopter pilots. But yeah i get your point.

[@davidmccarthy6061]

Sort of glide, more like a controlled hard landing.

[@joesterling4299]

OK, so not just a brick; a brick with a streamer attached.

[@2MANYWWWWWWWWWWWWS4U]

a streamer that prevents passengers from dying, yes.

[@someguy4900]

I didn't know that thanks

[@kruleworld]

it's how the auto gyro works.

[@deadmikehun]

The hoverboard in back to the future did actually hover over water. Can a skate board do that while somebody is standing on it? No.

[@dimitreze]

also, it runs smoothly in any ground

[@ChronicSkater]

And it works over water if you had a propulsion system you just wouldn't be able to get a push off of water so buy the Pitbull

[@backseatgamer3390]

So then if my car hovers afoot of the ground i don't have to worry about potholes or speed bumps

[@kreuz7sieben]

What are you talking about? The hoverbards stopped working as soon as they came near water. Did you even see the movie?

[@ChronicSkater]

@@kreuz7sieben I'm guessing you have not stream it you will see

[@909sickle]

Neil: We already have flying cars... they're called the _subway system_ Chuck: Uuhhh no

[@varunmehta5627]

And Chuck took that personally

[@rainbowsprinkles4234]

Being unfamiliar with NYC, totes expected Tyson to say "...called the EL," or "called the highway," but the subway makes a much more amusing punchline!

[@rjpittman4510]

I love Chuck's reaction to "The subway is the solution" and he goes "No, just no. That is calling a tofu burger a burger, that ain't what I want dangit"

[@sfitzic]

Can you imagine the road rage when someone's in the left lane blocking your ability to get around a slow driver AND another person is in the air blocking you from going over. I don't have enough middle fingers to handle that situation.

[@AnalystPrime]

What would solve that situation better than flying cars is self driving cars. The autopilot knows where the other cars are and where they are going so they all can go at top speed while keeping safe distance and when something slows down a lane everyone slows down at the same time so it doesn't become a traffic jam where cars have to actually stop.

[@bristoled93]

@@AnalystPrime Self driving cars destroys jobs.

[@LtNduati]

I love how Neil wakes up and chooses logic, but Chuck wakes up and chooses "The ends justify the means"

[@TheHumanSystem]

Humans have questionable logic. We have a related discussion on the human obsession with cars on our channel.

[@WildernessGirl21]

That's why the compliment each other as scientists and friends. Yes, I consider Chuck a scientist. 😊

[@AV8R_Surge]

The hover board benefit: less wheel contact resistance slowing it down, so a push takes you further. Also, you can glide over large cracks, peebles and twigs without the sudden stop And the eventual fall. 😉

[@martinda7446]

I hate peebles 😸

[@martinda7446]

..And twigs...

[@AV8R_Surge]

@@martinda7446 😆 Auto-incorrect sabotaged me again.

[@martinda7446]

@@AV8R_Surge I liked it a lot for some weird reason??

[@dimas.2381]

The thing that's missing from Neil's interpretation of why you would need a flying car is ability to go anywhere without infrastructure. You still need roads for the third dimension I want to be able to just hop into my personal flying helicopter and go anywhere without worrying about roads. I mean, the ending of Back to the Future said it all: "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads"

[@mick62569]

Exactly

[@jsmithers.]

Yes, but that's where his statement about helicopters comes in. Helicopters are flying cars. But we don't have an answer for the noise they create. So that's what he said about actual flying cars. Additionally, how could you possibly regulate flying cars safely? If someone loses control, all the sudden they're crashing into a building, or someone's home. There would be no way to stop that, hence it being far more dangerous and an insurance nightmare.

[@TheAmethyz]

@@jsmithers. my thoughts exactly. No one would want accidental 9/11 to happen (specially intentional)

[@bigred9428]

@@jsmithers. , That's what "they" are supposed to fix.

[@jsmithers.]

@@bigred9428 No...You cant fix that insurance and safety problem...

[@maxwell4546]

Dude, I want a flying car. Where's the anti-gravity?

[@slickrat]

That is "dark matter", dark matter has repelling nature (as opposed to gravity), we just could never manipulate or even see it, thus the name "dark matter". We can only notice its effects on other things in the universe, but not actually see or touch it. ERRATUM: the correct would be dark "energy", not dark matter

[@albertjackinson]

@@slickrat I never heard of the fact dark matter had a repelling force.

[@HKS-Digital]

@@albertjackinson he meant "dark energy" , i.e. the cause of the expansion of the universe

[@maxwell4546]

@@slickrat ahhhh

[@inakimendiberri2226]

We are still trying to figure out gravity, let alone anti-gravity

[@GeorgieVlogs]

i absolutely love the hypothetical scenarios you guys come up with when playing around

[@meshi10008]

“The macabre school of comedy” 🤣

[@Zoksta69]

You two make me so happy 😂

[@firstlast9731]

yea

[@marvinkenneth5786]

Same

[@martinda7446]

😹 Nice comment.

[@dylanrogers9712]

I couldn’t ask for anything better to watch with my Funyuns

[@steve-o6413]

: ) ha,ha,ha lol, wish I had some right about now...

[@nicolas44444]

I got the book and am really enjoying it. Keep bringing light hearted positive energy to science and education. Thank you.

[@jeffthompson9622]

You guys' interactions are great. Wonderful! back and forth! Comedic and informative.

[@Viraj69]

I love the fact that Chuck used Doppler Effect to make the sound of a flying car

[@msmith53]

Yes!

[@gusgarcia150]

These are the only videos i let my phone show notifications for 😁

[@MikesFishingHome]

I always enjoy the way you two play off of each other, and this short 1 didn't disappoint.

[@DeepBoxGames]

I love the way Neil thinks this was a very interesting point. In my opinion the average person thinking I want a flying car is thinking I just want to go around people at what ever speed the individual feels necessary which would be fast. I’m not sure anyone wants others to have the same option though because then we have sky traffic that puts them all back in the same boat. I appreciate this channel so much because on a weekly bases I’m able to come here and learn so much plus practice thinking differently like we already have flying cars.

[@victorb145]

I'm surprised we haven't built more roads above roads. I know we kind of have a little bit, the problem with them is if you happen to be on the road in an earthquake and the bridge falls maybe that's why they're not more popular. I guess I just answered my own question we need to get better at predicting earthquakes first.

[@danielstone9978]

Yes 👌🏼 the predicted quake will help when the roads above shake

[@NA-vk1ml]

10:16 why did he chuckle at Chuck like that? 😆🤣😂 😆🤣😂

[@mariakerberus1017]

Hooray!!! Chuck is back :D he wasn't in the video I watched the other day about Exoplanets, and I missed him lol He and Neil have awesome repartee together, the show feels a tiny bit lacking without their unique level of synergy! Chuck's enthusiasm is just downright infectious :3

[@aquamanGR]

Big fan of Neil & Star Talk. And I love how he carefully steered around the hyperloop :)

[@fraser2498]

Could you imagine a 3 dimensional high speed police chase😶

[@simon-white]

Don't need to imagine. The Fifth Element ;-)

[@stauffap]

Just watch the movie top gun! Or watch one bird stealing another birds food.

[@albertjackinson]

Oooooh, here's an idea: Police train segments! There you go!

[@nikobitan7294]

Wasn't there also one in the Star Wars prequels?

[@Ketch509totheworld]

That police chase in the recent star trek

[@kittywetzel92]

Gotta love Chuck! He does make excellent points and challenges Neil!

[@jasonplant5432]

I wrote " I think therefore you are " on my garage door. Thank you chuck! Love it,even if it was in an old video.

[@kellingc]

Very funny conversation. Thank you for bringing up the logistics of getting something in the air.

[@freeze-frames]

The reason I'm eagerly awaiting flying cars is not to escape traffic, but to be able to live off coast and still be connected to the urban center.

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

Those people have private planes for that.

[@williamlathan6932]

The mag-lev toilet changes the meaning of "above the rim".

[@c4b0ombazzist90]

Most helis have two engines and all are capable of doing an autorotate maneuver, where they pitch the nose down and leading edge of the rotors down and use the rising air during the fall to rotate the blades to operating speed, before impact you pitch rotor back up. The momentum carries over and creates lift slowing your descent. It's still a rough landing and is not effective at very low altitudes.

[@jaxzinremy4141]

Have you ever been on a skateboard, the tiniest rock while make you go flying. In back to the future 3, McFly was riding along side a train over a rocky desert floor which is impossible on a skate board. The invention is that you can go over any solid terrain including dirt, gravel, and grass. Skate boards only work on paved surfaces.

[@millechemins8436]

ya man, Neil is close mind, kinda dumb for a scientist. they cant understand simple, practical thing in real life

[@mukamuka0]

1:40 No, it won't. Your rotor blade is a wing, if it's still intact. You can glide and land safely even in the engine failed if you have enough altitude. It won't become a brick. This is called "Autorotation". In fact this is part of the pilot training.

[@young_raptor_games6580]

dude c'mon its supposed to be fun learning not over explained like school

[@TheGesterr]

You're correct that helicopters that experience engine issues don't just drop out of the sky like rocks, however they DO still drop out of the sky at a reduced rate and have to land somewhere on short notice which is a problem in high population areas where people would want flying cars.

[@mr.stratholm4999]

Neil, if you lose power in a helicopter it doesn't become a brick. You can do an auto rotate and land without a scratch. Dustin from Smarter Everyday already informed you of that! Us helicopter nerds know this already.

[@bennybooboobear3940]

Literally just commented about that lol!

[@greazyviking9065]

Came to the comments section to post that exact thing.

[@hamiltonmays4256]

To be fair, he did mention rotor failure as well as loss of power. That would make a helicopter a brick.

[@WaaSoph]

yeah alot of his talks have misinformation in them now. i dont think anyone is reviewing his talking points..

[@mr.stratholm4999]

@@hamiltonmays4256 Well then the wings falling off an airplane would brick it too.

[@rmartin817]

That was some deep explaining Sir. But, I must say you convinced me. I love this class room.

[@bigbangattack97]

The point is not to merely avoid traffic. But to get somewhere faster along the 4th dimension. We have highways in houston which are kind of like interstates or freeways but they're like winding tracks that go in the air over and under eachother. Pretty cool honestly. But we utilize the 3rd dimension because it gets us places faster I.e. traversing the 4th dimension; seeing as we'd be getting to the x.y.z axis's but at an earlier point along the axis of t.

[@garyd395]

You have to love how KZbin is the closest thing to a time machine we have

[@davidevans3227]

yeah.. it's Feb 2023.. and it says ur comment is a year old! hello gary d.. time travel! 🙂

[@MRarvai]

Imho subway is still moving in 1D, but on another level ( imagine a line in cartesian coordinate system being shifted ). I think having a dimension available means having the option to choose any value ( or from a range ) related to that dimension. So tunnels and bridges are 2.5D?

[@msdsmti7678]

youre right. tunnels and bridges, overpasses and underpasses, etc are still 1 dimensional. helicopters though, those are flying cars..

[@Member_zero]

That's true on a personal level - but on a city planing level you have cars travelling in 3 dimensions, when some of the traffic goes up and some goes under.

[@Member_zero]

@@msdsmti7678 kind off ... you still can't park you helicopter just anywhere ... you need a landing space. Rich people do have personal helicopters, but they won't go to grab a big mac or shop for clothes with their helicopter ... The idea of a flying car is you could do those things.

[@thomaslane1547]

Sound is the vibration of air. It happens whenever the air gets disturbed. Our ears are able to hear the air disturbance when small animals' feet bump the ground as they run. Anything heavy that flies by pushing directly against the air is going to be loud.

[@MRarvai]

@@Member_zero hmm interesting perspective. But feels like its not using the full potential of the third dimension. I mean we use a bridge/tunnel to go in anothe direction, not to increase capacity of roads, like multiple lanes do

[@Chris-op7yt]

you should check out the roads and lack of traffic jams in japan's busiest cities. there's on/off ramps that get up real high, so many other on/off ramps dont need to cross. also main subway station in tokyo is like six separate levels below ground. note that most cars are carrying one person and take up a lot more space.

[@spec24]

I love the idea that is "scientists" that bring us these great innovations.

[@HKS-Digital]

One of the funniest episodes hands down!

[@JulyJuly07]

Lol...hey Dad I’m hungry Neil: hey there Hungry, nice to meet you I’m Neil 🙄🤣

[@MusicLiberates]

Chuck was great on this one!

[@Mavrock954]

The dynamic of these two is so damn perfect

[@mandlamnisi3816]

This session really made me laugh hard!😆

[@fwinterzlodig152]

I love seeing Neil go into an episode of laughter

[@onlocationkat]

They had a hover 'cart' board at the Star Wars tour at the San Jose Tech Museum in 2017, but it basically was a hovercraft and was pretty noisy. It slid om a metal floor and air blew out under it. The hover boards today though have either two wheels or one big wheel and are just basically a rollerblade thing. Still it does look cool seeing the one wheeled one. As for the flying car, my late Father (WW2 veteran army air corps) passed in 2009, but he said of the flying car, being in the air force years ago, it's not the flying, you can teach someone that, it's the falling if you crash.

[@mikemclenison8200]

Great topic! Chuck is so funny on all your videos. Perfect combination.

[@davemarm]

1:35 someone needs to do an explainer for Neil as to why a helicopter with a failed engine doesn't become a brick.

[@Wonderboy1990]

Autorotation

[@RazvanGiurgiuca]

He was saying in midair

[@jonathanperry8331]

@@Wonderboy1990 only aviation enthusiasts even have heard of auto rotation. It's no guarantee it's still going to be bad and you still could die but you're actually have to successfully complete a number of Auto rotations to get your license.Bill Burr's trying to get his helicopter license he's been talking about Auto rotations on his podcast where you have to shut the engine off and then turn it back on so you know what it's like and you're going to hit the ground hard but they have that down to a science now. For those who don't know look up auto rotation the blades are like an airplane wing and if the engine is not running they will start spinning like a paper airplane and slow your descent the question is how you deal with it and they're actually meant to crash that way it's kind of fascinating the physics of it really

[@quinnreierson]

Jonathan Perry Neil tweeted about this a while back and destin from smarter every day made a video in response to the tweet, it’s possible he knows about it

[@jonathanperry8331]

@@quinnreierson cool thanks I'll check that out

[@alejandradenizphotography]

JRE 2nd time Neil was on , they spoke about this !

[@jakeiscool525]

About the mag lev toilet, what If they had the toilet seats (like the actual seat part you can flip up and down) separated from the toilet and imbedded with magnet so that the seat floated. Then they had someone that sanitized those seats after each use or portable seats u could fold up and carry with u. Would that work? Or would it be to difficult to balance? Or would there be more problems I didn't name/think if?

[@homewall744]

We also like to fly directly rather than however roundabout a road may be. Subways don't fly. The roll on rails with all the friction of wheels on the ground (which is not flying). They are down, true, but they are stuck with a few lanes, and a train can't change lanes.

[@bryansavage5472]

look up Thunderfoot channel on his take on the hyper loop

[@nohbuddy1]

DoNotEat did a great video as well

[@bforbankai2916]

The first place I come when I want to learn something new 😂

[@agnivash]

9:14 Absolutely Loved This Particular Episode ❤️🎉

[@MrBjarnes1]

Awesome 😊👍🏻 love to listen to the talk 😎 But i would love a hovering skateboard.... ride everywhere without thinking of the surface.... so not the same as one with wheels 😃 you wouldnt get stucked 😃

[@STST]

My Personal Astrophysicist!

[@mrmoshpotato]

Chuck: When it comes to flying cars, *hearing* is overrated. 🤣🤣🤣

[@PMeer-gc7kw]

I totally can’t skate everywhere but with a hoverboard I absolutely can so there is the innovation you/we are looking for. On (above) every solid ground that would be great.

[@williamjanak2013]

I wonder if sound canceling technology would ever get to the point where it can be used with aircraft. Neat video thank you for sharing.

[@thecarman3693]

Inside the aircraft, yes. Outside ... not so much.

[@obsidionwarrior1343]

The problem with the subway system is that you can't easily transition from the 2nd to the 3rd dimension, and it doesn't go everywhere. A flying car is probably not the solution, but neither is building subway systems under every road in the country

[@Anti-HyperLink]

I would say it's more like a bomb than a brick because when it hits something it's gonna explode. I don't know that for a fact, I just play a lot of Grand Theft Auto 😅

[@matthewlofton8465]

Flying cars are sort of already here in 2021. All of these have respectable road-mode capabilities comparable to today's cars. 1)Aeromobil has a plane-style flying car that is certified for operation in Europe, you will need access to a runway and a pilot's license. 2)PAL-V (Personal Air and Land Vehicle) Liberty operates in The Netherlands, and while the company has been in business for over 20 years the flying car is only a recent innovation--it's like SpaceX, but for flying cars. Cost ranges from $400k to $600k 3)Klein-Vision air car. It's another plane-style flying car, in working-prototype stage. A video demonstration was released in October 2020. 4)Airbus has a quadcopter design called Pop.up, though it looks like it's still a concept (technically speaking, however, it could be produced right now). It's going to be an Uber-like service that tries to ferry you via the groundways, but when you hit congestion the quadcopter module can swoop in and move you around it (apparently they're going to leave the wheels on the ground and shuttle a new road module to pick you up?) 5)Terrafugia Transition. This was debuted in a 2012 New York autoshow as a prototype, it has since become a working model you can buy for $400k. It's another plane-type flying car. 6)Maverick flying car. If dune buggies could fly, this would be the Maverick. It's essentially a beefy ultralight (so, umm, just a light?) with a parachute and a propeller on the back. Not really something for the general public so much as an emergency vehicle for extremely remote locations...Medivac meets flying car, basically. 7)Terrafugia TF-X. This second Terrafugia offering looks like it was inspired by the Star Trek: TNG shuttlecraft, it's a VTOL flying car still in concept stage and it's unclear if Terrfugia will pursue the program further. It can go from London to Geneva in about 3 hours.

[@tulikagupta21]

When we say 3 dimensions we can also include the flyovers. Somes cities have 3-4 levels of flyovers.. we are not really flying but it's doing the same job

[@Bryanhaproff]

Does not matter how many dimensions you add to car travel. If some one is broken down all dimensions stop just to take a look .... LOOKIE LOUs!

[@Corn0nTheCobb]

?

[@Anti-HyperLink]

No, the comedians are waiting for the flying cars so they have more material!

[@tannertuner]

The subway doesn’t exist in south Georgia. Only densely populated cities have underground transportation systems. In rural areas you typically have to travel farther (more miles) than you typically do in cities. So even though the traffic is less dense, you could still save time in the air. There is a European company now taking orders for a single passenger drone called Jetson ONE. At this point it is electric and can only go about 20 minutes on a full charge. But I believe the video advertisement is on KZbin. I just did another search and there are apparently other passenger drones now being advertised. What I’m not hearing (so far) is the nightmare that would be air traffic control if we even had 100,000 more aircraft flying around. It is complicated enough as it is.

[@Xueria]

Something to point out about the hoverboard from Back to the Future...presumably it isn't as dependent on a smooth, hard surface as a standard wheeled skateboard. In the third movie it's used at the side of the train they were hijacking to save Clara, and attempting such a maneuver with a standard skateboard wouldn't have come even close to working because of how uneven the ground there was. The ability to ignore uneven, rough surfaces, even if it's only a few inches off the ground, is a substantial advancement over those little wheels from skateboards. It even sort of works over water, the issue that Marty had was that he couldn't effectively propel himself forward because his foot needed to kick off against solid ground to provide proper forward momentum. Presumably, if he could have kept his balance, he could have moved forward by paddling through the water rather than just splashing at the surface. Even that issue is removed by adding an engine to it, as Biff's grandson did. If you were to put an engine onto a skateboard and go over water, it would likely just sink because the board isn't large enough to support the weight and float on water (or so I assume, since surf boards are basically the same idea except without wheels and much larger).

[@petergriffiinbirdistheword]

🤓 Hi Neil!

[@nohbuddy1]

They honestly would be a waste. If we can make stuff like cars fly we can have better modes of transportation

[@WetaMantis]

I think what people REALLY want is an affordable aircraft that's safe and easy enough for them to pilot.

[@bigred9428]

@@WetaMantis , No, we want the super duper future we were promised would be here by the year 2000. Flying cars have just come to symbolize that.

[@erdemmemisyazici3950]

Great podcast to listen to while programming. 😄

[@Wilfoe]

Here's rooting for maglev toilets! On the subject of cars hovering slightly above the ground, I can see that improving fuel efficiency due to the ground not resisting the car. For that same reason however, it would make it much more difficult to slow down when hitting the breaks.

[@CollinBB]

We already have flying cars. They're called helicopters.

[@Member_zero]

Ye but they cost way to much not just in terms of upfront cost, but in terms of gasoline and maintenance. They are also too loud and take a lot of parking space - so not very practical for general population. The idea is to have something like a personal helicopter, but with the cost, noise, polution and practicality of a regular car.

[@CollinBB]

@@Member_zero I'm quoting a funny bit from one of Neil's appearances on the joe rogan podcast lol

[@Member_zero]

@@CollinBB I see ... I'm way to serious about his anyways :P I just want a flying car hahaha

[@CollinBB]

@@Member_zero look up "Joe rogan - Neil degrasse tyson on why we don't have flying cars" and it's at 2:43 I'm telling you it's so silly and it always makes me laugh.

[@CollinBB]

The video you're looking for should be about 16 minutes and 1 second long

[@psd993]

"It becomes a brick" guess he forgot about my boy destin 🙄

[@Aviator_Shades]

i don't understand why he keeps saying that either :/

[@ghostfenrir2338]

He said engine and rotors fail, so maybe if the rotors broke off. Hard to have auto rotation with no rotors.

[@jjustin5177]

Thank you Neal for teaching me to think.

[@ramkumarr1725]

Yeah! Thought experiments. 😂😂

[@itsd0nk]

Blade Runner 2049 accurately portrays flying cars. If you saw that film in theaters, your ears were ringing after every car went by and the sound of walking through the city with cars flying overhead was deafening. It was awesome. I refer everyone to this movie as a reference for why we don't have flying cars.

[@maxwell4546]

Time skipping is weird. It also drives you insane, if you're not listening.

[@sushrutsakharkar]

Prof. Neil and Chuck have got me addicted to this channel! 😓😜😎

[@hiroki_rinn]

I love the interactions you have with one another. 😁

[@Enju23]

They got a point on the fact that hoverboards from back to the future wouldn't matter as much, the main part that it would matter is definitely in the maintenance side of things, if the hoverboard runs off magnetic power to stay above the ground, then there's no need to service it afterwards, there isn't any wheel bearings or wheels themselves that would wear out, only thing to worry about is the board itself

[@TBM_studios_]

This is my favorite show . I laugh so hard while I'm learning . Thanks you

[@andileguliwe2007]

One of my new hobbies is to smoke a joint and binge watch this duo

[@XoseGuitar]

THANK YOU CHUCK FOR SPEAKING FOR ALL OF US!!!!

[@atoz4399]

I think the real reason we want flying cars is because we seen them on "The Jetsons" growing up. I agree with Neil on the hoverboards. Never thought of it that way.

[@MrT------5743]

Ever try using a skateboard on gravel? it is an advancement. A hover car would be too, less friction and no bumps.

[@atoz4399]

@@MrT------5743 Maybe. What if the air under current is constantly being shifted due to the unevenness of the gravel or stones? Then the car or hoverboard will probably being bumpy as well. If they make some kind of computer chip to compensate for this then yes I agree with you. What do you think?

[@MrT------5743]

@@atoz4399 a bump in a road is directly transferred to a tire. Cars have shocks that help dampen out that directly transferred bump but it can't eliminate it completely. If a hoverboard used air like a hovercraft (some say it is more like a forcefield of some kind) then the bump or unevenness of the ground is never directly transferred to any part of it. Sure there would be some uneven movement but would most likely generally spread out sort of like an airplane. This spread-out unevenness over a very rough and/or sloping surface might feel like turbulence on a plane, but over a mostly even flat surface like a gravel road would probably be perfectly smooth.

[@genelomas332]

The Ehang 184 and the Moller Skycar are probably the 2 best, functional, flying cars to date.. I'm working on my own design to add to this list.. 😁

[@MrJim117]

Ok, so advantage for a hover board over a regular skateboard is the hover board will float right over small rocks and pebbles. Where as on a skateboard if you hit even the smallest piece gravel the skateboard stops instantly and you don’t.

[@sebastiana4133]

Tbf, it depends on the wheels and the person, long board wheels can even pass through some nasty pavement cracks

[@ramkumarr1725]

I like Dr Tysons analogy of subway being another dimension as you are going along Z axis that is depth. And yes Helicopter is a flying taxi. In fact, they have launched a helicopter service in Bangalore between Electronic City and railway station to decongest the roads. It is quite expensive but used by a few clients. I think we should not get fixated on shape. I think we have seen many James Bond flicks where his car converts into a boat by springing some bottom floaters. Now that does not look like a ship so it is not a swimming car. I agree Chuck Nice feels stiffed given all the flying taxi imaginative pictures he has been shown. Commiserations. And I have no clue why space ships look like tea saucers.

[@rohdx]

A Nice T-Shirt Idea : "I've got one Friend and it's name is Friction" ~Chuck Nice

[@nirui.o]

The difference between flying cars and subway is, with flying cars, you can add much more dimensions than just the third one.

[@thomaslane1547]

Yep. Something like 2000 vertical lanes instead of just one.

[@richardfellows5041]

I live near San Francisco. Imagine the problem for Air Traffic Control with an additional 7.7 Million aircraft flying en masse twice a day. It gives a whole new meaning to the term 'just dropping in'.

[@SAMURIADI]

this is why i like living in the midwest- no traffic except in the big cities

[@joemitchell4155]

Jetson's sound effect off the cuff. Chuck never fails to deliver.