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Antarctic requests! (Patreon)

Published:
2021-12-01 14:38:13
Edited:
2021-12-01 14:39:56
Imported:
2021-12

Content

As some of you correctly guessed in the comments of the previous post: I am currently in Antarctica. I'm here with my wife Lucie to see a solar eclipse! And of course I am going to make a bunch of maths videos because why waste a perfectly good holiday.

However, a few  friends have requested I do certain things while I am here so they can officially have happened "on all seven continents". I for one am now proud I've done maths on all seven continents! So I thought I'd I'd open up the requests to all patreons.

Let me know what I should do while I'm in Antartica. It needs to only require things I can find on a ship (and snow, there is plenty of snow available). I've  already made a dodecahedron. Put ideas in the comments  below. I also have very limited internet, so if it's important send me an email as that's  more reliable than logging into patreon.

Comments

Andrew Weir

Surely calculating Pi using snow or ice (???) or something using the solar eclipse is on the cards here? PS: Is that wasting the opportunity of a lifetime or making the most of it? Someone smarter than me can probably flesh this out.

Thomas N Wyndham

Complain about the inadequate public transport.

Nathan Brown

Measure the change in magnetic variance over a day and compare that with the same measurement from UK when you get back to see if you can calculate your latitude or at least the angle to the sun.

Kiriakos Kalpakidis

Linear Velocity given by angular velocity and circumference. Perhaps a novel way to experimentally demonstrate that your linear velocity near the pole is smaller than it would be nearer to the equator, etc.

Frans Wilbrink

I guess you did not bring you old etrex GPS? otherwise you could do something fun with being close to the south pole..

John Sawyer

You should measure the radius of the earth again and calculate the difference. :D

Gregor Shapiro

Please do a video on the mathematics of map projections.

standupmaths

I was going to pack it but didn't find it in time!

Turil Cronburg (edited)

Comment edits

2026-09-08 08:00 Obviously, you should make a Parker Square somewhere on the ship, so that there are (or eventually could be) Parker Squares on all continents.
2021-12-01 14:56

Elias Sardonis

It's a great chance to finally do a video on the "Ant Arc" constant, which is used to calculate pi by dividing it in to the number of legs an ant has. I believe it's roughly 1.91, but I've never done the full working out. I've never heard how a whole continent got named after such a niche maths term, but I'm sure that's why you're there in person and that you'll go in to that in the video!

Tachfine

Why is it terribly cold despite the fact that it is sunny 24h/day. Maybe determining the amount of power the surface is exposed to based on the sunrays angle ?

Kathryn Boehm

Construct a correct "Football Stadium Ahead" sign out of snow.

Brian Mernoff

Could you do something with glacier velocities or measuring pi with penguins?

Viniter

Ponder the exact definition of a continent and whether there's really seven of them.

Ryan Snead

Three ideas that might strike your fancy: 1. Collect observations during the Solar eclipse. Compare it with data collected from previous Solar Eclipses to prove to all the Flat Lunars that the Moon is a sphere. 2. Measure your shadow in Antarctica at the same time of day with a colleague elsewhere. Use the information on the length and angle of your shadows and the circumference of the Earth to derive the distance between your two positions on the Earth. Bonus points if seven colleagues on seven continents can be arranged for the same day and all relative distances charted or graphed. 3. Make a snow angel.

Frans Wilbrink

with a correct ball shape off course!

Thomas Uhl

Visit one of the infinitely many places in Antarctica where you can go 10 km south, 10 km west and 10 km north (yes, in that sequence) to arrive at the place where you started.

EB

Discuss the math of sunlight hitting the arctic circle versus the equator and London. There's angles on spheres and distance through the atmosphere to discuss. Lots of fun to be had since you're also down there with a Solar Physicist. I'd love to see a joint video with Lucie.

Scott Rush

I've been lucky enough to go there myself. I hope you do the polar plunge and let us all see the video of it.

John Moffat

Would you please measure the azimuth of the Sun and what we in the north refer to as the North Star... using a home made protractor?

Mark Widmer

Obvious ones are building a snowman or having a snowball fight, though those aren't very math/science-based. Maybe something to do with measuring the unusually large value of "g" you are surely experiencing? Either pendulum period or, if you have a scale, measuring something's weight and later comparing it to its weight in England (or better yet, in Ecuador or Kenya).

The Dean

Buffon's needle method to calculate pi, but using penguins? Does the ship's medical team have enough anaesthesia to keep enough penguins sufficiently docile to pull this off?

PeteyPak

Discuss the Poles and Zeroes of control systems.

Sherman Lo

Instead of paper, you can use snow :P

NR

Solve a Rubik's Cube, likely setting the continental record (at least the recorded one).

Pyglik

I suppose you won't be going anywhere near the South Pole, but it still should be relatively close. You could measure the angle to the sun at noon and repeat it when you come back. Then using the latitudes, Earth's radius and measured angles calculate the distance to the Sun.

MrTridac

Shouldn't it start with 10km north? How can you go south when you're AT the south pole?

Phil Brady

Draw a Parker Square in the snow. With a stick or something, not the....other method.

Seth Arnold

You know the old riddle, "a man walks a mile north, turns 90 degrees to the right, walks a mile east, turns 90 degrees to the right, walks a mile south, and has returned to his starting point. Where is he?" Well, it might be fun to see this live! (I know it's not possible as a visitor, and "north" and "south" are iffy things there already...)

Seth Arnold

Second thought, use a compass (or make one with a needle?) to explore the magnetic field lines, in three dimensions, not just the usual two.

Reinier B

Find a picture of a geometrically incorrect football. And whatever you do, don't eat the yellow snow.

Scott Rush

The Cruise lines take videos from my experience...... ;)

Steve Halliwell

Would asking you to bring me back a penguin be too much?

Lawry McCarthy

You could do something with snow flake unique crystal geometries. I know they say no two snow flakes are alike, I would not try to prove that just because of the number of samples available.

Matt Knight

I'm guessing the protractor was seized by the authorities :(

Zac Harrold

Please do something related to the flat earth conspiracy theory! Perhaps you could use a compass and a couple of walls to show the south pole is indeed a pole and not a wall of ice encompassing the earth.

ViliamF

No, no, no. There is a circle at a certain distance from the south pole, such that the length of the circle is 10 km. So you come south to get on the circle, make one turn around, and then go back.

Viniter

Considering that the research stations there are full of nerds, who probably get pretty bored on their off time, I would not bet on the continental record being exceptionally low.

standupmaths

I'll have to see if I can find enough dice!

standupmaths

Sadly we do not get that close to the pole.

standupmaths

I agree someone has already set a record here. Plus I didn't bring one!

standupmaths

The 'other method' would be in violation of an international treaty.

Bret Scofield

Can you do some measuring of the hours of light in a unique way?

Solitaan

Calculate pi using a really big snowball.

Bengeance

Make a chain fountain so that you can demonstrate the Mould effect in Antarctica before Steve Mould and also beat him in subscribers gained while in Antarctica.

Thomas Uhl

Exactly. And if you start a little bit more to the south you get to the point where the circle is exactly 5 km, so you would go around twice. And one where you would go around thrice, and so on. So there are actually infinitely many distances from the south pole where you can start. Although, to be fair, at one point they will all feel like the same and westward walking will be more like pirouetting at the south pole. 🙂

Ash Lux

Always a good topic.

Ash Lux

Depressing suggestion: something about global warming.

Ash Lux

Adorable suggestion: something about penguins.

Ash Lux

Irrelevant suggestion: explain why your wrong calling it maths and not math. I know you disagree but do your best. 😀

Ash Lux

American football too.

Paul

Maybe collaborate with somebody at the equator and the north pole to take a pic of the moon at midnight. Currently crescent, so ...

Paul

Something to do with contrasting use of quaternions versus trad trig in getting around the 'gimbal lock' issue at polar 'singularities'.

Przemek Zdunek

not that I've always was curious on the twirl of water nearby South Pole, but I'd love to see the continuation of the video you've shot in Sydney and in London. perhaps you have the sink with you?

Sami Reinikainen

Throw boiling water / use pressure washer between the wide angle camera and the midday sun / solar eclipse to see fancy halos. Powder snow might work too.

ViliamF

Both of you are wrong. It's mathematics.

Luke

Calculate pi using the whole EARTH?

Luke

How about jumping outside and talking about local cooling?

Luke

Matt you are probably a Ham-radio guy correct? So how about qso with your supporters over dmr radio or repeater link?

Robin Capper

Probably late to suggest but something about the non-flatness of the world and lack of edge effects? Was amused to see a label EDGE with arrow on the nav screen of a ship I was on in Antarctica but it was a touch control to move the ship from centre of the nav display screen to top/bottom/left/right edge (to increase view in a direction without zooming out)

ViliamF

You could try building a Menger Sponge out of snow, possibly by joining snow cubes. I am not sure how does antarctic snow behave when trying to compress it, but I know that fresh snow at 0 °C (273,15 K) and appropriate humidity works very well for snowmen and other snow building. I suspect that colder snow doesn't stick together very well, but you can try. If nothing else, it will be a Parker Snow Menger Sponge!