I was doing research at ICL in the Physics department when Brian May decided to come back to finish this thesis. It was the most surreal sight in the world to see that massive explosion of hair come shuffling into the common room looking for coffee along with the rest of the brown trousers and elbow patches about. Among his points of advice to PhD students at the time, in addition to working hard and so on, was to "have an awesome hairdo".
@@My_Fair_Lady Then we probably do know each other. I was in the experimental solid state group at the time and was there until spring '09. Terribly rude of you to call me a liar if you're actually so educated.
Thank you for making ASTROPHYSICS fun and semi understandable. I'm a 69-year-old bricklayer and between you and Tyson, Greene, Nye and a few others I have a bit of understanding of the cosmos and the environs.
I've told my kids once or twice how cool it was that Queen's guitar player went back decades later and finished his PhD in astrophysics. Thanks for going through his work with us, both scientific and musical. And it's cool that you got your PhD, too. Now I'm waiting for you to post some of your band's videos.
@@garrycollins3415 An affect is an emotion or desire that influences behaviour. Albeit Dr. Smethurst's work has affected you in ways you find pleasant, 'effect' is your word of choice.
@@xCorvus7x ah the good doctor. I are engineer, language has never been my lernin' of choice. I just googled it and found the explanation of noun versus verb (things and doin' words). And everyone knows the internet is always right.
@@garrycollins3415 Pardon me, please, I am not able to handle this reply appropriately. You are certainly not serious, but whether this is banter or sarcasm I cannot quite tell (though _someone_ gave my comment a thumbs up); while snarky remarks are easy to produce, particularly in the verbally rich language of English, I have no idea how to respond, if this was banter. I hope the information I provided was of service to you.
As a banker who has moonlighted as a garage band rock musician for 33 years, I casually mention Brian May (Astrophysics PhD, and Bruce Dickinson, type rated 747 pilot) as exalted examples demonstrating that yes, we musicians have chops beyond what most would consider in our typical wheelhouse. Thank you for this wonderful post!
I love listening to Dr May speak about this topic! He’s such a brilliant man! Dr May: “Yes yes.... this little side project did sidetrack me for a bit.... but when passion infects you, it will always fight to get out.”..... this little “side project” being Queen!😂🤣 Brilliant!!
when Queen just happens to be your back up plan and it worked out so well you might as roll with it since you dont know how long it was going to last...35 years later, oh i can finally get back to my main passion lol good times
Thanks for the link. I'm checking out his thesis right now. Dr Brian May is a brilliant and incredibly talented man. Back in the glory days of Queen I had no idea he was an aspiring astrophysicist. A Kind Of Magic is still one of my all time favorite albums.
@@enysuntra1347 Well, hell. Here I am looking shit up to prove you wrong and me not wrong and guess what happened? I found out you were not actually wrong! But I still hold that I am also not wrong. In *SOME* definitions of wet, the state of the water is specified as "liquid" but "wet" is sometimes used when the state of the water is a gas or solid (ice). For example, it may be "hot and wet" out if the temperature and humidity are both high, but if the temperature is high and the humidity low it's called a dry heat. As a skier, I know snow can be considered dry, , wet, or really wet (slushy). "Dry snow is quite cold (well below the freezing point) and have a low water content per unite volume. This prevents the snow particles sticking together making it rubbish for snowballs but wonderful to ski on. While the dust contains little if any liquid water, it is full of water. Even so, while Thunderfoot is right to show that water can not be liquid in a vacuum he is, in general full of shit. He asserts knowledge he doesn't actually have. While he is often right, he is usually wrong, so please don't bother me by pointing out times he is right. Also, he's an asshole when you point out something he's wrong about. As I did here, when I see something I think is wrong on the internet, I tend to look it up and provide links proving my point. It's a good practice because as happened here, sometimes you might find out that what you think is wrong isn't. It saves you looking foolish when you find out you are not right, even if you kind of are. Just don't believe everything you see or read on the internet, unless you have outside information confirming the assertions made.
@@erictaylor5462 Peace. I don't know +Thunderf00t personally, but yes, I take some of his claims with a grain of salt. The parts I can test from my knowledge - engineering and technics - usually are right, albeit not complete. How can you, however, make complete videos for a general audience? I'm coming from the different part of the spectrum, high temperature, high pressure steam usually in steam locomotives or turbines (or turbines powering locomotives). While it seems counter-intuitive to me ice (which Phil's explanation is IMO great to explain, even though boiling point there should be extremely low) does not suplimate directly into steam, to my knowledge water at vacuum either is solid ice, or a gas. While ice certainly has a great cohesion, what rinses dust on Earth - adhésion to ærosol droplets-seems to go missing in space. So you seem from my understanding to have either solid ice, or gazeous steam, but neither the liquid film under your skier, nor steam condensing more and more into vapour and ærosol. That's my factual understanding, while water is in the dust, it takes part in its dustiness, not wetting it. I could be wrong (not that much steam engines in space... or anywhere else nowadays, for that matter). However, I meant my remark as a light jokelet, not a serious contribution. Pardon if I caused you extra trouble.
She's so cool. I love the way that she doesn't just educate us about the science but lets us see that she's just another person -- that's the kind of thing that might let a young woman feel like she had permission to be smart and do STEM if she wants. She's my favorite science youtuber for both those reasons 1) she does an excellent job teaching me things and 2) she role models much. She's making the world a better place.
I have dreams (nightmares) about trying to go back to university to get a post grad degree. After 40 years I can't even remember what I've forgotten. I am supremely impressed by the idea that he came back after so many years and "picked where he left off". And, as a guitar player, I am also supremely impressed. And we have not even begun to explore his stereoscope, or politics, or animal rights battles. A true renaissance man, a gentleman, and an honorable person.
recently i went back to take a special test to grad from highschool ( after ten years) i experienced some kind of unease because it has been many years since i actually took a test. a much older man was in the class too, he forgot his calculator, panicked and said he would leave as there was no point in taking the test because he would fail... ( the applicator convinced him to not leave, as math was only one of 7 areas to test that day ) i imagine he also had a long detour. it is very reassuring when someone comes back after a time and closes cicles. makes me feel a little less odd anyway, just wanted to tell a story
In 1966 my PhD thesis in Polymer Chemistry at the University of Akron, Ohio contained a very simple FORTRAN program to do least squares regression analysis. It was the first computer program in a thesis at that University. I often wondered where I would have gone if I had not considered computers as just a very expensive tool and had stayed with them instead of staying in chemistry. Still a very satisifying career.
Fascinating. Like every point you bring up, the order you present them and the contrasts over time. So glad he finished this and that you reviewed it. Thank you
"We're made of Star Stuff!" - Carl Sagan Actually, there is a reason that the Universe is so dusty. It's hard to clean up because nature abhors a vacuum.
The English people won't get that. They call a vacuum a "Hoover" Hey, are those vacuum cleaner trucks they use to clean parking lots "Hoover Craft in England?
Prince Bumpkin when you said it's for 4AM... All I can think about out is Alan Partridge Broadcasting, talking about Brian May and his thesis during the graveyard shift at that time of the morning. David Clifton was incredulous when hearing this broadcast..
I enjoyed this video. The interspersed clips of May’s other efforts… and doing so as apropos as possible to the presentation, was smile inducing. Thank you for the educational and entertaining video.
Very interesting take on explaining Brian May's thesis to us noobs and amateurs around your channel. Also, the clips from Queen are all spot on. Another awesome video. Keep'em coming, Dr. Guaranteed to blow my mind!
Popped in for a look at Dr. May's work. I've come away with a clearer understanding of a complicated subject and a new youtube channel to pay attention too. Thanks for making space a bit more digestible for those of us who never made it through physics, but still love looking up and wondering.
Indeed, I was aware of their brilliance as a musician but learning of their contributions to science is completely new to me. Also learned just how brilliant of a youtuber Becky is, not often that I get the pleasure of learning something completely new and unexpected like this with the amount of reading that I tend to do but this one was truly a surprise.
What an excellent video! It's such an interesting story about (Dr.) Brian May, the awesome Lead Guitar of Queen, being such a brilliant guy. I've been a life-long Queen fan and was even fortunate enough to see them perform live in concert many years ago. What a great kickass show that was! Thanks Dr. Becky for bringing us these excellent videos like this! I really enjoyed this video about (Dr.) Brian May!
Overcoming inertia and returning to university after such a prolonged absence is a formidable accomplishment for anyone at any level. He managed to have a world class music career and then returned to his studies; this could be an example of opportunity cost in an economics text. I have never heard the words "heliocentric" and "dust" in such close proximity. Fascinating, thank you!
I've watch this a few times now and it still makes me smile. The clips of Queen singing with some degree of relevance is very well done. I also seem to pick up some other nougat of information each time too! Thanks Dr. Becky
The definition of the word fan is not exactly the same so that would be a bait and switch definition of the word "fan". I am so smart! It took me a while but I figured it out.
His guitar must have some serious mass. I saw him at my local pub and my hand was drawn directly to touch it while he was playing a child’s sized acoustic.
I like the description of shouting at the computer…yes, that's pretty much what it felt like. As part of my course at UCL we actually got to run a tiny program on the Cray Supercomputer they had hidden away somewhere, which had to be written in Fortran. If I had known then, I'd have kept it as a reminder :-(
@@tmage23 in that case why isn't everybody who ever tried COBOL a programming genius? :-P By that point I had already been exposed to SmallTalk, so I was not as smitten with Fortran as certain people…
My feeling is that Fortran is closer to how a computer works ... other (high level) languages are more like how some logician thinks you ought to program ... hence the arguments about the use of 'goto'. PS Algol60 as undergrad ... Fortran IV (Daniel D McCraken anyone?) in engineering (how could a Fortran compiler take as much as 286K ?) ... Ace then RM cobol and successors for business ! ... forays into many other languages as required.
@@PhilBoswell We considered the people who programmed in Cobol dullards. By the time the program was big enough to do anything, you'd used up a whole carton of punch cards.
There is just something fascinating about an Old Dusty Queen that I can't explain. I am always amazed by People that are demonstrably geniuses in multiple fields. What a Gift they have been given. As a non gifted, I see a similarity to an athlete that excels at multiple sports. In life I mostly encounter people that are smart in only one aspect of life ie. An Engineer that can get you to the moon, but can't drive to work without causing a traffic jam. A designer that can build a car on paper, but can't figure out what's wrong when it breaks down. Every one is Smart about something, and I try to learn from them. Becky, with your TH-cam videos, you have shown an talent in multiple areas and I thank you for what you have given me. Please keep teaching me stuff.
Dr. Becky, you and/or your editors also have an impeccable grasp of Queen lyrics for all of the little drop-in samples. Science PLUS entertainment, a fantastic combo!
This video was very well thought and produced. All those clips inserted here and there captured or punctuated the idea you were making brilliantly. I knew about Brian May going back to finish his phD, I did not knew he did it. This video is a small gem you produced and we (I, for sure) am thankful for your work in bringing science out to public and doing it in such an original and interesting way.
There's quite a few rock stars who are also doctors of various subjects. A lot of bands are formed while the members are at university. Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine, Greg Graffin of Bad Religion and of course Brian Cox are the first few who come to mind
Well that’s cool. I remember hearing that he was an astrophysicist, and that his contribution was in the field of optics, which I puzzled at, but now I understand. Thank you.
17yr old me loves to hear the science and information; 50yr old me loves you for not making it a technical nightmare of terminology while still throwing a few bits out for the math brain to enjoy :)
I just stumbled on this somewhat older video that you'd made and enjoyed both the fact that you covered it so wonderfully and had so many topical snippets from Queen's prodigious library of songs. Well done!
I found the chapter on how they built the equipment really interesting. The first time I ever got any use of the classes I took on analog electronics and filter theory. Really amazing what dr. May and colleagues were able to do with physical components and hand-wired stuff.
An amazing guy. Loved his relationship with Sir Patrick Moore. I was born in 60 and pursued a career in Earth Science with a great interest in Astronomy. Your like a combination of the best if both IMHO. Live watching your work. 👍
Around 1990ish I was in a toy store at the Dallas Galleria Mall. In walks Brian May. No mistaking it was him. I was too much in awe to speak. I just gawked and made certain I made my purchase right behind him.
@@VAXHeadroom I read in another comment that she borrowed it from a friend. So probably that. A NON signed copy is expensive enough. Like three figures expensive. I gave up my idea of getting one pretty fast.
For those who might be don't know, the song "39" (from the album "A Night at the Opera", written by Brian May) is about space travel with the twist of time dilation.
@3:42 I worked in the astronomy dept at UW when Brownlee was Stardust PI. He kept a small chunk of aerogel on his desk. Very interesting moment in astronomy. Instruments were becoming more and more digital, and computational methods were quickly becoming much, much more important. For example, as late as 1998, it was common to see astronomers sitting in front of big 21" CRTs "blinking" - flipping back and forth between two images of the same portion of the sky, visually scanning for differences. Any difference meant a transient object, such as an asteroid, comet, supernova, depending on where you were looking. By 2000, all this sort of processing was done digitally. And by 2003 or so, we were doing it in real time, at the telescope. In any case, fun times!
"...all 215 pages of it; [I wonder how long] *my* thesis is. Hang on. 189. Dammit!" Dear Dr. Becky: My dad, who got his doctorate at MIT, once told me a tale of an unusually young full professor of mathematics there, whose thesis was 2 pages!! A true wunderkind! Point is, the shorter a (successful) thesis is, the *more,* not less, impressive that is. So you should be proud - you beat Brian May by 26 pages! Fred
@David Renton Well, I didn't catch that. It just seemed like an unrelated (though good) point. I guess the relation is that editing can get the substance across in fewer pages? Which is one of the most important functions of good editing. Fred
Louis DeBroglie's thesis is supposed to have been, maybe, 4 pages. The story goes that his professors did not quite understand it but sent a letter to Einstein, who responded with, "This is genius!".
Saw this video a little late, but still worth commenting on. Thank you for doing this video, as it’s (relatively) easy to follow and shows a fascinating other side to a man that has affected me and many others so profoundly with his musicianship. He inspired me to build my own guitar in the 70’s, so it looks like I’ll need to block out my schedule for the next 10 years or so to get a doctorate in astrophysics. Jeez, thanks Drs. Becky and Brian.
Honestly, the concept of selecting a specific thesis and vulgarizing its content in a 20 minutes video is amazing and I wish it was done more, and not just for Brian May's thesis (As cool as Brian May is!)
Your way of thinking and explaining, put space and time at our level. I have learned so much from your videos. Am so glad to have found your channel Dr Becky. You have given me an extra spark you learn more about your universe.
I have known who Brian May is since I was 12 and fist discovered Queen in 1982. A few years ago I was watching a documentary and they had "Dr. Brian May" I was thinking, "Wow, not only does he have the same name as the guitarist/song writer but he *LOOKS* like him as well. Then I looked him up, thinking maybe they were related. Well, I guess they are related after all. *VERY* closely related.
This is really well thought out piece of educational video. She shows how to look up on a book and ...etc. She is so accessible, I can absolutely see her improving the educational efforts of the KS2/3 change over group. Maybe try her in an intervention resource.
Great video, informative and fun. It was fun that it was about the work of an awesome rock star, but I believe you covered an interesting aspect of how the institution of Science works. Your mention of the paper on how to correct observations due to dust being the most cited paper in astronomy to be most interesting. It's probably easy for the layperson to fall into the trap of believing that scientific observations are just 'point and shoot' and then you have an answer. I'm reminded of a conversation I overheard when I worked at manufacturer of metrology equipment. It was between a manager and a new scientist that went something like 'thanks for obtaining these measurements, ....now your next task is to prove to me that they are correct'. It impressed on me that we can't just accept the raw data as is. You really got that point across to me again. Thanks for posting, I liked and subscribed. You're very articulate and fun!
That was an engaging and fascinating review of Brian's (your buddy) thesis. I have been amazed by his intellect and listened to a couple videos he has narrated on different space topics. The bonus of being a rock star adds to his genius of a dust star doctor! I love that he added a section on the advancement of understanding of dust in 30 years. I doubt there are many theseus with that broad of a study (no offense to yours). Thank you so much for taking the time to share this important study. You are awesome!
I'm not going to lie, I had to watch this video twice. Why? Well, not because it was so good, which it was, as usual. I had to watch it twice because I spent the entire first go counting the number of Queen songs that you included to see how close I guessed when I first read the title. I far underestimated your skills! Well done!
In a universe right next to ours Brian Cox is still playing the piano in a band and might even have finished his thesis, but Brian May is touring the world with astrophysics lectures and stars in award winning documentaries.
+42. Thank you for the link and the citation to Brian May's work. It's a good read. Due to the impact it has on so many things we observe (even climate), I think that dust is a very interesting feature of space; particularly with respect to variations in its distribution and the impact this has on Raleigh scattering. With respect to certain "crises" in cosmology, it's a bit like Fourier's connection between convection and thermal gradients. Nobody really cared, so, for more than a century, convection was overlooked as a key mechanism driving plate tectonics; but ultimately obviating the expanding earth conjecture when A. Holmes connected the dots in 1929. Are we getting goosebumps, yet? I'm going to come out and say it: Never underestimate the capacity of the "average" reader to simply invest the elbow-grease necessary to figure it out. If you know the answer you're looking for is in there, then that alone makes it worth learning how to figure it out. If not, the bounce will give you another hint at where to look for what you're really looking for. Been there, done a lot of that. I'd do it all again. It was worth every ounce of elbow-grease burned along the way. That said, just based on the pages I've seen in your video, that thesis is a powder keg of information and, for all that, he's managed to make it eminently readable - which is quite the achievement. Congrats to Brian May. Good stuff!
Anyone who studies an unanswered question and has it reviewed desurves to be called doctor. On a clear night I can go into my backyard and look up to see the middle of Milkyway, I am truly grateful.
09:52: "Seventies was just the decade of hairography, wasn't it ..." 💇♀️ 💛 Yes, it so was! Thank you very much for another excellent video with a surprising topic! Kind regards
Considering the musical scale is based on mathematics. And Brian is a physicist. Would explain why his music is so great. I think it is great that he furthered his education. And showed the world just how brilliant he is.
Dr. Becky. I just discovered you. I own School of Rock Buford. I did know that Brian May was an astrophysicist, but I’ve never seen a video on his thesis. This is so Awesome!!!
Don't diss the dust! The latest thinking is that all those organic molecules in the ISM, in gas clouds etc, are synthesised on the surface of dust particles. The density of H, C, O, etc in free space is just too low to account for the stuff we see like alcohols, amino acids and so on. So dust is really important in the genesis of the chemical composition of solar systems and, well, us. It's not just there to get in the way of optical astronomy.
Brian May may be the astrophysicist of Queen but Becky Smethurst is the Queen of Astrophysics 👑
😂 thanks!
Yes, Dr. Becky is smart and beautiful.
@@charlesklimko492 With a lovely voice that is easy to listen to.
Well played!
Wonder how one would set up a coffee date with her and Physics Girl.
I was doing research at ICL in the Physics department when Brian May decided to come back to finish this thesis. It was the most surreal sight in the world to see that massive explosion of hair come shuffling into the common room looking for coffee along with the rest of the brown trousers and elbow patches about. Among his points of advice to PhD students at the time, in addition to working hard and so on, was to "have an awesome hairdo".
"I knew you'd come crawling back here, with your Glam-rock tail between your legs."
"Shut Up Kevin!!!"
I love comments like this, because published paper has at least one story like this and I like to hear those stories.
The 3rd Doctor? Jon pertwee?
@@My_Fair_Lady I don't know you, and you don't know me.
@@My_Fair_Lady Then we probably do know each other. I was in the experimental solid state group at the time and was there until spring '09. Terribly rude of you to call me a liar if you're actually so educated.
As a Queen fan I'm tempted to buy May's thesis but I suspect it would only gather dust.
So buy the book, and study the dust it gathers.
Then write your thesis. :-D
@@aussiebloke609 Mind. Blown! G'day btw.
😂
it's on pdf online.
But you could then Bite The Dust
Thank you for making ASTROPHYSICS fun and semi understandable. I'm a 69-year-old bricklayer and between you and Tyson, Greene, Nye and a few others I have a bit of understanding of the cosmos and the environs.
I've told my kids once or twice how cool it was that Queen's guitar player went back decades later and finished his PhD in astrophysics. Thanks for going through his work with us, both scientific and musical. And it's cool that you got your PhD, too. Now I'm waiting for you to post some of your band's videos.
What, no suggested band names?
@@davidcarmer4476 The Pleiades
Becky and the Boötes
@@gregoryw.jenkins8036 YES!
I Like Big Boötes and I Cannot Lie.
The reason Dr May left astrophysics for 35 years? Galileo let him go!
Magnifico!
Mama Mia!
take my like, you son of a Bee!
Now THAT... was dynamite with a laser beam.
🤣🤣🤣 right on point!!!
First Class Honors for incorporating Queen lyrics with great affect.
Is it affect or effect? Always a tough choice.
@@DylanFahey it should be effect because in this case the word is a noun. I think.
@@garrycollins3415
An affect is an emotion or desire that influences behaviour.
Albeit Dr. Smethurst's work has affected you in ways you find pleasant, 'effect' is your word of choice.
@@xCorvus7x ah the good doctor. I are engineer, language has never been my lernin' of choice. I just googled it and found the explanation of noun versus verb (things and doin' words). And everyone knows the internet is always right.
@@garrycollins3415
Pardon me, please, I am not able to handle this reply appropriately.
You are certainly not serious, but whether this is banter or sarcasm I cannot quite tell (though _someone_ gave my comment a thumbs up); while snarky remarks are easy to produce, particularly in the verbally rich language of English, I have no idea how to respond, if this was banter.
I hope the information I provided was of service to you.
As a banker who has moonlighted as a garage band rock musician for 33 years, I casually mention Brian May (Astrophysics PhD, and Bruce Dickinson, type rated 747 pilot) as exalted examples demonstrating that yes, we musicians have chops beyond what most would consider in our typical wheelhouse. Thank you for this wonderful post!
You can also add to that list Dexter Holland, lead singer of The Offspring and holder of a PhD in Molecular Biology!
I love listening to Dr May speak about this topic! He’s such a brilliant man! Dr May: “Yes yes.... this little side project did sidetrack me for a bit.... but when passion infects you, it will always fight to get out.”..... this little “side project” being Queen!😂🤣 Brilliant!!
Yeah, I saw that interview, it was brilliant, I did'nt know he was that witty.
when Queen just happens to be your back up plan and it worked out so well you might as roll with it since you dont know how long it was going to last...35 years later, oh i can finally get back to my main passion lol good times
Thanks for the link. I'm checking out his thesis right now. Dr Brian May is a brilliant and incredibly talented man. Back in the glory days of Queen I had no idea he was an aspiring astrophysicist. A Kind Of Magic is still one of my all time favorite albums.
"It's incredibly dry!"
Well... What did you expect? It's DUST!!!
Maybe she was talking about the humor. British wit is also very dry.
"dust" includes water, and there is quite a lot of water in the dust. So interstellar dust is anything but dry.
@@erictaylor5462 you sure? Over at +Thunderf00t, he demonstrated in a near-vacuum water was either vapour, or frozen solid...
@@enysuntra1347 Well, hell. Here I am looking shit up to prove you wrong and me not wrong and guess what happened? I found out you were not actually wrong! But I still hold that I am also not wrong.
In *SOME* definitions of wet, the state of the water is specified as "liquid" but "wet" is sometimes used when the state of the water is a gas or solid (ice). For example, it may be "hot and wet" out if the temperature and humidity are both high, but if the temperature is high and the humidity low it's called a dry heat.
As a skier, I know snow can be considered dry, , wet, or really wet (slushy). "Dry snow is quite cold (well below the freezing point) and have a low water content per unite volume. This prevents the snow particles sticking together making it rubbish for snowballs but wonderful to ski on.
While the dust contains little if any liquid water, it is full of water.
Even so, while Thunderfoot is right to show that water can not be liquid in a vacuum he is, in general full of shit. He asserts knowledge he doesn't actually have. While he is often right, he is usually wrong, so please don't bother me by pointing out times he is right. Also, he's an asshole when you point out something he's wrong about. As I did here, when I see something I think is wrong on the internet, I tend to look it up and provide links proving my point. It's a good practice because as happened here, sometimes you might find out that what you think is wrong isn't. It saves you looking foolish when you find out you are not right, even if you kind of are.
Just don't believe everything you see or read on the internet, unless you have outside information confirming the assertions made.
@@erictaylor5462 Peace.
I don't know +Thunderf00t personally, but yes, I take some of his claims with a grain of salt. The parts I can test from my knowledge - engineering and technics - usually are right, albeit not complete. How can you, however, make complete videos for a general audience?
I'm coming from the different part of the spectrum, high temperature, high pressure steam usually in steam locomotives or turbines (or turbines powering locomotives). While it seems counter-intuitive to me ice (which Phil's explanation is IMO great to explain, even though boiling point there should be extremely low) does not suplimate directly into steam, to my knowledge water at vacuum either is solid ice, or a gas.
While ice certainly has a great cohesion, what rinses dust on Earth - adhésion to ærosol droplets-seems to go missing in space. So you seem from my understanding to have either solid ice, or gazeous steam, but neither the liquid film under your skier, nor steam condensing more and more into vapour and ærosol.
That's my factual understanding, while water is in the dust, it takes part in its dustiness, not wetting it.
I could be wrong (not that much steam engines in space... or anywhere else nowadays, for that matter). However, I meant my remark as a light jokelet, not a serious contribution. Pardon if I caused you extra trouble.
She's so cool. I love the way that she doesn't just educate us about the science but lets us see that she's just another person -- that's the kind of thing that might let a young woman feel like she had permission to be smart and do STEM if she wants. She's my favorite science youtuber for both those reasons 1) she does an excellent job teaching me things and 2) she role models much. She's making the world a better place.
I have dreams (nightmares) about trying to go back to university to get a post grad degree. After 40 years I can't even remember what I've forgotten. I am supremely impressed by the idea that he came back after so many years and "picked where he left off". And, as a guitar player, I am also supremely impressed. And we have not even begun to explore his stereoscope, or politics, or animal rights battles. A true renaissance man, a gentleman, and an honorable person.
recently i went back to take a special test to grad from highschool ( after ten years) i experienced some kind of unease because it has been many years since i actually took a test.
a much older man was in the class too, he forgot his calculator, panicked and said he would leave as there was no point in taking the test because he would fail...
( the applicator convinced him to not leave, as math was only one of 7 areas to test that day )
i imagine he also had a long detour.
it is very reassuring when someone comes back after a time and closes cicles.
makes me feel a little less odd
anyway, just wanted to tell a story
"i cant remember what I have forgotten", gold.
In 1966 my PhD thesis in Polymer Chemistry at the University of Akron, Ohio contained a very simple FORTRAN program to do least squares regression analysis. It was the first computer program in a thesis at that University. I often wondered where I would have gone if I had not considered computers as just a very expensive tool and had stayed with them instead of staying in chemistry. Still a very satisifying career.
The cut clips are absolutely brilliant. :)
I wonder how fast the video was demonetized because of the clips.
Fascinating. Like every point you bring up, the order you present them and the contrasts over time. So glad he finished this and that you reviewed it. Thank you
"We're made of Star Stuff!" - Carl Sagan
Actually, there is a reason that the Universe is so dusty. It's hard to clean up because nature abhors a vacuum.
LOL... Well done, David.
Very thesis worthy sir.
That's why it's "mess(i)er.
The English people won't get that. They call a vacuum a "Hoover"
Hey, are those vacuum cleaner trucks they use to clean parking lots "Hoover Craft in England?
Prince Bumpkin when you said it's for 4AM... All I can think about out is Alan Partridge Broadcasting, talking about Brian May and his thesis during the graveyard shift at that time of the morning.
David Clifton was incredulous when hearing this broadcast..
I enjoyed this video. The interspersed clips of May’s other efforts… and doing so as apropos as possible to the presentation, was smile inducing.
Thank you for the educational and entertaining video.
Very interesting take on explaining Brian May's thesis to us noobs and amateurs around your channel. Also, the clips from Queen are all spot on. Another awesome video. Keep'em coming, Dr. Guaranteed to blow my mind!
Popped in for a look at Dr. May's work. I've come away with a clearer understanding of a complicated subject and a new youtube channel to pay attention too. Thanks for making space a bit more digestible for those of us who never made it through physics, but still love looking up and wondering.
❤ not many people know how brilliant Brian May of Queen is!
But now i am one of them. ^^
Amazing man
No wonder, all the dust obscures his brilliance.
I believe that one of the members of Prodigy also has an advanced degree in one of the hard sciences.
Indeed, I was aware of their brilliance as a musician but learning of their contributions to science is completely new to me. Also learned just how brilliant of a youtuber Becky is, not often that I get the pleasure of learning something completely new and unexpected like this with the amount of reading that I tend to do but this one was truly a surprise.
What an excellent video!
It's such an interesting story about (Dr.) Brian May, the awesome Lead Guitar of Queen, being such a brilliant guy. I've been a life-long Queen fan and was even fortunate enough to see them perform live in concert many years ago. What a great kickass show that was!
Thanks Dr. Becky for bringing us these excellent videos like this! I really enjoyed this video about (Dr.) Brian May!
Overcoming inertia and returning to university after such a prolonged absence is a formidable accomplishment for anyone at any level. He managed to have a world class music career and then returned to his studies; this could be an example of opportunity cost in an economics text.
I have never heard the words "heliocentric" and "dust" in such close proximity. Fascinating, thank you!
I've watch this a few times now and it still makes me smile. The clips of Queen singing with some degree of relevance is very well done. I also seem to pick up some other nougat of information each time too! Thanks Dr. Becky
You might be a fan of Brian's work, but in sweltering Britain, Brian's work is a fan of yours! 🤔
Reporting that reply for being pun-gent
@@dmpyron2 Don't you mean re-pun-gent? :P
You blew me away with that pun!
'Pun-gent effulgent' .. 🖐👀🖑
Now were talking Space Rock!
The definition of the word fan is not exactly the same so that would be a bait and switch definition of the word "fan". I am so smart! It took me a while but I figured it out.
There is nobody more cool than Brian May. Great guitarist, great hair and he's astrophysicist.
The fact that he's a legendary rock guitarist is probably the least interesting thing about him...
His guitar must have some serious mass. I saw him at my local pub and my hand was drawn directly to touch it while he was playing a child’s sized acoustic.
Ah, Fortran takes me back to my programming days (70s-80s). This has rapidly become my favourite TH-cam channel - your enthusiasm is infectious.
I like the description of shouting at the computer…yes, that's pretty much what it felt like.
As part of my course at UCL we actually got to run a tiny program on the Cray Supercomputer they had hidden away somewhere, which had to be written in Fortran. If I had known then, I'd have kept it as a reminder :-(
@@PhilBoswell IMO people who learn Fortran early become better programmers because they understand just how finicky and stubborn a language can be.
@@tmage23 in that case why isn't everybody who ever tried COBOL a programming genius? :-P
By that point I had already been exposed to SmallTalk, so I was not as smitten with Fortran as certain people…
My feeling is that Fortran is closer to how a computer works ... other (high level) languages are more like how some logician thinks you ought to program ... hence the arguments about the use of 'goto'.
PS Algol60 as undergrad ... Fortran IV (Daniel D McCraken anyone?) in engineering (how could a Fortran compiler take as much as 286K ?) ... Ace then RM cobol and successors for business ! ... forays into many other languages as required.
@@PhilBoswell We considered the people who programmed in Cobol dullards. By the time the program was big enough to do anything, you'd used up a whole carton of punch cards.
This, is epic. Perfectly placed clips of queen in a highly informational video. Brilliant work!
1978: "I want to Ride My Bicycle..."
2008: I want to Survey Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Cloud
...now _that_ is a journey!
"I study dust zodiacal" (works best when you stress the antepenult, as in America, rather than the penult, as was done in the video.)
On my bicycle I study dust zodiacal
Yeah, but poetically it just doesn't scan.
Well to be fair Bicycle is Freddie's song. However Fat Bottom Girls is Brian's and that's still quite the journey.
Best comment
There is just something fascinating about an Old Dusty Queen that I can't explain.
I am always amazed by People that are demonstrably geniuses in multiple fields. What a Gift they have been given. As a non gifted, I see a similarity to an athlete that excels at multiple sports. In life I mostly encounter people that are smart in only one aspect of life ie. An Engineer that can get you to the moon, but can't drive to work without causing a traffic jam. A designer that can build a car on paper, but can't figure out what's wrong when it breaks down. Every one is Smart about something, and I try to learn from them. Becky, with your TH-cam videos, you have shown an talent in multiple areas and I thank you for what you have given me. Please keep teaching me stuff.
Good presentation as well as being humorous. Love the shirt, too.
Dr. Becky, you and/or your editors also have an impeccable grasp of Queen lyrics for all of the little drop-in samples. Science PLUS entertainment, a fantastic combo!
I didn’t realize he finished it!! Way to go!! Thanks!! I’ll have too look at it!
So, I guess one could say, that after 35 years his research is officially "done and dusted!".
This video was very well thought and produced. All those clips inserted here and there captured or punctuated the idea you were making brilliantly. I knew about Brian May going back to finish his phD, I did not knew he did it. This video is a small gem you produced and we (I, for sure) am thankful for your work in bringing science out to public and doing it in such an original and interesting way.
Dr. May is amazing! Don't Stop Him Now!
I hope someday you get to meet Dr. Brian May, and I hope he's seen this and loved it as much as I do.
I think she already met him considering that "inscription" (or how do you call it in English) in the beginning of the book.
@@MyYTwatcher I must have missed that! Of course I was eating lunch at the time too.
It's amazing how talented a human being can be. Keep it up Dr. Becky and Dr. May. 💕
Thanks for sharing that. Finishing a PhD thesis is hard enough. I can only imagine how hard it must be to return to a PhD thesis after 35 years.
Oh wow Thank you so much Brian for coming back to science just to illuminate our knowledge about space dust. We needed that so badly.
Undoubtedly the queen of astronomy..
I think its great that he never gave up on his dream. He obviously still kept up on the science over the years as well.
Dr Brian May is now officially my second favourite Doctor of Astrophysics! Very interesting video,
My favourite is Doctor Who.
Dr. Becky, this episode BLEW my mind! Wish you were my professor back in the day ! Very informative. Thank you .
A Doctorate AND Rock God Stardom.... He really did want it all.
And he wanted it NOW!
Hillbillies get "docorates". Intellectuals get "Doctorates. Ya maroon! : )
Anyone could want. Brian May got it.
@@Cougar1212 Small correction. He is a pirate, not a hillbilly.
There's quite a few rock stars who are also doctors of various subjects. A lot of bands are formed while the members are at university. Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine, Greg Graffin of Bad Religion and of course Brian Cox are the first few who come to mind
Well that’s cool. I remember hearing that he was an astrophysicist, and that his contribution was in the field of optics, which I puzzled at, but now I understand. Thank you.
Nice! Looks like you scored an autographed copy of his thesis.
I was waiting to see the close up of that page.
@@gasdive Likewise! I thought for sure there would be one, at least at the end of the outtakes.
@@wavemaker54 another disappointed person wanting to see the autograph.
He’s the reason I know about astrophysics and am pursuing it! I love him so much
17yr old me loves to hear the science and information; 50yr old me loves you for not making it a technical nightmare of terminology while still throwing a few bits out for the math brain to enjoy :)
I just stumbled on this somewhat older video that you'd made and enjoyed both the fact that you covered it so wonderfully and had so many topical snippets from Queen's prodigious library of songs. Well done!
I found the chapter on how they built the equipment really interesting. The first time I ever got any use of the classes I took on analog electronics and filter theory.
Really amazing what dr. May and colleagues were able to do with physical components and hand-wired stuff.
Does it say if John Deacon assisted with that? He is an electronics engineer, and the bass player for Queen.
An amazing guy. Loved his relationship with Sir Patrick Moore. I was born in 60 and pursued a career in Earth Science with a great interest in Astronomy. Your like a combination of the best if both IMHO. Live watching your work. 👍
10:03 so that's why The Knights Who (No Longer) Say Ni wanted a shrubbery! They didn't want it to obscure the western edge from 70° to 120°.
And that's why they wanted the mightiest tree cut down with... A HERRING.
Dr Becky, you are a legend. My kids love you and I've been asked to podcast your BBC Oxford broadcasts!! You are a legend!
18:30 A fan of Brian May using his book as a fan. Love it!
Around 1990ish I was in a toy store at the Dallas Galleria Mall. In walks Brian May. No mistaking it was him. I was too much in awe to speak. I just gawked and made certain I made my purchase right behind him.
8:17
Wait.
You have a SIGNED copy?!?
Holy cow you're right....
@@symphony_baritone RIght? And I mean, seriously, how could you NOT mention that in the video?
@@VAXHeadroom I read in another comment that she borrowed it from a friend. So probably that. A NON signed copy is expensive enough. Like three figures expensive. I gave up my idea of getting one pretty fast.
Holy s#!+, I saw that and it went right past me. How did she not mention that! Fantastic video none the less.
Brian May published his code in his thesis, that is SO DAMN RIGHT!!! Megakudos!
BTW: just discovered this channel and it's ace. Huge fan.
For those who might be don't know, the song "39" (from the album "A Night at the Opera", written by Brian May) is about space travel with the twist of time dilation.
Yes and I love that is done in the style of an old folk song telling a travelers take
yes! it’s my favorite queen song
@3:42 I worked in the astronomy dept at UW when Brownlee was Stardust PI. He kept a small chunk of aerogel on his desk. Very interesting moment in astronomy. Instruments were becoming more and more digital, and computational methods were quickly becoming much, much more important. For example, as late as 1998, it was common to see astronomers sitting in front of big 21" CRTs "blinking" - flipping back and forth between two images of the same portion of the sky, visually scanning for differences. Any difference meant a transient object, such as an asteroid, comet, supernova, depending on where you were looking. By 2000, all this sort of processing was done digitally. And by 2003 or so, we were doing it in real time, at the telescope. In any case, fun times!
"...all 215 pages of it; [I wonder how long] *my* thesis is. Hang on. 189. Dammit!"
Dear Dr. Becky: My dad, who got his doctorate at MIT, once told me a tale of an unusually young full professor of mathematics there, whose thesis was 2 pages!!
A true wunderkind!
Point is, the shorter a (successful) thesis is, the *more,* not less, impressive that is.
So you should be proud - you beat Brian May by 26 pages!
Fred
@David Renton I tend to agree; but what has that got to do with my comment?
Fred
@David Renton Well, I didn't catch that. It just seemed like an unrelated (though good) point.
I guess the relation is that editing can get the substance across in fewer pages? Which is one of the most important functions of good editing.
Fred
Louis DeBroglie's thesis is supposed to have been, maybe, 4 pages. The story goes that his professors did not quite understand it but sent a letter to Einstein, who responded with, "This is genius!".
For people actually pursuing it, it's the content rather than the page number.
Well... I'd say Impact/Word is the most important metric.
Absolutely love the interjected Queen lyrics! Smashed it, as ever! Glad you read the thesis though. 😂
Thanks for adding your delightful personality to a layman’s explanation of Dr May’s astrophysics!
Saw this video a little late, but still worth commenting on. Thank you for doing this video, as it’s (relatively) easy to follow and shows a fascinating other side to a man that has affected me and many others so profoundly with his musicianship. He inspired me to build my own guitar in the 70’s, so it looks like I’ll need to block out my schedule for the next 10 years or so to get a doctorate in astrophysics. Jeez, thanks Drs. Becky and Brian.
8:17 It’s an autographed copy?
VERY awesome interesting video! ⭐️☮️❤️🌹
Honestly, the concept of selecting a specific thesis and vulgarizing its content in a 20 minutes video is amazing and I wish it was done more, and not just for Brian May's thesis (As cool as Brian May is!)
iv said it b4 ill say it again, i love this chick! she is so dope. her editing in this one is nothing short of comedic geniusnessocity.
Thanks! I’ve started to have much more fun with my editing recently so it’s good to know it’s appreciated 👍
Your way of thinking and explaining, put space and time at our level. I have learned so much from your videos. Am so glad to have found your channel Dr Becky. You have given me an extra spark you learn more about your universe.
I have known who Brian May is since I was 12 and fist discovered Queen in 1982. A few years ago I was watching a documentary and they had "Dr. Brian May"
I was thinking, "Wow, not only does he have the same name as the guitarist/song writer but he *LOOKS* like him as well. Then I looked him up, thinking maybe they were related. Well, I guess they are related after all. *VERY* closely related.
They've known each since birth!
@@dmpyron2 Is he your daddy?
This is really well thought out piece of educational video. She shows how to look up on a book and ...etc. She is so accessible, I can absolutely see her improving the educational efforts of the KS2/3 change over group. Maybe try her in an intervention resource.
You were the support structure when using Brian's dissertation to cool down. Does that make you his fan base?
😂😂😂
I love this! The music clips interjected in the video are brilliant!
Bryan May should do a Ted Talk on going back on picking up abandoned projects.
We need a Brian May vs Brian Cox collab, both musically and on a science podcast or something.
They both have appeared on stargazing live together in the past
May was on Cox’s TV show as a guest. Cox kept interrupting May and changing the subject. I thought it was rude and disrespectful
Based on just knowing that my favorite band has an astrophysicist in it, and making a perfect video of it, I am now subscribed.
18:32 you missed another chance to insert a Queen snippet with "You're My Best Friend".
Love your videos!
This is my favorite video of yours! Your Queen clips are great. Also, it's not hot in the room, it's just you.
Have you asked Brian if he will give you an interview on your channel?
I think she under rates herself.
@@captaincrash12 She does, unless she asks, it ain't happening. The worse that can happen is he says no.
@@Edsbar what if he said "eww.."?
Really appreciated the frequent (and relevant) Queen clips 😁
They published Dr. May’s thesis as a book because... *he’s Brian freakin’ May.*
This is why I like to watch Dr Becky. I'd never really thought space dust could be so interesting, but it is.
Great video, informative and fun. It was fun that it was about the work of an awesome rock star, but I believe you covered an interesting aspect of how the institution of Science works. Your mention of the paper on how to correct observations due to dust being the most cited paper in astronomy to be most interesting. It's probably easy for the layperson to fall into the trap of believing that scientific observations are just 'point and shoot' and then you have an answer. I'm reminded of a conversation I overheard when I worked at manufacturer of metrology equipment. It was between a manager and a new scientist that went something like 'thanks for obtaining these measurements, ....now your next task is to prove to me that they are correct'. It impressed on me that we can't just accept the raw data as is. You really got that point across to me again. Thanks for posting, I liked and subscribed. You're very articulate and fun!
That was an engaging and fascinating review of Brian's (your buddy) thesis. I have been amazed by his intellect and listened to a couple videos he has narrated on different space topics. The bonus of being a rock star adds to his genius of a dust star doctor! I love that he added a section on the advancement of understanding of dust in 30 years. I doubt there are many theseus with that broad of a study (no offense to yours). Thank you so much for taking the time to share this important study. You are awesome!
I am learning so much from this, thank you!
I'm not going to lie, I had to watch this video twice. Why? Well, not because it was so good, which it was, as usual. I had to watch it twice because I spent the entire first go counting the number of Queen songs that you included to see how close I guessed when I first read the title. I far underestimated your skills! Well done!
In a universe right next to ours Brian Cox is still playing the piano in a band and might even have finished his thesis, but Brian May is touring the world with astrophysics lectures and stars in award winning documentaries.
i dusted once, it came back. i'm not falling for that again.
+42. Thank you for the link and the citation to Brian May's work. It's a good read. Due to the impact it has on so many things we observe (even climate), I think that dust is a very interesting feature of space; particularly with respect to variations in its distribution and the impact this has on Raleigh scattering. With respect to certain "crises" in cosmology, it's a bit like Fourier's connection between convection and thermal gradients. Nobody really cared, so, for more than a century, convection was overlooked as a key mechanism driving plate tectonics; but ultimately obviating the expanding earth conjecture when A. Holmes connected the dots in 1929. Are we getting goosebumps, yet?
I'm going to come out and say it: Never underestimate the capacity of the "average" reader to simply invest the elbow-grease necessary to figure it out. If you know the answer you're looking for is in there, then that alone makes it worth learning how to figure it out. If not, the bounce will give you another hint at where to look for what you're really looking for. Been there, done a lot of that. I'd do it all again. It was worth every ounce of elbow-grease burned along the way. That said, just based on the pages I've seen in your video, that thesis is a powder keg of information and, for all that, he's managed to make it eminently readable - which is quite the achievement.
Congrats to Brian May. Good stuff!
Anyone who studies an unanswered question and has it reviewed desurves to be called doctor.
On a clear night I can go into my backyard and look up to see the middle of Milkyway, I am truly grateful.
I seriously love how you say Dust, it's so northern 😂
Dr Becky would make a great Discworld witch! When she said "our Brian" my first thought was, that sounds like something Nanny Ogg would say.
i truly appreciate all the music clips. this is really fascinating info, too!
Amazing!! I never knew this. Thank you!
“Another One Writes On Dust”
Not bad.....as far as puns go
The outtakes are probably the most wholesome thing I've ever seen.
09:52: "Seventies was just the decade of hairography, wasn't it ..."
💇♀️ 💛 Yes, it so was!
Thank you very much for another excellent video with a surprising topic! Kind regards
Hair yeh it was!
Wow... just wow. Awesome video, great editing, featuring 2 of my favorite things in life music (especially Queen) and science. Thx Becky!
"I just chipped a nail. Another one bites the dust, yeah yeah, another one bites the dust"
I Love it!
Considering the musical scale is based on mathematics. And Brian is a physicist. Would explain why his music is so great.
I think it is great that he furthered his education. And showed the world just how brilliant he is.
Fun fact, Dr Becky's Python3 code will be really difficult to run in 30 years, where Dr May's Fortran will still just compile and run.
Dr. Becky. I just discovered you. I own School of Rock Buford. I did know that Brian May was an astrophysicist, but I’ve never seen a video on his thesis. This is so Awesome!!!
Don't diss the dust! The latest thinking is that all those organic molecules in the ISM, in gas clouds etc, are synthesised on the surface of dust particles. The density of H, C, O, etc in free space is just too low to account for the stuff we see like alcohols, amino acids and so on. So dust is really important in the genesis of the chemical composition of solar systems and, well, us. It's not just there to get in the way of optical astronomy.
Yes, but try telling that to someone who only wants to study black holes.
And I bet it's also refractory. Giving observers false positions of the inner planets.
I loved every Queen-Mention in your Video. Quite a nice tribute!