• Question: Do you enjoy being a scientist? :D

    Asked by WiggleWaggleWorm to Daniel, Hannah, Maggie, Ry, Scott on 8 Nov 2017. This question was also asked by 375grak42.
    • Photo: Maggie Lieu

      Maggie Lieu answered on 8 Nov 2017:

      Of course! Being a scientist means everyone thinks you are much more smarter than you really are, you get to travel the world and most importantly we aren’t doing the same boring thing everyday. We use our brains and we work on lots of things that could potentially change the world.

      The internet was invented by physicists, GPS wouldn’t work without Einsteins theory of general relativity and neither would our 4G signals on our phones for that matter. What we do can have really cool consequences and that’s why I enjoy it!

    • Photo: Ry Cutter

      Ry Cutter answered on 8 Nov 2017:

      So much! I get to meet so many people and travel the world for free. It’s very fulfilling, being able to see my work get used by other scientists. It’s even more fulfilling when the public engage with my work.
      Great Question,
      Ryan

    • Photo: Scott Melville

      Scott Melville answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      Could not enjoy it more! 😀
      I get to learn lots of really wicked things about the Universe and space and even how everyday things work (like just stand in your kitchen later, and think about how little you understand 😛 How does the fridge keep things cold? How does the microwave makes things hot? It’s practically magic, right? 😉 ).
      And what’s better – I then get to teach all that interesting stuff to other people! 🙂 I spend a lot of time on planes flying between universities, and it’s always amazing how interested most people are in basic science – I’m always explaining to my plane-neighbour how kitchen appliances work 🙂
      (FYI, your fridge has pipes at the back full of some liquid which boils easily, like Freon. When you put something hot in the fridge, the Freon steals away that heat to boil and become a gas – making the food colder. A little pump then squashes the Freon gas back into a liquid (that’s the humming noise that a fridge makes), and the whole cycle can happen again. Microwaves are even cooler – definitely worth a google 😉 ).

    • Photo: Hannah Middleton

      Hannah Middleton answered on 10 Nov 2017:

      Yes I do! I find it pretty difficult at times, but its great working with the other people in my department and I can always go and talk to them if I’m trying to understand something or get something to work. I’ve done lots of traveling with trips to conferences and workshops around the world. Plus I really love going to science festivals and stuff like this to talk to people about astrophysics!

    • Photo: Daniel Williams

      Daniel Williams answered on 13 Nov 2017:

      Yes! Most days there are parts of it which are hard, and some days things can be really frustrating, especially if I have a problem I can’t solve; but those days are made up for by the ones where exciting things happen, or where we find completely new things.

      I also really enjoy talking to other scientists, and being a scientist means I can do that every day!

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