You're Technically HOTTER Than The Sun (with XKCD!)

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  • Опубліковано 7 вер 2022
  • Where to buy WHAT IF? 2 by Randall Munroe - Amazon: bit.ly/3Rk5Vy2
    Barnes and Noble: bit.ly/3AKwXIl
    Penguin Random House: bit.ly/3HgfucP
    Books-A-Million: bit.ly/3Q4bEH3
    Bookshop: bit.ly/3q26vVk
    IndieBound: bit.ly/3TyhX8W
    Apple Books: bit.ly/3wNNBp9
    FOR INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS, Including the UK and Germany, click here: xkcd.com/what-if-2/
    The #1 New York Times bestselling author of What If? and How To answers more of the weirdest questions you never thought to ask
    The millions of people around the world who read and loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the Moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone’s freezer door at the same time? Maybe it’s time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, built a billion-story building, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on a geyser as it erupted? Okay, if you insist.
    Before you go on a cosmic road trip, feed the residents of New York City to a T. rex, or fill every church with bananas, be sure to consult this practical guide for impractical ideas. Unfazed by absurdity, Munroe consults the latest research on everything from swing-set physics to airliner catapult-design to answer his readers’ questions, clearly and concisely, with illuminating and occasionally terrifying illustrations. As he consistently demonstrates, you can learn a lot from examining how the world might work in very specific extreme circumstances.
    Support MinutePhysics on Patreon! / minutephysics
    Link to Patreon Supporters: www.minutephysics.com/supporters/
    What if Pluto were plutonium? And Uranus uranium? And Mercury mercury? This video is based off of a chapter of the new xkcd book "What If? 2"
    MinutePhysics is on twitter - @minutephysics
    And facebook - / minutephysics
    Minute Physics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics -- all in a minute!
    Created by Henry Reich
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  • @TurkMan35
    @TurkMan35 Рік тому +9332

    never thought i'd learn a pickupline from a physics channel "you're hotter than the sun, there's just not enough of you" lol

    • @TurkMan35
      @TurkMan35 Рік тому +345

      @@benbaselet2026 dude no way i'm using that on a random girl :D

    • @ayushrawal7436
      @ayushrawal7436 Рік тому +152

      @@TurkMan35 you can use that as an ice breaker in a group of people

    • @S.h-comma.to.the.top-Dynasty
      @S.h-comma.to.the.top-Dynasty Рік тому +586

      And don’t forget the line that quickly followed “but we were talking about Uranus”

    • @Thunderpulse
      @Thunderpulse Рік тому +1

      Continues with “we were talking about (your anus) which is big”

    • @6884
      @6884 Рік тому +170

      be careful to avoid girls with body/eating disorders (not body-eating disorders)

  • @InverseOfficial
    @InverseOfficial Рік тому +2477

    "We were talking about Uranus, which there is a lot of"
    well that sounds lovely

    • @gilsonfeydyt6978
      @gilsonfeydyt6978 Рік тому +190

      "Uranus' shockwave would reach and destroy us"

    • @travcollier
      @travcollier Рік тому +31

      Now part of my brain is frantically trying to make that into a verse to Baby Got Back...
      Stupid brain

    • @Hector.Pulido
      @Hector.Pulido Рік тому +22

      Thanks i was looking for this comment

    • @Mithorium
      @Mithorium Рік тому +30

      Thanks, I grew it myself

    • @mattia_carciola
      @mattia_carciola Рік тому +12

      Being hotter than the sun that's good news

  • @tomdiderot4344
    @tomdiderot4344 Рік тому +589

    He definitely knew what he was doing when he wrote, “We were talking about Uranus, which there is a lot of and would get really, really hot…”.

    • @mal2ksc
      @mal2ksc Рік тому +39

      Almost all "yo mama" jokes can be recycled as "Uranus" jokes.

    • @panda4247
      @panda4247 Рік тому +6

      There is a song Uranus by Nanowar Of Steel.
      Check it out

    • @cybercritterowo
      @cybercritterowo Рік тому +12

      They even put "Uranus (Big)" they definitely knew

    • @zes7215
      @zes7215 2 місяці тому +1

      wrr

  • @TheOtherSteel
    @TheOtherSteel Рік тому +116

    If Mercury were suddenly made of mercury, wouldn't it immediately begin to boil?
    Being frozen solid on the dark side, vapor on the sunny side, and liquid in between, I would think that would cause enormous stress.

    • @fakestory1753
      @fakestory1753 Рік тому +2

      And those mercury vapor will eventually reach earth

    • @KuK137
      @KuK137 Рік тому +43

      There is actually pretty big band between molten and boiling points of Mercury so as long as we can get some convection going on, no part of it would be frozen. Though, surface of Mercury gets above boiling point temperature so you'd see Mercury clouds soon (which would probably shield the surface somewhat). Though, Mercury is pretty shiny, maybe it would deflect enough radiation to lower surface temperature? Also, the element is 3x denser than the planet, which would mean planet shrinking by a lot if we keep mass in transition...

    • @oliviapg
      @oliviapg Рік тому +10

      It wouldn’t reach earth, it would just stay in its orbit

    • @fakestory1753
      @fakestory1753 Рік тому +1

      @@oliviapg but solar wind..

    • @MarsJenkar
      @MarsJenkar Рік тому

      @@fakestory1753 I'm no physicist, but I don't think solar wind would exert enough force on mercury vapor to have much of an effect. Even if it did have an effect, it would take a _long_ time to cross the 50-plus million mile gulf to Earth's orbit.

  • @chresse214
    @chresse214 Рік тому +2486

    The first "what if" book is definitely upon the most hilarious things i've read in my life. Can absolutely reccomend it. It's worth every penny.

    • @ayzmmo
      @ayzmmo Рік тому +4

      Minute physics published a book ?

    • @guestblahful
      @guestblahful Рік тому +106

      @@ayzmmo The first "What If?" (and upcoming second one) was written by Randall Munroe, creator of the XKCD web comic

    • @Mossprite21
      @Mossprite21 Рік тому +26

      @@ayzmmo xkcd wrote “what if?” (really good btw, preorder the second book)

    • @cyrilio
      @cyrilio Рік тому +3

      I love the audiobook! It’s definitely a good one

    • @ayzmmo
      @ayzmmo Рік тому

      @@guestblahful Thx that's cool I'll have a look

  • @schwi5425
    @schwi5425 Рік тому +3100

    Fun fact: Tellurium is named after the Latin word “tellus” meaning Earth so you can also include the Earth on that list at the beginning

    • @Hobby-Linguist
      @Hobby-Linguist Рік тому +126

      is'nt Latin for Earth Terra? or dose "Tellus" Spicificly mean The planet?
      Edit: well i guess your probebly right becourse Tellus has "us" as an ending... terra dosnt meening one is in Nominative and the Other one isnt so your probebly correct

    • @schwi5425
      @schwi5425 Рік тому +190

      @@Hobby-Linguist Theyre synonyms so they both mean Earth

    • @cuckoophendula8211
      @cuckoophendula8211 Рік тому +163

      I guess if we wanted to get extra fancy, each planet / Roman God happens to be represented by a metal in alchemy. Mercury is the obvious one, but they have Venus being copper, Mars being iron, Jupiter being tin, and Saturn being lead for some reason (while the "planets" moon is silver and the sun is gold). Note that this was before the planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were discovered and neither were the elements that were named after them.

    • @Hobby-Linguist
      @Hobby-Linguist Рік тому +21

      @@schwi5425 well Earth and Earth also meen the same but one is a Planet the other is dirt. i thought mabey Terra then Spisificly meens dirt or something

    • @schwi5425
      @schwi5425 Рік тому +9

      @@cuckoophendula8211 I suppose you’re right but none of those (with the exception of mercury) are actually named after the planet. Still, it would be interesting to see how a much denser Jupiter would affect the solar system

  • @lexinwonderland5741
    @lexinwonderland5741 Рік тому +9

    Two of my favorites collaborating! I've been keeping up with XKCD for at least a decade now, it's a relic of the old internet/academic/nerd culture and it makes me so happy that Randall is still active!!

  • @caffiend81
    @caffiend81 Рік тому +84

    I am actually a little shocked that any of the outer planets exploding would produce enough energy to melt the Earth given the vast distances combined with the inverse square law, and the lack of a medium for a pressure wave (though I understand that the expanding gas and debris are still a thing). But, I trust Randall Munroe's ability to calculate these things so... 🤣Damn!

    • @WaluigiisthekingASmith
      @WaluigiisthekingASmith Рік тому +21

      There's some fun fermi calculations you can do. 1 au is 8 light minutes. is 10^8 * 10^3 is 10^11 meters. The mass of a planet is something on the order of 10^25 kg and the density of a gas planet is about 1 g/cm^3 or 1000 kg/m^3. That means the volume is ~ 10^22 m^3 (I'm assuming the replacement is by volume and not by mass. Since neptunium etc are so dense it actually is important). The distance to the outer planets is probably about 10 au so the area of equal flux is (10^12)^2*4 pi = 10^25 m^2. I don't know the amount of energy in a fission nuke per cubic meter of input material so I'm just going to wildly guess 10^12 to 10^15 joules. Even if I did know I'm almost certain I would still be way off because of weirdness in scaling. Anyway, 10^12 * 10^22/10^25 = 10^9 joules per square meter which I bet would be enough to kill everyone on the planet . Looking up online, little boy only used ~ 63 kg of uranium so, in one nice Wolfram alpha formula, here's the actual answer www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=%28Neptune+volume+*+density+of+neptunium+*+yield+of+little+boy%2F%2863+kg+%28Neptune+average+distance%5E2*4*pi%29%29%29
      Not enough to destroy the earth but certainly enough to kill everyone on it.

    • @KuK137
      @KuK137 Рік тому +10

      @@WaluigiisthekingASmith Actually it wouldn't all fuse because the planet would blow up sooner dispersing the material. This is huge problem even in atomic bombs with a few kg of material (and why we need to compress it with explosives to keep the fission reaction from blowing up the core), it would be vastly worse in planet sized core. You'd have a radioactive asteroid field that would use up most energy on dispersing the planet and very little of it on radiation and shockwave...

    • @djinn666
      @djinn666 Рік тому +9

      ​@@KuK137 I wouldn't be so sure of that. Compression increases fission rate, so in the process of being blown apart, the surface material would be compressed and undergo fission too. With an astronomical amount of material, inertia alone might be enough for fission to complete.

    • @mdab121
      @mdab121 Рік тому +1

      The distance to Neptune is 30 AU.

    • @entcraft44
      @entcraft44 Рік тому +4

      @@WaluigiisthekingASmith The amount of fissile material used in construction does not equal the amount of fissile material that actually gets split. From the 63kg less than a kilogram actually reacted. For a planet-sized core there are (probably) factors which will increase and factors which will decrease the efficiency. I think it will be higher because of the much better inertial confinement and much higher neutron flux in all but the outermost layers of the planet. The exact things that will happen are complicated to predict. You are correct with "weirdness in scaling". But you are probably at most two orders of magnitude away from the real answer.

  • @harizaka
    @harizaka Рік тому +118

    "In a sense, you are hotter than the Sun-there’s just not as much of you. But we were talking about UrAnus... "

  • @natetwehues2428
    @natetwehues2428 Рік тому +220

    Most What Ifs can be summarized as "this doesn't end well."

    • @timothymclean
      @timothymclean Рік тому +11

      If it ended well, it wouldn't be worth talking about.

    • @1224chrisng
      @1224chrisng Рік тому +9

      the ending one from the last version is fine, he talked about a -10 magnitude earthquake, which would be smaller than a truck driving by

    • @just-a-fnf-fan
      @just-a-fnf-fan Рік тому

      ok

    • @oworandom
      @oworandom Рік тому

      @@1224chrisng aint a trunk magnitude much more stronger though? I remembered the -10 one is literally the feather touching the ground at this point

    • @musicexams5258
      @musicexams5258 Рік тому +5

      @@oworandom -10 was a mote of dust landing on a table
      0 was pretty funny because it's a football team charging into your house
      for some reason they just hate your house?

  • @LDSG_A_Team
    @LDSG_A_Team Рік тому +2

    Super excited to get the second volume! I was gifted the first one when it came out and I absolutely love every bit of it! Thanks for reminding me to buy it now that it's out :D

  • @resurgam_b7
    @resurgam_b7 Рік тому +4

    I would absolutely support having all... okay most, of the "What If" scenarios narrated and animated by you. That would be a splendid binge watch, the natural evolution to the binge read of XKCD's website that I do every couple years :D

  • @robertwallace5498
    @robertwallace5498 Рік тому +1979

    All of Randall Munroe's books and comics are amazing, definitely worth a read

    • @samhanna2349
      @samhanna2349 Рік тому +28

      what if. highly recommend this book

    • @snailracer5260
      @snailracer5260 Рік тому +25

      ‘How to’ and ‘thing explainer’ are also great

    • @mustang1912
      @mustang1912 Рік тому +3

      This is wrong, the blast would have far too little energy to affect the earth.

    • @scaper8
      @scaper8 Рік тому +15

      @@snailracer5260 The dedication in _Thing Explainer_ makes me tear up every time.
      For those not in the know, he wrote the book using only the 500 (I think?) most common words in the English language. This includes the dedication, which was to "strong, pretty ring wearer." It was always so beautiful, somehow, to describe his wife in simple, childlike words. I don't know, it just gets me everytime.

    • @noneofyourbusiness4133
      @noneofyourbusiness4133 Рік тому

      I’m so fucking mad he doesn’t put them on the blog anymore god fuckinf damn it

  • @EPMTUNES
    @EPMTUNES Рік тому +692

    Xkcd and minute physics is a crossover my 2013 self has been waiting for for years, thank you both

    • @MuzikBike
      @MuzikBike Рік тому +36

      wasn't there another one earlier? I think it was about rockets

    • @hellomynameisjoenl
      @hellomynameisjoenl Рік тому +34

      @@MuzikBike There was definitely one about a lava moat.

    • @TlalocTemporal
      @TlalocTemporal Рік тому +15

      @@hellomynameisjoenl -- That was for the other XKCD book series, Thing Explainer (the Up Goer Five), and How To (make a lava moat)

    • @authorinthedark
      @authorinthedark Рік тому +7

      "how to make a lava moat" and "how to go to space" are two of their older collabs

    • @PunnamarajVinayakTejas
      @PunnamarajVinayakTejas Рік тому +1

      Is it because of the stick figures?

  • @Syuvinya
    @Syuvinya Рік тому +5

    Randall Monroe's What If?, How To, and Thing Explainer are some of the best science non-fictions I've read. Will definitely give What If? 2 a read!

  • @j_sum1
    @j_sum1 Рік тому +6

    There are 7 elements named after bodies in the solar system. You forgot selenium and helium.

  • @svahn1
    @svahn1 Рік тому +131

    "In a sense, you are hotter than the Sun. There's just not as much of you."
    Killer pickup line, thanks.

  • @namenamename390
    @namenamename390 Рік тому +471

    Fun fact: Uranium was called uranium because at the time, the planet had several competing names and the guy who discovered the element named it this way to support the name Uranus for the planet.

    • @ASmolPotatoOntheInternet
      @ASmolPotatoOntheInternet Рік тому +84

      Should have been named King George tbh.

    • @ragnkja
      @ragnkja Рік тому +33

      @@ASmolPotatoOntheInternet
      George’s Star.

    • @Volvith
      @Volvith Рік тому +57

      @@ASmolPotatoOntheInternet Yes but there's significantly less butt jokes you can make involving King George. :)

    • @meirl5700
      @meirl5700 Рік тому +17

      @@ASmolPotatoOntheInternet CGP grey enjoyer detected

    • @burnv06
      @burnv06 Рік тому

      Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  • @a.bergstrom7172
    @a.bergstrom7172 4 місяці тому +1

    I’ve loved Randall‘a books for a long time now. Nice to finally see some of them get recognized. I’d get the books they go into a lot of detail and are absolutely worth it.

  • @mothman7786
    @mothman7786 Рік тому +6

    Haven't checked in with Munroe in ages, glad to hear he's still active for crazy thought experiments

  • @JojoDrs_
    @JojoDrs_ Рік тому +464

    When I see xkcd, I always think of his "what if" chapters like the periodic table as a wall or the relativistic baseball
    Then I look at the title of this video and I strongly agree with one of the first sentences of this video: "This is not going to end well."

    • @mads_in_zero
      @mads_in_zero Рік тому +27

      When an XKCD "what if" opens with a "we are going to have a problem" type message, you know it'll be catastrophic.

    • @HyperBirbN3rd
      @HyperBirbN3rd 3 місяці тому +4

      At the start of one What If 2 chapter it’s all like "This is actually surprisingly reasonable by What If standards" and goes on to describe how many people would get killed ("only" about 10)

    • @robertjarman3703
      @robertjarman3703 Місяць тому

      @@HyperBirbN3rd Which one was that? I have a copy of What If II but I forget which chapter.

    • @HyperBirbN3rd
      @HyperBirbN3rd Місяць тому

      @@robertjarman3703 I forgor :( and I don’t have a copy because I got one from the library back when it was just published and practically memorized it 🤓 Maybe the lava lamp?

  • @6884
    @6884 Рік тому +421

    I gifted a copy of What If (1) to my then-PhD-supervisor. The fact that he didn't seem to have enjoyed it much was indeed a dire warning of what came next.

    • @SupersuMC
      @SupersuMC Рік тому +68

      Don't leave us hanging: what came next‽

    • @Vezail
      @Vezail Рік тому +40

      We need to know by Monday!

    • @uncreative369
      @uncreative369 Рік тому +4

      What came next?

    • @collectorguy3919
      @collectorguy3919 Рік тому +36

      I'd guess he found a lot wrong with the book and that created work for the PhD candidates

    • @alexandreocadiz9967
      @alexandreocadiz9967 Рік тому +62

      I supposed that him not liking the book was a warning that the supervisor was cruel and a terrible boss

  • @kalebbeer3526
    @kalebbeer3526 Рік тому

    That has gotta be the best sponsor/ promo/ whatever you call it that i have ever seen, I'm definitely getting this for myself and i think it's the second thing I've ever been compelled to buy from a youtube sponser spot

  • @SokoBuilds
    @SokoBuilds Рік тому

    I loved reading What If when I was still in High School, I’m in university now and my curiosity is as peaked as it was back then! Just ordered the book and can’t wait to read it. :)

  • @aster2790
    @aster2790 Рік тому +50

    1:50
    I am confident that this line was not accidental

    • @997_99
      @997_99 Рік тому

      🤣

    • @AaronRotenberg
      @AaronRotenberg Рік тому +3

      I assume anyone pronouncing "Uranus" with the stress on the second syllable is trying to make a double entendre.

    • @zxcucruma5433
      @zxcucruma5433 Рік тому

      Uranus(big)

    • @mayhair
      @mayhair Рік тому

      How else would you word it?

    • @TheWorldsLargestOven
      @TheWorldsLargestOven Рік тому +1

      How the f*ck are you supposed to pronounce it? Uunars? Sunaru? Urineus?

  • @stephen3164
    @stephen3164 Рік тому +24

    “The blast from Uranus…” - oh, my family already knows that’s deadly! 🤣

  • @physicsbutawesome
    @physicsbutawesome Рік тому +3

    3:16 the author's picture... legend.

  • @bluey-next777
    @bluey-next777 3 місяці тому +2

    2:27
    *Insert the blue crab music meme here*

  • @xborak2
    @xborak2 Рік тому +55

    "Unfortunately, the night sky - and human eyes - would get a little harder to find" best comment

    • @aaaaaattttttt5596
      @aaaaaattttttt5596 Рік тому

      What does it mean

    • @thaddeusgenhelm8979
      @thaddeusgenhelm8979 Рік тому +4

      @@aaaaaattttttt5596 It was alluding to the upcoming explosion of Neptune that would obliterate all humans (and therefore make human eyes hard to find) and the stripping away of Earth's atmosphere, etc. making the night sky as a we consider it also similarly absent (also the lack of human eyes to observe it would also add to the difficulty!)

  • @T4gProd
    @T4gProd Рік тому +108

    I love living in a timeline where pretty much two of my favorite science communicators collaborate.

    • @cube2fox
      @cube2fox Рік тому +7

      Favorite stick figure creators

    • @chlorine4567
      @chlorine4567 Рік тому +1

    • @koshmeji
      @koshmeji Рік тому

      Happy Chiruno Day

    • @EdKolis
      @EdKolis Рік тому

      What next? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye? William Shatner and Mark Hamill?

  • @NickAndersson
    @NickAndersson Рік тому

    I am so happy that there is a second what if part! I loves the first one alrrady!

  • @menigmatique
    @menigmatique Рік тому +1

    The original 'What If?' and 'How To' were some of the funniest most informative books i've ever read, preordered 'What If? 2' and definitely recommend it to anyone interested in channels like Minute Physics

  • @marc-andreservant201
    @marc-andreservant201 Рік тому +115

    Let's see... Pluto has a radius of 1,188 km, which corresponds to a mass of 1.398*10^23 kg. This is 2.19*10^22 times the amount of plutonium in the Nagasaki bomb, which had a yield of 20 kilotonnes of TNT. Assuming the explosion would be proportionally bigger, this comes out to 4.37*10^23 kt, or a ball of TNT 73,200 times the mass of the Earth. Amazingly, this is still 8 orders of magnitude weaker than a supernova.

    • @pedronunes3063
      @pedronunes3063 Рік тому +56

      It's the old rule, imagine any absurd explosion and compare to a supernova, the supernova wins.

    • @patrickmccurry1563
      @patrickmccurry1563 Рік тому +7

      @@pedronunes3063 Hypernova. Black hole merger.

    • @chemplay866
      @chemplay866 Рік тому +38

      @@patrickmccurry1563 Cheesburger

    • @pepero_sadpepmijt_form6322
      @pepero_sadpepmijt_form6322 Рік тому +1

      @@chemplay866 😨

    • @HeroDarkStorn
      @HeroDarkStorn Рік тому +40

      @@patrickmccurry1563 He said "imagine", not "name". If you imagine a Hypernova, you probably won't come anywhere near a nova. My favorite approach to the scale of supernova, courtesy of What-if:
      "Put the strongest nuke against you eye, and replace the sun with a supernova. Which is brighter?
      The supernova. By 9 orders of magnitude."

  • @alexheyman4588
    @alexheyman4588 Рік тому +157

    Would the shockwave from a Plutonium-241 Pluto be powerful enough to melt the entire Earth like that? I'm just wondering because Pluto is a lot smaller than Uranus or Neptune and orbits farther away, at least on average. (Considering that the power of the shockwave would fall off with the square of the distance traveled, would its effect on Earth vary meaningfully depending on where in Pluto's eccentric orbit it happened to be when turned to Plutonium-241?)

    • @15Redstones
      @15Redstones Рік тому +71

      Couldn't find information for Pu-241, but for 239 Earth would be blasted with about 30 days worth of solar radiation in a few seconds.

    • @arcan762
      @arcan762 Рік тому +15

      @@15Redstones what if pluto was on the other side of the sun to us at the time?

    • @chrisdevine4848
      @chrisdevine4848 Рік тому +37

      I am skeptical too. Happy to stand corrected, but I want to see the maths! (But certainly cannot be bothered to do it myself!) :)

    • @mattdombrowski8435
      @mattdombrowski8435 Рік тому +22

      I'm not mathey enough to give a real answer, but I am mathey enough enough to give you an order of magnitude guesstimate. So, according to Google, the tsar bomba had about 1% the luminosity of the sun for a brief moment with a core mass of 64 kg. The mass of pluto is 10^22 kg. If we assume this scales linearly (which is probably an underestimate because a planetary mass would coincidentally mimic some of the ways we boost yields), it would momentarily reach roughly 10^18 % the luminosity of the sun at 1 AU from Pluto. Pluto is 30-ish AU away, which would roughly bring that down to roughly 10^16 % solar luminosity for an instant.

    • @flykiller
      @flykiller Рік тому

      Pluto: 1.303e22 kg, 1.854 g/cm^3
      Plutonium-241: 19.84 g/cm^3, Decays on average with 5.23 keV or 2.09 MJ/gram
      Plutonium-241 planet would be 1.394e23 kg and would explode (assuming Plutonium-241 explodes entirely with average decay energy) with 2.9e32 Joules. Pluto is on average 40 AU away from us so at that distance energy of the explosion per area would be 645 kJ/m^2. This is equivalent to being 2.8 km away from the Hiroshima nuke (in space). We are getting this energy from the sun per ~8 minutes.
      It doesn't seem that much but it can be because of wrong reaction energy. I could only find this value for 241 isotope.

  • @IcarusGravitas
    @IcarusGravitas Рік тому +1

    Great Collaboration Idea! Two of my favorites together. :)

  • @Calthecool
    @Calthecool Рік тому +1

    What If? 1 is my favorite book of all time, definitely ordering What If? 2 ASAP.

  • @thedownwardmachine
    @thedownwardmachine Рік тому +5

    Thank you for letting me know about this book. I’ve been waiting years for it. When the first one came out, I enjoyed it so much that I was sad when I got to the end and immediately re-read it.

  • @GideonFrazier
    @GideonFrazier Рік тому +10

    Yesss. I already have my first copy of what if and how to! I’m so excited

  • @samueldenning6578
    @samueldenning6578 Рік тому

    I didn't know there was a second book! I have to read it. (I loved the ending for this video, great job MinutePhysics)

  • @kiri101
    @kiri101 Рік тому

    Now that's a sponsor I can actually get behind. Munroe's work is amazing.

  • @dariocardajoli6831
    @dariocardajoli6831 Рік тому +43

    Love xkcd's comics this was a must watch !

  • @minerman60101
    @minerman60101 Рік тому +5

    "What If?" and "How to" were amazing, I am absolutely getting "What if? 2" and you should too

  • @IgnatRemizov
    @IgnatRemizov Рік тому

    I bought the first What If and Thing Explainer when it came out, this is definitely a must-buy book!!

  • @cheesemanmaster
    @cheesemanmaster 5 місяців тому +1

    Thanks man, I really needed that

  • @ambriz202
    @ambriz202 Рік тому +12

    just started binging xkcd's comics so this was a nice surprise

    • @capitalistraven
      @capitalistraven Рік тому +2

      Lol, lucky you. It's amazing. Also the first "What If" and "Thing Explainer" and basically anything Randall touches.

  • @AmoghA
    @AmoghA Рік тому +9

    1:01
    minutephysics suggests not hold U-238 at home. Thanks for the heads up, Henry because I had a planned a sleepover with friends where would hold U-238, but now it's scrapped.

    • @patrickmccurry1563
      @patrickmccurry1563 Рік тому

      Pitcheblende aka uraninite is a natural ore of uranium and not dangerous... if you don't keep it in your pocket all day. Weirdly plutonium is far safer as it emits only alpha radiation fully blocked by the upper dead layer of skin. As long as you don't eat or breathe it of course.

    • @screwaccountnames
      @screwaccountnames Рік тому

      The interesting thing about holding U-238 (for a short amount of time) is that you would actually be fine. You shouldn't do it for longer than a few minutes, or regularly, and you should definitely wash your hands thoroughly afterwards, but in terms of radioactivity getting into your body from just holding a lump of U-238, it's about comparable to walking through an airport security checkpoint.

  • @rhealgagnon1460
    @rhealgagnon1460 Рік тому

    Bro the sense you make out of nonsense ,,,it's amazing 👏

  • @smugbowkid9919
    @smugbowkid9919 Рік тому +6

    Randall Munroe is such a great comedian, and actually educates me through comedy. It’s super epic, I love his books and his comics.

  • @Dirsmuutio
    @Dirsmuutio Рік тому +3

    This is the collaboration we need!

  • @Marenthyu
    @Marenthyu Рік тому +4

    What if I, too, already preordered "What if? 2"?
    Should be here in 5 days from now!

  • @AfgonYT.
    @AfgonYT. 10 місяців тому

    When I first watched this video, I had no idea that he had made a sequel. Eight years later, and he released the sequel to one of my favorite books on my birthday!

  • @JaviEstene
    @JaviEstene Рік тому

    Thanks mate, I really needed to hear that today

  • @LordPhobos6502
    @LordPhobos6502 Рік тому +3

    I LOVE THE WHATIFS!!!!!!!!! ❤❤❤😊😊😊
    Please do more of these videos 😁

  • @aster2790
    @aster2790 Рік тому +7

    Damn imagine having an almost-planet worth of nuclear ore next to you
    We wouldn't even start existing to die from radiation

  • @LostLargeCats
    @LostLargeCats Рік тому

    Thank you for the reminder about this book! I just pre-ordered it.

  • @jackgreenearth452
    @jackgreenearth452 Рік тому

    So glad you made me aware of this, I already pre ordered it!

  • @sisakhoza4739
    @sisakhoza4739 Рік тому +3

    "Uranus' shockwave would reach, and destroy us, about an hour faster", I still have the mind of a child

  • @ZenZooZoo
    @ZenZooZoo Рік тому +4

    What a collab ❤

  • @josephboog
    @josephboog 9 місяців тому

    You had me at I'm hotter than the sun!

  • @TheStarMachine2000
    @TheStarMachine2000 Рік тому

    WHOOOO HOOOOOOOO! I HAVE BEEN LOVING WHAT IF AND HOW TO FOR YEARS AND IT IS FINALLY BACK! LETS GOOOOOO!

  • @johnchessant3012
    @johnchessant3012 Рік тому +6

    What if that random town in Sweden was made of an alloy of yttrium, terbium, erbium, and ytterbium

  • @lolicantthinkofabettername3437
    @lolicantthinkofabettername3437 Рік тому +10

    1:42 so what you are saying is that if we mede a pile of humans large enough we could burn the centre person to death? (Neglecting death by shear weight ofc)

    • @jannikheidemann3805
      @jannikheidemann3805 Рік тому +1

      You can produce human gas and charcoal that way.
      Don't try it at home, your neighbours will thank you.

    • @tontobonto2073
      @tontobonto2073 2 місяці тому

      Bees use this tactic to kills wasps

  • @FleRpa
    @FleRpa 5 місяців тому

    My favorite part of this video and I don’t even know if it was a joke or not but just the
    Uranus (big)
    Killed me🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • @overlord-6644
    @overlord-6644 Рік тому

    OMG I loved the first what if book, I didn’t know there was a second!

  • @hokage102364
    @hokage102364 Рік тому +6

    I've been gleefully sharing the fun fact that humans give off more heat than the Sun per square inch and that the Sun is only hotter than us since it's so much bigger than us since I was like 6. I think I learned that in some random science trivia book. This is actually nerdier lol.

    • @I-Maser
      @I-Maser Рік тому

      I dont understand how this should work, could you explain further? Since in the video he says a chunck of the Suns *core* , but since the core undergoes fusion i cant see how this should give of less heat than a human. The surface of the sun however makes some sense

    • @evannibbe9375
      @evannibbe9375 Рік тому +1

      Change that to “per cubic inch”

    • @I-Maser
      @I-Maser Рік тому

      @@evannibbe9375 well how exactly is a human body able to give of more heat per cubic inch than the suns core, which is literally undergoing fusion?

    • @alexsiemers7898
      @alexsiemers7898 Рік тому

      @@I-Maser it’s likely that the sun, even with as dense as the core is, can only go through so much fusion per unit volume, and once again it’s just the immense size of the core that gives it the energy output we know. I did some “”basic”” math just based on the solar output measured at earth’s surface (~1.4kw/m^2), used that to get the sun’s total output (surface area of a sphere the size of earth’s orbit, multiplied by that energy per square meter) and found that a solar core twice the diameter of earth would average 8 watts of energy per cubic _meter._

    • @I-Maser
      @I-Maser Рік тому

      @@alexsiemers7898 so the sun is producing more energy than a human, but cant give it off as fast as we do, cause it can only radiate heat away, unlike us who can also give heat of to the Air. Right?

  • @ieatgarbage8771
    @ieatgarbage8771 Рік тому +4

    I was gonna say “what if they were at the farthest points in their orbits?” But the earth is so close to the sun that it barely matters.

  • @TheMightyZwom
    @TheMightyZwom Рік тому

    THERE'S A PART 2!? AWESOME! :D

  • @7head7metal7
    @7head7metal7 Рік тому

    What an awesome collaboration!

  • @catkook543
    @catkook543 Рік тому +11

    2:18
    Might want to set an epilepsy warning for here

  • @dicyanoacetylene6220
    @dicyanoacetylene6220 Рік тому +8

    Ok, but if we have control of exactly when the planets turn into their corresponding elements, what if we wait for Neptune to be on the other side of the sun from us? What problems arise from this?
    Edit: this was apparently not as clear as I thought. I was implying that we would try to use the sun to block the high energy blast wave that would've otherwise been heading directly for us. Does the destructive wave get stopped to a relatively survivable level, or does enough of it make it around the sun (do to diffraction) that it makes little difference? Or does something else happen, like yes, the initial blast is stopped by the sun, and we are close enough that whatever is able to make it around the sun still won't hit us, but it still imparted enough energy into the sun's atmosphere that it caused a coronal mass ejection that is going to hit us instead? Things like that.

    • @CaTastrophy427
      @CaTastrophy427 Рік тому +1

      Yeah I kinda wanted to know what that explosion would do to the sun, if anything

    • @thaddeusgenhelm8979
      @thaddeusgenhelm8979 Рік тому

      While impressive and energetic, based on my understanding of the energies in play I don't think the sun would be as impressed as us. Like, just consider that in this example the blast leaves the earth itself in one piece, if heated and without an atmosphere. If it won't even seriously disrupt our little iron ball, what's it going to do to the sun?

    • @incognitoburrito6020
      @incognitoburrito6020 Рік тому

      Extremely rough estimation--that puts it only like twice as far away, meaning it'd only be about a quarter as bright. Unless the sun interferes somehow. With such a resounding "everyone on earth would die," I doubt it would make much difference.

    • @dicyanoacetylene6220
      @dicyanoacetylene6220 Рік тому

      @@thaddeusgenhelm8979
      That's kind of the point, use the sun as a blast shield so we can potentially survive a nuke the size of a planet.

    • @thaddeusgenhelm8979
      @thaddeusgenhelm8979 Рік тому

      @@dicyanoacetylene6220 Ahh, okay, I thought you were wondering about its implications on the sun, not the value of the sun as a shield, my mistake.

  • @Machensachen57
    @Machensachen57 2 місяці тому

    Finally, answers to questions that randomly occur in my mindy😍

  • @Acs2004
    @Acs2004 Рік тому

    Thanks mate 👍. I needed that

  • @sayethwe8683
    @sayethwe8683 Рік тому +3

    what would the shockwaves be propagating through? There's not enough interplanetary media to transmit that wave, and I imagine because of the sheer distance only the barest fraction of the exploded planets would actually hit earth.

    • @puo2123
      @puo2123 Рік тому

      The physical matter and radiation would propagate through the vacuum of space and form the ''shockwave(s)''. One traveling with the speed of light and the other one slower. Yes you are right only a small amount of the explosion would effect the earth. Check out en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverse-square_law

    • @scottrobb651
      @scottrobb651 Рік тому

      same principle as an supernova. The explosion would turn to the matter into an plasma and become it own transmitting medium. As for it destroying the earth i tried to do the math and my brain protested, so I can neither confirm or deny that assertation.

  • @felixar90
    @felixar90 Рік тому +6

    If mercury was made of mercury, would it turn into a perfectly smooth nearly spherical mirror, and not appear brighter but be actually pretty much invisible most of the time, because of the specular reflection reflecting almost no light at earth?
    Also, If mercury was mercury, would it be solid, liquid or gas? Or maybe it would have a mercury cycle? It would be much more reflective, so it wouldn't be as hot, probably?

  • @chestersnap
    @chestersnap Рік тому

    Yaaaaaaassssss!!! I've been waiting so long for this!!

  • @aerobiesizer3968
    @aerobiesizer3968 Рік тому

    The information that I didn't ask for but absolutely needed

  • @uelssom
    @uelssom 4 місяці тому +4

    0:01 why is the & backwards

  • @blu_223
    @blu_223 Рік тому +5

    0:15 nice voice crack

    • @slavakid5336
      @slavakid5336 Рік тому

      i don’t hear it

    • @blu_223
      @blu_223 Рік тому

      ​@@slavakid5336 listen carefully when he said "composed"

    • @soisaus564
      @soisaus564 Рік тому

      Best voice crack in 2023

  • @micahphilson
    @micahphilson Рік тому +1

    1:45 This is one of my favorite lines by Minutephysics ever.
    Says you're hot, then talks about Uranus, which is very big.

  • @texivani
    @texivani Рік тому

    You had me at "Fill the solar system with soup"
    I love soup.

  • @bsku0765
    @bsku0765 Рік тому +3

    Best stick figures xd

  • @Playful_Target
    @Playful_Target 6 місяців тому +10

    1:54 "uranus (big)" that's sus

  • @jimmysgameclips
    @jimmysgameclips Рік тому +2

    Me: "Is there a What If 2?"
    3:10 "Yeeeessss!"

  • @LJCRIA
    @LJCRIA Рік тому

    I’m glad my favorite stick figure drawers finally collabed

  • @ligmanuts2015
    @ligmanuts2015 Рік тому +3

    3:21 What if Japan disappeared?
    BORN IN A WORLD WITHOUT ANIMEE

  • @MrAqr2598
    @MrAqr2598 Рік тому +3

    3:22~ As a Japanese, that's so uncalled for.

  • @thetommeister4121
    @thetommeister4121 Рік тому

    The best sequel I never anticipated, What If? 2

  • @puppyqueen5688
    @puppyqueen5688 Рік тому

    I was just about to say the drawings on your chanel look this is the best ad ever

  • @rQuilln
    @rQuilln Рік тому +3

    Beginning of the vid: "Spoiler alert, This doesn't end well."
    Most of the viewers: "Yeah, the earth doesn't end well."
    me at 2:46 : Yeah, they doesn't end well.

  • @dayhaysuper3639
    @dayhaysuper3639 Рік тому +4

    I love plutonium

  • @CarlosBallena
    @CarlosBallena Рік тому

    "But we were talking about Uranus..." subtle... nice!

  • @peterandersson81
    @peterandersson81 Рік тому +1

    Dear Randall, I am a huge fan of your work, and this is once again simply excellent! Some notes on the terminology though. Fissile nuclides are such that can be fissioned by a thermal neutrons. All fissile nuclides can support a self-sustained nuclear reaction and U-235 and Pu-239 are famous examples of such fissile nuclides. Np-237 however is not fissile. Since it has already an even number of neutrons, it is not as energetically favoured to absorbing another one, as compared to the fissile nuclides which have an odd number of neutrons. However, as you correctly shown in the video, neptunium-237 can still support a self-sustained chain reaction. The reason for this is that the fission neutrons have more than enough energy to split that nucleus, since they are not thermal to begin with. So therefore, Np-237 can indeed be used in a nuclear explosive device (or planet). This feature of the nuclide is sometimes called "fissible". Fissible nuclides can support a self-sustained chain reaction, eventhough not being fissile. It is notable however, that sometimes all of these nuclides are grouped together and called fissile, so that can be said in your defence, but it is wrong in my opinion (or at least confusing) to call them that. Finally, regarding the plutonium, most isotopes are either fissile or fissible. So it wouldn't matter much which of the isotopes you chose for pluto, from 239-242 at least, since most of them are either fissile or fissible. Although, I don't remember if your unusual pick of Pu-244 is fissible or not. Pu-244 has the longest halflife of plutonium isotopes, but it is very unusual since not produced much in the uranium fuel cycle. Sorry for the nitpicking. I really liked the video!

  • @deuslapis5247
    @deuslapis5247 Рік тому +3

    No one cares but first

  • @brendaninglis_333
    @brendaninglis_333 Рік тому

    This collab is incredible

  • @brendankenny8721
    @brendankenny8721 Рік тому

    Fantastic, as always

  • @leopolon
    @leopolon Рік тому

    It is a bit silly how much joy I felt watching this

  • @13thravenpurple94
    @13thravenpurple94 Рік тому

    Great work! Thank you

  • @Stop-asking-for-handle
    @Stop-asking-for-handle Рік тому

    Thanks for the heads-up, I loved the first book and the second one is pre-ordered

  • @Wick9876
    @Wick9876 Рік тому

    At 0:55 not including Rankine is so subtle yet I swear it had to be deliberate.

  • @douglasstrother6584
    @douglasstrother6584 3 місяці тому +1

    "Burnin' For You" ~ Blue Oyster Cult (1981)