StarTalk Radio – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Things You Thought You Knew – Sonic BOOM!
Host: Neil deGrasse Tyson
Co-host: Chuck Nice
Date: March 24, 2026
Theme: An energetic exploration of "Things You Thought You Knew" about sonic booms, temperature cycles, and wind—where classic science meets lively humor.

Episode Overview

This episode is a masterclass in science communication as Neil deGrasse Tyson breaks down commonly misunderstood concepts: sonic booms, why the hottest time of day isn’t “high noon,” and where wind really comes from. Joined by comedian Chuck Nice, the duo uses humor and clear analogies to transform fundamental physics into “aha!” insights, grounding them in everyday experiences and pop culture.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sonic Booms Unpacked

(Content Begins at 01:47)

• Sound vs. Speed

  • Neil guides listeners through the physics of planes and sound:

    "The fact that you heard the plane and looked up and then you see it approaching means the sound got to you ahead of the plane." (02:20)

  • At subsonic speeds, sound travels faster than the plane, so you hear it before you see it.
  • Speed of Sound: About 700 miles per hour at sea level.
  • As a plane approaches Mach 1 (700 mph), it can match the speed of its own sound—at this point, the sound and the plane arrive together overhead.

• Breaking the Sound Barrier

  • "If you go the speed of sound, Mach 1. So now you have punched through this, quote, sound barrier. It's not really a barrier, but we used to think it was one." (05:07)
  • Beyond Mach 1, a plane “snowplows” the sound into a pressure wave—a sonic boom—heard as a loud “bang” after the plane passes.
  • Chuck summarizes with:

    "So it's like your plane made a wake of nothing that is being filled with the sound that you left behind." (05:52)

• Everyday Sonic Booms

  • The “crack” of a whip and even a snapped towel are mini sonic booms, as the tip or edge moves faster than sound. (07:52)
  • Notable Quote:

    "It's a mini sonic boom. We used to do in the locker room, you get like a rat tail with a towel." (07:57)

• Sonic Booms and Architecture:

  • Neil recounts a story about Salisbury Cathedral’s clock (08:58):
    Engineers worried sonic booms from RAF training flights would damage it, but low notes from the cathedral’s pipe organ produced more vibration than the booms.
  • Memorable advice:

    "If you think something is causing something, look for anything else that could swamp that effect. And if you find something that does, then formulate another question." (10:58)

• Sonic Booms from Meteors

  • When meteors enter Earth's atmosphere, the sonic boom or shockwave is what smashes windows—just as with supersonic planes. (11:12)

• Light "Booms" – Čerenkov Radiation

  • Neil explains how a “sonic boom” analogy exists in light:
    Particles traveling faster than light’s speed in a medium (like water or glass) emit Čerenkov radiation.

    "So it turns out when particles do that, they make a kind of sonic boom of their own, but it's not sonic. It's light." (11:37)

  • Chuck: “A light boom. Well, that sounds delightful.” (12:09)

2. Day & Night: Temperature and the Earth's Heating Cycle

(Segment begins ~16:00)

• Why isn't 'high noon' the hottest time of day?

  • Sun is highest at noon, but it's typically hottest around 3pm.
  • Neil explains:

    "The sun emits a lot of bands of light... primarily in the visible part of the spectrum... The ground absorbs the sunlight... heats the molecules, and then re-radiates that same energy, but in... infrared, and the infrared gets absorbed by the atmosphere. So there's a time delay right between when the sun is slamming us with visible light, and when Earth's surface responds back with infrared, heating the air." (19:36)

  • Memorable summary: The atmosphere is heated “from the ground up.”

• The Desert Example—Humidity vs. Heating

  • Water vapor (humidity) is the #1 greenhouse molecule.
  • In deserts, dry air means no infrared trapping, so nights get very cold fast after sunset.

    "The temperature rises in mid afternoon in the desert. Then the sun sets. What happens to that heat...it gets re radiated as infrared. Does it get trapped? No... the nighttime temperature in the desert plummets." (22:12)

• Temperature Dips and Peaks

  • Coldest part of the day is just before sunrise, not midnight.

    "Take a look at temperature plots. It’ll peak in the mid-afternoon and ... it'll go to its lowest point just before sunrise." (23:29)

  • Debunks the myth that “it’s darkest before the dawn”:

    "That's bullshit. Anytime... it is not twilight, you are basically equally as dark the entire night no matter what." (24:09)

• Climate Stability in Oceanic Regions

  • Places like Hawaii and Iceland have narrow daily temperature ranges due to high humidity/oceans stabilizing day/night energy exchange. (25:12)

• Annual 'Temperature Lag'

  • The hottest month is August, not June, because the Earth's ground (and oceans) accumulate heat over time—just as the day's hot peak comes after high noon. (26:35)

• Fun Fact: Temperature Scales Cross

  • Celsius and Fahrenheit scales numerically equal at -40°.

    "There is a temperature where, if you plotted this, those two graphs cross... that temperature is exactly 40 below." (28:52)

  • Chuck:

    "I'm getting a T shirt that says I'm 40 below. Cause I'm cool anywhere, baby." (29:27)

3. Where Does Wind Really Come From?

(Segment begins ~32:27)

• Comedic Setup

  • Chuck jokes that his uncle is the source of wind, setting up the real question. (32:28)

• Poetic Falsehoods

  • Neil quotes Ogden Nash:

    "'Wind is caused by trees waving their branches.'" (33:07)

• True Cause: Atmospheric Pressure Readjustment

  • Neil:

    "You have wind, which is a readjustment of air pressure. That’s really what's going on." (35:11)

  • "Unequal heating" of Earth's surface creates pressure differences. Warm air rises, cool air moves in to fill the gap—this moving air is wind.

• Air Movement & Hurricanes

  • When warm air rises (low pressure area), surrounding air rushes in horizontally, creating wind.
  • Earth's rotation deflects this flow, forming hurricanes’ spirals.

    "All the clouds try to come in, but then earth rotation sort of veers them to the right... so you have this circulation." (37:53)

  • Chuck:

    "It's the cloud nightclub. Yo, man, you going to the Eye tonight?... I heard the eye is going to be hot tonight." (37:37)

• The Doldrums

  • Regions of descending, stable air where there’s little or no wind.

    "The doldrums are regions of Earth's surface where all the wind has ceased." (39:20)

  • Historically disastrous for sailing ships.

• Wind on Mars and Venus

  • Mars has dramatic but gentle dust storms; its atmosphere is only 1% as thick as Earth’s.

    "If you move that air 100 miles an hour... It's like an infant trying to blow out a birthday candle." (42:35)

  • Neil debunks the “powerful Martian winds” plot device in the movie The Martian:

    "Yeah, it's not happening. It might be dusty and you can't see. Yeah, but you're not blowing over any spaceships with [Mars'] wind." (43:30)

  • On Venus, surface heat is distributed evenly—so, almost no winds.

• Atmospheric Humor:

  • Neil:

    "They say, you know, you ask some evil person, how's hell? Yeah, it's hot, but it's low humidity, so we're fine." (45:42)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the Sound Barrier:

  "It's not really a barrier, but we used to think it was one... If you go the speed of sound, Mach 1.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson (05:08)

• On Sonic Booms and Meteors:

  “That’s why you’ll never know. People say, oh, look, here it comes. No, you don’t know until it’s too late, till it already hits.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson (11:06)

• On Discovering Infrared:

  “He called it light unfit for vision.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson, quoting William Herschel (18:03)

• On Causality:

  “If you think something is causing something, look for anything else that could swamp that effect. And if you find something that does, then formulate another question.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson (10:58)

• On The Doldrums:

  “That’s it. Many a ship have just given up the ghost in the doldrums because you can’t move... and they eat up their food supply. They eat each other, whatever. And that’s it.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson (39:47)

• On Being 'Cool':

  "I'm getting a T-shirt that says I'm 40 below. Cause I'm cool anywhere, baby." – Chuck Nice (29:27)

• On Artistic License in Science Fiction:

  "So I gave it to him. Cause he did the rest of his homework. See, I’m not totally evil... As Mark Twain said, first get your facts straight, then distort them at your leisure.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson (44:41)

Segment Timestamps

• Sonic Booms: Physics and Phenomena (01:47 – 13:07)
• Day & Night, Temperature, and Sunlight (16:00 – 29:36)
• Wind: Where and Why? (32:27 – 46:13)

Tone & Style

• Conversational and Accessible:
  Neil and Chuck combine clear explanations with playful banter and pop-culture references.
• Humorous:
  Chuck’s quick wit and Neil’s indulgence in puns and analogies make even complex ideas memorable.
• Insightful:
  The episode delivers classic StarTalk moments, where a listener walks away with both knowledge and a smile.

Summary

From the dramatic clap of a sonic boom to the subtle complexity of daily temperature swings, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice make science fun and relatable. This episode reveals that what we “thought we knew” about sound, heat, and wind is always worth a second look—especially when taught with such infectious enthusiasm.

“Keep looking up!” – Neil deGrasse Tyson (46:13)