Neil deGrasse Tyson: How Does Superman Fly?

[@madDesparada]

actually in the very early comics, superman didn't fly, just leaped really high like the hulk

[@arnelldavis2646]

Yep

[@andrewgillis3073]

The early comics didn’t abuse the laws of science as much as they do now.

[@raphaeltungpalan1390]

It still wouldn't justify how he can take off slowly and/or hover

[@kingmonde]

@@raphaeltungpalan1390 he literally turns mid flight. You can't do that jumping.

[@neoz9467]

that would be cooler ngl

[@ZachsMind]

Over the decades the explanation of how Superman can fly has changed a great deal. It seems each writer who has tackled tales of the Man of Steel has their own take on it. Admittedly, few of them were scientists, so some made less sense than others. As I understand the more recent attempts, Clark has a sort of "tactile kinetic" relationship with solid matter. Every cell of his body is essentially a solar battery, and able to contain an incredible amount of energy. Some of this energy can be used, on perhaps a near unconscious level, to affect gravitational fields. By near unconscious, I mean like how we can breathe without thinking about it but once you start thinking about breathing you can choose when to inhale and exhale. Clark can affect gravimetric forces around him by sheer force of will, essentially opting to place himself in "orbit" relative to the Earth itself. One could argue when he takes off into the sky, Clark is not so much leaping or pushing off from the surface, as he may be counteracting the normal effect gravity has on him. He can choose when gravity affects him, and by how much. The "tactile kinetic" aspect of this comes into play when he is touching other matter. He can extend this gravimetric field around not only himself but another person, or a DC-10. Although the larger the object, the more effort it is on his solar powered body. Hence the grunting and making pained faces, but this may not merely be just physical exertion of his muscles so much as his psychokinetic relationship with the universe around him. Mind over matter, if you will. This would be more feasible of course, if Extra Sensory Perception were ever accepted as more than a cursory parapsychological "alternative" form of science. Perhaps the Kryptonians cracked the code before their planet exploded.

[@zendariun101]

Thank you zach snyder

[@petersellers9897]

The black man.. study his make up... his blood ect..

[@JessieWheeler5Ds]

I remember watching a video about this a long time ago. DC's original explanation was that he jumps so high it looks like he's flying, but the fans weren't satisfied with that answer because he can redirect himself in the air and hover. In the mid 80s they used theoretical science to explain it and it made a lot of sense.

[@MUIDYLANICE]

Yeah apparently all the organs in his body are able to generate a sort of anti-gravity field

[@brenntantor1634]

Everyone clicked on this video to hear Tyson discuss the real world possibility of the comicbook notion of Superman being able to manipulate gravitons to be able to fly. Everyone got dissapointed and left to watch another video.

[@devanshtrivedi3905]

Brenn Tantor I just saw that diwali video few minutes ago and then I started watching this video I guess you would have done the same 1 year ago now that's coincidence man

[@slimeysosa1013]

Perfect description

[@melontusk7358]

I was about to comment that.

[@joshuathomas8436]

Or maybe Neil just isn't smart enough to mansplain the complexity of manipulating gravity

[@yehiaalshehri1006]

The girl in behind the glass creeped me out 😂😭💔

[@atrociousconsequences4432]

She is the control panel operator and needs to be there !

[@junkersintutus4282]

A ghost!!!

[@MouseGoat]

Grils behind glass tend to do that! :o

[@deadarmd]

Yehia Abdelrahman she's cute though amiright?

[@dancoulson6579]

Really nothing to be frightened of...

[@CarlosRodriguez-dh7mm]

Then how does he turn? How does he levitate?

[@odysseus2k1]

Carlos Rodriguez same question here

[@seviche100]

bunch of retards

[@Anonymous-om3uq]

Superman actually leaps. The original idea was he leapt large distances and he levitates and turns by kicking the air. The atmosphere on Earth is thicker than Krypton. So he kicks the atmosphere to further leap. The reason we didn't see it in movies before Man of Steel is that it was harder to animate in the 80s.

[@masonliuhs4327]

If Krypton has huge surface gravity(compare to earth) then its atmosphere must be thicker.

[@SailorBarsoom]

Watch skydivers sometime. They are falling at about 200 KmPH (a little more than 120 MPH). They manage to turn and such by interacting with that 200 KmPH wind. Supes could do the same, both on the way up and on the way down. But the stuff he does in the comics and movies is clearly flying, not jumping. When the comics started he was jumping, but now he flies, and the only real explanation for it is "because he's Superman."

[@dff1286]

I am surprised Dr. Tyson didn't touch on the fact that a Superman who obeys the laws of physics would be a living projectile weapon in his flying as the amount of force he would need to impart to take off would wreck the area around him and he would be hitting the ground with an equally damaging blast radius.

[@AngelArm1110]

there was one super hero movie recently that actually used that reality as a plot point, I just can't remember who was in it

[@AngelArm1110]

YES!! it was him, and the movie was (thanks IMDB) Hancock!! I think I'll watch it again now XD

[@coryv5679]

People also forget that as a being who's body is as strong as steel flying at 100+ mph saving someone would instantly kill them. If he does slow down enough to save someone the force however when he takes off to save them from a car or something would kill them as well. I mean he takes off at over 100mph instantly which would cause major damage or kill someone.

[@offshorecomedy]

You SHUT UP nerd!... I'm tryna have fun here!

[@KIRA-EL]

He actually does crack the earth beneath his feet on his very first flight in Man of Steel

[@unijabnx2000]

How does he change his speed while "jumping" then?

[@JustOneAsbesto]

+unijabnx2000 Through the power of willing suspension of disbelief.

[@Obi-WanKannabis]

+unijabnx2000 Farting.

[@IceMetalPunk]

+unijabnx2000 How does he do it while flying? Birds can do that because they change their wing angle, but Superman has no wings. Planes do it by altering their wing angle as well. Something flying without wings and no rudders...even if he was flying, he still shouldn't be able to turn or speed up like he does XD

[@kdhavle]

+unijabnx2000 It's the cape, of course. Now, don't ask me the physics of it. But I'm very sure it's the cape.

[@Fr8monkey]

+unijabnx2000 Exactly! Or, for that matter, change direction in mid flight or hover (as in Bat v. Sups)?

[@StarTalk]

What superpower is the most realistic on Earth? Make sure to vote on the poll in the video!

[@EricM0uchizzBarasa]

At the end of Batman v, Superman on his grave dirt started to levitate. usually, if you pay attention as he is about to take off any debris beneath his feet portray some sort of perturbations. he has super hearing (which can be loud) but he learned to mentally switch off and even isolate specific sounds meaning incredible mental capabilities. I think it is psychokinetic or something.

[@andrewgarrett2626]

How does Superman control gravity?

[@kenberal]

@@andrewgarrett2626 He never talk about gravity, learn to read what people write

[@jmgonzales7701]

@@kenberal in short superman's powers are just not possible. even theoretically.

[@TheEnigma7121]

@@jmgonzales7701 Well theoretically they would be possible, but biologically the chances of something like that being able to evolve from anything is almost impossible. The powers are possible, but not the species. The powers would also be nearly impossible to replicate, as we would have to be advanced enough to edit a entity at a cellular level, and make all of the entities cells able to absorb AND emit solar radiation

[@albertomeza9763]

i remmeber when i saw neil on the batman v superman movie, i screamed

[@zeeotter100]

the only good part from that movie..

[@ItsThatKidGreg]

Ooh DeGrasse Tyson-san

[@LordMephistoteles]

+alberto meza i remember when i saw neil on the zoolander movie, it blew my mind "its what i do" he said, mind blown

[@kdemetter]

+alberto meza Now I need to watch that movie

[@albertomeza9763]

+K. De Metter yeah hahah

[@Gearshifter09]

he flies by letting off very powerful, but silent and odorless farts...because alien.

[@pecazp]

+Gearshifter09 that is actually more plausible than proposed jumping...

[@jessicalee333]

No no, he flies by leaping really far - and steers with his powerful alien farts.

[@stoniecad7805]

This is now head cannon, thank you.

[@timcampbell4132]

So please explain how in the original 1970 superman movie......he flys around the planet counterclockwise with great momentum to reverse time. And then reverses his momentum clockwise without stopping???

[@HalkerVeil]

If he can blow air endlessly out the top end to put out fires and freeze things. Then it made sense it can happen on the bottom end. Back when I was a 7-year-old kid that logic made sense to me. Of course, I also thought poopy doody was funny to say.

[@TheIronKat]

Interesting theory but one issue I have with it is how does he just hover off the ground with no movement?

[@gctdonyre]

Farts

[@lachie330]

+TheIronKat they explained that part 3:56

[@Lassenissen]

+TheIronKat Appearance wise it seems like he (and Zod) are able to hover by flexing their muscles. It basically chalks up to kryptonian space muscle magic.

[@justaguyyy]

This is "If he would obey the laws of Physics" That is already Science fiction.

[@neku2741]

superman manipulate graviton with his mind, thats how he flies... If you ask me i would make other thing floats as my power if I can manipulate graviton, but i guess flying around everywhere is convenient graviton is still hasn't been proven so this theory could be wrong

[@Incred_Canemian]

Simple. Comic book logic.

[@GeoffShouldWin]

+Incredible Canemian Me not actually knowing anything about any and all comics, but I thought it was like "Alien Magic" or like untapped physics.

[@KDWT1010]

+GeoffShouldWin in the comics he has an 'aura' which allows him to fly ahaha

[@Notorious_Grey]

+Keanu Tuart people say "in the comics" but there are many iterations so it's like..

[@melontusk7358]

​@@GeoffShouldWin he's able to manipulate the gravitational field around him with his "bio-electric aura".

[@Codeninja676]

Actually a couple of fans have come out with the theory that he doesn't leap his body actually controls gravitational waves which allow him to fly.

[@blackkittyfreak]

Superman's method of flight has already been explained in the comics and touched on in one or two of the movies. He has tactile telekinesis through his "Kryptonian aura," which allows him to move himself through the air, as well as lifting anything he picks up with a uniform force so it doesn't fall apart. Not sure how it relates to catching Lois Lane an inch off the ground, though.

[@stevensteviepryde5888]

IDK if that explanation is still canon or not, but I feel like it's a very valid explanation.

[@light-master]

You encourage learning and science, and not only teach people about science and the universe we live in, but you teach it in a way that is entertaining. Who better to call a real life Superhero than someone who shows others how to think objectively and freely. You Neil deGrasse Tyson are my Superhero. Also, my 2 and 4 year olds love to listen to you, even though they don’t yet understand what you are saying.

[@sonpacho]

I actually came here after I was about to comment on that Superman scene with Henry Caville. Superman flying (defying 'gravity') when I was a kid was cool...when I _thought_ I understood what 'gravity' is. Now that I have a better understanding of what 'gravity' is...or isn't...Superman 'defying gravity' is on whole other order of magnitude. He would be 'defying' space-time itself. Light can't even do that. That's literally 'defying' the very fabric of the universe. The craziest thing is that isn't even hyperbole. In order for someone to truly 'fly' you would have to literally break reality...that's crazy!

[@liveleakman]

I've heard a theory that he's able to control electromagnetic force which causes him to float and enables him to do stuff like lift a plane by the nose without it bending

[@alveolate]

+It's Jake that's not how electromagnetism works...

[@liveleakman]

its something along those lines though, I just can't think of the official term

[@TheMark208]

magneto?

[@mikejones6863]

negative energy

[@Silmerano]

It's gravity he manipulates.

[@Morgan-bo1mr]

In the original comics, he actually did just jump (that's where the leap tall buildings thing came from). Eventually, one of the artists asked if he could just fly instead because that was easier to draw, and the higher-ups approved, and that's not only when superman was made able to fly, that's when flight was made a super power.

[@Anni3sgotagun]

They had Superman fly because Captain Marvel (Shazam) was a wildly more popular superhero at the time and he could actually fly via magic.

[@lolobrezzy24]

Facts

[@doomdoktor]

+Ann Lee They gave him power of flight in the original animated series. Back then he could only jump great distances but jumping was proving too difficult for the animators to animate.

[@mikejones6863]

+RNDS 24 Farts

[@neku2741]

magic is a cop out

[@leosurname6993]

Two times

[@markcaza320]

Suuuuper late comment but have you guys ever heard of electromagnetic aura? In the newest Superman films you can see him literally flying. He turns, floats, and changes speed in midair. He controls the gravity around him which is what the electromagnetic aura does. He consciously controls it

[@Eudaimonia239]

well his powers in the comics doesnt come from gravity, but rather from the sun, and it provides him with a bioelectric aura that allows him to fly and change directions.

[@thebonecollections4478]

I always believe controlled and could manipulate electromagnetism which would allow him to maneuver left right up down as he saw fit much like Magneto

[@Fastsloth28]

Terrence Summerour almost, apparently the bioelectric aura allows him to manipulate gravity millimetres around him

[@blanktrigger8863]

Tactile Telekinesis is the source for most of his power.

[@aaronjones394]

All righty then.

[@Earthenfist]

Fun fact- it was the Fleischer Studios animated Superman shorts that started the flight powers. Their original intro had the "Leap tall buildings" bit, but later it was switched to "Flies higher than a Jetliner" or something. Those old cartoons are pretty awesome, and any superhero fan should check them out.

[@arashsafari1048]

I have a feeling that Tyson helped Batman, behind the scenes, to fight Superman in the Batman V Superman movie. Just a gut feeling.

[@lankyGigantic]

Arash Safari Neil DeGrasse Tyson as Lucis Fox

[@malekithsilverheart2357]

I always thought of it like he was essentially punching through the air and using the moment and force to drive himself forward, hence the one arm flying imagery.

[@DNB9999]

He has an almost primal (for kryptonians) instinct to fly in lower gravity atmosphere awakened by our suns radiation. Its kind of like a human learning to walk. Early on he started leaping (his crawl) then evolves into flight. Goes further with learning acceleration, hovering and almost instantaneous direction change.

[@davidsirmons]

You can't change direction in a jump. Supes changes direction. His cells generate an 'at-will' phenomenon known as diamagnetism, which theoretically can generate a vector of force against any magnetic field.

[@midnightwatchman1]

Now the new Superman clearly floats and maneuver during flight and even flies to different solar systems. This requires a little more imagination than what is being proposed here. in the newest Superman movie, the small rocks were floating before he takes off. We need to invoke something a little more exotic, leaping is not going to cut it. maybe some gravitational waves or field here or even being able to generate and manipulate a warp field distorting and compress and stretch space-time in order proper himself at those great distances

[@bern9642]

But that's not real science. That's sci-fi. They are trying to explain it using real actual science.

[@davidburkholder7360]

The reason Superman can fly is the same reason we are all stuck in bodies. Because we said so. The human spirt (the only true static) has the ability to postulate and perceive. At this time no known limitations to the static exist. Hence he can fly but so can we if we want.

[@TheGeckoNinja]

i like that he was doing logical experiments at that age like he tested something first and he didnt jump off anything like most dumbass kids do just just tested the theory by wearing a cape and jumping up in the air and measuring the distance once he saw it didnt change the theory was a bust

[@benjrivera21]

right? awesome

[@Anvilshock]

+TheGeckoNinja Use some fucking periods and commas, that diarrhea speech is nauseating ...

[@derekseven1647]

Neil and his show StarTalk with Chuck and other guests are one of my top five favorite channels on KZbin.

[@thos1guys419]

Mr Tyson I've been a huge fan for years and I love your videos

[@sandman817]

I always imagined Superman powers deriving from a manipulation of gravity. Being able to harness gravitational forces through his body from planets, galaxies, etc, and control them. Most of his powers being explained by this, flight, strength, speed, invulnerability. In certain instances not exerting a pushing force, but creating a pulling one.

[@bernisweltredsun1245]

How does Superman hover right in the air? How can he change the direction while flying? How can he get slower before he lands instead hitting in like a meteor? Questions over questions...but i really would like to know. Maybe someone could explain the flight ability of Superman.

[@lastmanoftomorrow2840]

bernisweltredsun yes I can explain Superman has the ability to control matter if you remember Superman IV meteor man lift some ppl and Superman put them back to the ground it was in a comic I owe he has telekinesis the comic issue it Superman vs terror man the front cover say terror man says dance partner

[@neilphelan145]

How would you describe his ability to have bullets bounce off of him, his xray vision, or his ability to fly into outer space, and return to earth without burning up during re-entry back to earth?

[@ShiroWretchedEggX]

So if superman jumped into space, he would never be able to get back down?

[@amplemind9739]

+Wretched Egg, Shiro 史郎 if he doesn't reach escape velocity he would fall down

[@pimpstallion9767]

+Wretched Egg, Shiro 史郎 I want more of your show :(

[@taken_over3416]

He could use his heat vision to propel himself back down

[@Nghilifa]

+Wretched Egg, Shiro 史郎 He'd come down. If he didn't attain escape velocity, he'd fall down (ballistic trajectory) . Same would happen if he didn't attain orbital velocity (about 17.500 mph) . That re-entry would be hairy though! lol

[@ShiroWretchedEggX]

Bilbo Swaggins I don't think there will be a season 2.

[@rengtehmar5939]

His mitocondria cell produces much higher electricity than human. This electric turns to electromagnet and acts as anti gravity and propeller. For example, maglev is a train runs by electromagnet producing antigravity... understood???

[@simlucien]

Doesn't Superman "hover" too?

[@brucekent3131]

Sim Lucien, I was just going to say that!?

[@melontusk7358]

Superman is able to manipulate gravitons, and thus the gravitational fields around him with his "bio-electric aura".

[@AAfzal-lk2nf]

The leaping theory was abandoned later on, the new theory says that the biology of a kryptonian allows them to convert solar energy into a biological field, superman uses this feild to levitate and also kryptonians are not inevitable it's the feild that protects them, that's why kryptonians looses their powers when they come into contact with the kryptonite, the kryptonite dissipates the biological feild hence the become normal humans

[@BeriaLima]

No Capes! :D

[@sahebchoudhury]

How does he change direction? How does he take off slow? And land slow?

[@paulgracey4697]

As for even being "able to leap tall buildings in a single stride" within the laws of physics would mean jack hammer-like punctured pavement at every leap point in the city. The street maintenance people would be pissed.

[@JakubValovic]

+Paul Gracey and if he put too much power in a jump, he would end up in an orbit...waiting there until the gravity would pull him down the well again :D

[@CainTheMain]

On the bright side, job security. 😂

[@kyzer42]

My current hypothesis is that Superman can redirect the neutrinos (tiny invisible particles) that the sun produces. Our sun is larger than Krypton's, thus producing more neutrinos, which would be why Kryptonians can't normally fly - except on Earth.

[@joshuak5798]

Neill DeGrasse Tyson you my friend are a legend.

[@HyperSaneDemon]

Gravity manipulation around himself, in layman's terms. Kryptonians can manipulate graviton particles.

[@Raja1938]

or anti-graviton particles

[@strygwr]

yeah thats the only case

[@axz647]

Electromagnetic fields works much better but ok

[@jayku1624]

Yeet yeet DR。エルモ not really since the amount of force needed is way less efficient and doesn’t explain the speed gravity works better because bending gravity bends time aka it would take less time to get from A to B

[@antoniovinzani925]

Is an exogalactic solar system possible? I know about exogalactic stars, but could a solar system be ejected from a galaxy while staying intact and not changing?

[@antoniovinzani925]

Maine.

[@Obi-WanKannabis]

+Vandsaz Vinzani Interesting question, I think the only challenge to solving it is to figure out if you can add energy (speed) to a solar system, usually using other stars, without the stars coming close enough to disrupt the planets. I don't know the mass, but I very much think it is possible.

[@IceMetalPunk]

+Vandsaz Vinzani I can't think of anything that would stop this from happening. You get enough speed in a star to launch it out of its galaxy, and if it already had planets around it, they could get dragged with it. The problem is that drag would slow the star down as well, meaning it would require a hell of a lot more pull to get it out in the first place; maybe a near pass of a black hole might be enough? Then there's the option that chunks of material independently ejected from a galaxy might accrete around an exogalactic star, meaning the solar system could first form outside of a galaxy.

[@Obi-WanKannabis]

IceMetalPunk Not really, to move a star system out of the galaxy you'd need to give it a boost, obviously using a gravitational assist from something. That boost would accelerate both the stars and planets alike. The only issue is whether the boost would cause the planets themselves to change their orbits. If they didn't, then the planets wouldn't drag the star behind as they would be pushed along just like the star was. And remember the planets account for 0.05 % of the mass in a solar system. If a star passes near a blackhole or a significant mass, it could disrupt the orbit of the planets and make the star lose them. But it is plausible that you don't need a star to be so close to the strong gravitational field to be thrown out.

[@IceMetalPunk]

Obi-Wan Kannabis You're assuming the gravitational boost would affect the planets and the star in the same way--i.e. with comparable strength *and* direction. But that would only happen if the planets all aligned with the star and the gravity source on one axis; if any were at an odd angle, which is likely, they would be pulled in a different direction, which would change the direction of their gravity on the other objects in the system, and....well, the perturbation gets complicated.

[@Luka1180]

Minor correction: Superman does not grow up with the strength he would have on his home planet, because according to Superman and DC canon, it is only with the exposure of a yellow Sun's rays, like ours, that those powers truly surface. I will give you that the gravity probably do have an effect, but again, according to the canon, he would not be able to fly or probably not even leap that high either, while on Krypton.

[@Aristocratic13]

When Supes is under a red sun, he's still a lot stronger than a human due to his physiology. this is canon when he lost his powers

[@neomp5]

that really doesn't answer the question though. the question is about what possible mechanism he could have for actual flight. as in levitation. also, i was just laughing my ass off at little neil doing a controlled experiment with cape and without cape

[@RowanJColeman]

+neomp5 I think that's mainly because there is no real explanation for flight like that. The only reason flight was even added to the character was because it looked better in animation than leaping.

[@neomp5]

yes. but i have seen elaborate explanations for why every aspect of doctor manhattan's powers make sense. surely they can come up with something

[@Obi-WanKannabis]

+neomp5 if anything the cape adds weight and a heck of a lot of aerodynamic drag.

[@neomp5]

especially if it's strong enough to not just get ripped to shreds by the speeds he moves

[@Silmerano]

Due to his solar-powered body. Superman can alter his personal mono-directional gravity field to propel himself through the air at will.

[@TwippyTwilight]

In John Byrne's original "Man of Steel" reboot of Superman, the position was adopted that most or all of Superman's powers were fundamentally psychokinetic in nature. This really made, and continues to make, an enormous amount of sense, explaining as it does things like why he gets strength and heat vision in the same power set, why his costume is as invulnerable as he is (he projects a PK barrier a little bit outward from his skin), and how he's able to do things like lift aircraft carriers without worrying about either his own leverage or whether the part of the thing he's holding onto has a millionth of the tensile strength necessary to be used as a lever to move the rest. Different writers make different implications all the time, of course, but the psychokinetic model has continued to pop up over the years in a number of ways, such as in the case of Superboy, with his partial Kryptonian DNA, having as a power "tactile telekinesis" Flight is, naturally, one of the least obscure applications of psychokinesis possible.

[@collinberend7566]

How does he change speed or stay in the air and levitating?

[@ozdergekko]

I *love* that girl in the control room. Who else? (Chuck excluded)

[@wanleaf]

yes

[@macorte1972]

Superman’s ability to fly actually came about from the Superman cartoon shorts of the 1940’s. Originally they drew Superman leaping tall buildings in a single bound but it was very expensive and time consuming to animate the animation studio asked the creators if they would mind if they just drew him as flying instead.The creators thought that was a cool idea and agreed. That’s how Superman started flying. Pretty cool huh? Excellent cartoon series if you have not seen it!

[@TheRationalChannel]

#HulksAreSexyToo

[@cthulhu5248]

That is true I have seen some very attractive pictures of She-Hulk.

[@alexanderdaviescastle8134]

+The Rational Channel Of course, have you seen Red She-Hulk?

[@DrDirtyLeggz]

I always assumed that since he is a solar battery, his flight ability was due to expelling solar energy, sort of like how Iron Man uses his repulsor tech, but on an organic scale. I like the Samurai Jack idea. Aku: "You can FLY?!" Jack: " No, jump good."

[@Silmerano]

NO. Superman is able to fly because he can manipulate his personal gravity at will. It's related to the powers he has from absorbing energy from the sun.

[@axz647]

Electromagnetism not gravity

[@bern9642]

But that's not real science. That's sci-fi. They are trying to explain it using real actual science.

[@Magziesfuntime]

Just as a point of reference in the comic Superman has a Gravity Organ that let's him change the Gravitational force around his body and limited amounts around other objects. That is how he fly. This was Theorized in the Comic by Lex and never really covered. Also if you look at some of the movie and TV clips where he and supergirl is taking off you will see the ground break from the Gravity Changes. This is also why they always tell people to step back before taking off around people. You can also see it when they try to stop falling object like planes. Strength Alone will not stop a falling object but in some clips you can see the gravity field change going up the plane as he saving. Hope this helps people understand better.

[@bblod4896]

Except, Superman can hover. Explain that doctor.

[@cjthesniper]

You're an idiot that somehow doesn't understand the premise of this video. The question was "How would Superman be able to fly IF he obeyed the laws of physics?"(how would he fly if he were real?) not "Why is Superman able to fly". NDT is answering a hypothetical situation, not theorizing why Superman is ACTUALLY able to fly in comics/movies.

[@strygwr]

@@cjthesniper haha

[@TheZenbudda]

I read (or listened) somewhere that Kryptonians have the ability to change the mass of objects. If that was possible, it would explain "a lot" if not everything.

[@Searching4Solace]

I love watching the reactions of the girl in the back.

[@reaality3860]

It's obvious. Superman flies in the exact same way Santa's reindeer fly.

[@merdfrog1]

it's pretty depressing that a show that has neil degrasse tyson on it almost every week rarely ever breaks 100000 views per video but a guy like pewdipie get like 30 billion trillion views every time he make a video

[@StarTalk]

+Alex Guthrie Agreed.

[@Avenger4343]

+Alex Guthrie he barely gets 10 mil views per video even tho he has 40 mil subs gg on the estimation

[@merdfrog1]

+Shin Drad (MorbidPuke) still over 100 times as many views

[@Avenger4343]

Alex Guthrie 90% of youtube is made out of kids between the age of 9 to 14 the rest are either watching something else 15 - 18 and the rest dont realy have time for youtube so much so they havent discovered Tyson yet (my opinion)

[@ruiolavo2426]

i also enjoy hearing what he has to say, but i was expecting a better answer. Like, if it was possible to humans to fly, how would it work, in theory. Well, that didn't happen. The rest of the episodes are very like this one, with few real explanation. He has a great mind, i'm interested in knowing his theories, not just that Superman is a big jumper. Maybe thats why it has very few views. Its not interesting enough

[@sarikrana4215]

This was awesome. You were amazing in COSMOS A Spacetime Odyssey.

[@wmr103088]

telekinesis

[@strygwr]

Nooo

[@leoorduna2199]

@@strygwr In Superboy's case I was Tactile Telekinesis.

[@jeremiahwilkins5837]

Flying like Superman and Peter Pan is a dream of mine.

[@jujumen]

+StartTalk Radio You didnt answer the question. Superman changes direction and he also accelerates in mid air so he cannot be jumping.

[@mahanakorn7926]

yeah. just look at the fight in the air against zod in metropolis

[@BoRSdom]

+jujumen So many people not actually understanding what these two are trying to say. They're saying that he just won't be flying, that it's just not physically possible for him to fly, if we were to apply real life physics on him, the closest thing we'd get is him leaping.

[@jujumen]

well i got that. They should have said it flat out. Like how he said the hulk is flat out impossible!

[@BoRSdom]

Except he clearly says that at 3:57

[@jujumen]

+Faas I stand corrected!

[@3dpprofessor]

Aaron Diaz, author of the web comic Dresden Codak made a tumblr post about rebooting the justice league where he proposed that Krypton was a post singularity society, their technology and biology had become indistinguishable. Kal-El was therefore a solar powered cyborg with increased durability and strength. I think in the new movie they kinda addressed that, saying that Kal-El has stored in his cells the data of Krypton. How would that be possible with normal, fleshy, biological cels? Clearly, post singularity.

[@MEGAMOVIELORD]

Gravitons....you're welcome.

[@claireglory]

no. super farts.

[@RockDavid]

Welcome for what? How does that hold true when he is in space flying around as if he was on earth?

[@MEGAMOVIELORD]

David R his body creates its own gravitons. You’re welcome.

[@RockDavid]

still not sure why you keep saying welcome.. His body creates its own carbs so he never eats Your welcome... lol, explain the gravity idea, im rather interested Psy always fun for me

[@MEGAMOVIELORD]

David R thank you.

[@V1C.T0R]

If Superman's flying were only a high leap, it would be simply a big parabola, like the Hulk, but he can change direction and stop in the air like a hummingbird. I don't know the physics of how he is able to do it, but Superman really flies.

[@MEFelicia]

No explanation here..

[@jamesfunk7614]

In the early days of Superman, he did jump instead of flying. But, things changed. He can get someone or something to fly along with him as long as they are touching. Remember in the 1978 movie, Superman and Lois Lane were flying together? If Superman had incredible strength only because he was from a planet with a much higher gravity than Earth's, he couldn't pick up a ship: A ship supported solely by something the size of a human would break.

[@markorollo.]

spent the entire video watching the woman in the other room

[@hoodedone8547]

Superman didn't fly in the beginning. He just... Jumped anywhere he needed to go.

[@PassportGaming]

But he can hover

[@costumedvigilante8228]

What if he superheated his feet (or whatever, depending on his desired direction) and did a whole air pressure thingy to propel him? Like his lasers and solar flare moves, just less explosive.

[@jason8ification]

What if it's because superman is really superconductive due to his alien biology which allow him to absorb and channel electromagnetic energy. He might be able to generate quasi-particles in his body that produce spin 2 fields that allows him to shield gravity. As result it enhances is already abnormal alien strength and makes him appear to fly. This would also explain how he could shoot lasers out of his eyes, see x-rays, or hear police radios. Superman is a superconducting exoelectrogenic humanoid with extremely high bone and muscle densities.

[@GreenmanDave]

Okay, to clear up some confusion in these comments, Dr. Tyson was asked about a Superman that obeys the laws of physics, not about the current comic book version who can levitate, change direction, and increase/decrease his speed exponentially. The comic book Superman does not obey the laws of physics whatsoever. There are physical workarounds that would mimic the comics, such as increasing/decreasing speed by inversely decreasing/increasing drag, using his cape/limbs to bank and turn, and putting himself into an orbital pattern so that it only appears that he's levitating (but simultaneously moving extremely fast). However, the only way to explain Superman's current abilities in the comics is by making up things like anti-gravitons.

[@jorgemendez5408]

farts as propulsion system?

[@neku2741]

super farts

[@Richietek318]

Jorge Mendez sometimes the simplest answer is the right one.

[@Competitive_Antagonist]

"Louis is in trouble. I just need my can of chilli con carne."

[@patrickparmer1648]

or propulsion thru his nose

[@rockboy2003]

Superman's flying is a form of telekinesis where he possesses the ability to contract and expand space around himself thus providing his propulsion.

[@JK03011997]

If Superman is just jumping when he flies, how does he change direction mid-air?

[@ozdergekko]

+Jonas Kr. -- right. his close-range flight pattern is that of a craw.

[@alexandresobreiramartins9461]

+Jonas Kr. Neil obviously doesn't read many Superman comics...

[@Phantom8941]

+Jonas Kr. Neil is misinformed and isn't factoring in that the canon explanation for many years has been gravity manipulation.

[@dmike03]

Is there any where to see the whole videos of star talk? Or is it only these 3-4 minutes clips?

[@vidzzzz]

Dumb ideas from smart guy

[@gmajor1273]

The original Superman was leaping. The later versions of Superman was gravity defying flight and levitation. So he spent four minutes not explaining anything.

[@pascaalexandru7575]

Leaping doesn't explain how he changes direction so easily in flight, only psychokinesis explains it

[@mannyface7459]

That makes no sense because I can stand in mid air nor turn around in a different direction. Superman is not jumping he's flying plain and simple

[@dpdevinmperry97]

Im so annoyed by the amount of people in the comments trying to prove Neil’s idea wrong. The fact is he was never denying that superman can fly. He was just saying, if superman was realistic and followed actual laws of physics, flight would not be possible. Instead he would leap, just as he did originally before flying was even a thing.

[@Fazzel]

The actually went with Superman flying instead of leaping because of the 1940s cartoons. Apparently it was easier to animate someone flying than someone leaping about. And that was so much cooler they stuck with the it.

[@sadiqfinancialliteracycoac3884]

Doesn’t work when you have Superman changing directions as he is flying and slowing or increasing his speed. The hulk propels himself into a great leap but is relegated to having to land and jump again to continue his journey. Also hulk can not change directions in midair. Your explanation might want to either scientifically explaining some quality an alien might possess that would allow him to rise without leaping as recent Superman renditions do as well as hover in space, not to mention projecting lazer like beams from his X-ray vision eyes, which it would be interesting to understand how he turns his X-ray vision on and off or does he spend his entire day looking through every person’s clothing and body.

[@jnfe]

Can you imagine the force put on the ground in order for him to "leap"? He's be paying every city a huge bill for sidewalk damages.

[@AnthonyRochester]

This explanation is inadequate as superman is able to start slowly and accelerate during the flight.

[@AstraIVagabond]

I like to think (even though the canon material doesn't seem to have made any effort to explain it as well) that Superman gets the energy for his preternatural powers from a source like that of The Flash or Cyclops from Marvel: siphoned from another dimension (or the space _between_ dimensions) with potentially limitless energy of its own. All of Superman's powers are derived from different manifestations of that energy: - His super-strength comes from massive kinetic energy added to his movements - His durability likewise comes from kinetic energy, albeit a subtler kind, strengthening the bonds between his body's particles - His heat vision comes from, naturally, heat energy expelled from his eyeballs (as with Cyclops) - His super-speed (in movement, perception and cognitive functioning) comes from a form of forced time dilation (as with The Flash) - His super-senses come from... subtle energy being naturally amplified upon reaching his neurons? Okay, this one's a bit more dubious and seems more like it would require some natural differences in the Kryptonian biology. ... But his flight, like with super-speed, comes from a bending of spacetime that essentially makes his body a living Alcubierre drive. I think that this explanation makes sense as long as you allow that justification for the obvious law of conservation of mass-energy breakage, though I'm certainly no Neil deGrasse Tyson... It makes me wonder, though, why Mr. Tyson discounted Mr. Nice's suggestions about the possibility of true flight so quickly.

[@CorollaNut68]

I had a superman costume one Halloween when I was little and it had a warning on the cape " This cape will not make you fly, only Superman can fly" The Hulk jumps...but superman can also hover and fly very slowly. Coming from another planet with high gravity as a baby, I don't think his muscles would have developed as if he was still on the other planet. We deteriorate when exposed to micro-gravity for long periods. The comics give him his powers from our yellow sun. (however that would work)

[@glidinggraphite5525]

it could work by using his strength, internal kinetic muscular fluctuation, undulating towards the direction he wants to go, like when Thor swings his hammer then stops it at a certain point then goes flying in that direction. or his cells can naturally occur the ability to warp space like an EM drive, the way he does it has to be internal non external,

[@paulr5391]

With flying you have control of moving up & down and left and right. Jumping on the other hand, you do not that control. Especially levitating! We emit heat from our bodies in the form of infrared. I am wondering with his super strength and muscle control. If he is able to force the heat out with enough force to fly. I love watching his videos. Thank you for Star Talk.

[@ree2398]

then how does he Turn, if he is just jumping ??

[@leos2039]

Love you Neil, but I must make a correction... Kryptonians are affected by different stars. Now, the comics incorrectly state that Superman gets his powers from our "yellow" Sun. But we all know the Sun is a white star. Krypton had a red star which effectively made them no stronger than a human. So under a red star, Superman would be identical to a human in terms of strength and mortality.

[@somethingofascientist58]

In man of steel it’s said that earths gravity is weaker then kryptons(which explains the strength and flight because you go to the moon and you can lift more weight much easier and simply jumping makes you float for a second)and heat vision is just Superman releasing the solar energy he absorbs......I don’t know if I really needed to say all that but I just thought I would

[@AngelArm1110]

that actually makes a lot of sense, if you ever saw superman leaping vast distances, there's no way you could ever follow him to see where he lands, from your perspective it would always look like he's flying, even if he's doing nothing of the sort

[@ColtonRDean]

Oscillations on the quantum level that continuously alter his mass in the opposite direction of travel. Imagine how a snake pushes itself across the ground. But instead of a "grip-wave" moving through a snake's muscles, you have a varying mass "grip-wave" moving through Superman's body. These "grip-waves" momentarily hold onto space time and allow Superman to move with his level of strength in any direction on the X, Y, or Z axis.

[@macnutz4206]

Superman speeds up, slows down, and changes direction in flight. He would be locked up as a vagrant, with no visible means of support. As a little one, I too thought it was the cape. But pretty early on it became obvious that he could fly because that was cooler than leaping tall buildings with a single bound. I believe that in the very earliest superman stories, he only jumped super high or far. He gained flight very early in his career but heat ray vision, X-ray vision, came later. Oh, I forgot. In the fifties, when Superman had his black and white TV show, there were a few kids who killed themselves, jumping off houses and out of windows, wearing their new Superman cape. Superman suits and capes were all the rage for a while. Back then, they only made them in child sizes. :)

[@wavyflac]

He's not flying, he's falling...with style!

[@V1C.T0R]

Batman falls with style. Superman really flies.