Bill Nye the Science Guy took to Reddit this week in order to host a Q&A session, fielding questions regarding his latest solar sail project along with a host of other science-related questions.
Nye is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter for his LightSail project, in which he hopes to develop a small spacecraft powered by solar energy that can “float” around our solar system, with him hoping that in the future this will lead to us “further democratizing space” by allowing for cheaper exploration of the planets surrounding Earth.
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During the Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session, Nye also took on questions regarding the Tesla Powerwall, NASA’s supposed creation of an EM warp drive and whether he believes a solar-powered bow tie is possible. Check out his responses below:
On what the solar sail could to in the future…
“In the Great Big Hugely Gigantic Picture, we could someday beam a laser from, say, the far side of the Moon and push a solar sail to Proxima Centuri. It’s an idea so crazy, it just might work. See you at the launch in a few hundred years.”
On how to explain the solar sail to the uninformed…
“Photons (particles of light) have no momentum, but they are pure energy, and they have momentum. So, in the vacuum of space, we can design a very low mass spacecraft with a very large reflective area, and it will get a continuous push. Try this: E = mc**2. Divided both sides by c. You end up with an expression for momentum: “mc”. It’s not magic; it’s science.”
On NASA’s alleged creation of an EM warp drive…
“[I’m] very, very skeptical. BTW, our LightSail™ spacecraft will launch on the same rocket with Air Force’s X37-b formerly secret spaceship. Coincidence?”
On Tesla’s Powerwall…
“It’s a good idea. Energy storage is the key to humankind’s future. Tesla has repurposed their car batteries for home energy storage. I have 4 kilowatts of solar panels. With these batteries, I could keep my food cold for a few days off the grid. It’s a good start on a world changing idea.”
On cool experiments to show kids…
“It depends how old they are. Use mirrors to redirect the infrared beam from a one of your remote controls. Beam on!”
On advice for aspiring astrophysicists…
“Learn this method: Observe, Hypothesize, Test, Compare what you expected to happen with what did happen. Then, I’m not kidding, start to have letters represent numbers. Science is based on measurements. Algebra is a key to your future. Science Rules!”
On the possibility of solar powering a bow tie:
“Yes, I do it all the time. We don’t see things; we see light bouncing off of things. So whenever a bowtie is out in sunlight, its image is powered by the Sun. If you want to put small solar panels on a bowtie and spin a propellor on your head, well, knock yourself out.”
On his previous comment that there’s no such thing as race…
“Oh wouldn’t it be great, if everyone on Earth understood that we are, in fact, all one species. It feels like that would be a great step toward all of us getting along with each other. We are one species. It’s provable. It’s science.”
On climate change deniers…
“Ask them if they would trust people who denied a connection between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. Climate change and humans causing it is scientifically a little better established than cigarettes and cancer.”
On Chipotle removing Genetically Modified Ingredients from their food…
“Removing GMOs seems like a marketing idea. Let’s see if it works. If they can provide the quality that customers want at the price customers want, well, that’s the free market at work. Consumers may find that they prefer vegetables that have more flavor and more nutritional value from modified crops, in which case Chipotle may have to change back or get outcompeted. Also, if other companies are able to raise more food on less land, they may do an end-run around Chipotle’s marketing by showing that their crops actually have a lower environmental impact. Let’s all stay tuned.”
On Google’s Self-Driving Car…
“I can imagine a future with cities having nothing but electric driverless cars. You’d call for an automated taxi from your wrist-held device. There would very few car wrecks, and cities would be quieter and cleaner. Those of us, who really want to drive, can party on out there on the open roads. Driverlessness will be more common than airplane autopilots.”
Photo: Getty Images
