I watch for pure entertainment, I'm a security guard by profession, poker player by hobby and love watching your vids, I kinda understood but ultimately love your enthusiasm and intelligence, keep up the great vids!
dflanagan56 same, I'd love to do physics at uni, I probably could (In terms of my skill) but I wouldn't be able to put the work in, like 150-250 pages. My brain doesn't do that.
I understood it Simon. Thank you very much for your explanations and your analogies. I love your videos because it gives me motivation in pursuing physics despite all the hate that I receive for pursuing that field of science. Continue doing what you do !
This was a really well explained a video, good job Simon. I think I might go back and watch your PV inversion video again because I definitely appreciate why PV is so important now. (Also I loved the Ex Machina easter egg in the intro, such a great film).
In Oceanography we work with PV in a mostly quasi-geostrophic sense to study ocean currents and the differences in topography and latitude (if in a beta-plane approximation). Usually, the PV can tell us about the barotropic instability and the elimination of eddies due to the conversion of kinectic and potential energy to the meandering of the currents. It can be seen in Rossby Waves mostly. Sorry if I butchered English a little bit
we mostly work with QGPV in the atmosphere too! I figured I'd talk about Rossby-Ertel PV because (to me, at least) it's more intuitive. In the atmosphere I think it's used in a more general sense than in the ocean, or at least in the stratosphere it is
Thanks for the reply. In the ocean it is mostly used in mesoscale flows (i don't know if the order of the scales are the same in meteorology). The Brazilian Current, e.g., which is a current I am currently working on suffers a lot from the difference in bathymetry. It sometimes go as fast as to escape its isobath and it usually has to bend in a way that goes back to its isobath and sometimes aswell producing vortices.
I am a meteorology student (in the first semesters) myself. I hope you keep on making videos like this. It's really interesting and it adds to what I learn in university.
You can do that. But it's not like you just stand in front of a TV camera and that's it. For the rest of the day you have to make your own forecast by analysing all the data etc. But if that's not for you, you can also do lot of other stuff, like going into research, climatology etc.
Obviously I don't have the same level of understanding as someone with a degree in this field, but the way you explained it made sense to me and I really enjoy this type of video. Here's hoping you continue them!
Your enthusiasm is so wonderfully infectious. These videos inspire me to get involved in research; I just need to find an interesting team that's willing to take me on! :)
Love watching Simon (and people in general) talk about science and are not scared to use a bit of math! As always love the video and can't wait for another one like this!
Simon I actually understood what you were going on about! It's so cool how meteorologists have such a convenient number at their disposal! I demand more chalk and talks ps. that chest hair though :^))
Yeah I understand most of the stuff! I love seeing the maths in action - it really shows how useful mathematics is as a tool! Thank you Simon :) my evening has been made!
I'll be in my second year of IB , and applying for Engineering Science at Oxford this fall; I have to say your videos excite me as well as motivate me to chase my dream. Very intriguing content!
Hi simon, I really enjoyed your explanation on PV and what it means. I'm still a highschool students and I understood what you were saying. Good luck with the rest of your phd.
I understood it, was on in the background while I did lab reports, Though I am an oxford engineering undergrad so have studied fluid flow and vorticity so my understanding may not be super representative of the general consensus, really liked the video was interesting and entertaining, cheers
I did enjoy it and I did understand it...most of it at least! Going to watch it again right now! Thanks Simon! (I'm a junior in HS in the US) Love your videos!
I watched this as a revision break. I'm revising for Oxford second year physics. I thought this video was a safe place to turn. But then you whipped out the vector calculus. I just wanted a revision break.
Woah, that's so awesome. It's weird because when I bike to school, I think of loads of random things. I occasionally thought of:"If we knew the exact values of every single variable in the atmosphere, surely you could predict future events!" And that is basically what you have just described. Obviously, I probably will not be able to comprehend the math, as I am at Y11, but the theory is fantastic!!!
Nice work Simon! Today I argued with a friend about what it really means to deform contours, and then I derived the Charney-Hasegawa-Mima equation (aka shallow water QG PV equation on a beta plane I guess??) for the first time... so this video couldn't have been better timed!
Love your videos. Much informative. So Physics. Very wow. :D You said you don't discriminate against anyone. :D I'm currently studying for my bachelor in computer engineering and I'm currently working on an adaption for "Amdahl's Law", to use it for planning of multi core processors. It is pretty basic stuff, but you have to start somewhere. :)
This was very on point. I have a degree in psychology, but i'm a definitely a math enthusiast. I learned quite a lot about the types of problems that the fore front of meteorology(you) is trying to solve.
Puny first year Uni Physics student here: I think I got the general gist of what you're talking about. Two similar examples I was thinking of just to check whether I'm on the right track - first, in orbital mechanics when you have a two-body system you can take the fundamental properties of the system (i.e by observing the energy and angular momentum and using the reduced mass, all within the CoM frame etc.) and convert it into a one-body problem that can be fully solved using conic sections. Also, from the little Quantum Mechanics I've done I know that the wavefunction fully describes the entire system, and then as we can work out how the wavefunction changes with time, we can then predict how the system as a whole changes also. Does this bear any resemblance to the Q-value you're talking about here? As a follow-up question, from the little I know about fluid dynamics I know that it's fundamentally a nonlinear problem, and as such doesn't generally create a fully analytical solution (such as the aforementioned conic sections in 2-body motion). How does this factor into what you're doing? I'm guessing that you are using (your much griped-over!) computational methods to create the simulations that you're interested in, and that the PV, Q-value stuff is the basis of that. I'm waffling a bit, so in short, how do you go about tackling what as far as I know has no analytic solution in a sensible manner? Chaos has a nasty habit of making even the simplest system frustratingly obtuse!
I understood what was going on! Then again... I'm also studying Physics, with a little bit of Mathematics (specifically Linear Algebra) and Computer Science. I may not be the best representation of the general audience. I'm also not a PhD student. Though, from my studies already, I may have an idea on what I want to work on for my PhD in Materials Physics. So far, I have graphene and computer engineering... I have about a year left, I should be able to come up with a little more and be able to play around with the idea. As always though, I loved the video Simon!
Very interesting stuff ! I have a question. In the article on PV, they say "antifrictional phenomena such as jet stream self-sharpening". I'm not sure I understand what JS self-sharpening mean ?
So fascinating, it's incredibly interesting and great what u explained, how you can keep track of a theoretical object, if u will, and have all i formation in the one variable to explain all of what it is u need info of
+SimonOxfPhys, would using Lie derivatives in differential forms be easier in calculations? When you talk of deformation of contour loops, that is just applied Homotopy Theory, where all things are morphisms to something.
Can this principle be applied to the universe or our galaxy, just in terms of predicting how it is mapped out (obviously not with the equation you derived, but just the general idea). It probably sounds stupid if it cant, but just wondering. Love your videos!
Hmmm I suppose it might be... the material conservation of the circulation applies in nondissipative barotropic fluids I believe, and I'm not sure how well other physics situations would meet those assumptions. Maybe though!
Im finishing my second year of physics. I started it to understand the universe, and to understand other things too. I think the idea you said may be useful. There might be a lot of changes i think, because there are a lot of variables and concepts that dont fit in the universe. But i think its a very good idea...
When u said potential vorticity,I was expecting a curl field of the velocity rather than a line integral. That’s what I’m typically used to. Btw do u typically assume the flow to be incompressible? P.s. I studied near wall turbulence using holographic imaging for my Ph.D.
Theoretically would you be able to find the PV in the atmosphere of Mars or is the Martian atmosphere too thin to calculate?Since it is around 100 times less dense than that of Earth.
Honestly great job explaining the concept of pv. I am new to the channel is this the first thing I watch and found it interesting. I am a college student finishing an audio engineering degree. I was thinking of getting a physics degree as well do have any recommendations on content to read, watch, or listen to? Thanks
To be honest I had no idea of what the blue blob represented in the atmosphere. But it was very entertaining to watch because you looked like me explaining things to my classmates. lol
The links to the references are dead now. But your description and explanation are amazing. I went to McIntyre's webpage and tried to find some math-heavy summary but I am lost in his word-heavy webpage trying to find a good pdf as reference and failed.
Simon do you have to do much mathematics in this PhD for your research or is it a specific type of physics that does not require much mathematical thinking? Love your videos keep up the good work
hi Simon, the potential vorticity (PV) is the absolute circulation of an air parcel that is enclosed between two isentropic surfaces. but how the isentropic surfaces decided, which layer should be pick?
Simon I have to admit it: don't get physics, my field is genetics... but keeping going I'm sure your vids inspire lots of young people in the world (is my case). Regards from Colombia (bet you have to look it on the map).
As a 5th year High school student I understood this. I may also dabble in computational fluid dynamics and machine learning so that probably helped. Still really complicated though 😂😂
I'd be happy to see a video of the derivation, not taking that major option so probably i'm not going to encounter it. Also, if you read this comment, how many PhD applications did you submit until they accepted you?
hi Simon! I've been watching your videos for a while now and loving it. when are you planning on defending?! I'm currently finishing my PhD in biochemistry (near Paris) and know the struggle of writing the background chapter (mine is 60 pages long, references included !). I'm planning on defending early in september. Have a great day!
Oh wow good luck defending! I'm not due to submit until March/April next year so hopefully about 12 months away from defending myself. Also that background chapter sounds insane! I'm lucky in that my thesis is very specialised so there's not as much literature to include haha
Yeah 12 months seems fine but I can promise you you'll be there before you know ! You are very wise to have written your background chapter. I procrastined until march and finally put myself to work at the beginning of April. Throw in the middle a very exhausting World Conference in my field (in North America = jetlaaaag !) ... I'm feeling quite ready to be done with this ! You might have mentionned it in a previous video but I'll ask again : how much experiment you get to do, working in Physics ? Is your PhD mainly calculations and computer work or do you go to "the bench" ? (it might be a stupid question but ... I'm curious !)
Hi Simon, I was wondering if there were any universities that really caught your eye for physics degrees apart from oxford? I really lie the loo of Nottingham :)
Hi Simon , I just had a meeting with my supervisor today and after showing him the result for the hard work I have been doing for more than 6 months he just said "nothing new in this" I feel so depressed and lost!
I understand you obviously understand PV inversion a lot more than me, and probably simplified your exploitation but, why not (provided there is a finite amount of positions the wind could fluctuate in) just create digital models of each scenario in which, the model works, and when you have a specific answer, make a computer look through each model testing them and deciding which is correct.
If a requirement for oxford is A A A but then i do 2 A levels and a betec level 3 and get a distinction will i have a good chance of gettin an interview.Thanks . Liked the video aswell .
I'm still thinking of applying to either Oxford or Cambridge. Very difficult choice! Is it true that, on balance, all the good looking students go to Oxford but the really clever ones go to Cambridge?
Yes exactly! It's proportional to the curl of the flow (the regular vorticity) but modified by the vertical structure or stability of the fluid the PV is defined in.
i just finished gcse so 1. i am in no mood for any work 2. i am not worthy of reading work of such high caliber, i understand nothing so i wont stress my self over understanding the specific detail and formulas. however you are good at explaining the gist of your work.
I'm a tenth grade student that is hoping to get a PhD in Computer Science and Engineering later on in my academic career, any tips on how to get there?
+PSN_rob578765 the qgpv equation (and pv more generslly) was fourth year material, circulation and associated flow stuff was covered in the introductory module in third year - we didn't do any flows stuff before that
I'm folding PhD Watch into my weekly vlogs - so will be talking about my PhD progress there! Though I will still do occasional videos on e.g. thesis writing too :)
QG balance condition IMHO is not valid over the tropics. So how would you use PV inversion inside a tropical cyclone or over the equator ? I realize this is a Ph.d level question with PV but I am wondering whether you have tackled this problem.
+ashwinD12 ah, you're quite right that QG (along with geostrophic, which is the problem) fails as an approximation at the equator. Fortunately I'm looking at the pole, so the coriolis acceleration is very non zero!
So I have been looking at the Non Linear Balance Condition or the Monge Ampere equation first used by Jules Charney for the tropics. Do you use a home made PV inversion software(written by members of your group) or the Davis/Emanuelle PV inversion tool ?
ashwinD12 homemade inversion code, which is the big problem I've been having! The Davis/Emanuelle technique only works for Ertel IPV sadly, and my subsequent analysis assumes quasigeostrophy
Fair enough. Just asking cos I should be visiting the NatSci department in about a week and I thought it would be a strange coincidence if you worked there. Thanks for answering btw
Idk,my dad has a PhD in Chemistry which saved him out of poverty and my mom used to work as a microbiologist,so they´ve got high expectations on me.But I´d rather do Science because I like it and because it´s really interesting and not to make them proud.I guess my brain doesn´t really agree with the school system but at the same time I love learning and reading.School just makes me Anxious and depressed but learning and asking questions for the sake of knowing is one of the only things that really make me happy.That's why I like the internet so much.endless opportunities,an archive of so much information it's fascinating and so...I can´t even put this into words.thank you for sharing parts of your PhD!
So basically you want to find out what q is in order to calculate and predict how a contour gamma can distort itself in the future.(contour gamma is a blob of Matter in the atmosphere?)And q is all of the variables together(velocity,pressure,Temperature etc) So that you don´t have to calculate these variables independently because that is more work (and just like my Classmate once said "don´t work hard,Work smart)
yeah there's a particular simplification of PV called quasigeostrophic PV that allows you to linearly separate background fluctuations like the annual cycle from sudden changes in the PV distribution - that's what I'm studying in particular in my PhD
Indirectly but not really - ozone anomalies change the radiative equilibrium temperature of the stratosphere, which will affect the PV distribution but not in a huge way compared to changes in circulation for example
Either you're looking really healthy or your lighting in the office is spot on. Seriously nice lighting!
I watch for pure entertainment, I'm a security guard by profession, poker player by hobby and love watching your vids, I kinda understood but ultimately love your enthusiasm and intelligence, keep up the great vids!
same
dflanagan56 same, I'd love to do physics at uni, I probably could (In terms of my skill) but I wouldn't be able to put the work in, like 150-250 pages. My brain doesn't do that.
I understood it Simon. Thank you very much for your explanations and your analogies. I love your videos because it gives me motivation in pursuing physics despite all the hate that I receive for pursuing that field of science. Continue doing what you do !
I love just listening to people talk about interesting science, so these videos are great!!
Lovely seeing you evolve from the oxford interview question days to being quite remarkable.
This was a really well explained a video, good job Simon. I think I might go back and watch your PV inversion video again because I definitely appreciate why PV is so important now. (Also I loved the Ex Machina easter egg in the intro, such a great film).
Keep them coming.Internet needs you very badly! Love your videos:)
In Oceanography we work with PV in a mostly quasi-geostrophic sense to study ocean currents and the differences in topography and latitude (if in a beta-plane approximation). Usually, the PV can tell us about the barotropic instability and the elimination of eddies due to the conversion of kinectic and potential energy to the meandering of the currents. It can be seen in Rossby Waves mostly. Sorry if I butchered English a little bit
we mostly work with QGPV in the atmosphere too! I figured I'd talk about Rossby-Ertel PV because (to me, at least) it's more intuitive. In the atmosphere I think it's used in a more general sense than in the ocean, or at least in the stratosphere it is
Thanks for the reply. In the ocean it is mostly used in mesoscale flows (i don't know if the order of the scales are the same in meteorology). The Brazilian Current, e.g., which is a current I am currently working on suffers a lot from the difference in bathymetry. It sometimes go as fast as to escape its isobath and it usually has to bend in a way that goes back to its isobath and sometimes aswell producing vortices.
I am a meteorology student (in the first semesters) myself. I hope you keep on making videos like this. It's really interesting and it adds to what I learn in university.
Marco Mops I'm just wondering, what jobs can you get in meteorology, are you just going to be a weather man/woman
You can do that. But it's not like you just stand in front of a TV camera and that's it. For the rest of the day you have to make your own forecast by analysing all the data etc.
But if that's not for you, you can also do lot of other stuff, like going into research, climatology etc.
Obviously I don't have the same level of understanding as someone with a degree in this field, but the way you explained it made sense to me and I really enjoy this type of video. Here's hoping you continue them!
Your enthusiasm is so wonderfully infectious. These videos inspire me to get involved in research; I just need to find an interesting team that's willing to take me on! :)
Love watching Simon (and people in general) talk about science and are not scared to use a bit of math! As always love the video and can't wait for another one like this!
Simon I actually understood what you were going on about! It's so cool how meteorologists have such a convenient number at their disposal! I demand more chalk and talks
ps. that chest hair though :^))
I demand more chest hair.
Yeah I understand most of the stuff! I love seeing the maths in action - it really shows how useful mathematics is as a tool!
Thank you Simon :) my evening has been made!
Your videos and passion for physics makes me feel motivated about my own degree, lov u simon
Thanks for taking all the effort to explain this interesting stuff. I really like the more in depth videos about your phd!
I'll be in my second year of IB , and applying for Engineering Science at Oxford this fall; I have to say your videos excite me as well as motivate me to chase my dream. Very intriguing content!
Literally no idea what you're talking about when it comes to physics and whatnot, however your voice is hella calming after a long day.
Hi simon, I really enjoyed your explanation on PV and what it means. I'm still a highschool students and I understood what you were saying. Good luck with the rest of your phd.
I understood it, was on in the background while I did lab reports,
Though I am an oxford engineering undergrad so have studied fluid flow and vorticity so my understanding may not be super representative of the general consensus,
really liked the video was interesting and entertaining, cheers
THIS WAS GREAT. (not having done physics before) You made it sound really interesting. Keep them up!
I did enjoy it and I did understand it...most of it at least! Going to watch it again right now! Thanks Simon! (I'm a junior in HS in the US) Love your videos!
I watched this as a revision break. I'm revising for Oxford second year physics. I thought this video was a safe place to turn. But then you whipped out the vector calculus. I just wanted a revision break.
THERE IS NO ESCAPE MWAHAHAHA
but seriously good luck, you'll smash it
Not too sure about smashing it, but thanks! :)
J
Woah, that's so awesome. It's weird because when I bike to school, I think of loads of random things. I occasionally thought of:"If we knew the exact values of every single variable in the atmosphere, surely you could predict future events!" And that is basically what you have just described. Obviously, I probably will not be able to comprehend the math, as I am at Y11, but the theory is fantastic!!!
Nice work Simon! Today I argued with a friend about what it really means to deform contours, and then I derived the Charney-Hasegawa-Mima equation (aka shallow water QG PV equation on a beta plane I guess??) for the first time... so this video couldn't have been better timed!
Love your videos. Much informative. So Physics. Very wow. :D
You said you don't discriminate against anyone. :D I'm currently studying for my bachelor in computer engineering and I'm currently working on an adaption for "Amdahl's Law", to use it for planning of multi core processors. It is pretty basic stuff, but you have to start somewhere. :)
This was very on point. I have a degree in psychology, but i'm a definitely a math enthusiast. I learned quite a lot about the types of problems that the fore front of meteorology(you) is trying to solve.
Q: Where does bad light end up?
A: In a prism.
I'm sorry
Definitely very understandable. Awesome presentation of your work
Puny first year Uni Physics student here: I think I got the general gist of what you're talking about. Two similar examples I was thinking of just to check whether I'm on the right track - first, in orbital mechanics when you have a two-body system you can take the fundamental properties of the system (i.e by observing the energy and angular momentum and using the reduced mass, all within the CoM frame etc.) and convert it into a one-body problem that can be fully solved using conic sections. Also, from the little Quantum Mechanics I've done I know that the wavefunction fully describes the entire system, and then as we can work out how the wavefunction changes with time, we can then predict how the system as a whole changes also. Does this bear any resemblance to the Q-value you're talking about here?
As a follow-up question, from the little I know about fluid dynamics I know that it's fundamentally a nonlinear problem, and as such doesn't generally create a fully analytical solution (such as the aforementioned conic sections in 2-body motion). How does this factor into what you're doing? I'm guessing that you are using (your much griped-over!) computational methods to create the simulations that you're interested in, and that the PV, Q-value stuff is the basis of that. I'm waffling a bit, so in short, how do you go about tackling what as far as I know has no analytic solution in a sensible manner? Chaos has a nasty habit of making even the simplest system frustratingly obtuse!
I understood what was going on! Then again... I'm also studying Physics, with a little bit of Mathematics (specifically Linear Algebra) and Computer Science. I may not be the best representation of the general audience.
I'm also not a PhD student. Though, from my studies already, I may have an idea on what I want to work on for my PhD in Materials Physics. So far, I have graphene and computer engineering... I have about a year left, I should be able to come up with a little more and be able to play around with the idea.
As always though, I loved the video Simon!
Loved the more mathy-ideas. Keep 'em coming. I'm in last year of highschool btw.
Simon you are life goals
Even as an undergrad mathematician who basically knows nothing I think more physics videos and derivations sounds like great fun
awesome video ! You seems in a pretty good mood btw !
Like that I understood this, was quite helpful that I covered circulation and closed intgrals // line integrals this year!
Fibonacci chaos butterflies are the best. Occam refuses to shave. Good luck with your Thesis! :)
Very interesting stuff ! I have a question. In the article on PV, they say "antifrictional phenomena such as jet stream self-sharpening". I'm not sure I understand what JS self-sharpening mean ?
I'm a first year undergrad chemist and managed to understand it, well explained!!
So fascinating, it's incredibly interesting and great what u explained, how you can keep track of a theoretical object, if u will, and have all i formation in the one variable to explain all of what it is u need info of
+SimonOxfPhys, would using Lie derivatives in differential forms be easier in calculations? When you talk of deformation of contour loops, that is just applied Homotopy Theory, where all things are morphisms to something.
15 years old and I managed to grasp it fairly well,thanks Simon👍😃
Can this principle be applied to the universe or our galaxy, just in terms of predicting how it is mapped out (obviously not with the equation you derived, but just the general idea). It probably sounds stupid if it cant, but just wondering. Love your videos!
Hmmm I suppose it might be... the material conservation of the circulation applies in nondissipative barotropic fluids I believe, and I'm not sure how well other physics situations would meet those assumptions. Maybe though!
Im finishing my second year of physics. I started it to understand the universe, and to understand other things too. I think the idea you said may be useful. There might be a lot of changes i think, because there are a lot of variables and concepts that dont fit in the universe. But i think its a very good idea...
I enjoyed the physics part, do more of this!
When u said potential vorticity,I was expecting a curl field of the velocity rather than a line integral. That’s what I’m typically used to. Btw do u typically assume the flow to be incompressible? P.s. I studied near wall turbulence using holographic imaging for my Ph.D.
Theoretically would you be able to find the PV in the atmosphere of Mars or is the Martian atmosphere too thin to calculate?Since it is around 100 times less dense than that of Earth.
Honestly great job explaining the concept of pv. I am new to the channel is this the first thing I watch and found it interesting. I am a college student finishing an audio engineering degree. I was thinking of getting a physics degree as well do have any recommendations on content to read, watch, or listen to? Thanks
To be honest I had no idea of what the blue blob represented in the atmosphere.
But it was very entertaining to watch because you looked like me explaining things to my classmates. lol
The links to the references are dead now. But your description and explanation are amazing. I went to McIntyre's webpage and tried to find some math-heavy summary but I am lost in his word-heavy webpage trying to find a good pdf as reference and failed.
Love your work mate! Keep it up
Simon do you have to do much mathematics in this PhD for your research or is it a specific type of physics that does not require much mathematical thinking? Love your videos keep up the good work
oh you should see my lab books - there's a lot of maths!
hi Simon, the potential vorticity (PV) is the absolute circulation of an air parcel that is enclosed between two isentropic surfaces. but how the isentropic surfaces decided, which layer should be pick?
Simon I have to admit it: don't get physics, my field is genetics... but keeping going I'm sure your vids inspire lots of young people in the world (is my case). Regards from Colombia (bet you have to look it on the map).
Thanks! And actually I represented Colombia at a Model United Nations conference once, so no map needed :P
Estás en pregrado o posgrado? (Colombiano también)
As a 5th year High school student I understood this. I may also dabble in computational fluid dynamics and machine learning so that probably helped. Still really complicated though 😂😂
I'd be happy to see a video of the derivation, not taking that major option so probably i'm not going to encounter it. Also, if you read this comment, how many PhD applications did you submit until they accepted you?
hi Simon! I've been watching your videos for a while now and loving it. when are you planning on defending?! I'm currently finishing my PhD in biochemistry (near Paris) and know the struggle of writing the background chapter (mine is 60 pages long, references included !). I'm planning on defending early in september. Have a great day!
Oh wow good luck defending! I'm not due to submit until March/April next year so hopefully about 12 months away from defending myself. Also that background chapter sounds insane! I'm lucky in that my thesis is very specialised so there's not as much literature to include haha
Yeah 12 months seems fine but I can promise you you'll be there before you know ! You are very wise to have written your background chapter. I procrastined until march and finally put myself to work at the beginning of April. Throw in the middle a very exhausting World Conference in my field (in North America = jetlaaaag !) ... I'm feeling quite ready to be done with this !
You might have mentionned it in a previous video but I'll ask again : how much experiment you get to do, working in Physics ? Is your PhD mainly calculations and computer work or do you go to "the bench" ? (it might be a stupid question but ... I'm curious !)
Sadly I don't get to do any laboratory work - I'm purely pen and paper, and coding based! Probably for the best though given my butter fingers...
I first watched Simon about two years ago, forgot about his channel, and now I'm wondering WHEN DID HE GET SO HOT
i hope i can acheive my goals like u did bro good luck and hope u a happy life
Hi Simon, I was wondering if there were any universities that really caught your eye for physics degrees apart from oxford? I really lie the loo of Nottingham :)
that was cool, thanks for taking the time to explain it.
Hi Simon , I just had a meeting with my supervisor today and after showing him the result for the hard work I have been doing for more than 6 months he just said "nothing new in this" I feel so depressed and lost!
Brilliantly explained
I understand you obviously understand PV inversion a lot more than me, and probably simplified your exploitation but, why not (provided there is a finite amount of positions the wind could fluctuate in) just create digital models of each scenario in which, the model works, and when you have a specific answer, make a computer look through each model testing them and deciding which is correct.
If a requirement for oxford is A A A but then i do 2 A levels and a betec level 3 and get a distinction will i have a good chance of gettin an interview.Thanks . Liked the video aswell .
The link to the referenced page on potential vorticity is not working...
I'm still thinking of applying to either Oxford or Cambridge. Very difficult choice! Is it true that, on balance, all the good looking students go to Oxford but the really clever ones go to Cambridge?
I'm not even going to dignify this with a meaningful answer
So the bit about gamma being infinitesimal, Do you mean that the PV is the proportional to the curl of the flow?
Yes exactly! It's proportional to the curl of the flow (the regular vorticity) but modified by the vertical structure or stability of the fluid the PV is defined in.
Yes I know this video was uploaded 3.5 years ago, but I feel like I did mostly understand the concept of PV
i just finished gcse so 1. i am in no mood for any work 2. i am not worthy of reading work of such high caliber, i understand nothing so i wont stress my self over understanding the specific detail and formulas. however you are good at explaining the gist of your work.
I'm a tenth grade student that is hoping to get a PhD in Computer Science and Engineering later on in my academic career, any tips on how to get there?
Keep working, and focus on your maths!
They teach that in fourth year at oxford? That is third year content at almost all universities which teach introductory fluid dynamics.
+PSN_rob578765 the qgpv equation (and pv more generslly) was fourth year material, circulation and associated flow stuff was covered in the introductory module in third year - we didn't do any flows stuff before that
The SpringWatch intro was hilarious XD
I'm 16 btw and love science and the field in wish I hope to study and grow in is theoretical physics and perhaps more of an astrophysics field as well
When is PhD watch 3 coming out?
Soon... when I get the time to film it!
+SimonOxfPhys what is the intro music in that lovely Phdwatch intro!
that's shamelessly stolen from the intro to the BBC series Springwatch!
"shamelessly stolen" sounds like a Charles Williams quote to me. Enjoy your videos! Keep it up!
Are you talking about a cloud?
how to i reach PhD?? now I secondary ,so I want u explain how to obtain PhD..
Hey, are you using word or Latex for the formatting? Is there any preference in scientific community?!
+Bitan Mallik oh LaTeX all the way! It's very much the standard in the scientific community
where's PhD Watch #3? I need it, just to have an excuse not to do my own coding ...
Anyway, love the videos!
I'm folding PhD Watch into my weekly vlogs - so will be talking about my PhD progress there! Though I will still do occasional videos on e.g. thesis writing too :)
also simon please give us links to explain the topic of your phd thesis in atleast the crudest way! wanna know more about it :) good luck
This is a review paper that gives a good overview of the field if you can access it? www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v8/n6/abs/ngeo2424.html
+SimonOxfPhys oh yes! it's accessible. thanks :) and I'll get back to you after i read this. it's gonna take a while😂
+SimonOxfPhys wouldn't let me access it through the link only (I imagine it would work through something like JSTOR though)
What is the font you used?
What balance condition are you using for the PV inversion ? Quasi geostrophic ?
QG balance condition IMHO is not valid over the tropics. So how would you use PV inversion inside a tropical cyclone or over the equator ? I realize this is a Ph.d level question with PV but I am wondering whether you have tackled this problem.
+ashwinD12 yep, QG. We want the superposition quality and operating at large enough scales that its a reasonable approximation to Ertel-Rossby
+ashwinD12 ah, you're quite right that QG (along with geostrophic, which is the problem) fails as an approximation at the equator. Fortunately I'm looking at the pole, so the coriolis acceleration is very non zero!
So I have been looking at the Non Linear Balance Condition or the Monge Ampere equation first used by Jules Charney for the tropics.
Do you use a home made PV inversion software(written by members of your group) or the Davis/Emanuelle PV inversion tool ?
ashwinD12 homemade inversion code, which is the big problem I've been having! The Davis/Emanuelle technique only works for Ertel IPV sadly, and my subsequent analysis assumes quasigeostrophy
Hi Simon, hope this doesn't seem too intrusive but which department are you doing your research through?
While I'm doing my PhD in atmospheric physics, I'm actually in the maths department :)
Are you familiar with the NatSci department at all?
Nope, sorry! I've only had real dealings outside of maths with the astrophysics department
Fair enough. Just asking cos I should be visiting the NatSci department in about a week and I thought it would be a strange coincidence if you worked there. Thanks for answering btw
Great video! :)
not even a physics major but loved the video!
How long did it take you to finish a PhD in physics?
I actually got that! Keep going!
I can understand this but not how to pass a T6 GCSE maths exam what am I
why am I even watching this?I´m only in grade 8 and suck at maths.
Because it's ok to dream :)
Idk,my dad has a PhD in Chemistry which saved him out of poverty and my mom used to work as a microbiologist,so they´ve got high expectations on me.But I´d rather do Science because I like it and because it´s really interesting and not to make them proud.I guess my brain doesn´t really agree with the school system but at the same time I love learning and reading.School just makes me Anxious and depressed but learning and asking questions for the sake of knowing is one of the only things that really make me happy.That's why I like the internet so much.endless opportunities,an archive of so much information it's fascinating and so...I can´t even put this into words.thank you for sharing parts of your PhD!
Do you work anywhere while at University?
Dude very interesting. But wasn't clear about the the uses and applications of the formula
I understood it!yay!
So basically you want to find out what q is in order to calculate and predict how a contour gamma can distort itself in the future.(contour gamma is a blob of Matter in the atmosphere?)And q is all of the variables together(velocity,pressure,Temperature etc) So that you don´t have to calculate these variables independently because that is more work (and just like my Classmate once said "don´t work hard,Work smart)
And I thought revising for my end of year exams was hard...
I struggle to write 5 pages...
You're the man
I understood it!
Are anomalies a big thing in this?
yeah there's a particular simplification of PV called quasigeostrophic PV that allows you to linearly separate background fluctuations like the annual cycle from sudden changes in the PV distribution - that's what I'm studying in particular in my PhD
Can measurements of ozone be used to guess PV field?
Indirectly but not really - ozone anomalies change the radiative equilibrium temperature of the stratosphere, which will affect the PV distribution but not in a huge way compared to changes in circulation for example
lol good stuff. lecturer in the making
I think Iunderstood most of it so good job