We'rehopingyou'llstartsendinginsomequestions, but I'm alsogonnaask a fewonyourbehalfthathavebeensentinearlier, and I'llstartoffwithprobablythemostobviousone.
And I'llasktheprofessor's toeanswerfor a minuteortwo, perhapsfromlefttorot, startingwithEd.
Andthatis, canyoutelluswhoyouareand a littlebitaboutwhatyou'redoing a littlebitaboutyourresearch?
Because I think a lotofpeopleseeyouinthesevideosandperhapsdon't knowwhatyourspecialtiesareandwhatyoureallydoon a daytodaybasis.
Sopleasegoahead.
Okay, So I'm atCopeland, dynamicthephysicsdepartmentsonwithinthephysicsdepartments.
I runtheparticletheorygrouponDDE.
Inthatgroup, I workmainlyontheotheruniverse, tryingtounderstandhowontheworldofparticlephysicslinksintocosmologies.
So I lookattheprimordialfluctuationsthisariseintheveryearliestmomentsoftheuniverse, andthentryanddeterminethissignaturesthattheywouldleaveinthingslikethecosmicmicrowavebackground, theremnantradiationoftheBigBang, andfromthattryingconstrainedphysicsoftheuniversebyusingphysicsofthelegwithus.
Sothat's why I getsomuchfun.
I'm MartinPolyakov.
I appearonperiodicvideos.
I'm researchprofessoringreenchemistryThatiscleanerwaysofmakingchemicalsandmaterials, tryingtoeliminatethismatchaspossiblepollution, tryingtomake a czmuchofthechemicalsoutofthestartingmaterialwiththislittlewasteaspossible.
Andtheparticularareathat I'm interestedinisreplacingsolventsandchemicalreactions, and I dothisbyusinghighpressure.
There's lotsofwaystostudyintheformationofGalaxies, and I kindoftakethearchaeologicalofbrokestoryoflookingatrelativelynearbyGalaxiesandtryingtofigureoutwhytheyendeduplookingthewaytheyare, howtheyendeduppeopletogetherinthewaytheyaretotryandunraveltheprocessesthroughwhichthesystemokay, sobackgetsmade.
A certaintrustareclosertotoMartin's inthatwhat I doisnanoscience.
Thatnumberseemsreallyrepresents a convergencephysicsandchemistry.
Where I'm reallyfolksatthemomentisworkinultrahighvacuumvery, verylittlepressuresosurethat I wouldlikebutalsoatfivedegreesaboveabsolutespaceondhe, tryingtomeasuretheforcesbetweenindividualatomsandindividualmolecules, particularlywhatwe'reworkingonatthemoment.
It's tryingtodetecttheforceyoutohydrogenbonding, manipulatingatomsbywhich I meanpickinguportranslatingmateratomsveryin a very, verydeterministicandprecisewherewouldcomeundercomputercontrol.
Ultimately, what I'd liketodoistobeabletotell a computer I wouldliketobuild a particularstructure, whichisturnatomswide, turnoutinsidemyturnupunstableparticularatoms, a differentplaceswithhim, notonthecompletecomputercontrol.
Martinwouldlook, implementthischemistry, I guess.
Allright, then, thankyouverymuch.
I don't knowwhethermanypeoplearelisteningtousisyet, but I'lltrytofindthatoutshortly.
Wecouldbehavingproblems, and I wouldn't evenknowaboutit.
Anotherquestionthat I'vebeenasked a bitaboutisbeforewetalk a bitmorescience.
A lotofpeoplehaveaskedaboutmakingthevideosonthevideosyou'vebeeninvolvedin, and I knowit's just a tinyfractionofwhatyoudoingyourjob.
But a lotofpeoplehaveasked, hasn't mademuchofanimpactonyou.
It's somethingchangetheway I thinkaboutexplainingthings, andit's madememademecausetotryandavoidgettingtootechnicalbecause I knowbread.
You'llshoutsatmeonDDEthis.
I triedtostopusingtoomanynumbersandequationsbecause I know I'llgetslappeddownforthat.
That's actuallyquiteusefully.
Itreallymakesyouthinkaboutwhatyou'resayingandthinkaboutthescience, andit's have a lotofitshandsome, quite a largeimpactintermsofpeoplewatchingthemandcominguptousafterafterthevideosandsayingthatmusthaveenjoyedthem.
So I'veinstantlychangedtheway I'vebeenthinkingaboutscience, atleastwhenitcomestoexplainingittothepublic.
I thinkit's made a lotofdifferencetomeaswell, partlybecause I haveexplainedallsortsofthingsthattheywouldneverthoughtabouthavingtodescribe a thechemistryofthestatueofChristtheRedeemerinRiodeJaneiro.
Allsortsofpeoplechemistallovertheworldhavewrittentome, askedmeforadviceandalso, I suppose, becauseofmyfamilyhair, youcansee I havebetterthantheseguysthat I'm stoppedquite a lotinthestreetallovertheplaceorontrainsandsomeone.
So I reallyquitestrangethatpeoplecomeuptomeandsay, I reallyenjoyedyourvideo's completestrangersandwecertainlyhavesomethingincommon.
Yes, I mean, thefirstthingtosayisthatsomebodyenjoyeddoingitchallenging, entertaining, interestingtryandcomeupwithwaystoexplain.
It's a science.
Italsomeans, youknow, I mean, withtaxfundedscientists, right?
Youaredoingsomeofthescientistssciencethatyourcolleaguesgoingaroundyou, Andit's actuallyhardtodothatin a waythatreachesmorethan a dozenpeopleatonce.
Sothisis a wayofreallypayingbacksomeofwhatwe'vebeenabletodo.
I actuallyhelpexplainthesciencewithyou.
Soit's, youknow, it's a reallyenjoyablething, butactuallysomethingthatobligationsallworkers.
I suggestthat I don't enjoydoingit, butitissomethingthat I feel I reallyshouldbedoing.
Thiswellisenjoyingit.
Yeah, totallysecondthat I guessoneofthereallyniceaspectsofitfrom a apartfromworkingtheBrady, eventhoughitdoestellmeverymanyoccasionsthatwasabsolutelyterrible.
Thingagainisthankyouget e mailsfrompeopleontheothersideoftheworld, yousay, youknow, givenopenphysicsthatneverthoughtaboutdoingphysics.
I know I got a renewedinterestorstudentswhoreallyhappensagainconsiderdoingphysicsandthenemailtosaythatwhen I'm majoringinphysicsandthat's that's justbrilliant.
It's inthefouryearssince I startedmakingthesevideos, there'd be a numberofoccasionswhen I hadreallyquitesadexperienceswithsomemyfriendsorclosepeopleclosetomedied, and I makevideospentthemon.
Thesympathyfromtheviewerswhowatchthesevideoshasbeenreallyverycomfortingtome, andso I feelthesamepartoftheglobalcommunityin a way I'veneverfeltbefore.
Ifwecangoback a littlebittoyourscienceandyourresearch, thiswasanotherthing.
Therewere a fewquestionsaboutSo, uh, I thinkit's worthworthaskingmorequestionsaboutit.
Um, wetalkaboutyourresearch a bitinthevideos, butquiteoftenyoutalkaboutthingsthatareawayfromyourcoreresearch.
Andcanyoutellus a bitaboutthatandmaybegiveus a previewastowhatmightbethefuturevideoofthatthanthen?
So I go, Yougotit s o the I supposethe, umtherearetwothingsatthemomentwhenwehavedone a videoontointroduce, but I thinkweneedprobablytodo a followup, andthat's theFAM, forwhich, But I'lltellyouaboutsomethingelseratherthanthat.
Andthat's I workoncosmicstrings.
Thesearemaybehypotheticalobjects, maybethehourtherethatformedintheuniversein a phasetransitiononthere, liketheanalogoffdislocationsthatyoumightget.
Whenicefreezesfromwaterandyougetcracksintheice, orwhenyouyou'veironforms a solid, thenyoucangetyoucangetlying's intheisland.
Andifthey'rethere, thenitwillbethefirstevidenceofftheveryearlyphasetransitionsleadingtothesepoliticaltoppoliticaldefectsthatthesestringsondheYoucanlinkthesestringstostringtheory, whichisoftencomesundercriticismforbeing a theorythatneverpredictsanything, andweactuallyhave a predictionastowhatsignaturemightfindit.
Andsowe'redoing a wholeseriesofexperimentsonsingleitoxygenmakingmoleculesin a cleanawaythanthey'rebeingmadeatmoments.
And I hopewe'llhavesomevideosonthatsuit.
Andtheotherthingthat I'm reallyexcitedaboutisthatwe'rejustabouttostartbuilding a newchemistrybuildinghereinNottingham, whichisgoingtobecompletelycarbonneutral.
It's gonnausemuchlessenergythanordinarychemistrylabsandcouldbeenormouslyimportantforchemistrylabsallovertheworld, andwe'regoingtotellyouaboutitandletyouwatchtheprojectasitgoes, a lot.
Okay, so, uh, researchwise, I guessthethingthat's excitingmemostofthemoment.
And I hopetoconvinceBrady a fewvideosabouthe's lookingat, Oh, astronomersstudythespectraofGalaxiesquite a lot.
And I didn't tryandreallykindofconsequencewithwhatitis, youknow, whetherwhether a lightwillyouwastewasittobe, likewithifhedoesn't slowdownwhenyougothroughwithdrawallastforever.
So I hopetomake a videoaboutthatintheverynearfuture.
So, intermsofresearch, what I'd reallyliketofocusonagain, it's thebackboneofthiscountry.
Isthatthecurrentresolutionwiththetypeofmicroscope I use, whichiscalledscanningmicroscopeisfarbelowatomicresolutionof a singleboneresolutiononsomeofthehighestresolutionImageshavebeenacquiredrecently.
We'vegot a problem.
Researchreallyonthattypeofhighresolutionimage.
We'vetalked.
A lotofpeoplearenotthebiguses, the 60 symbols, ladies.
And, Ed, we'vealsobeenaskedyouifyoucanspeak a bitlouder, as I warned, becauseyou'vegotyourself, you'vegotyourlovelysoftvoiceand I cangetsocanyoutellus a bitaboutyourhobbiesandinterestsawayfromworkandawayfromscience?
Well, I'm a spokes.
I'm notsaying I lovecricket.
I lovefootballformysins.
I supportunderstoodtown, whichis a unknownteamformostpeople.
Buttheydidhavetheirglorydaysinthe 19 thirtiesandsoit's a laboroflove.
Whatfollowingthem?
Andi.
I usedtoplay a lotofcricketonNo, noplayAndilesslesscricketbecause I don't know, ifyou'reaware, mostlymaynotbeaware.
A cricketmatch, a propercricketmatchlessfivedaysonthepoor.
Andnowwhat I don't knowaboutdoplay, doplaysandbell, eh?
That's anothervideowehavetomakebeforewemoveawayfromsportbecause I knowwhenwetalktoProfessorPollockoff, wewilldefinitelybemovingawayfromsport.
I musttellyouallthestory.
Everyonewho's listening, I'lltellyou a story, anexclusivestorybecauseyou'vecometothehangout.
AndthatisProfessorPolygraphknowsolittleaboutsportthatheoncewalkedinto a roomwhere I waswatchingtheFormulaOneGrandPrixmotorracingandheaskedifitwas a gameoffootball.
Soyouseenothingthat's notintheleast.
I'm ashamedtosay I didn't watchanyoftheOlympicGameson.
Soifyouwishtous, discussforyoumyself, mycolleagues, I wouldsaythatspellingstatemakingthevideosofmyhobbyondhe I also I readquite a lot.
I don't watchmuchtelevision.
I gotothecinema, but I quiteoftengetboredandgooutsideandworkwell.
Mywifewatchestherestofthefilmas I also I enjoyspeakingforeignlanguagesondhe.
Onepersonasked a bitearliertodaywhether I speak, speakRussianandforhim, I shouldjustsayyoucoveryourbottle.
Skinlookscivilianunique.
TonypanelthatthegovernmentonGreece.
So I wasjustsaying I havetospeakEnglish.
Okay, friend, you'rebackwith a sport a littlebithere.
I usedtobe a keensportsmanpieceplayinggoalfromnotterriblygood.
Five a sidefootballteamuntilyousaysuckerAmericanbesidesoccer.
Yes, I didseriousdamagetotheligamentsinmywristthatsomepoint, whichended a moleterriblypromisingcareer.
So I'm nowmoreinthespectatormode.
So I doenjoywhatyouFormulaOneracesandexportedgenerallike I'm watchingthetouringcarshavetobeinperson, um, andwhat's notinforestbyoncein a while.
Sovariety, sportsaswithage, I have a youngchildwhoisvery, verykeenonswimming.
So I spent a trulyscaryamountoftimetearingintofrontswimmingeventsandtalkaboutotherthings.
Varietycopiesofonekindoranother, and I alsoyouobligedtomentionthat I dorun a littlebusinessmakingtheworld's mostbeautifulChristmaspresentsChristmasjustaroundthetableatthispoint, whichisbasicallymakingtotallosscubesthatcontainBarry's kindofastronomicalobjectsinthebusiness, because I actuallydohavetogetmyasteroidsoalwaysyou'reshrinking, soyou'renot a varietyofthingsinCuba, so a variety.
It's a easiest, mainlytrading 1999 WonderfulChristmaspresent.
Yes, so I'm sortofnotintosport.
I sureMorton's version.
No, I wouldsay a persontosport, Um, I havesomeveryunhappymemoriesofsecondaryschoolandbeingPeteMint.
So I havethreeChildrensaidandMichaelsaid, I spend a lotoftimetakingthemtobeanoldswimmingtoballetonDDEon.
Youpickup a guitarplayer, butyoubringmedicalthinkit's thedifferencebetweendeath, metalandfreshman.
That's a verygoodquestion.
Sowithdelicate.
Yeah, exactly.
SoDeathMetalisanoffshoot, really, oftrashmetal.
LabelsaysRushMetalislike a ministerofPolandandhavingmetaldeathmetal.
IttakesthemoredarkerandSatanicOpensitshas.
Um, I'llnot s'moreslowerriffs, I said, makesyousortofslowlystop I'llhavetoaskonemoremusicquestionbecausewehavegot a lotofrequestsfeelaboutthis, and I wanttogetoffthetopicassoonaspossible.
Butfornow, I thinkwiththemorerelaxpianopiece, moreseverepianopiecefrom a fewweeksago, I callit a deer.
Butno, I thinktherearemorethingsthere.
There's a There's a veryspecialmusicalpacecomingforperiodicvideos, whichischemistrybasedwithday, butwe'llkeepthatsecretfor a bitlonger.
Butthat's gonnabereallycool.
Oneotherthing.
Oh, it's just a littlebitmoremusic, allright, Youwant a?
Hopefullythatwoulddointhefuture.
Mightbetolistentothemusicforme, too.
Oh, wewere, well, dothat.
We'vehadsome.
A lotofpeoplewhowatchthesevideosobviouslyhaveaninterestinscience, andsomeofthemareinagewheretheyhaven't yetstartedtheircareer.
Andthey'reconsideringscienceondhe.
Somepeoplehaveasked a littlebitaboutwhattheirjobprospectsarelikeinthefourfieldsthatyouworkin, andsomepeoplehaveexpressed, youknow, aretheyjustlimitedtoworkingatuniversity?
Nottherewasanythingwrongwithworkingintheuniversity, butisthatisthatthelimitofwhattheycoulddoisthisis a goodtimetobegettingintoparticlephysicsorchemistryorastronomyornanoscience?
Couldyoujustgiveus a littlerundownofhowthingsareplacedinyourfieldandwhytheyshouldorshouldn't bepursuing a careerintheseareas?
Well, I think I wouldsayyoushall.
YoushouldlearntospeakloudlyonThenyou.
You'llbemade.
What I wouldsayifyouenjoyscience, doscience.
Justdoitbecauseyouenjoy a hostile, beenthemainreasonontheneverythingelsewillflowfromit.
I thinkyourenthusiasmwillgetyouthrough.
Thentoomany.
It'llopenupmanydoors.
TherearetherearemanyWhere's youcondemnVellapps, a physicsbackgroundyoucanyoucangointoresearchlikewayhavedoneondhe.
Therearelotsoffantasticpositionsininconsultancycompaniesandmajorindustrialoffshoots, evenlocallythat a placedisciplesricethat, youknow, localcompany, whichhasgoneinternationalreputation.
I thinkthesciencebackgroundisjustidealifyouwantto, sotryandguaranteeyourself a jobinthisclimate.
Butif I'm fascinatedbystringtheoryandparticlephysicsoftheareasthatyouworkin, and I willgetyoutoleanslightlyclosertoMartin, soyou'reinshock a bitbetterif I'm interestedinthat.
I'm notgonnaget a jobatRollsRoycebecause I know a lotaboutstringtheory.
Thatdepressesme a littlebittohearthat, tohearthatyouwho's doingwhatyoudoandMike, whodoeswhathedoes.
I justdoingthesamething.
Youjustsolvingthesameequationsthatmakesno, no, no, no, no, that's thequestion.
They'renotthesame.
Butthisisthesameidea.
Mathematicsisthelanguageofphysicsandinmanywaysthelanguageofchemistry, thatabilitytounderstandrates, a reaction, thatuseofmathematics.
That's thetoolthat I'm saying.
We'vealllearnedtodevelop, andit's thatonourabilitytoapplyittodifferentsituations, which I thinkanemployerwouldfindparticularviewsbeforeweletthephysicistshaveanothergoman, youtelluswhereweshouldallbecomechemists.
Well, I thinkthatchemistryisactually a veryexcitingtime.
Tobe a chemistinSantaweighsmoreexcitingthanwhen I started, becausethereareallsortsofnewopportunitiesandnewchallenges, andthebiggestchallengeisthattheworldhassuch a hugepopulationalreadysevenbillionpeople, andit's increasingquiterapidly.
Okay, um I mean, I knoweverythingthat's beensaid, particularlythereadthroughthefundamentalreasontodoscience, couldyou?
Andthat's reallythereasontogoforit.
I don't wanttobethepersonwhoinjectstheairofdoomandgloomintothis, butifyoupickanareaasuselessisn't quiteawarethatyouwanttovoteforbutasabstractasastronomyorparticlephysics.
Andsoyouknow, as I said, byallmeansgoforitbecauseyouloveitbecauseit's gonnahelpyououtinyourfuturelifebecauseit's somethingyoureallywanttofindoutabout.
Butdoitrealistic, keepinginmindthatactually, youdon't wanttobethinking, youknow, he's actuallywhattheonlything I coulddowithmylifebecauseactuallycalledmebecauseit's a youmaywellnotbetheluckyonegets a job, butalsobecauseyou'rethrowingawayallthesearepossibilitieswhichwillalsoneedtoexcitingcareersandallowyoutoapplytheirskills.
Okay, Sotherewas a nonarticleonsomethingcalledPhysicsWorld a fewmonthsago, whichtalkedaboutafterPhDwhatthestudentsdo, andthisisrightacrosstheboardintermsofphysics.
It's justexceptionallychallengingthis, Micasaid, Toreallygetintomuchacademicprofessorialhowtoknow, whichis, I thinkquiteguiltybecauseitwasn't quiteasdifficultwhen I started 15 yearsago.
I don't gettooboggeddownonthisonthistopic, butthereisonemorequestionthat's comeup a lot, and I thinkit's worthasking.
Andperhapsthisisone I shouldaskinthefirstinstancetoMikebecauseof a position I knowhehas.
AndthentoMartin, becauseofthechemistryperspectiveandthatis, a lotofpeoplehavebeenintouchontheforumsandwhatnotbecausetheydon't becausethey'renotintheUKThey'rewonderingwhattheirchancesareofgettingtostudyatWell, they'veaskedabouttheUniversityofNottinghamforobviousreasons, so I guesstheymeanUKuniversities.
Peoplekindofspecializedearlyon, whichmeansthelasttwoyearsofhighschoolthatreallybeenstudyingjustMaximscientist, they'regonnagoontodo a sciencedegreeontypically, particularlypeoplefromtheUS, forexample, tendtohavedone a morebroadbasedah, highschooleducationandthatthisis a bitof a mismatch, Really.
I thinkworldsandmakesaid a placealsotochemistryondhethequalificationissues a slightlydifference, Um, ingeneral, itisquitepossiblefromstudentsfromallovertheworldtocometonotinghim, andwehavestudentsfromnearlyeverycountrystudyingonthiscampus.
Andofcourse, wealsohavecampusesinbothChinaandMalaysiawhereyoucanstudyquite a fewsubjects.
Butatthemoment, nosciencesubjects.
I I thinkthethingtodoisifyou'reinterestedincomingtostudyit, notinghimsanepeopleinthemailandwewillpassitontotheadmissionsdepartmentandtheywillansweryourquestionhowyourqualificationsbatchupandsalt.
Thepeoplewatchingthisvideo, obviously, thatoneofthemainwaysthatthey'reabletointeractwithyouwhenyou'reinthevideosisthroughthecommentssectionunderthevideos, I waswonderingifyoucouldshedsomelightintheusualorder.
I thinkpeoplewouldbeinterestedtoknowwhetherornotthey'retalkingto a brickwall.
I cantellthemthey'renottalkingto a brickwallbecause I readallthecomments, but I'm surethey'llbemoreinterestedtoknowwhetherornotyouguysareinterestedinthecommentsthatgounderYouTubevideos.
Couldperhapseachofyoushaveyouonthat I aminterested.
I mustadmit I'm rubbishactuallyaddressingthem.
And I don't tendThioreply.
Whereas I knowMartinthinkMartindoesn't?
Phillipssaid.
Itdoes.
Um, I don't reallyhave a reasonwhy I I don't I doreadthemoldon.
I founditfascinating.
Andthen I usuallyenjoywhatspeedsaythat, Um, onceortwice, I'veendedupjustburstingoutNothing.
When I wasonesaid, I got a pieceofadviceforthefirstspeakeronthevideo, andthatwasme.
Well, youknow, probablynot 70 years, but I hadNo, itdoesn't Doesn't bothermetoomuch.
Itdoesn't.
I have a littlestorythatmightmakeitsortoflinkstothisandin a senseofoneofthefirsttalks I heardwhen I was a graduatestudentatNewcastlewaasthemfromtheNobelPrizewinner.
Heywanted.
What's hisname?
Thechemistnevercommitsthefistsystem.
Andsonevellot.
That's soHewastheeldest, thispersontogettheNobelPrizeforphysicsforworkdonewhenhewasinhissixties, I think.
But I thinkcertainlybyfarthemostexcitingdevelopment, frommypointofviewinscienceinmylifetimehasbeenthefactthatpeoplecanimageatoms.
When I wasyoung, weweretoldyoucouldneverseeatomsthatcanbeinvisibleandthenusingvariousstandingmycrosstobethesortofthingthatfilledasroutinely, youcannowseetheindividualatomsin a waythatnobodywouldhaveBeanthoughtpossibleonDhe.
Andinfact, youknow, althoughscientistskeepgoingonabout a theoryofeverythingthatyouknowinscience, wefiguredWell, I hopeyoudon't, becauseitwouldmeanthatthesubjectday, itmeanswe'vedonewiththestuffwe'vereachedtheendoftheline, and I honestlydon't thinkthat's thewayit's gonnaworkout.
Butactually, they'realwaysdeeperquestionstoask.
And I suspect, youknow, atanypointinhistoryyoucouldaskquestion.
Youjustaskedhim, andwewilljustgetallbitofit.
Yougetthisevening.
Doyou?
Science?
I suspect 1 40 yearsthatscientistswereprettymuchasexcitingasanothermanbesidesway.
Yeah, I'm gonnabereallydisappointed.
I thinknottoknowbefore I dietheproblemorthesolutionoftheproblemThat's attheheartofquantummechanics, whichiswhatreallyis a wavefunctionentitlement.
Ifyoutaketwoparticlesandyoumixthemuptogetherinstatesandwantoneintheuniverse a universe, youmake a measurementonthisone.