/sci/ - Science & Math

What do you think of the cancellation of the JW-telescope?

>>3613014
I think it sucks and I hope it doesn't get canceled. Political bickering has been neutering NASA for a couple decades, and this is just one of many examples.

>>3613030
Sorry, forgot tripcode.

Where are you getting your PhD man?

Have you built a rocket?

>>3613053
Only silly small kit-type things. I'm more into aerodynamics.

>>3613051
Anon. A very good place, but there's only so many people with my exact interests, I prefer not to say.

is it good?

>>3613063

Alright, no problem.

How much time do you set off for your thesis every day?

Of the private space companies, which is your favourite?

Is that picture you always post, actually you?

>>3613086
And why?

Is there a way to create a paired finite element analysis/SPH system that can calculate state transitions from solids to fluids and back again without any problems?

>>3613089
The guy in the picture is dead, and if you can't recognize you I suggest you read anything to do with the Saturn V

>>3613096
>and if you can't recognize him

>>3613078
>How much time do you set off for your thesis every day?
I'm not yet in full-on thesis writing mode, mostly just doing full time funded research projects and publishing papers. In some sense, a thesis can be just a compilation of published research. So I'd say I spend the majority of my days preparing thesis-related stuff.

I'm starting an MSci in Physics next month. Any protips you can give me?

When I started work in experimental fluids, why did nobody tell me I'd be spending so much time in a darkened, windowless lab?

>>3613094
Oh I love this question so much. Way up my alley.

Answer is yes... though there's nothing particular to mixing SPH and FEM with phase transition. In that field "mixed lagrangian-eulerian" methods are fairly well studied, which is more or less what you describe.

>>3613086
Well, obviously SpaceX has accomplished the most. I guess Blue Origin really interests me out of their sense of mystery, and I eagerly wait for them to announce they did something really awesome.

>>3613100
... what did you expect? No pity from me for going into work/research you didn't know anything about.

>>3613101
Yeah, don't try to cram or memorize shit. Learn to derive everything from first principles. Also, since physics, find a job?

>>3613110
Same guy here. I want to try implementing this (at least in a less accurate form) in a computer game I am making using OpenCL, do you have any advice for me? Any good reading material you can recommend? Know of any programs for engineering or otherwise I can look at that can do it?

I've already programmed a voxel based physics collision system using OpenCL (GPU) so I'm hoping I can extend it to deformations next.

>>3613113
The fuck is Blue Origin

>>3613127
Well, you can get away with doing it only as SPH if you want, but FEM can handle it just as well. SPH is just a lot easier for deforming grids (as there is no grid.) I don't have any texts on that matter, but the original SPH papers by J J Monaghan are probably the best place to start.

>>3613165
Also, the CUDA SDK has a hard-sphere collision code in it that works quite well. That'd be a great place to start to move to SPH on GPUs.

I'm going to be taking up "Numerical Methods" next term. What should I expect? Electrical Engineer undegrad here. Course description doesn't really give me much of a clue.

>>3613171
Possibly extremely easy for EE undergrads. Probably cover the basics of finite difference methods, ODE integrators (runge kutta etc), numerical linear algebra (solving systems of equations and such)

>>3613171
EE undergrad here aswell, it's ezpz nothing to worry about.

what is transistor biassing? :$

>>3613236
no idea.

how do you get fellowship

>>3613262
LOL. Any decent school tends to fully fund their engineering PhD students. Kind of a non-issue.

How retarded it is, on a scale of 1 to 10, to consider aerospace engineering as a career option because you dream of making it big with asteroid mining? Generally speaking.

>>3613786
I think Star Trek was a major influence for me, so maybe not that retarded. I ended up in a field I had no idea existed. Studying aerospace exposes you to an awful lot of applied math and science concepts. So sure, maybe you won't make it in asteroid mining, but you'll find something.

Dear OP serious question.

What math classes, either name or description do you think a engineer should take and would be able to apply the most in any tier of engineering?

How'd that new supersonic jet work out for you guys? Oh that's right. It fell into the ocean. Great work spending my tax dollars, asshole.

>>3613991
It was always supposed to crash into the ocean. The issue is when it stopped responding.

will the James Webb Telescope ever be completed and launched

How did you go about choosing a grad school?

How do I into grad school when my GPA is made of fail and aids?

>>3614025
Pick somewhere who has someone you really want to research under. Someone with similar interests. If you can't think of a single scientist you'd like to do research for, don't go to graduate school, because it isn't for you.

>>3613978
To apply to *any* engineering discipline... really means a wide range of applied mathematics.

Differential equations, real and complex analysis, statistics, linear algebra, numerical methods, perturbation theory, variational calculus.

>>3614055
Perfect answer.

>>3614025
Look at the website for every department you'd even remotely consider, and look at the research interests / CVs of the professors. You should already know what you want to research. Then, contact them.

>>3614037
Directly contact a professor that you want to work for, and convince them that you will do a good job and you're passionate about their work.

If you have a low GPA because you're stupid or lazy or uninterested in the field, then forget about it.

>>3614076
>stupid
No.
>lazy
Somewhat.
>uninterested
Heck nope.

Do I still have a chance?

>>3614076
What other reason is there for having a low GPA?

>>3614088
Yes, if and only if you directly contact professors you're interested in, and convince them to take you on.

>>3614089
Maybe your room mate hung himself and you found the body or something. Contrary to popular belief, that doesn't earn you an instant A for the semester at any school.

>>3613008
I took diff eq quite a while ago, but I've always wondered why you do matrix algebra to find to find Eulers solutions to certain types of differential equations. Are matrices actually the most fundamental form of math?

>>3613008

do your parents know you are a homosexual?

HOW DUZ A SPACESHIP EVEN GET OUT OF EARTH ITS IMPOSSIBLE DONT U NO WUT GRAVITY IS???????????? NASA IS LIE IS CONSPIRACY Y U SUPPORT IT U GOT A DEGREE IN LYING

Do you think the JWST will actually get launched?

>>3614111
>Are matrices actually the most fundamental form of math?
Yes, matrices are the purest form of existence.

Sincerely,
MATLAB

>>3613008
Did you think boundary layers was a hard course when you were doing undergrad?

>>3614111
=/ Um, what?

>>3614139
Fluid mechanics is generally pretty challenging, yeah.

So, how many cocks do you suck per day?

>>3614073
>>3614055

Am I supposed to know research scientists as a 3rd year student? I haven't even delved deeply into my subject. I've only taken intro courses thus far like Intro Physics, basic calc and related engineering math, circuit analysis, chemistry, fundamentals comp E, etc.

I'm lined up to take more serious courses in power electronics, emag, modern physics, QM signals etc. this year.

>>3614150
not same poster, but similar question.
>How much asskissing/politics is involved in your line of 'work'?

>>3614155
>Am I supposed to know research scientists as a 3rd year student? I haven't even delved deeply into my subject.
Then you have no reason to be considering grad school.

>>3614161
>How much asskissing/politics is involved in your line of 'work'?
None. This isn't liberal arts. You're either a capable student/researcher or you're not.

Of course, there's still room to have good social skills, as in any workplace.

Hey OP.
Are you also into micro-fluidics?
There is a lot of recent development going on around 'lab on a chip' devices. Low Reynolds numbers make it a bit easier to work around though..

OP where do you get your news from? Which sites/magazines/journals do you subscribe to?

>>3614128
Your post made my day!

All hail the Holy Matlab!

>>3614175
>Then you have no reason to be considering grad school.

I actually want to be knowledgeable in my subject. I wouldn't consider my science education complete without at least a masters in an EE or Physics related field.

My interest in science is relatively new. My grades in high school were bad (and I've had to play catch up during college) but I have nearly a 4.0 GPA now and I have caught up with my university's standard degree program. Advanced courses aren't taught until junior year here or in most universities.

I have every reason to consider grad school, I'm just not one of those guys who have been pursuing an education since youth and thusly can take advanced courses in freshman year.

Hey OP, is it true that if you don't already have a plan/goal for post-grad career, you shouldn't bother with university at all?
(Not discounting basic small-time colleges, just university)

>>3614217
I've studied it, but I have no real interest in low Re fluids. Extremely boring for a computational person.

>OP where do you get your news from? Which sites/magazines/journals do you subscribe to?
Nothing out of the ordinary. yahoo news, slashdot, scientific american for mainstream stuff. Otherwise, AIAA newsletters and regular scientific journals in my field.

>>3614273
>I wouldn't consider my science education complete without at least a masters in an EE or Physics related field.

What are you basing that on? That it "sounds cool"? You literally don't even know what it is you want to know. You have to figure that out before you can know if you want more education in it.

>>3614280
I wouldn't necessarily say that. I mean, to be pragmatic, you probably shouldn't go into some unemployable area like philosophy. But if you're a smart guy and enjoy math and physics, then why not go to university and get exposed to things you might really like and be able to make a career of it?

I'd say the opposite of your statement is true... what 17 year old can intelligently say what they'd like to do for a scientific career?

>>3614297
>what 17 year old can intelligently say what they'd like to do for a scientific career?
Apparently, all the ones that have been successful. They all say they already had a plan in mind before they even hit the university/college stage.
Considering I know guys like that who came out just as well off, I'm inclined to believe you are being optimistic.

>>3614318
... did you mean pessimistic?

Sure, some have plans. But I've seen tons of grad students show up with literally no idea what area they want to do research in. These people signed on for a 5 year program in research without any desire to do anything in particular. They inevitably do incredibly mediocre work.

So yeah, some people have plans. But "I want to go to grad school but I don't know what area" is not a plan. It just reeks of "my parents went to grad school and I want to please them."

>>3614342
>It just reeks of "my parents went to grad school and I want to please them."
Or "I don't want a real job yet."

>>3614297

I'm basing it on the idea that one is not really a scientist unless he can produce meaningful research. I know basically what a study of EE and physics entails. I know that I want to understand the subject to the best of my ability. I know that one doesn't know anything about physics unless he completes graduate level coursework. To become what I want to be I need to go to grad school and I do honestly believe that I have the talents for it. I just don't know what I want to research yet.

I will look into who is doing what research and where they are doing it. So thanks for that I guess. I still have three years on my degree because I'm earning two, so there's no rush.

Is there anything else that you considered when looking at grad schools? There must have been a time when you weren't sure about what you wanted to research.

>>3614342
>... did you mean pessimistic?
After re-reading both mine and yours post, I am also confused as to how I got to that point. Sorry.

>"I want to go to grad school but I don't know what area"
I don't encounter that often, normally I meet kids who know exactly what area they're interested in.

I would like to state that my original query was focused on university alone, not post-university grad school. Sorry If I remain unclear.

At this point I believe I a simply attempting to thrust my depression in your general direction. I would apologize for this If I were actually sorry.

>>3614378
>Is there anything else that you considered when looking at grad schools? There must have been a time when you weren't sure about what you wanted to research.

There are some people that look at rankings and such. I think that's a bad idea.

There was a time when I didn't know I wanted to do research. Then I started to learn about the field I'm currently in circa my junior year, and realized I wanted to work in that, and that it required grad education.

Just realize that if you're serious about grad school, it can entail many many hours for potentially low stipend pay, high stress, and low thanks. After that, you might find you don't like it at all. I mean, an MS is pretty easy, so go for it.

>>3614395
fair enough.

>>3614342
In my case (Master's in mechanical engineering) I didn't really know specifically what I wanted to research, but in my junior year I knew I wanted to learn more about mechanical vibration and acoustics. Then by senior year that had changed to control systems, so I ended up finding a professor at a grad school who was doing something really interesting with controls. But honestly my favorite part of grad school was getting to understand control theory more, not necessarily my own research.

>>3614426
Totally. I love controls. Optimal controls has been the most fun topic for me to study outside of my own area.

>>3614426
>But honestly my favorite part of grad school was getting to understand control theory more

Mind sharing some interesting trivia with us then? You, the sorts of things that made you excited to hear about when you were first getting into it, or just aspects off your area that you could directly apply to your understanding of everyday reality?

Wow .... never before saw a controls related thread on /sci/ before ..... MEMS(also micro fludics) guy here.
Best part .... state observation ... Kalman filters FTW!!

>>3614445
Can someone explain to me what is H-infinity and how does it work?

>>3614511
Well, an __-infinity norm is just the maximum value in some space... minimizing the H-infinity is just minimizing the maximum error for a control law. AFAIK, this is really just an optimization problem for a large number of variables. I'd have to defer to my ME buddy over there for more details.

>>3614511
H-infinity control uses copious amounts of linear algebra to find a realizable controller K for a plant P that minimizes the H-infinity norm of the closed-loop transfer matrix (more specifically, the lower linear fractional transformation) of P with K, while ensuring that the output is robustly stable.

It's great for complex MIMO systems with lots of states and allows you to specify some performance characteristics, but it's pretty tough to implement successfully because there's no exact method for formulating a system for H-inf controller generation.

I took a course in robust control and it was immensely frustrating, though pretty interesting.

>>3614646
How do you mean "no exact method"? Is the error strictly due to computational intractability of finding a nonlinear global optimization for a large number of DOFs?

Controls ignorance showing here, but hopefully you get what I'm asking. It sounds similar to adjoint methods.

>>3614660
Well, you know how for second order systems you can estimate parameters like rise time and setting time and overshoot from the complex-domain characteristics? There are very general methods for introducing "weighting functions" to your system that will alter some time domain output characteristics, but the methods for implementing said functions are not very specific. In doing a literature review for a paper I found maybe five or six different published papers that were just guidelines on how to get the desired response out of an H-infinity controlled system.

>>3614466
In our amateur rocket group, we are looking at both Kalman filters and Bayesian particle filters for active guidance. Our m=Matlab/Mech/EE guys like Kalman and the software guys like BPF. The nice thing about BPF is you don't need to pick a control matrix out of your ass, but it does need more CPU horsepower onboard to simulate enough particles.

have you ever fail (or come close to failed) a class?

I'm doing a design project at the moment and nothing seems to be wokring out. I'll ask the tutors/lecturers about how to do something, think I understand, go away and have a go, then realise there's another little thing that doesn't make sense. A months gone past so fucking fast.

Did you find the transition from doing textbook like problems to real world stuff challenging?

good or bad?

any advice on girls mr engineer phd?

>>3614710
I found the real world stuff "easier" in that it was more interesting, so the work wasn't like an annoyance.

Failure is perfectly fine if you've been learning stuff in it. Demonstrate to them that though things didn't work, you used good reasoning.

>>3614717
while i've done all my work in numerical methods, i can't say i actually own any books strictly on the subject.

>>3614763
an unfortunate distraction.

>>3614780

but they're so cute and soft :(

>>3614784
=( i know

>>3613008
Fact: Nazi's are responsible for the space program.
(but by your picture there, you already knew that)
>murrica strong!

>>3614784
And insane, and needy, and lack the bit of brain matter that allows them to process the idea of "honor".
I'm all for women, as long as they have someone around for them to leash their emotions too so they can get stuff done.

>>3614825

>frustrated chump detected

>>3614825
unfortunately, "women's rights" and liberalism have so pervaded our society that modern civilization caters entirely to the whims of women, while shitting all over the base needs of man, creating a bunch of worthless beta fucks.

astronaut buzz aldrin fucking punched a quasi-reporter in the face and dropped the fucker. today we have metro faggots being sensitive and redistributing wealth and women getting full pay for 4 months while they're on maternity leave.

>>3614851
>unfortunately, "women's rights" and liberalism have so pervaded our society that modern civilization caters entirely to the whims of women, while shitting all over the base needs of man, creating a bunch of worthless beta fucks.
This is true.

>astronaut buzz aldrin fucking punched a quasi-reporter in the face and dropped the fucker.
Bueno.

>today we have metro faggots being sensitive and redistributing wealth
No bueno. You don't redistribute wealth, you just need to pressure people to invest more, spend less and save only a little.

>women getting full pay for 4 months while they're on maternity leave.
Muy Bueno.