Past exam of the geophysical fluid dynamics course of the University of Oxford 2023 1 d Solution 2026-10-25
The low-latitude regions of Earth absorb more incoming solar radiation than they emit as outgoing thermal radiation, whereas high latitudes have a net annual radiation deficit. The obliquity of solar incidence and the distribution of daylight create a strong latitude dependence of absorbed solar energy; emitted thermal radiation varies less strongly because terrestrial temperature contrasts are smaller. The terrestrial atmosphere and ocean therefore carry energy from the tropical surplus toward the polar deficits. Otherwise the low latitudes would keep warming and the high latitudes cooling until a different local radiative equilibrium was reached.
For a steady, zonally averaged energy balance, let be net downward radiation at the top of the terrestrial atmosphere and the total northward energy transport across latitude . A narrow spherical band and conservation of energy giveThe poleward direction is northward in the Northern Hemisphere and southward in the Southern Hemisphere. Seasonal internal energy storage modifies the instantaneous balance, but not the annual need for poleward redistribution.
Several circulation structures contribute in addition to the transient eddies produced by baroclinic instability of the middle latitudes:
- The Hadley cells, mainly between the equator and about latitude, export energy in their upper poleward branches and return air equatorward near the surface. The transported quantity includes enthalpy, gravitational potential energy and latent heat; the upper and lower branches have different thermal properties. The cross-equatorial Hadley cell is especially important in the seasonal cycle.
- Quasi-stationary Rossby waves, associated with mountains and continental heating contrasts, carry heat in the extratropical terrestrial atmosphere. Their meridional velocity and temperature anomalies can have a poleward correlation. These are an additional time-mean contribution alongside travelling weather disturbances.
- The ocean gyres in tropical and subtropical basins redistribute warm water poleward in strong western boundary currents and return cooler water equatorward over broader regions. The thermal difference between the branches produces net heat transport despite little net meridional volume transport.
- The oceanic overturning circulation, including the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, combines warm upper water moving poleward with colder deep return water. It transports substantial heat through the tropical and subtropical Atlantic toward the northern high latitudes. Wind forcing, buoyancy exchange and mixing all help maintain this global circulation.
The Brewer-Dobson circulation additionally redistributes energy in the stratosphere, with tropical ascent and extratropical descent, although most total atmospheric heat transport occurs lower down. An Eulerian mean middle-latitude Ferrel cell is thermally indirect and can oppose the poleward transport by eddies; listing every meridional circulation as a direct poleward heat carrier would be incorrect.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 62 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For an ideal gas with constant adiabatic index , let and be specific heat capacities and . The ideal gas law and the internal energy of an ideal gas give and specific internal energy . Since , the internal energy per unit volume is . Consequently a star with spherical symmetry hasThe radial integral requires the volume measure : the first printed expression omits this factor if its differential is read literally as . The mass-coordinate expression confirms the required volume interpretation.
Define the enclosed mass , total mass and dimensionless shell label . Mass conservation gives , so the change of variables givesHere labels a fixed material shell rather than its radial position. In a mass-preserving stellar homology, with . Both a shell's radius and thickness gain a factor , so its volume gains and its mass density becomes . An adiabatic process keeps fixed separately in each shell, even if that constant differs between shells. Thus and . Integration at fixed mass labels provesThe spherical shell theorem gives the Newtonian gravitational potential energy by assembling shells against the mass already inside them:Every radius gains the same factor , while and remain fixed. HenceThis is the homologous adiabatic stellar stability test. The derivative with respect to the physical stellar radius is . Stationarity at therefore requires , orAfter imposing this equilibrium relation, andSince , a strict energy minimum under this homologous displacement requiresFor , contraction sends to , expansion sends it to from below, and is the unique minimum, with . For , contraction sends to , expansion sends it to from above, and is the unique maximum. When , the equilibrium relation makes for every : the scale direction is marginal, not strictly stable. The plotted curves display these three possibilities. This checks homologous radial stability; stability against every stellar displacement needs a fuller perturbation analysis.
Stellar energy under homologous adiabatic expansion: stable minimum, unstable maximum and marginal scaling
. Details. Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 71 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A spatially uniform pressure is a useful leading approximation when the sound speed makes the acoustic crossing time much shorter than the radiative cooling and thermal conduction times. The motions must remain at low Mach number, and gravity and other stresses must be negligible. Sound then redistributes pressure before appreciable thermal evolution occurs. Small pressure corrections can still drive the slow motion; imposing exactly zero pressure gradient in the full momentum equation at every order would be a stronger assumption.
The equation of state gives the specific internal energy of an ideal gas as . With , the continuity equation is . Differentiating therefore yieldsInsert this into the internal energy equation, whose compressional term is , and use spatially uniform pressure, so . The result isFor temporally constant pressure put , so the mass density is . The continuity equation now gives . Multiplication of the last equation by , with , givesThis is the isobaric conductive cooling in mass coordinates transformation before changing coordinates.
There is a boundary assumption implicit in the proposed Lagrangian coordinate. For a mass integral from a fixed origin, integration of the continuity equation givesThus is material when the base mass flux vanishes, as appropriate for the stationary cold reservoir below. If the origin permits mass flux, replace by ; this corrected label has zero material derivative. In a material mass coordinate, and . In particularThe conduction coefficient therefore becomes , with the same as the cooling coefficient. With , the equation is
In the hot gas there is no volumetric radiative cooling. The initial temperature is uniform and the cold boundary introduces no finite mass length. The remaining nonlinear diffusion equation is invariant under , with the same temperature scale. Its natural similarity solution is thereforeThe far-field condition also recovers the initial temperature at every fixed as . Substitution gives the ordinary differential equationFor , this reduces to . Integrating first for gives . The two boundary conditions fix , hence the error-function isobaric cooling front isHere the error function has normalization , as printed in the original PDF; the converted TeX's is incorrect. The following original sketch shows the temperature profiles. The cooling layer broadens as , and at fixed positive mass label the temperature falls as time increases, while the remote hot gas remains at .
For , the magnitude of the heat flux into the cold reservoir isAlthough the thermal conductivity tends to zero there, the physical temperature gradient diverges: their product has this finite limit. The stationary reservoir has no incoming advective energy flux and radiates the conducted energy immediately. Since , the radiated power per unit area isThus the requested exponent is . The initial divergence is the usual idealization of an instantaneous temperature discontinuity in a diffusion equation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 78 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let and use a fixed arbitrary material subvolume in the reference configuration, with outward unit normal . The reference mass density is time independent. The global momentum conservation law isThe divergence theorem, differentiation under the integral, and arbitrariness of give
The global conservation of energy law includes both internal energy and kinetic energy:Here is outgoing heat flux per reference area. Localizing givesSubtract the scalar product of the local momentum conservation law with . Since , this proves the Lagrangian internal energy balance
For positive temperature , the global entropy inequality isIts local excess is a nonnegative production density . Expanding the divergence of proves the Lagrangian entropy inequality in the requested equality form:No constitutive assumption on the heat flux was needed for these balance identities.
For the reference-configuration jump balances, make the orientation convention explicit. Write and let point from the minus side to the plus side. Let be the actual interface speed in direction . A signed level function with the plus side obeys on the interface. For , the singular time derivative is ; the singular reference divergence of is . Thus a local conservation law bounded sources has the Rankine-Hugoniot conditionThis is also the shrinking moving-pillbox calculation of the global law: finite volume supplies have no surviving surface term.
To match the displayed positive-sign momentum jump in the paper, use its speed parameter as , so the interface travels in direction . Assuming continuous and no surface force or energy supply, the jump laws are thenand, from ,The last inequality is nonnegative entropy production concentrated on the interface. Temperature and flux in the entropy term are the traces on their respective sides; one cannot take a common temperature outside the jump unless it is continuous.
If is instead defined as the interface speed in direction , all three terms above acquire a minus sign. In particular the printed positive-sign momentum formula requires the opposite speed convention; changing just the order of the jump does not remove this convention issue. If reference density is discontinuous, replace by the jump of the complete conserved density.
An equivalent internal-energy jump follows by subtracting the kinetic-energy jump using , where :The averaged traction appears because ; using a one-sided traction would generally be incorrect.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 ib Paper 1 4B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Interpret as the rest mass of each initial ball and assume that no energy or momentum escapes the collision. Let be its Lorentz factor. The total initial energy and momentum areTheir conservation determines the final four-momentum. For a single lump, and , henceThe final invariant mass follows from :This is the rest mass of a coalescing relativistic collision. For , : some kinetic energy becomes internal energy in the final rest frame. Setting would discard that energy and contradict conservation. At small speeds , while gives .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 65 1 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
In the energy-conserving blast regime, neglect ambient pressure, radiative losses, ejecta mass and gravity compared with the explosion. The cold ambient ideal gas has no sound speed scale, and its power-law mass density has no preferred radius. The point explosion introduces only its energy and elapsed time . This scale-free setting supports a self-similar blast wave; extra physics would limit the time interval over which that description applies.
The mass swept up to radius isIt is finite because . With no energy loss, the kinetic energy and internal energy both scale as . Therefore is constant and integration givesThe dimensionless coefficient depends on the adiabatic exponent and ambient exponent through the similarity profiles. Indeed, , which independently verifies the scaling. The shock wave decelerates for , since its time exponent lies between and .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 65 1 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Put and . The shock wave conditions fix and . The continuity equation then reduces toso a linear mass density profile requiresMomentum requires . At this exponent , hence integration gives . Substitution in the pressure equation makes the cubic coefficient vanish because , while its constant term requires . For this implies . Therefore all three equations and all shock wave conditions hold for the linear-profile spherical blast wave,The prescribed range restricts this family to .
For one has , , , and . The energy integral isConsequently , which fixes the radius and dimensional fields completely:The kinetic energy and internal energy integrands are each , so each accounts for half the explosion energy. Integrating the mass density also gives the correct swept-up mass .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 84 5 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let denote total gravitational potential energy, the background potential energy of the adiabatically sorted density field, and the available potential energy. Define positive for reversible transfer from kinetic energy to , as viscous kinetic-energy loss, as imposed mechanical work, as molecular transfer from internal energy to potential energy, and as the irreversible conversion of to . With boundary contributions removed, the stratified mixing energy budget isFor an unforced flow set . In an alternative notation, if is the full diffusive increase of background energy and , then and . This distinguishes irreversible density mixing from reversible buoyancy exchange. The internal reservoir obeys , so summing the kinetic, potential and internal budgets gives as required by conservation of energy.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 54 1 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Write and . The continuity equation converts a material specific-energy balance into a conservative energy density balance. Dot the ideal magnetohydrodynamic momentum equation with , and use the time independence of the Newtonian gravitational potential:For the energy density associated with internal energy, the adiabatic pressure equation givesThe ideal magnetohydrodynamic induction equation and the cross-product divergence identity give the magnetic energy balanceIndeed . The magnetic work cancels the kinetic magnetic work. The remaining pressure terms are . Adding all three balances proves ideal magnetohydrodynamic energy conservation:whereThe last term is the Poynting vector with the ideal electric field . A time-dependent imposed potential would instead supply the source .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 55 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-20
A stellar equation of state supplies pressure and internal energy as functions of density, temperature and composition, together with thermodynamic derivatives needed for stability and transport. Hydrostatic equilibrium fixes the pressure gradient, but does not determine which microscopic components provide the pressure. In ordinary dense interiors local thermodynamic equilibrium is a useful starting point. A consistent mixture iswhere ions, electrons, radiation and interaction corrections are distinguished. The classical electron pressure and electron degeneracy pressure are two limits of the same electron contribution, and must not be added as if they belonged to different particles. The finite-temperature electron equation of state interpolates between them.
In a fully ionized, nondegenerate, nonrelativistic gas, and specific thermal energy is . With nuclear mass fractions , charges and mass numbers , the mean molecular weight satisfies , and is the mean molecular weight per electron. This regime describes much of an ordinary main sequence interior. Toward cooler layers, ionization and molecular dissociation change particle numbers and consume heat. The Saha equation relates ionization to both temperature and electron density: there is no universal horizontal ionization boundary. These regions have larger heat capacity and can have a reduced stellar adiabatic exponent. The simple fully ionized formula is then insufficient.
Equilibrium photons give radiation pressure and energy per volume , or specific energy . In the nondegenerate gas regime, equality with gas pressure gives the radiation-to-gas pressure boundarya line of slope on a plot. Higher temperatures at fixed mass density favor photon support. A monatomic gas has stellar adiabatic exponent , while radiation alone has ; their adiabatic exponents of a monatomic gas-radiation mixture are not obtained by assuming a fixed pressure fraction during compression. Radiation support is particularly important in massive stars.
For electrons, Pauli exclusion principle and the Fermi-Dirac distribution determine occupation numbers. The net electron density is and the Fermi momentum is . Define the kinetic electron Fermi temperatureFor the electrons are nearly classical; for they are strongly degenerate and their pressure depends primarily on density. The intermediate region requires finite-temperature electron equation of state integrals, not a discontinuous switch of formulas.
The equation of state of a cold electron gas gives, in its two limits,These are respectively the and pressure-density powers, explaining the approximate white dwarf polytropic mass-radius relation sequence and the Chandrasekhar limit. The kinetic energy per volume is in the nonrelativistic limit and in the ultrarelativistic limit. Ions can still supply much of the heat capacity even when the electron pressure supplies the mechanical support.
The electron degeneracy crossover has slope at low mass density and at high mass density. The electron relativistic density threshold isa vertical marker where . It is different from the thermal electron relativistic threshold , near , a horizontal temperature scale. Hot dilute matter can have relativistic thermal electrons without degeneracy; cold dense matter can have relativistic degenerate electrons without reaching that temperature.
Electron degeneracy also does not automatically imply that electrons dominate the total pressure. Comparing the cold electron limit with radiation gives the radiation-to-degeneracy pressure boundaryIts logarithmic slopes are for nonrelativistic electrons and for ultrarelativistic electrons. One must compare the pressures separately from the degeneracy criterion; extrapolating the classical gas-radiation line into a degenerate region is incorrect.
Density-temperature crossover diagram for classical gas, radiation and electron degeneracy, illustrated for fully ionized carbon
. Details. The stellar equation-of-state regime diagram uses an illustrative fully ionized carbon composition, , . It displays the electron-degeneracy crossover, both radiation-pressure comparisons, and distinct thermal and density-driven relativity scales. The curves are limiting-model comparisons, not sharp phase boundaries or a calibrated complete equation of state. Partial ionization, molecular physics and interactions modify the low-temperature regions indicated on the plot.
At sufficiently high temperature, electron-positron thermal pair abundance can become important. The pair abundance depends on density and chemical potential as well as temperature; is not a universal onset line. In the dilute ultrarelativistic limit, both pair species together add energy density to the photons' , and have pressure one third of their energy density. While pairs are being created, thermal energy is spent on rest mass, which can reduce the stellar adiabatic exponent below and contribute to pair-instability supernova physics.
At high mass density and low temperature, Interactions governed by Coulomb's law invalidate the noninteracting-ion approximation. The ionic Coulomb coupling parameter , where , grows as . Corrections become significant when is of order one, and a sufficiently strongly coupled plasma can crystallize. At still greater mass density, electron capture alters and nuclear matter replaces the ideal electron-ion model; neutron star interiors require strong-interaction and relativistic equations of state. These further regimes lie beyond the simple pressure curves plotted here. A useful stellar EOS is thermodynamically consistent across the crossovers, rather than just the maximum of unrelated pressure laws.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 58 2 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For a spherical hydrostatic star with negligible surface pressure, the stellar virial theorem isFor a monatomic nonrelativistic perfect gas, , so and the total energy is . Half the released binding energy raises the internal energy; only the other half can be radiated. With fixed mass, no nuclear supply and no external work, conservation of energy givesFor the uniform-density stellar model, this becomes the contraction-luminosity evolution equationIt relates luminosity to the contraction rate; it does not by itself prescribe . Given ,For constant luminosity, with . This describes quasi-static Kelvin-Helmholtz contraction, not dynamical free fall. If the gas has a different constant specific-heat ratio , the appropriate stellar virial theorem is , so the radiated fraction of binding release is rather than universally one half.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ia Paper 4 9B a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Work in one fixed inertial frame, and take positive velocity in the rocket's direction. During , the rocket ejects the positive amount of mass . Its exhaust has inertial velocity , by the Galilean transformation of velocities. Once expelled, that material retains its velocity because it experiences no external force. The system's momentum is therefore the rocket momentum plus the sum of all these exhaust momenta:The minus sign comes from the positive expelled mass being .
Differentiate, applying the product rule to the rocket momentum and the fundamental theorem of calculus to the integral:The momentum conservation law thus gives the nonrelativistic rocket equation
The same bookkeeping for kinetic energy givesIts derivative iswhere the rocket equation cancels the first two terms. Thus kinetic energy increases during mass ejection, with when and . This does not violate conservation of energy: the increase comes from stored internal energy.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ia Paper 4 9B b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Now denotes the instantaneous rest mass of the rocket, including its fuel and stored internal energy, and is measured in a fixed inertial frame. Assume the exhaust is expelled backwards with speed in the rocket's instantaneous rest frame. By the relativistic velocity-addition formula, material emitted at time has inertial velocityIt coasts at this velocity after emission.
The crucial change is that the expelled material's rest mass is not simply : some of the rocket's rest energy becomes exhaust motion. Instead, use conservation of relativistic energy. Put , so the rocket's energy is . The exhaust emitted during carries energy . For material moving at velocity , the relativistic energy-momentum relation gives momentum , since and . Hence the modified total momentum isMeanwhile the total relativistic energy is . These expressions consistently account for both energy and momentum of the expelled material.
Differentiate the momentum formula. The momentum conservation law givesTo simplify it, useMultiplying by , the equation becomesThe two terms containing cancel. Dividing by proves the relativistic rocket equation
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ia Paper 4 9B c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
For fixed finite velocities, the nonrelativistic limit gives . Hence the relativistic rocket equation reduces towhich is the nonrelativistic rocket equation.
The conserved quantities called energy in the two calculations include different contributions. The nonrelativistic calculation considered only kinetic energy, which increases as fuel releases internal energy; total energy including that internal reservoir is still conserved. Relativistic energy includes rest energy, and therefore includes the fuel's stored internal energy through the rocket's rest mass. That rest mass decreases as energy is transferred into the exhaust. Thus conservation of relativistic energy and the nonconservation of kinetic energy express the same physical conversion.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 314 1 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Write for the material derivative and for the cross-helicity density, so . The ideal magnetohydrodynamic induction equation of ideal magnetohydrodynamics, with , givesThe dot product of the Euler momentum equation with the magnetic field has no Lorentz force contribution, because . Consequently,Here is the specific enthalpy, the temperature, and the specific entropy; is the internal energy per unit mass. The first law of thermodynamics in this convention is , so . Substitution, followed by , yields the cross-helicity conservation lawThe vector triple product identity puts this in the equivalent form
For the fixed volume, the divergence theorem gives the exact cross-helicity balanceThus cross-helicity is constant when the net source equals the outward flux. Simple sufficient hypotheses are throughout the volume and on its boundary. The first condition includes a homentropic flow; the second prevents both relevant boundary fluxes. Periodic boundary conditions, or sufficiently rapid decay at infinity, provide alternatives. These statements concern smooth ideal magnetohydrodynamics: material specific entropy conservation alone, , does not eliminate spatial specific entropy gradients along the magnetic field lines.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 3 34D b ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 3 34D b i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For particles of a classical monatomic ideal gas, the equation of state and internal energy areOnly translational degrees of freedom contribute; the particle number is fixed throughout the thermodynamic cycle.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 34D i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For a simple homogeneous thermodynamic system, internal energy is extensive: . Euler theorem for homogeneous functions and give , henceAlso , so at fixed ,At coexistence gas and liquid have the same temperature, pressure and chemical potential. Integrating along the intervening isotherm gives . Integration by parts, with endpoints at the same coexistence pressure , gives the Maxwell constructionThe horizontal line at replaces the mechanically unstable loop of the van der Waals isotherm. The extensivity argument presupposes the ordinary thermodynamic limit and neglects macroscopic interface contributions.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 314 2 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Work in the shock frame, assume a calorically perfect gas with fixed specific-heat ratio , and neglect magnetic stresses and body forces across the thin shock. The internal energy per unit mass is , and the specific enthalpy is . Integrating the local conservation laws across a thin stationary control volume makes the mass flux , momentum flux , and energy flux continuous. Hence the Rankine-Hugoniot conditions for a perfect gas areMultiplication of the last equality by gives continuity of the stated energy flux. These express that mass, momentum and energy cannot accumulate in an infinitesimally thin steady shock, although entropy production occurs on the physical compression branch. The same constant in the polytropic equation of state must therefore not be imposed on both sides. For flow from to , both signed velocities are negative; the flux equations and ratios remain valid.
In the Strong-shock Rankine-Hugoniot conditions, tends to zero. Put . The first two flux balances give and to leading order. The energy balance becomesDiscarding the unchanged-state root gives the compressive shock compression ratio and the required limits:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 314 2 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The conservation of energy to use here is the total kinetic energy plus internal energy inside the shock, not just the internal energy of a uniform-pressure core. With no radiative loss and negligible initial ambient energy,Substitute the adiabatic superbubble similarity solution and define the finite positive dimensionless integralThen . Since and ,This is the energy normalization of a continuously driven spherical shock. It fixes once the similarity profiles are determined. If the profiles describe only the shocked ambient layer, the energy of the interior hot bubble must also be included before using this normalization. A radiatively cooled shell has a different energy budget; its familiar numerical coefficient should not be substituted into this loss-free model.


