Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains The Three-Body Problem

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Published 2024-04-16
What is the three body problem? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice break down why the three body problem is unsolvable and what makes it mathematically chaotic.

Is the solar system unstable? Find out about Isaac Newton’s worries about the solar system, Pierre-Simon Laplace’s calculus, and perturbation theory. Would a binary star system be chaotic? What about a star system with three suns? Four suns? Five? Learn about the restricted three body problem and how the Jupiter-Earth-Sun system could be chaotic down the line.

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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!

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00:00 - Introduction: The Three-Body Problem
00:31 - The Chaos in Our Solar System
3:29 - Laplace & A New Branch of Calculus
6:21 - Orbiting Two & Three Suns
8:45 - The Restricted Three-Body Problem
10:09 - Chaotic Systems

All Comments (21)
  • @StarTalk
    Are you watching “3 Body Problem” on Netflix?
  • @davidfulton179
    I don't watch a lot of TV so I didn't know this was going on. A colleague of mine ask me about the three body problem because she's a TV watcher. She wanted me to break it down. But the explanation ended abruptly because she doesn't believe the Earth is a sphere. It saved A LOT of time!
  • @raphlin7
    Isaac Newton solved it in a cave! With a box of apples!
  • @Saybia1
    I can't watch Neil deGrasse Tyson now without thinking about that Key & Peele skit 🤣🤣
  • @moonchile245
    "where is your gravitational allegiance?" with no context is my new fav question to ask people
  • @RelativelyBest
    I had a three body problem once. Luckily, I know people who discreetly take care of that sort of thing.
  • Goes perfectly with the saying, "Two's company, three's a crowd".
  • When I took computational physics in university this was one of the coding problems we did. One of our objectives was to see if we could find initial conditions such that a stable orbit could be initially achieved. I honestly had more fun just watching their trajectories though.
  • @PhaseControlDNB
    I love it how Chuck sometimes says "Gotcha" but his face tells you "I don't get it" 😃
  • I love Neil for how he also brings up all these side notes while explaining.
  • @spidalack
    "i had no need of that hypothesis" Still one of the best burns in history.
  • @JimmyJr_7
    In June ‘22 I was lucky enough to meet and talk to Neil before a show in London, if anyone is wondering how he is off camera- he is the exact same as this, proper top bloke.
  • @mismis3153
    Small correction : there exists an analytical solution in the form of an infinite series, but it converges so slowly that it is impossible to compute at this moment.
  • @DominicChase
    I can notice the change to your shows 'format' and really appreciate the sacrifice and humility. The strategy is working. Good job for all those hard conversations. ;)
  • I love how Neil LOVES explaining stuff and the other guy (I don't know his name) loves listening and agreeing. They are perfect for each other
  • I’ve never seen this channel but man I love watching these two guys talk about the three body problem