Surfing and space. Each one is mind-boggling in its own right.
Kai Lenny and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Each one is an expert on different parts of the universe.
But the two men merged their specialties together a few days ago on an episode of deGrasse’s radio show, StarTalk.
In the clip above, deGrasse proposes a scenario all surfers fear, “Suppose you get a crappy wave?”
“Oh you’re so bummed,” Lenny says. No science there, just a classic surfer.
But the discussion, moderated by deGrasse’s co-hosts comedian Chuck Nice and former soccer pro Gary O’Reilly, get’s much more in-depth, and well, scientific.
Ya know, like big wave physics, the geology of the Hawaiian Islands, swell creation, and how Lenny reads a wave.
Listen to the full hour-long episode of StarTalk below. It’s super entertaining and interesting.
But first, spoiler alert!
Around 10 minutes in, deGrasse explains what a wave really is. And it’s not what most of us think.
“In case the public doesn’t know, a wave moving through the water is the speed of energy that has been deposited in the water at some earlier point. So, water is actually not moving at that speed, it is the energy of all the water molecules communicating the flow of that energy from one water molecule to the next.”
He likens it to when a wave moves under a duck sitting in the water, but the duck just bobs up and down essentially staying in place. That energy, not the water, moved under the duck and kept on going.
Mind blown.
It’s also amazing to hear what Lenny sees in a wave and how he thinks about surfing all around.
@redbullusa commented, “Kai the science guy 🧬🔬🧪”
Move over Bill Nye, that has a nice ring to it.
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