If you crunched the asteroid belt into one object, would it make a planet? Neil deGrasse Tyson and cohost Chuck Nice answer fan questions about the shape of the universe, the origin of matter, the Casimir Force, pizza toppings, and more! What are gluons and gravitons made of? Can a carbon atom orbit a human? Why do aliens always use Earth time in movies? We speculate whether aliens should use Earth time and whether cryopods make sense in relativistic travel. Could binary star systems support stable planetary orbits? We explore binary star systems, pizza topping debates, and the shape of the universe. Does the universe curve so that you would loop back to your origin? Neil breaks down time at the speed of light, the crushing gravity of neutron stars, and whether ships could harvest hydrogen from cavitation. Where does matter come from in the Many-Worlds interpretation? Is the entire universe expanding or just the observable part? What happens if the Milky Way stops spinning? What is the Casimir Force, and why does empty space press metal plates together? If you crunched the asteroid belt into one object, would it even be a planet? We tackle whether time and space could have existed independently before the Big Bang, and close with advice for physics students navigating uncertain science funding. Thanks to our Patrons Keith Edwards James Murphy, River Harlan, Dashing Design Diva, Zach Ross, Federico Varano, Mark Ballard, Andres Franco-Osorio, Pascal, Emmanuel Cooper, Silvester Dimitrov, Ryan Eldridge, Ricky Isbell, David Hall, Angela Johnson, Demetrius Goosbey II, Morris Griffing, Cole Carter, Adam Huber, J B, Don Bailey, Tom Reed, Aaron Palmer, Odin Drengr, Demba Mdoye, Clay Mattson, Jason aka asmrpeople, Sage, Angel Garcia, Richard Swenson, Rich Elkerton, Kirby Sorensen, Mike Kakeeh, Kodi, John Kremer, Dwayne Boychuk, Jordan Burnam, Brittany Johnson, Aidan M, jared higbee, Theo Chambers, Levi Furber, Kelly, Hubert Dąbrowski, Julio Cataño, StellarScout, Margot Lane, Joudi Saadeh, David Foy, Jacob Sopko, Dell Rabinowitz, and Dominic Strong for supporting us this week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction: Grab Bag 01:26 - Energy in Gluons and Gravitons 04:08 - Can a Carbon Atom Orbit a Human? 06:03 - Alien Time 11:30 - The Likelihood of 2001: A Space Odyssey 13:34 - Pizza Toppings Debate 15:09 - The Shape of the Universe 17:30 - Cryopods & The Speed of Light 20:26 - A Spoonful of Neutron Star 22:09 - Collecting Hydrogen and Oxygen from Cavitation 26:55 - Where Does Matter Come from in Parallel Universes? 28:43 - Whole Universe vs. Observable Universe 30:57 - If the Milky Way Stopped Rotating 34:20 - The Casamir Force 38:42 - The Entire Asteroid Belt Clumped Together 41:13 - Could Space and Time Have Been Separate? 43:59 - The State of Science Funding Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: 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! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson