Moon vs Sun (2)
First off, let's talk about stars, which are amazing, because they are elemental forges. As they burn, and when they die, they create almost every element you find on the periodic table. You are made up of matter from stars.
Voice: Me?! !
Jed: Stars, like our sun, get energy by fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores in a process called nucleosynthesis. That's when hydrogen atoms in their cores smash together and become helium, creating a ton of energy along the way!
It's an incredibly hot process. Temperatures in the core of the sun are about 15 million degrees Celsius. Moving outwards, the sun's surface is a relatively chilly 5600 degrees. But then, things get weird, because once you move out a little ways, into the sun's atmosphere, temperatures ramp back up to about a million degrees. Why does that happen?
Gibson: That is one of the big mysteries of solar physics and of astronomy in general.
Jed: Sarah Gibson is a sun scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
The sun is full of mysteries we've barely even scratched the hot surface of!
Sarah says there are some ideas about why the temperature change happens, and they have to do with magnetic fields - something the boring old moon doesn't have, which is just one of the many reasons why the sun is so much cooler than the moon. And by “cooler” I mean more awesome cool, because the sun's superduper toasty and not cool like cold cool, like… Sarah, help me out!
Gibson: If you want to have one slam dunk reason why the sun's cooler than the moon? Magnetic fields. Because magnetism is what makes the sun's atmosphere hot. It's what drives all the space weather.
Jed: Space weather! Sarah says the magnetic fields can twist up the sun's plasma.
Gibson: And make these beautiful loops and blobs and raining structures and showering structures and things constantly moving and pulsating. It's dynamic and it's beautiful, frankly.
Jed: The moon, by comparison, is pretty much just an inert, unchanging rock.
Voice: *cough* Boring!
Jed: The sun changes -- there are sunspots, solar flares. Coronal mass ejections shoot plasma outwards.
From Earth, we see the resulting space weather as beautiful auroras -- you may have heard them described as “the northern lights.” Those gorgeous ribbons of color that dazzle in the night sky.
Voice: Preeeeeetty…
Jed: It can also interfere with our communications systems and electrical grids. That's why we always have to pay attention to the sun's activity.
And here's a really cool thing: this is a fantastic time to start paying attention to the sun. Solar activity grows and wanes on an 11-year cycle. And we have just left the low point. Get yourself some sunspot viewing gear, because things are ramping up! Just remember to be very careful and never look directly at the sun.
Voice: My eyes!! !
Jed: All right, now let's talk clean energy. Obviously, the sun provides solar power, but did you know it also makes wind power possible? Wind happens because the sun warms different parts of the planet to different temperatures. That makes for pressure differences, which makes wind. Stick a wind turbine down, and thank the sun for two important sources of green electricity.
It's no wonder humanity has long glorified the sun. In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare likened Juliet to, you guessed it, the sun!
Romeo: But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who-
Juliet: Yeah, eat it, you stinky, cheesy moon! Jealous much? I'm Juliet, and I'm the sun! HUAGGGHHH!! !
Romeo: Oh, mama!
Jed: This brings up a question. We're always comparing things we like about people to the sun. So and so's got such a sunny disposition. Or he's got a smile as bright as the sun. What, uh, do people compare about themselves to the moon? Any particular aspect of a person? A part of the body, perhaps? The moon? Moons? I think we know where I'm going with this. Don't even need to say it. Just leave it out there.
It's butts. We call butts moons. Mooning with your butt. No one wants to see that. Grow up. Team Sun. All the way!
Molly: A glowing argument from Team Sun. Lilian, what about Jed's declaration stood out to you?
Lilian: I really loved all the sound effects that they used in their declaration. It really added a nice touch to it and I also really liked other jokes incorporated throughout it, especially the last one about mooning.
(chuckles)
Jed: Yeah, butts.
Molly: Speaking of butts, Katie, it's time for your rebuttal. You have 30 seconds to respond to Jed and your time starts now.
Katie: First of all, I don't know why there's such an anti-butt bias on Team Sun but here on Team Moon, we say all body parts are valuable. Secondly, all I heard here was that the sun can knock out your WiFi. It killed a man. It killed an emperor. The moon's not killing people. The moon is just chilling, being nice, being kind, making the tides. I don't like anything that the sun's about. I get it. You need it but do you want it?
Molly: Time.
(laughter)
Jed: You don't like anything about the sun?
Katie: No. I'm against it. I say get rid of it. (crosstalk) ice age.
Jed: Get back in your cave.
Molly: (laughs) Okay, Lilian, it's time to mark down your first two points for this debate. One point should go to the team that you thought had the best declaration of greatness and the second point goes to the team who wowed you with their rebuttal. Both points could go to the same person or each debater could leave this round with one point. It's up to you to decide. Listeners at home, grab a sheet of paper and award your own two points. If you need some more time to think, just press pause. These are very difficult decisions. Lilian, I want to know. Have you made up your mind?
Lilian: I think I have. Yeah.
Molly: Excellent. Jed, Katie, how are you feeling right now?
Katie: Powerful. (laughs)
Jed: Yeah, I'm going to win.
Molly: (laughs) Excellent. We're going to take a quick break but we'll be right back with three more phases of this out of this world debate.
Lilian: Stay tuned.
Taylor: Taylor Lincoln here, with 820-time debate champ, Todd Douglas!
Todd: (distracted) Hi, Taylor.
Taylor: Ooo -- what're you drawin' TaTa? Are those all… dots?
Todd: Dots, points… yeah -- I'm making a pointillist drawing of a banana. I'm drawing a banana out of dots!
Taylor: Cool! That's one dotty banana! Err, pointy banana? Anyway. That reminds me of a clip I wanna play for you. It's a great demonstration of how to illustrate your point in debate!
Todd: Just like I'm illustrating my point right now!
Taylor: Well… not really. I'll explain after we listen. Roll tape!
Marsha: These kids should not be allowed to have their cellphones in school! All they do is stare at em and beep boop on em. Shouldn't they learn to talk to actual other real people?
Peter: Communicating via text, phone, video chats and email is another way to talk to real people -- and it's the future. Letting kids have phones in school prepares them for the real world.
Marsha: I'm sorry, but how will they learn how to form sentences and speak them with their mouths one day, instead of just with their thumbs and the ticky tockies and the mojichats!
Peter: Marsha, throughout history, people have panicked about new technologies ruining people's ability to socialize. Back in the 1960s, when the TV came into the home, everyone was worried that families were going to stop talking to each other. On the contrary! Now, television brings people together!
Todd: Ding-dang-doodle! Now THAT is a great example of illustrating your point!
Taylor: Yessiree. Illustrating your point is a great debate technique. It's when you use an example to help your audience understand your position.
Todd: It's especially helpful if your audience isn't that familiar with what you're talking about!
Taylor: Yes, and that teacher used a historical comparison, which is a great move -- because if something happened a certain way in the past -- you can argue it's safe to assume something similar might happen again
Todd: So next time you get into a debate debate-heads, illustrate your points!
Taylor: Yep! And we'll catch you next time on...
Taylor/Todd: State of Debate!
Molly: You're listening to Smash Boom Best.
Lilian: The show about showdowns.
Molly: I'm your host, Molly Bloom.
Lilian: And I'm your judge, Lilian.
Molly: This is an awesome debate idea sent in by Sophie from Providence, Rhode Island.
Sophie: My debate idea is hot chocolate versus apple cider.
Lilian: That sounds like a delicious debate.
Molly: It does. We'll hear who Sophie thinks should win that match up at the end of the show but now it's back to today's clash between celestial bodies, sun versus moon. Time to beam you up to the next round. The micro-round. Today's micro-round is Sonnet Slam. A sonnet is a poem composed of 14 lines. For this challenge, we asked both debaters to write a sonnet about their side in the style of William Shakespeare. Jed, you're up first this time. Let's hear your sonnet celebrating the sun.
Jed: Each night I mourn the absence of fair sun
Where hast thou gone? Vampires doth lurk out here!
They chomp their fangs, and so I must fast run.
From midnight till dawn's break I live in fear.
Jealous vampires feel so inadequate
In fear that no one will want to kiss them
They work out all day, but they ought to quit
Sun's got the hottest bod in the system
If only moon's light too would slay the foe.
Then, these fiends wouldst blight and bite us no more.
Instead, it gives us werewolves. Way to go.
You are the worst, moon! Get thee out the door.
This sonnet needs more words that sound fancy.
Forsooth! Fivesooth; buy one sooth, get one free.
Molly: Radiant ode for Team Sun. Katie, it's time for Team Moon to wax poetic. Let's hear your sonnet.
Katie: Shall I compare thee to a round of cheese?
Thou are more cratered and more luminous
Without you, I'm a forest without trees
Your light upon my face is numinous
Sometimes, without you, I feel so wobbly
Your guidance is so vital to me, moon
Without your influence, life hobbles me
I shall sway to and fro like a cartoon
You make sure I stay on track, stay in line
N'er shall I wander without you to guide
A relationship so tried, true, and sublime
Friendship so wonderful never shall die
So long as Earth lives up there in the sky
So, too, shall the moon forever stand by
Molly: I am moonstruck by that poem. Very nice, Katie. Lilian, now you've heard both sonnets, you have one point to award. Which sonnet swayed you, the criteria is completely up to you. Who had the most facts, who had the best rhymes, who moved you. Completely subjective. Completely up to you. Award your point but don't tell us who it's going to. Have you decided?
Lilian: Yes.
Molly: Was it a tough call?
Lilian: Yes, they were both so beautiful. (laughs)
Molly: They were. They were excellent. Get ready, debaters, because now, it's time for the.
Announcer: Ha, ha, hoo, ha. Sneak attack.
Molly: Your challenge today is Sloganeering. For this challenge, we need each of you to come up with three slogans for your side. That's something like, "Think different.” “Got milk?" or, "They're magically delicious." We'll give you some time to come up with your slogans. In the meantime, here's some stellar hold music.
Hold Music: Sometimes a crescent, sometimes full