Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Worldlines

What do Zoom calls and Einstein’s Theory of Relativity have in common? On this explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore worldlines and the technology that is helping us hack the spacetime continuum and track particle paths through spacetime.
What is a worldline? Learn about the connection between space and time. What are the ways you could prevent an asteroid from hitting Earth? You’ll also learn about telephones, worldlines, and how a time machine would work. How does Zoom break down the space-time continuum?
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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!
#StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson
0:00 - Introduction
0:38 - Einstein’s Concept Of Spacetime
1:33 - Space-time In Everyday Life
6:12 - What Is A Worldline?
7:53 - How Zoom Broke the Space-time Alliance
12:40 - How Changing An Object’s Velocity Changes Its Worldline
14:56 - Closing Notes

[@Lancer-6]

You just can never get bored of star talk. Like ever.

[@holdenludwig_]

That’s a fact

[@ericreid8111]

Not a fact... I get bored when they talk to the guests about themselves for too long. And you can tell by view count that there are certainly some episodes that are very boring. The explainers are good. The cosmic queries are good. But the star talk that typically stars with a biologist or some humanity related scientists...meh.

[@UrbanBackflip]

I go to bed listening to these every night and I wake up to them still playing and I'll just lay there for a while listening before I get out of bed

[@masternobody1896]

yes

[@priyamanglani3707]

AGREEEED....These talks litt my brain up!!!!

[@timauth]

I've seen Neil explain this SAME TIME and SAME PLACE thing sooooooooooo many times. It's amazing how excited he gets every time. And poor Chuck reacting like he's never heard it before. LOL. Another great episode guys.

[@JJs_playground]

Lol.. same here. And I was wondering is chuck reacting surprised for the show or because he forgot the explanation.

[@ravindrathagunna5778]

@@JJs_playground Kinda both, I think.

[@Phoboz]

I honestly thought I was just watching a 3 month old episode. Still watched till the end tho.

[@Zolgeist]

Well, you have to realize that there’s always someone who hasn’t heard it before.

[@timauth]

@@Zolgeist I realize that and I think its amazing they can discuss it like its the first time...everytime.

[@menmykrazycat8129]

I love the internet for this reason.. I get to have Mr. Tyson as my teacher while sitting on my couch relaxing at home.. how cool is that! Thanks Neil & Chuck for another great video ❤👏

[@EdwardHowton]

Kudos to Chuck for turning deflecting asteroids into such a brilliantly simple and in retrospect obvious analogy everyone is familiar with! He never gets to joke around about being dumb ever again. Sometimes genius is naming the obvious that everyone else fails to notice.

[@StarTalk]

Well said!

[@AmillionViewsINA1764Week-zd9ie]

I'm ure I am a elf proclaimed genie... 15:17...

[@niltonchirindza7862]

Man I loved it... So weird how we don't think of worldlines in our daily routine. It was good to learn and who knew there was a connection between Einstein and Zoom

[@sandal_thong8631]

I read it as "worldliness," and when I looked it up it was two words: world lines.

[@flamake69]

My theory is that the phone calls and the video calls indeed break the worldlines for time and space coordinates, but not for human beings. They break the worldlines for some avatars of us - some physical devices, which can reproduce some of our actions. You should be at the same time and the same place along with this device, which reproduces the avatar. In order a real human meeting to happen, there is 1 mandatory requirement - to be able to touch (if the other person is too far away, this is not a meeting, this is a"void"ing). So, the phone calls can reproduce the voice. Then the video calls can reproduce the voice and the sighting. But still there is no technology, which can give you the opportunity to make a handshake. Strange thing, still after a video call, the people continue to say "I talked with her". Nobody says "I saw her". And after a real meeting you say "I saw her at the Starbucks. We talked". Nobody says "I saw her, we made a handshake, we talked". This is like the concept for the space dimensions - each next one is a combination of 2 x previous one. When in the near future the phone handshakes are achieved... we will for sure say "I saw her, we touched, we talked". *P.S* If in the Future we are able to touch through the device, we will slowly turn into Simulations. Probably this is why the phone number chips are called *SIM* (ulation) *cards* , but they still make us to believe the name means "Subscriber Identity Modul". We, who watch StarTalk .. we can't be fooled.

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

@@flamake69 um... I've watched Star Trek since the original, in the late 1960s, and early 1970s in first reruns. I've watched all of them, even the original Battlestar Galactica, and Doctor Who since #3 Jon Pertwee. What I don't get is this: What does any of this have to do with turning us into non-humans? That's just... bizarre.

[@ayanchoudhary044]

@@flamake69 Nice point . I think it's paradoxical

[@ronaldodin4202]

​@@flamake69 interesting points. I think this answers my question about whether there is a way to meet someone not at the same location and time. Could be that our avatars be able to meet without having to schedule a time

[@harku123]

"I am right in this wave with you buddy" love that. Both men here are very intelligent folks and I love hearing them speak to one another

[@akansha4980]

Neil explains such complex and daily life things in so easy way that always leave me awestruck.

[@Jooeffoh]

He does make some blunders though. He once said, with regard to UFO's, if he can't touch it, it doesn't exist! So apparently black holes and many other things do not exist according to Neil..

[@elarrayhesohit4479]

Imagine having a high enough iq to observe reality and learn this stuff. Einstein had an exciting life.

[@loiscampos4553]

Just a few days ago I was thinking that, another reason why it is almost impossible to build a time machine that works correctly is because you also need a spatial coordinate apart from the temporal coordinate, and my question was, how do we define that spatial coordinate? If everything we know so far is relative or specific to our world, everything in the universe is in motion, how do we determine the absolute coordinates to be able to establish them in our space-time machine? the relative form seems to be the answer, although it should be quite exact to avoid spatial problems (Memories about Steins Gate).

[@kellyblack2010]

Well the easiest way oddly enough would be using GPS …because the addresses we put in are just what we can read easily… but the whole time the GPS Is actually using lay and long coordinates … but the one small thing that needs to happen is GPS would need to have an upgrade to be able to calculate where the earth would be in the suns orbit at the time you plan to go to. So space-time GPS? 🤷🏾

[@loiscampos4553]

@@kellyblack2010 Yeah, I was thinking something like that, but still I think it will be quite imprecise, because as far as we know, everything moves, the earth, the solar system, the Milky Way and so on. practically we would have to consider each additional movement that there is in the elements that contain our planet to avoid any error, and it looks quite difficult.

[@whynot9963]

It would be fair to assume if you were to invent the time machine, you'd be able to calculate Earth's movement through galaxy. Especially since it's constant (as far as we are aware)

[@jcjammer8972]

You mentioned the 1964 world fair video call. I also experienced that space-time disrupter (Zoom’s grand-parent) at Expo 67 in Montréal when I was a young boy. I think it was in the Japanese Pavilion and we waited in line for the chance to talk to, and actually SEE, the person at the other end of the line. 🤯 Thanks for reviving this memorable moment for me.

[@lovev9904]

I'm an Independent Latino, Thank you KING Neil!!!! Rogan brought me here.

[@davedaniels4967]

That was a very cool talk. To explain things in such an easy way, I was giving answers before they were finished. Love "Star Talk"!!

[@Voice1414]

These guys are so nice! Always anxious for the videos to come out!

[@fayadmunaim3650]

He isnt. Met him in person and he blew me off.

[@iwill6002]

@@fayadmunaim3650 you’re right! He should have stopped and talked to you! Who does he think he is?! He should talk to anyone and everyone that wants to “chat” wherever he might be or whatever he might be doing! That’s his job! Does he think making these videos is enough?! 🙄🙄

[@StarTalk]

Glad we give you something to look forward to!

[@JJs_playground]

36 years ago, when i was a young teen, video calls was the one future technology I was looking forward to and fascinated by. I thought, once we got it I'd use it all the time. Fast forward to recent times and i hardly every use video chat (or even calling people on the phone for that matter). Now it's mostly text messaging.

[@jonathanduran8914]

Non real-time Video chat from a block universe perspective would still be a live video chat ..WORDline 🤙🏻

[@CoNteMpTone]

Im not a big fan of videos at all. Too shy.

[@Janesomeone]

I listen to Dr Tyson so much I talked about all the episodes. My mom finally became a follower! 🙋🏻‍♀️❤️

[@StarTalk]

That’s a smart mom!

[@TJ-hs1qm]

That's the best thing that happened during covid... there are so many brilliant talks and lectures to watch now all for free... democratization of knowledge.. I hope they can keep it that way.

[@StarTalk]

We hope so too!

[@MyJourneyUp]

Just mind blowing. Thank you 🙏 both of you. I just love this show.

[@sweetpeasbackyardgarden1236]

That was such a great example of the space time continuum and worldlines. Awesome!!!

[@sanamichael8563]

So educational “star talk”, I am so grateful to Neil explaining science in such easy way to help me understand and ask for more.

[@alexandremueller6236]

Just found StarTalk, and i must say - i am very satisfied.

[@averageaf4321]

Haven't even started it yet but I love this subject and am excited to see more!

[@zealest2011]

Wow I learn new stuff everytime I listen to star talk.

[@Imogen_V]

i take pride in saying, ive watched every single episode of star talk for three years in a row !! 💖🏆 especially love DEEP cosmic queries

[@ericgold8657]

I have watched every explainer the last few years and have 50 pages of notes lol

[@onixtheone]

We can also FEEL and BE at the same space and time via REALLY GOOD story telling. Appreciate good stories that transport you to a time and place you never existed in but feel like you did.

[@patriot1382]

For any of this to make sense, for a layman such as I, we need our Chuck Nice translation, to help us understand the master Neil deGrasse Tyson. Since your pairing, it has helped my understanding, for sure. Thanks guyz you blow the mind.

[@StarTalk]

Thank you for the kindness!

[@hvks2y5]

I loved this intellectual conversation. My brain is thanking me

[@ahsanshah1752]

The Caption ordinary but content was best ever on startalk. I thought I would not watch this, but blew my mind and gave me the answer 😄

[@Mister-Meaner]

I'm enlightened, with little, to no effort. Genius symplified.

[@chaseofori-atta2225]

Neil deGrasse Tyson is a living legend & a modern-day genius ahead of the times--what a great contribution to our human race!

[@Goldengirl48]

The first Zoom call was the Cartoon "The Jetsons". I remembered Jane Jetson holding a mask in front of her face because she had rollers in her hair. I thought how great to get to see family that had moved a long distance away.

[@shaunhayward]

These two guys are the absolute best. I love how they play off of each other.

[@hoseinsjd4187]

awesome subject and coversation, thank you Dr Tyson and Mr Nice

[@CraigSnyman]

Best one I've seen so far. Startalk is awesome

[@guillaumemaurice3503]

Thank you for the video that was a fascinating subject. Great presentation.

[@mhk5272]

Love chucks excitement to such a simple topic

[@andersonferreiragoncalves2044]

It's amazing how these guys can make otherwise tedious points so much more interesting. I love this show! I find myself loving physics now.

[@kanishkaveediyabandara3028]

Love this, man! Thank you Neil and Chuck for making terrible times bearable

[@BernardWei]

Space and Time machine, that's the TARDIS 😉 Love your show guys 💯

[@dogwalker666]

Time And Relative Dimensions In Space.

[@spackeek6]

Really love the relationship between Chuck and Neil. The right amount of big abstract ideas and humor makes it really easy to watch!

[@AmillionViewsINA1764Week-zd9ie]

C H U C K 11 U C K K U C K K 9 K K I K CHUC... U R REDUNDANT!!! 15:17...

[@AmillionViewsINA1764Week-zd9ie]

N E I L APPARENTLY YOU ARE ALLSOSICK ...KINDA LIKE MOI...??? 15:17...

[@AmillionViewsINA1764Week-zd9ie]

19. 21. 15:17

[@AmillionViewsINA1764Week-zd9ie]

ALL GOOD O. , K. 15:17

[@StarTexaspets]

We need to go back to just having house phones... emailing and zooming for work while I'm off work is the bane of my existence. I want to farm. Lol

[@brotherman9757]

Absolutely LOVE this podcast/show

[@Eremon1]

That is a really interesting concept of us having disrupted the way in which Worldline work. Very cool, if not somewhat concerning for those that are linked in such a way that they never have an excuse to miss a meeting or whatever. As Chuck put it, a digital leash.

[@AbdurrahmanAllahem]

Can't get enough of your talk, guys!

[@Ms.Divine]

So glad I found y'all ❤️❤️

[@kooldoc8464]

From the Dali painting "Persistence of Memory," excellent!!

[@shivaanshbhatt6036]

the video i was waiting for since the spacetime video

[@ShawnRitch]

StarTalk - Excellent !!!

[@heath3546]

Fantastic real world analogy to truly learn these concepts. Ty

[@nisarggandhi8332]

Never ever heard such an space video like this. Just mind blasting 🤯. I want to be a rocket scientist and Neil sir you are my one of inspirations. Thank you for this much amazing videos.

[@tylorwilson4559]

I love star talk l, just wanted to shout out to the show loves and support.

[@wlockuz4467]

First the zoom analogy, then cars accident analogy, mind blown.

[@joseimpact]

this needs to be longer

[@63artemisia63]

These two are absolutely priceless. 💕❤️💕

[@cgrfpv2346]

I love it! You, my friend, just saved lives with that explanation. Its surprising how most people will freeze with danger on the roads! Be safe everyone avoiding asteroids on the roads.

[@phoule76]

I love pedantic time machine arguments, and shall henceforth refer to them as spacetime machines.

[@Interloper12]

Re: the "leaving earlier to prevent a car crash" analogy. I do this every single time I get food from a drive through. More often than not, no matter what time I go, there will be at least one person in front of me. And by the time I get to the window there is NO ONE BEHIND ME. Meaning if I had left the house a minute earlier, or 5 minutes later, I could have avoided waiting in line.

[@theduder2617]

Except that the line will forever alter itself just to make sure it has an effect on your space-time. I run into that every day in traffic. No matter the time I leave the house, there is ALWAYS either someone in front of me who refuses to even come close to the speed limit, or there is someone behind me who refuses to not ride directly on my rear bumper while also refusing to pass. Its a tiny phenomenon fans of the simulation nonsense (hypothesis) try to use as supposed "evidence" supporting their poorly thought out idea. Granted, I can not explain the consistency behind this curious issue, but the simulation nonsense sure as heck doesn't even come close either. lol

[@FernZepeda]

This episode took control of my finger and forced me to click the subscribe and notification bell icons... Science is crazy!

[@godofredog]

With Zoom calls you still need to be in the same space, but it's called "cyber-space". You may be in different locations, but you still share the space with your counterparts, not only time. It's impossible to access a Zoom call without an internet connection. The space-time relation remains if you see it that way.

[@emleecee]

I think in this context the space component refers primarily (and potentially solely) to the concept of physicality (like you mentioned - location); in your example, the internet is a form of connection but it still is missing the space component by not having that shared physical location aspect. Still, your theory is mind bending to think about and for sure thought provoking.

[@jonsabbagh1]

@@emleecee Fair enough but the internet is really just a abstraction for an "army" of interconnected machines sharing data between each other through literally electronic currents. So the physicality (location) aspect is still there! In other words, the video and audio that Neil is creating is literally traveling at crazy speeds to Chuck's machine and the same is happening with Chuck's data. It's just happening so fast that it looks seamless. It's pretty mind-blowing when you think about it.

[@MechaSlinky]

@@emleecee True, but all communication requires the message to physically travel between people. Without a connection through space for the message to travel, the message can't be communicated. If anything, our worldlines didn't necessarily need to intersect before, but simply get close enough to allow the message's worldline to connect between the two. All we've done is stretched out the message's worldline, allowing more space between the two people's worldlines.

[@iamdb1990]

I love how simple to understand this is and makes sense, why can't everything be taught this way?

[@StarTalk]

Not enough Neil’s in the world!

[@iamdb1990]

@@StarTalk very true

[@Amalgamotion]

Legends. Thank you again, so cool

[@TailspinTommy]

These two are great. The humor gives my mind a chance to catch up. Lol

[@justinmercado8795]

We "grey's" are so happy you're starting to connect your personal history to the structure of the universe! Can't wait until everyone else understands what Carl's "Contact" was about this whole time! Your knowledge and words will reverberate for generations to come!

[@meanmonkeygames]

so that means that youtube not only break the space line but the time line, because am here watching a video and we are not in the same time or the same place, but am here listening and watching to you guys talk.

[@33393339yo]

I love you both

[@table_guy1115]

Awesome! Love the stuff about a 'space/time machine'. Just thinking that to go back 100m years to see some dinosaurs, the STM would have to take me right to the other side of the Milky Way because that's where Earth was!

[@StarTalk]

That would be a rude awakening!

[@table_guy1115]

@@helpallofem4428 oh boy! And no doubt the universe is moving around in something also...

[@angelo_fitness_training]

this is so amazing!

[@phyllissanfiorenzful]

Fascinating

[@williest1]

So this episode really changed the way I look at everything in life! World lines

[@jordanshreds747]

This show is so freaking amazing

[@AINews4]

Mr Chuck is pretty smart for a comedian and Mr Neil is pretty funny for a physicist. I love StarTalk!

[@ZeroOskul]

Chuck is just so awesome!

[@eragonmomc6447]

I am so addicted to this show.

[@nhroadhog7701]

I'm glad I watched this before I got into my time machine 😁.

[@EBknowsUdanceLUFuck]

If for some reason there had to be just one channel on KZbin, it should be this one. You guys are the best content, always. Thank you for all you give us.

[@chrissummers3415]

Awesome video!

[@robertcampomizzi7988]

The space time alliance was already disjointed with the advent of the written word only inversely. At that time information was in the same space(tablet/paper/papyrus/scroll ETC..) but not at the same time. Even of two people were reading the same doc they wouldn't read in(exact) synchronization.

[@qa4057]

Not just 'Zoom" there plenty of online apps... StarTalk should be a mandatory part of a school science agenda for all high school students.

[@MikeJamesMedia]

Interesting. (Hud displays in many aircraft have a "velocity vector" indicator, which shows where you'll end up if you continue on the same course.)

[@dawnhansen7886]

These guys are GREAT ❕️

[@captainlovett4724]

When contemplating time travel, I always wondered about the location of the destination; am I going to land in a field? in the middle of a wall of a building that existed previously/in the future? I never considered the fact that because Earth is orbiting the Sun, I would land in a vacuum even a few hours forward or backwards. That satisfies so much curiosity I’ve had for a long time. Thanks, Neil!

[@Chemy.]

Even when I knew the connection, i enjoyed watching it as always

[@jeffreycarman2185]

Love this video!

[@jcmn02]

Great video! 👍

[@jeanetjensen6474]

Omg breacking the time and space continium, thanks for all the knowles and funny perspective 🙏🌍🇩🇰🌌

[@fishstix4209]

5:40 it works even simpler for anyone who has ever merged onto a road or highway; you speed up or slow down so that you are not at the same space/time as another vehicle.

[@miasma529]

Would it be beneficial if it was the opposite thing? An invention That doesn’t need your time, just space (location)? A great episode I enjoyed so much!

[@sadhanatiwari2203]

7.10 Blew my mind

[@az_frontier_8476]

This is a great episode

[@padude_]

Wow this was awesome!

[@vikingr1000]

Dr. Tyson, I think the Zoom call would not break spacetime it would move you into the quantum (hope I am using that correctly.) You are still intersecting on the time coordinate in the world of the large cosmological, but now you are all meeting in the same collection of electrons running through a machine someplace. you have just technically taken up a "Super Position" in reality. So you and I pick a time to meet in Zoom or Discord say 18:00 GMT or Zulu time. Once we start the location is quantified as a hosted location our vehicles to reach this place are IP addresses the space we define using a MAC address and a DNS name and since we are measuring them we've affected a host of electrons to connect us.

[@StaticRoseOverkill]

this is the craziest thing i have ever heard...and its been so simple this whole TIME and place

[@jackmortimer329]

Regarding time machine: Earth moves around the Sun; Sun moves around the Galaxy; Galaxy moves around. So, any decent time machine needs an anchor OR you need a Tardis.

[@amelakiellas]

Million thanks..neil!!!!

[@SteveC38]

Nicely Done, Fellas 👍

[@poorkido5198]

this video is gold sir

[@immastudd727]

When Neil talk about time machine, damn, I never thought of it that way

[@danielchamberlain1687]

That’s what makes the chase so great, being able to help understand things by plugging in all different type of variables to see if it follows the known laws that we can at least try to perceive, blows my mind our brain bends energy, and vibrations to be decoded to make physical movement a thing is absolutely unbelievable, it’s almost like you can feel certain points in energy just can’t use this information at will yet maby idk we can be anywhere by tuning in to the right frequency would be too cool 😎

[@danielchamberlain1687]

Remember you are everything and also nothing but energy 😎

[@BierdopjeNL]

I haven't thought about videocalling this way somehow before this video! By the way in Dutch calling = bellen which means the ringing of a (door)bell

[@alialnuaimi6861]

Amazing content.. I started watching from one vid to another😂❤️ Tho u need a device to be in ur space to make zoom call or am I just confused after all that + trying that arm rotating challenge 😅😅

[@charleslomanto]

Next Star Talk subject please: HOW exactly would you slow down or speed up an asteroid?

[@joshuamacdonald4913]

I would love to hear about a group of scientists pick a specific date and time and a specified position in the present. Then create a model showing where out in space you would be if you time traveled back at that far ie so many astronomical units away from earth in that direction. If they felt adventurous they could then try to calculate where they needed to be to make it work.