Shadowing Practice: It’s Not As Simple As Putting Data Centers in Space - Learn English Speaking with Video
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1
Chuck, we've got to talk about energy.
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I have to tell you, I'm conserving my energy right now.
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Energy is just in our vocabulary, and it's used so glibly.
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Yeah.
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I need energy.
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There's an energy bar.
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We talk about it, but it means something very specific in physics.
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Isn't that the E in the MC squared?
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Yes.
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That is the E, right?
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Yes.
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Good old Einstein.
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So what I want to talk about is how energy moves from one place to another.
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Oh, I thought you meant move like on a dance floor, like an electric shock I was about to go with.
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A little pop and lock.
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Electric shock or electric slide?
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Look at you.
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I'm saying.
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I refuse to electric slide, though.
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All right.
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So there are three and only three ways energy can move.
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Ooh.
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Yeah.
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Okay.
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No, there's a fourth way.
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You have a gallon of gasoline.
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Okay.
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And you pick it up and take it over there.
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Okay.
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All right.
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You just moved energy.
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Or did you?
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Or did you just move potential energy?
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Yes.
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You had the molecules these are gas molecules, that contain energy built within them, you pick it up and take it somewhere else.
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So that's one way to move.
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You move the energy.
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You move the potential energy.
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The potential energy.
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Yes.
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Okay.
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So that's one way to do that.
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Okay.
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That's not the way we're talking about here.
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One way is the slowest way.
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Okay.
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It's called conduction.
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Alright.
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So here's how that happens.
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You have a fireplace poker, and you're standing in front of a fireplace.
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Okay.
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And you poke in it.
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If you stay there too long, eventually what happens?
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You need some Neosporin.
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Need a little Neosporin.
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Your hand burns.
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Yes.
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Okay?
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But not immediately.
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Okay.
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Okay?
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So the tip of the fireplace poker gets hot.
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Right.
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And those molecules vibrate.
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Okay?
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Because the vibration of molecules is a measure of how much heat energy is there.
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And as they vibrate, how about the molecule that's up road a bit?
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It wants some of that action too.
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Right.
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So the vibration then hits that.
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It starts vibrating with it.
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A little, a little, a little, a little simmy, a little simmy.
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Okay.
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A little simmy, simmy.
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It works its way up.
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Right.
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Slowly, but it finally gets there, and eventually your handle starts feeling warm.
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Right.
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And usually you would take action by then.
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You'd get a, you know, a potholder or something.
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Yeah.
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And so that's conduction.
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And it might take 20 minutes.
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Right.
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To get heat from the fireplace up the length of your thing.
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Okay?
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That's slow.
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That is slow.
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And thank God.
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You didn't have to thank God for that.
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Okay, it's physics.
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Well, thank physics.
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But you know right now, somebody is watching and they're like, I'm sure Neil doesn't know that God made physics.
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Okay, that's fine.
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That's fine.
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I'm just saying.
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So that's one way energy moves.
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Another way is convection.
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Convection.
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Very efficient.
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And to have convection, you need gravity okay isn't that interesting but see when you say you need gravity
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immediately i was thinking well don't you need something to just move the heat
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because normally when we think of convection we think of the oven convection oven well no
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so convection oven is badly named is it nothing convects in a convection oven oh no well
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you know you sorry
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i didn't mean like what what what how much of your
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life was invested in the knowledge of what a convection oven does i'm gonna tell you how much
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i know you have an existential angst here i don't know what to believe now about anything you telling me
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that the convection oven is not it does not no not not in the least
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you know what does convect a regular oven a get okay so the non -convection oven is the convection oven.
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Yes.
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And cats are sleeping with dogs.
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Oh, my God.
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So here's how convection works.
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You have fluid.
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All right.
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And fluid, in physics, chemistry speak, is a medium.
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Is a medium that takes the shape of its container.
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Right.
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Water takes the shape of its container.
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Absolutely.
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You have a heat source down here.
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Okay.
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And you have your medium.
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Right.
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The medium gets hot.
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It expands.
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Right.
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Now it's less dense than its surrounding medium.
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Uh -huh.
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If you're less dense, you ascend.
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Ascend, right.
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There you go.
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And as you do that, you leave a partial vacuum behind.
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Which sucks up.
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Other air that has not yet been heated.
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This is very efficient.
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Yes.
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Because you heated this, now you got it out of the way, bringing more stuff to heat.
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Okay.
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It's not waiting for one molecule to touch another molecule.
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It's body and soul bringing hot fluid from one place to another.
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So a regular oven, where is the heat source?
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It's in the oven.
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Where in the oven?
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Oh, it's at the bottom.
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At the bottom, of course.
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It's at the bottom, yeah.
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It's at the bottom.
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Unless you're broiling.
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We haven't gotten there yet.
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Oh, okay.
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You're jumping ahead.
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All right, I'm jumping ahead because I'm hungry.
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Okay.
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So, heat source is at the bottom.
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Right.
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It heats the air at the bottom of the oven.
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It rises up.
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Cool air replaces it.
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Gotcha.
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Regular oven is a convection oven.
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That's wild.
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So, a convection oven, they just stick fans in there.
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That's it.
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They're just moving the air.
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They're just moving the air according to their own...
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However they do it.
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However the cavity wants to do it.
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Damn.
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And they know that moving air will cook food faster.
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Because how does heat transfer into the food by conduction if it's just sitting there, okay?
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But if you move the air quickly, you've got a fresh, hot molecule hitting it every single time, okay?
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Right.
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And so moving air, moving fluid will always transfer heat faster.
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Right?
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That's why.
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But that's not the convection.
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That's just a fan.
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That's just a fan.
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I can't tell you.
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I don't know how pissed off I am about this.
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It's why there's such a thing as a wind chill factor.
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Makes sense.
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Okay.
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Or the real field temperature, as they call it.
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I never heard that.
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The real field?
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Yeah, they're like, it's...
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Is that a Philadelphia term?
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No!
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I've never heard that before this moment.
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No, meteorologists do this all the time.
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Real field?
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Yeah, they're like 32 today, but the real field temperature would be around 23.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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So what's happening there is you have cold air moving across your body.
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Right.
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And the moving air will transfer heat faster.
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And where's the heat coming from?
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Me.
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Yes.
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So it's coming from me and leaving me.
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So the stationary air would not feel as cold to you as moving air at the same temperature.
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Because it's whisking away your body heat.
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Yeah, I wish we had real feel money.
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That's all I'm saying.
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Yeah, but what I gave you might not look like $100.
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But the real deal is that.
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Also, this thing about heat flow, if one thing is hotter than the other thing and they come in contact,
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heat will move from the hotter thing to the colder thing.
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Every time.
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Yeah, I know.
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That's why my heating bill is so damn high because I live in a drafty house and the heat is constantly moving.
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You're heating the rest of the earth.
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I'm heating the rest of the earth.
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You heat this, give unto my neighbors.
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Exactly.
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Exactly.
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So, for example, you shake someone's hand.
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If their hand is cold, your hand is warm to them.
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Right.
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100 % of the time.
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There's no exception to this.
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I also know this because I'm anemic.
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Oh, is that right?
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Yes.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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Okay.
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So it's also what happens if you jump into bed with your loved one.
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Thank God.
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I didn't know where you were going.
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And you say, oh, you're nice and warm.
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Right.
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There's only one reply to that.
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No, you are cold.
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You are cold.
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You both cannot be warm at the same time.
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Are you trying to tell me something?
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Like, first of all, is there a problem here?
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Because it's been quite some time.
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Third way, radiation.
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Okay.
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That sounds bad because the word radiation means bad things in modern times.
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Like, I live in an old house, so it's not a bad thing to me.
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It's how I get all my heat.
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Oh, with radiator.
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Radiator.
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Oh, yeah, yeah.
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Except your radiators are not actually radiating.
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my convection number is not convecting my radiator heat ain't radiating yeah i'm gonna tell you
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next thing you want to tell me is my house is not even my house
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i got some bad news for you
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so radiation is simply the movement of photons from one place to another really that's all it is
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so that happens at the speed of light at the speed of light right okay
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So, when you have a broiler, it's not convecting.
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The top is feeling the radiant photons from that heating element.
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From that burner up top.
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From that burner at the top.
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Gotcha.
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Okay.
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Oh, my God.
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That's why it only cooks on one side. Of course.
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Right. Of course.
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Because that side is what's facing.
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That's the side that's facing the radiation.
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It's facing the radiation.
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You already know radiant heat goes only in straight lines and it's photons.
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Do you know how you know this?
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If you're sitting in front of a fireplace in the winter and somebody walks in front of you, it gets cooler.
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In that instant, it's cooler.
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Did the air temperature change?
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No. You're just not feeling the heat from the fire.
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Why in a summertime are you cooler standing under a tree?
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The air isn't differently temperatured under the tree.
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It's just that you stepped out of the sunlight.
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Out of the direct rays of the sun.
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Direct rays of the sunlight.
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Right.
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What you experience as the temperature of your life is not only the air temperature, but how much radiant energy is coming towards you.
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Heat can transfer by conduction, convection, radiation.
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Your radiator.
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Which is not a radiator.
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I don't know if you heard, but my radiator is not a radiator.
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So your radiator has these.
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Many sections to it.
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Yeah, they're like cells.
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Yeah, think of it as like cells, right.
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And so there's hot water typically that goes through.
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It could be steam.
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And each of these gets hot.
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They're all facing each other.
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When they emit, it'll be infrared, it'll just hit the other one.
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What good is that?
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But what it does is it heats the air between the cells.
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And then what does the air do?
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Well, it rises.
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Rises!
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Right.
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More air comes in below.
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Due to convection.
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Due to convection.
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Yes.
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So you don't have radiators.
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You know what I need with my radiator?
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A fan.
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That would rapidly turn your radiator into a fake convection oven.
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Right.
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And your radiator would be way more efficient than it already is from convection by putting a fan across your radiator.
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Your radiator is not radiating.
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Wow.
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It is radiating, but that's not what's heating the room.
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Convection is heating the room.
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Correct.
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Even though the radiator is radiating, it's not a radiator heater.
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Correct.
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It's just a radiator.
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Correct.
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That's not radiating.
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And the space heaters that you buy, that you see the red filament, when you're right in front of it, you feel that heat.
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Right.
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Okay, that's also heating the air, so there's some convection going on, but a space heater right in front of you,
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that's why you usually want to be right next to him.
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That's why you're right next to him.
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You don't put the space heater behind the couch, okay?
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It's in front of you.
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You do if you need insurance payments.
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i don't know where i went with
331
that okay three ways to move energy right okay now there's all
332
this talk about putting data centers in space many people think
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space is cold everybody does think space is cold not many
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people no no here's the thing temperature is a statistical average of the vibration of molecules.
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Nice.
336
In whatever it is you're trying to measure.
337
Gotcha.
338
All right?
339
So you stick a thermometer here.
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We say it's 72 degrees.
341
Right.
342
The air molecules around it are vibrating such that in our metrics, it's 72 degrees.
343
Gotcha.
344
Right here.
345
Right.
346
Go near an oven, they're vibrating a little faster.
347
Faster, so it's a little higher.
348
Go inside the oven, it's even higher.
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Right.
350
Gotcha.
351
Okay?
352
Okay.
353
All right.
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Go out to space.
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Right.
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Where there's no air.
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No air.
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The temperature of the thermometer has no meaning.
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So data centers in space is BS.
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No, no, no. Let me not say that.
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Okay.
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In space, where there is no air, there can be no convection.
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Right.
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There is no conducting heat away from the system
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because there's nothing to conduct the heat to because you're just this thing in space.
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Okay?
367
Unless you have this vessel that connects.
368
Say, give me all your heat, give me all your heat.
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Something that sucks the heat away.
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Okay, but then it then has to get rid of that heat.
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Right.
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Okay, so the only way you can get rid of heat in space is through radiation.
373
So, heat's created over here.
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Generally, you'll have some fluid that conductively grabs the heat from it
375
and brings it to a place where you can radiate it away.
376
A surface that's broad and wide.
377
You run the piping on the back of it.
378
Right.
379
The heat gets into that panel, and the panel radiates it out.
380
Like radiant floor heat.
381
Thank you.
382
Yeah.
383
Exactly like radiant floor heat, except you're doing that on purpose.
384
You're doing it on purpose.
385
You're not trying to release it because it's bad.
386
Right.
387
All right.
388
Have you ever seen the space shuttle in orbit without its bay open?
389
The panel's open?
390
No. It's always open.
391
Yeah.
392
Those are radiating surfaces.
393
Ah, that's the deal.
394
Everything that makes heat.
395
Everything.
396
Right.
397
The heat's got to go somewhere.
398
Right.
399
You make heat.
400
You're sitting here at 98 .6 degrees.
401
Yes.
402
Air temperature is 72.
403
You're making heat.
404
I'm hot as hell.
405
Okay.
406
And that heat is leaving your body somehow.
407
Somehow.
408
You're sweating.
409
It's evaporating.
410
Right.
411
On a space shuttle, it doesn't just go into nowhere.
412
That has to be whisked away and radiated away.
413
And properly conceived sci -fi spaceships have radiating panel sections to get rid of all their heat.
414
And the ones that don't have that, they have no idea what they're talking about.
415
That's super cool.
416
Cool or hot?
417
No. I see what you did there.
418
So in space, don't think it's cold just as a matter of principle.
419
It really doesn't have much of a relevance.
420
It's not relevant.
421
Yeah.
422
That's correct.
423
It doesn't have much relevance to the idea that space is cold.
424
And here's an interesting fact about convection.
425
It might have been Apollo 13 where they went to the moon but didn't land because something bad happened.
426
Right.
427
And on the way back and they have to conserve their energy, they figured out.
428
that as the cabin got colder and colder, if you just sit there and don't move,
429
your body heats the air around you.
430
Right.
431
And the air doesn't go anywhere.
432
You become your own radiator.
433
You become your own insulated radiator.
434
You radiated.
435
There's also conduction, which touches your skin.
436
But you create a little pocket.
437
of warm air that does not convect away from you.
438
Right.
439
And so they stayed warm in their own air pocket that they kept warm by their own body temperature.
440
That's nice.
441
It's all because they were in zero G.
442
Look at that.
443
And if you're clever, you know that this is how you can solve that.
444
If you're clever and, you know, just happen to be in space and, you know, facing a tragedy where you got to sit completely still.
445
Yeah, if you just happen to be in that situation.
446
Well, this is the good thing about physics, because your understanding of physics is, in fact, your understanding of the universe itself.
447
Ooh, look at that.
448
It's not just a pocket of information that you look up in a manual.
449
Right.
450
It is how the universe works.
451
Yeah, so the next time somebody tells you physics is useless, kids, they're lying to you.
452
Especially when you're stuck in space.
453
Especially when you're stuck in space and you need to make your own pocket of warmth.
454
Just saying.
455
Just saying.
456
So that's how energy moves.
457
Well, that was fun.
458
Oh, and one other thing.
459
Uh -huh.
460
There's energy in the center of the earth.
461
You know how it gets out?
462
It convects.
463
Oh.
464
Okay.
465
That doesn't sound very good.
466
Okay.
467
I've got to tell you.
468
You can't convect unless you're some kind of a fluid.
469
Right.
470
And what is that fluid?
471
I think it's called lava.
472
Okay.
473
When it's underground, it's called magma.
474
Magma.
475
Magma.
476
When it's spilling in.
477
When it's spilled out.
478
The floor is hot lava at that point.
479
Right.
480
So it's convection.
481
It's that convection that drives continental drift.
482
Right.
483
The whole continents are moving, subducting, coming around.
484
That's convection.
485
The heat has to get out of the Earth somehow.
486
And it's convecting out.
487
And hopefully it doesn't get out through the top of a mountain.
488
Well, that would be called a volcano, and that's an even more efficient way to get rid of your heat.
489
I love that you call that efficient.
490
Earth is just being...
491
I just see the people in Vesuvius.
492
It's okay.
493
The Earth's just being efficient.
494
I think you mean Pompeii.
495
I'm sorry, Pompeii.
496
They weren't in Vesuvius.
497
Right, the volcano was Vesuvius.
498
Vesuvius was the one doing it.
499
And don't forget the people in Herculano.
500
Yes.
501
That's the second city.
502
No one ever says anything about that.
503
Yeah, that's a whole other city leveled by Vesuvius. By Vesuvius.
504
That's all I got for you.
505
That was good.
506
That's energy.
507
No, that was great.
508
All right, this has been another explainer.
509
Let's call this the Energy in Motion edition.
510
Ooh.
511
Ooh, yeah.
512
Thanks for being here, Chuck.
513
Always a pleasure.
514
Neil deGrasse Tyson, you're a personal astrophysicist.
515
Keep looking up.
516
We'll be right back.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “It’s Not As Simple As Putting Data Centers in Space”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: heat, convection, energy, radiator, oven. This video has 516 sentences and 3103 words to shadow. The speech runs for 17:23. The speaker talks at a natural 179 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| oven noun | /ˈʌ.vn̩/ | A chamber used for baking or heating. |
| molecule noun | /ˈmɑ.lɪ.kjul/ | The smallest particle of a specific element or compound that retains the chemical properties of that element or compound; two or more atoms held together by… |
| physics noun | /ˈfɪz.ɪks/ | The branch of science concerned with the study of the properties and interactions of space, time, matter and energy. |
| radiation noun | /ˌɹeɪ.diˈeɪ.ʃən/ | The shooting forth of anything from a point or surface, like diverging rays of light. |
| fluid noun | /ˈflu.ɪd/ | Any substance which can flow with relative ease, tends to assume the shape of its container, and obeys Bernoulli's principle; a liquid, gas or plasma. |
| efficient adjective | /ɪˈfɪʃənt/ | Making good, thorough, or careful use of resources; not consuming extra. Especially, making good use of time or energy. |
| fireplace noun | /ˈfaɪɹpleɪs/ | An open hearth for holding a fire at the base of a chimney. |
| pocket noun | /ˈpɑ.kɪt/ | A bag stitched to an item of clothing, used for carrying small items. |
| heater noun | /ˈhitɚ/ | A device that produces and radiates heat, typically to raise the temperature of a room or building. |
| vibration noun | /vaɪˈbɹeɪʃən/ | The act of vibrating or the condition of being vibrated. |
| shock noun | /ʃɔk/ | A sudden, heavy impact. |
| suck verb | /sʌk/ | To use the mouth and lips to pull in (a liquid, especially milk from the breast). |
| slide noun | /ˈslaɪ̯d/ | An item of play equipment that children can climb up and then slide down again. |
| clever adjective | /ˈklɛv.ɚ/ | Nimble with hands or body; dexterous; skillful; adept. |
| gravity noun | /ˈɡɹævɪti/ | Of an activity such as a ceremony, a person's conduct, etc.: the quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; seriousness… |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| get out verb | To leave or escape. | |
| come around verb | /kʌ.məˈɹaʊnd/ | To change one's mind, especially to begin to agree or appreciate what one was reluctant to accept at first. |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. | |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| look up verb | /ˌlʊk ˈʌp/ | To have better prospects. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- If you stay there too long, eventually what happens?
- Are you trying to tell me something?
- Do you know how you know this?
- You know what I need with my radiator?
- You know how it gets out?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is badly named · was invested · been heated |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | haven't gotten · I've never heard · it's been |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 89 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: warmth /wɔɹmθ/, thermometer /θɚˈmɑ.mɪ.tɚ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: radiation /ˌɹeɪ.diˈeɪ.ʃən/, efficient /ɪˈfɪʃənt/, vibration /vaɪˈbɹeɪʃən/, shock /ʃɔk/, shuttle /ˈʃʌtəl/
- Long words — get the stress right: radiation /ˌɹeɪ.diˈeɪ.ʃən/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/, statistical /stəˈtɪs.tɪ.kəl/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, stationary /ˈsteɪʃəˌnɛɹi/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like oven, molecule, physics.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.