Helen Czerski
@helenczerski
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Physics, bubbles, oceans, hot chocolate and curiosity. Author of Storm in a Teacup & Blue Machine https://t.co/b6RFwt8UEj @helenczerski.bsky.social
London, UK
Joined January 2012
Not here any more - the fun discussions are over on Mastodon, Bluesky etc - come and join in!. Mastodon: @helenczerski@fediscience.org BlueSky:@helenczerski.bsky.social .Instagram: LinkedIn: Threads:
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A friend has just shown me this book "Calculus made easy", published in 1914, and I think it's got one of the best prologues I've ever seen. This is *exactly* what textbooks should be doing. And they should all be honest about how terrifying the topic names are too.
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I'm the daughter of a refugee. And guess what? They only came here because they were desperate. That's why the asylum system exists. And if you really only care about refugee numbers, use your energy to stop climate change. Because that's REALLY going to cause a refugee crisis.
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So much talk about UK electricity prices (for good reason) but no mention at all that the only reason prices are so high is that we *burn* *fossil* *fuels*. This is about gas & oil. Wind & solar are cheaper & their cost hasn’t changed. We need to say this loudly & more often.
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Genuinely curious. What exactly can you do with 260 nuclear warheads that you can’t do with 180? Particularly given the appalling consequences of using even one of them?.
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I teach calculus to first year engineering students and from now on we are always going to be on a quest for a cub.
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I found this on the wall of a satellite electronics lab here in Toulouse today. If you’ve ever struggled to remember which is volts and which is amps, here you go!
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On the Cambridge physics lab, 1932: "Records show that life at the Cavendish Laboratory under Rutherford did not begin early in the day & finished strictly at 6.00 pm. Rutherford insisted that it was to preserve health & aid contemplation." Where did that version of academia go?.
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I’m on the train to Inverness to do the Monster the Loch race. I’m happy to get the train (I won’t take domestic flights), but the cost is about x5 the flight cost. This is RIDICULOUS - flights are so much more damaging. Train costs must come down, for the sake of our climate.
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So excited to be on a sleeper train! Wouldn’t it be great if there was more of this instead of all those short-haul flights? This climate-friendly future can hurry up and arrive sooner rather than later, please.
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This is a disgrace. Climate change is a massive issue, requiring national & international action, difficult decisions & real leadership. Our MPs can't even be bothered to turn up. It's complete abdication of the responsibilty that we elect & pay them for.
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This is a test tweetymail message. if you can see this, I'll be able to tweet from the Arctic :).
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This is a long thread that I wish I didn’t have to write. The Science Museum Group @sciencemuseum is persisting with Shell as the major sponsor of their upcoming exhibition “Our Future Planet”. 1/n.
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SO impressive: New Zealand's graph of total & recovered cases. They've put everyone else to shame. Showed this to a New Zealander & 1st response was "it looks like a kiwi". Took me a while to realise he meant the blue bit. Kiwis can be so very kiwi sometimes. but he's right.
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It’s so frustrating that this is still considered a novel viewpoint. We need to accept that we are part of a complex & rich system (Earth), learn how it works, & re-build a civilisation that fits in with that system, instead of ignoring & destroying it.
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We got to the North Pole today! It was fabulous to walk on sea ice for the first time. And it was sunny for the first time in days, which also meant the helicopter could scout ahead and we think we've found our ice floe. A good day all round! #ArcticOcean2018
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221 ppl crossing the Channel is not "a major incident". The vast global migration crisis - 65 million people displaced by conflict, violence & persecution - is. We should be talking about that & take pride in being able to help, not bullying the desperate.
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Well, this got a reaction. To the naysayers: we don't have a choice. We *have* to shift to 100% renewables ASAP, because we absolutely cannot afford further fossil fuel damage. And it WILL work, because we are a creative & inventive species & we can make it work if we want to.
So much talk about UK electricity prices (for good reason) but no mention at all that the only reason prices are so high is that we *burn* *fossil* *fuels*. This is about gas & oil. Wind & solar are cheaper & their cost hasn’t changed. We need to say this loudly & more often.
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Well, that was depressing. Universities Minister @SamGyimah was just on @R4today unashamedly taking the line that students are consumers buying a service whose value is purely economic, missing the point that well-educated citizens help build a better society & healthier culture.
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Just seen a bossy ad implying that you need to eat fish to get enough omega-3 to be healthy. You don’t. The fish don’t make it. They get it from the algae that they eat, and we can get it directly from algae too.
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All this sighing on #r4today about the demise of retail on the high street. but what if future high streets were full of community facilities and activities; places for people to connect rather than endless encouragement for people to buy stuff they & the planet can’t afford?.
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The last time an @Ri_Science Christmas lecture was about the ocean itself was in 1839. I’m very happy to help make up for the LONG gap this year, alongside @seis_matters on geology & @shine_tara on the atmosphere. Time to appreciate & explore our planetary life support system :).
DRUMROLL PLEASE. Our 2020 Christmas Lecturers are Chris Jackson, Helen Czerski & Tara Shine!. In 'Planet Earth: A user's guide' @seis_matters, @helenczerski & @shine_tara are teaming up to tackle climate change through earth, ocean and air #XmasLectures 🌏
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My next book, Blue Machine, has a cover! Earth is home to a huge story that is rarely told: that of our ocean. Not fish/dolphins, but the massive ocean engine itself: what it does, why it works, and why it matters. This book tells that story. Out June 1st
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Just got home after my Dad's funeral & I now have an inbox full of e-mails from those who attended remotely (>those present), saying how fantastic the @Humanists_UK celebrant was. Which he was. He also had commendable comic timing, which really helps along a celebration of life.
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The marker of this century will be the realisation that Earth is finite.We must share it, cooperate & respect each other to survive. Standing up to the horrid bullying & selfishness that's filling the news is essential & it starts with the small stuff. Have one aim today: be kind.
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Yesterday we were sitting in our hut eating lunch when the bear guard .outside shouted to us to come outside because there was a walrus. And .there was, inspecting a sledge. Then today the first polar bear visited .our floe. #ArcticOcean2018
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Listening to a news discussion about bailing out Flybe. Why on earth aren't we discussing spending that money on revamping the train system so that there are high speed trains to the UK's cities & smaller towns? There is no way we should be subsiding short haul flights.
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Just spoke to someone feeling frustrated because they feel powerless to stop the big bad stuff in the world. Every good thing you do matters & helps others choose to do the same. Do the big things if you can, but doing your best in lots of little ways matters too, so much.
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We rarely talk about what the ocean *is*. We talk about what's in it, what we do to it, what isn't in it - everything except the ocean itself. But this beautiful blue engine deserves far more. Tonight's @Ri_Science Lecture is about changing how you see Earth's blue. 8pm BBC4
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I have had a bee in my bonnet for many years about this, and the bee is now frantic so here is a thread. It is time to STOP saying “we know more about the Moon/Mars than the deep ocean”. It’s wrong & it’s damaging. Here’s why. [1/n]
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There was a lovely bit of mini-woodland in this bit of London, a tiny oasis of beautiful natural mishmash. Yesterday the chainsaws started and today it's obvious that they are chopping down every tree there. Why? Why do this? We have to stop such casual destruction of nature.
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There are so many unvaccinated people, and so little is known about long covid risks even for those who are vaccinated. The potential damage to health is still huge. I will keep wearing a mask and I won't be doing anything out-and-about-ish that I'm not doing now.
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So much this. I"ve seen/heard more times than I can remember (and I bet Alice has too) "why aren't there any female science presenters?". HELLO *waves* . WE'RE RIGHT HERE.
@Dr_Gilbz I presented my first landmark BBC science series in 2009. Why do women go unnoticed?.
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How deeply depressing to hear a young child's voice (on the radio) saying that they like something "because it's an opportunity for developing new skills". This transactional language is deeply unhuman - why can't we just help kids be better humans: curious, social, fun, capable?.
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I really want @theAliceRoberts to do Thought for the Day as well. I tend to switch it off, but a bit of a re-vamp could persuade me otherwise, and she's just the sort of voice they need. Less tradition and more meaning & interesting ideas, please!.
Please, @BBCr4today, can I do Thought for the Day? I’ll bring pastries.
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The NHS is amazing, but I feel that clapping really isn't cutting it as a way of saying thank you. I'll join in but it's not enough. We should fund the NHS properly, make sure the staff have sensible working hours & pay & *do* things to show respect, not just make noise about it.
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This is disingenuous. Asking what it will cost to take action to slow climate change is only half the story. The bigger question (and bigger number) is what it will cost if you DON'T take action, both in money and quality of life.
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Very noticeable that the fuel discussion is all about “panic-buying” (although somehow it’s only everyone else doing that), but not about the just-in-time delivery systems we now rely on that have so little resilience. The endless drive for “efficiency” has a down-side.
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Whatever you thought about the EU 3 years ago, I don't think anyone voted for the situation we're in now. For politicians to claim that forcing this mess on us reflects "the will of the people" is nonsense, now that we can see what the options really are. So I'm off to march.
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A big thumbs up to the pupils taking direct action to highlight climate change today. This is the most significant issue we face, the big elephant in the room of all the other problems. It's fabulous that they're prepared to stand up for their future (and ours!). Go them!.
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Anyone out there who has ever thought that they don't see racism in the UK just look at what @seis_matters gets when he does ONE interview. Then imagine getting that every time you do anything. It's not good enough to say you don't see it. Start looking & then start fixing.
Earth Scientist, Prof Christopher Jackson tells @skynewsniall about this years' Christmas Lectures as he becomes the first black scientist to present the Royal Institution of Science series 🌍 🎄. #KayBurley. Latest news:
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Pro tip: Do NOT prepare for International Womens Day with an e-mail like the one I just got: “Women! We want to celebrate you! Therefore, could you please do all the work for free and send us stuff that we can use to celebrate you by putting it out to make ourselves look good?”.
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To be told that this country should accept this huge insult to our intelligence and the entire concept of integrity & just "move on" is jaw-dropping. The "dog ate my homework" excuses & lies from so many in gov are both shameful and childish. People, society & justice matter.
Dom Cummings was right today to set out in full detail how he made his decisions in very difficult circumstances. Now we must move on, fight this dreadful disease and get our country back on her feet.
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Oh. I see there's another cycle of nonsense because someone very poorly informed has said that physics is too hard for girls. 1. Codswallop. 2. It's easy to get outraged over stupid comments. The hard but more important stuff is culture change. That's where effort needs to go.
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A thought at the end of a long, weird week: this is an incredibly privileged way to endure massive societal disruption. We still have water, sewage, food supply systems & buildings that are standing. Earthquakes & wars can be FAR worse. We are lucky, by historical standards.
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Just to be clear, fully electric commercial flight is *not* coming any time soon. We can’t science our way out of that one - we need to fly less. Improvements are possible, but only incremental changes in the next few decades. #ClimateChangeTheFacts.
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I have several friends who got covid months ago & still haven't recovered, some seriously ill. It's not "just about old people/care homes/hospitals". Please wear face coverings indoors & take this seriously. Death stats do not tell the whole story.
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This nonsense must stop. It's the voice of the highly privileged with no regard for daily realities for many. The only point of this tweet is to promote shaming of others and smugness. Sure, learning is great. But let's not make the awful divide caused by this disease any wider.
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This is horrifically short-sighted, and entirely gratuitous political interference in scientific research. It also makes it pretty clear that the current US administration knows perfectly well how serious climate change is - otherwise why hide it?
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I bang on about this every year & change is SO slow. But the use of peat-based compost must stop. Peat needs to stay in peat bogs. If you’re not sure whether your compost contains peat, it almost certainly does. Look for clearly labelled peat-free.
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Roads are *not* "for cars". Roads are shared spaces for all legal users of the road. Just been yelled at by a black cab driver while cycling home, after signalling to cross two lanes to turn right, checking, and then shifting lane, perfectly legally, carefully and safely.
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(Small) silver lining to Covid restrictions: I've often refused to fly long distances (e.g. to US) to give a 1h talk & had some pretty grumpy replies when I explained (climate, obvs) & offered virtual talks. Now it turns out the same ppl can cope with that just fine after all.
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Well, here we are. home for the next eight weeks: the Swedish icebreaker Oden. When I was a kid, I always wanted the top bunk - it was obviously so much more exciting. And now I’m an adult scientist on a real ship and I STILL want the top bunk. Bagsied!
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We sail at 3pm today, and expect to meet the ice in around 36 hours time. An expediton overview is here: The next time we plan to step on land will be Sept 24th. Tweets won't have photos after this but the blogs should have a few.
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Happy Spring Equinox! It’s at 9:37am in the UK if you feel like raising a cup of tea to solar system clockwork. Or perhaps doing a sun salutation.
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We weren't really aiming for the pole, just to find a good ice floe as far north as possible. But we haven't found an ice floe yet and it looks as though I'll wake up tomorrow morning at the North Pole. Hello to the top of the world! #ArcticOcean2018
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Tweeting from the ship turned out to be pretty tricky :( We're still ploughing northwards in the fog through 1.5m ice, hoping to find our final site in the next few days. Current position here: . #ArcticOcean2018
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I'm very grateful to @PhysicsNews for this award, and to my department @uclmecheng for supporting the stuff that the IoP is recognising. This is a lovely way to start a Wednesday!
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Every time I see the phase "plain English summary" it makes me cross. Why didn't you write it in plain English the first time? That should be standard, & no-one should get dragged into the swamp of pompous and lazy bad habits that surround formal and technical language.
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Nuclear energy (fission) is expensive. If we put that much money into wind/solar/storage/redundancy what would it get us? Has anyone seen a proper analysis of this? i.e. could you spend that money on something else and get the same presumed benefits?.
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Just sorting out boxes from long long ago, and look what I found. I learned to code on this as a kid and spent a LOT of time playing space invaders. I’m not even sure I dare try turning it on. I haven’t even seen it for about 25 years.
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This is an absolute disgrace. There are millions of EU nationals living & working here, contributing to our society & giving far more than they take. Many have been here for decades. To force them to feel alien in this way is appalling. But the biggest loser will be the UK itself.
EU citizens and their families will need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK after 31 December 2020. Find out more: #Brexit
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Hello, app designers of the world. If I download an app & then discover I can’t use it unless I create an unnecessary online account, giving you my e-mail address (even one I only use for nonsense) & other personal information, your app goes straight in the trash.**Message ends**.
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My @BBCFOUR series on Temperature is finally about to hatch! Starts Feb 15th. As a virtual hurrah, here's a thermal snapshot of me after running around a badminton court, by @r_hollingworth So much detail! Bet you can't guess my racquet arm. and the video is even better :)
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A friend has just shown me what the Germans do with conkers. It looks far more civilised than smashing them into each other!
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Black Friday reminder: one of the most important things you can do to help our planet is not to buy things you don't need. And "eco-friendly" things are still things. So don't be sucked in by "offers" and "deals" unless you already needed that thing. Please.
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There's one critical question in science & Carl Sagan pointed out that it's central to democracy as well: "What would it take to convince me that I'm wrong?". We must accept that it's possibility & have an answer, not a void or denial. We need to do so much better at this.
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The news today is mystifying to me. Where's the bit where we just cheer & cheer again for the England football team, for how well they did and the values that took them there? I don't care that they lost a final. I do care that they showed us the best of what sport has to offer.
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No need to "fear that I did not recieve your invitation" last year, @ukwhoswho . I put it in the bin, where this sort of outdated snobbery belongs. I'm interested in a better, fairer & more diverse world, and your version of gatekeeping has no place in it.
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This was my view of the #RRSAttenborough going into the water. It took a while to move after being released - you can hear the countdown. But the moment it started to move was amazing. So smooth, but so much momentum! Such an amazing piece of engineering. @BAS_News @NERCscience
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@KateWilliamsme For anyone who would like to learn more about Equino and black communities on the banks of the Thames, the excellent S.I. Martin joined us 2 weeks ago for the Hidden Greenwich episode of Ships, Sea & the Stars to tell us all about them:
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This wk I've seen ppl working on plastic waste, climate change,air pollution & wellbeing: tackling vital challenges for our civilisation. In news: MPs "representing" us play childish games, cynically moving their egos & our future around the chessboard of their career. Despicable.
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I have had quite a rough day (for personal reasons) so I'll be tweeting a bit less than normal this evening. But it's World Ocean Day & Ocean Autopsy is going out at 9pm on BBC4. Also, the #NHS is amazing and #BlackLivesMatter
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Last year I was part of a demonstration for equal pay for women at the BBC. What struck me was how utterly degrading it is to stand outside and beg for equal treatment. When ppl say “why don’t women ask for pay rises?”, remember that part of the discomfort is the indignity of it.
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Just switched on R4 Today prog, & what a poor “discussion” on growth. Didn’t ask why we’re obsessed by it, whether we should be, why we assume infinite growth is possible, what’s best for *society*, or social & environmental costs. We need to be asking far more fundamental Qs.
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I appreciate the NHS so so much. A member of my family needs their care at the moment, the time and effort from carers/doctors is amazing. I have lived in countries without a public health service & most in the UK have NO IDEA how lucky we are. We need to look after it.
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Very striking this morning: One runway at Heathrow: 10 yrs of detailed evidence, nuanced argument, legal process & principled stands (proving that the UK is capable of such things, whatever you think of the outcome). Brexit: one slogan on a bus. That's ludicrous.
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I first went to Auschwitz when I was 16, with my father. He was born 25 miles away, before his parents came to the UK as refugees. I left convinced that *everyone* should go & should understand what was done there. It should not be a casual tourist visit. It matters.
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There are simple ways to make your life less damaging to the planet now: less flying, less meat, renewable energy supplier etc. BUT in the longer term & to really give us the chance of the best future for everyone, there is going to be nuance and there are no perfect choices. 1/n.
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This country has taken the BBC for granted & the Olympics highlight what we’re losing. Toby Penty (same badminton club as me) just won his 2nd match & there was no way to watch w/o subscribing to Eurosport. As the BBC is diminished, so are universal experiences & shared community.
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Happy 2020! This year, let's finally start the 3rd act of working out how to be human on a finite planet: Act 1: Development of human society. Act 2: Unquestioned growth until crisis. Act 3: Rebuild society with foundation principle that we're part of nature, not separate to it.
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Ooh. Now that is progress. No-one should be getting on a plane if there's a train that takes you to the same place in less than 2.5 hours. Hopefully they'll increase the time in the future but it's the principle that matters.
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Happy Winter Solstice everyone :) We’re not short of uncertainty at the moment, but at least the days WILL get longer from now on. I’m looking forward to more sunshine! Especially on this very rainy morning.
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The problem with responding to that WSJ piece with reasoned arguments is that it’s just flattering the writer by implying he has an intellectual point. A better response is “aww, diddums. I’m sorry your identity is threatened by bright women. Let’s get you some help”.
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Just imagine facing this without the vast global scientific collaboration that made vaccines so fast. Scientific knowledge & the engineering needed to use it are civilisation-scale achievements, far bigger than any 1 group or country. We stand (& live) on the shoulders of giants.
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I may just have bought a marble run to demonstrate a scientific point for a @FullyChargedShw episode. And the rest of my plans for the evening may just have evaporated…
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It's sad that @Ri_Science need to say this stuff (read the whole thread). We're excited to be giving the Lectures, and to highlight the science we care about. A big part of being a better scientist is always being a better human, & perhaps that's the first lesson for the haters.
📣 To feedback about the 2020 Christmas Lectures, please email us xmaslecs@ri.ac.uk and please don’t abuse our speakers. A thread ⤵️.
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I am so deeply tired, in debates about a sustainable future, of people saying it's someone else's job to fix it - companies say it's gov, gov says it's individuals etc. STOP IT. Work out what *your* organisation can do. Never mind everyone else until you're doing your bit.
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Happy 2018! The world is a messy place, but we can do our best to navigate it with integrity. Let's hope that this year sees both more empathy & also more openness and rigour when dealing with evidence. For a global society on one shared planet, it's our best survival strategy.
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Heat pumps are a big deal because instead of converting other energy types into heat, they *re-distribute* existing heat energy. It's a far more sensible way of doing things, but moving heat from a colder place to a hotter place is a bit weird. Here's how it all works.
⚡️ NEW, NOW!⚡️. How Does A Heat Pump Work?! THIS Is The Future of Heating! . Watch now:
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The 2020 @Ri_Science Christmas Lectures start TOMORROW. @seis_matters is up first (Earth history & geology), then me on Tuesday (oceans!) & @shine_tara (atmosphere & actions) on Wednesday. All 8pm, BBC4
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A friend is is both a scientist and a very good photographer, Mario Hoppman from @AWI_Media , has just come back from the Arctic & gave me permission to share this fabulous image of zooplankton in a petri dish. It was about 2cm across and it really was red. Such a cool photo!
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This is genuinely exciting. Yes, of course, it will be disruptive (and like any change, there will be both winners and loser at the start). But it could also make London a far more human place & a new sort of city, with huge health benefits for everyone.
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I spent today on the UK's new polar research ship, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, before it comes to London next week. This is a BIG ship, more spacious than any other research ship I've seen, and the science capability is amazing. Full @Costingtheearth programme coming soon.
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So many of our problems are rooted in a lack of imagination about what less polluting, fairer, more human systems would look like. The future is collaborative, fun, challenging & novel, as well as cleaner & fairer and BETTER. Visualise that & get excited!.
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I have just logged on to a meeting on national ocean policy. To their enormous credit, they are playing "Under the Sea" from the Little Mermaid before the meeting officially starts. I didn't know I needed some steel drums in my morning, but a jolly start is much appreciated.
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I’ve had more cause to be grateful for the NHS this year than ever before. Seeing the huge dedication of their staff has been amazing but the pressure they are under is so clear. Thank you to the doctors, nurses, porters & cleaners who work so hard. #merryXmasNHS @NHSMillion.
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My dad & his parents came to the UK as refugees from Poland during WW2. The country they loved had been taken over & they left to avoid being killed. After the war, they knew they would die if they returned. So they stayed & fought against those who threatened *this* country.
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Happy 2021 everyone! Although perhaps “Happier 2021” is enough. It’s the little actions that matter, because all big things are just a collection of little things. So let’s do the little things with kindness & integrity (as much of both as we can manage). Every bit helps!.
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