/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.1507434]

Try me.

[Anonymous No.1507451]

what was your undergrad GPA?

[Anonymous No.1507453]

When did you realize you wanted to be an engineer?

[Anonymous No.1507458]

>>1507451
I'd actually rather not say

[Anonymous No.1507463]

>>1507458
don't feel bad about it! tell us!

also, how many girls were in your mechie classes?

[Anonymous No.1507464]

Is it true there are no straight engineers?

[Anonymous No.1507465]

>>1507453
When I signed up for a CAD class in high school.
It was awesome, especially when we got to design our own prototypes that got built for us on a prototype machine.

[Anonymous No.1507467]

Muh bruther wurks on car engins too!

[Anonymous No.1507472]

what mechanical shit are you currently engineering?

[Anonymous No.1507482]

Do you agree with the statement, "civil engineers build targets for mechanical engineers to destroy?"

[Anonymous No.1507489]

Do you have to be a 'mechanical kinda guy/gal' to be a good mechanical engineer?

[Anonymous No.1507531]

>>1507482
Well, we design things that can be used by the military to destroy things, but most mechanical engineers I know work on things that are "harmless" such as aircraft wings, however aircraft wings could be used in a fighter/bomber to destroy something.
In a tertiary sense, the statement is correct
>>1507489
Not really. It just gives you an understanding of how the world works more clearly. It's kind of like the physics of materials, as opposed to the physics of interactions which is more of what we think of as *physics*

[Anonymous No.1507628]

greetings fellow mechanical engie :D

[Anonymous No.1507638]

Electrical Engineer here
Mechanical engineering is small time.

No, but seriously, what area of industry do mechanical engineers generally get hired in?

[Anonymous No.1507647]

>>1507638
Only in setting up the production lines for every industry there is.

[Anonymous No.1507658]

>>1507638

plus, as op said, structural projects such as wings or pressure vessels. also, large amounts of work and fluid sciences and thermodynamics. all heating and cooling (be it a building or a processor) is also in the field of M.E.

[Anonymous No.1507803]

>>1507638
I'm currently working in steel right now.
Its fun work. Like designing lego pieces.
Sorry I took a break for some tf2

[Anonymous No.1507965]

Anybody want to know anything about mechanical, or engineering in general?
I know a lot of people from other majors, civil, architectural, chemical, electrical and computer, etc.
Or any science based question, because I'm pretty good at that.

[Anonymous No.1508573]

>>1507965

i enjoy designing different objects and machinery, and am interested in pursuing mechanical engineering. but how much of your career is doing what you want versus being some employer saying "here, make this thing for us"

also average financial stuff, do mech engineers live comfortably?

[Anonymous No.1508581]

OP, which one would be better to connect a vertical wind turbine to an alternator, belt or gear?

[Anonymous No.1508590]

yea but, mech don't know shit about welding engineering

[Anonymous No.1508832]

>>1508590
Actually the complete opposite.
I know way too much about welding, weld materials, weld failures, weld related fractures, different types of flux, welding techniques (electron, spot, arc, etc).
>>1508581
Depends how long it needs to be, and how much load it's going to have on it. I am biased towards a chain because generally speaking, they last forever, carry a lot of weight (depending on the size) and are easy to maintain (you can replace broken links in the chain without replacing the whole thing).
If it's a small one, like for your back yard, a belt would work fine though.

[Anonymous No.1508852]

>>1508573
I mean, as an engineer my primary job is to ensure that things don't fail in an unpredictable or catastrophic way, which basically means someone else will come up with something they want, and either give you the plans for you to make it, or analyze it for weaknesses or faults.
If you like designing things though, you can get into that after you get your hands dirty with that kind of work first. Employers just want to know that when they say "make me a hammer" you don't give them a solid brick of steel.

[Anonymous No.1508857]

chemical engineering or nuclear engineering (in terms of job prospects, pay, and awesomeness)?

[Anonymous No.1508869]

OP, I'm in my third year of study of Mechanical Engineering and loving it. Do you feel that your degree adequately enabled you to design/build something potentially complex on your own? There are many projects I wish to pursue on my own when I get a job/degree...

[Anonymous No.1508911]

>>1507965
going into 3rd year undergrad biology. Thinking about become a civil, electrical, or mechanical engineer after I get this degree (going back to school lawl). Question is; what is the daily life of a civil engineer like? Is my concept of "you get to build really fucking cool machines" for M.E. correct? And what field do you generally think would be good to go into for alternative energy; E.E. or M.E.?

[Anonymous No.1508914]

>>1508857
Chemical. Just my opinion. I think the prospects for chemical are much better.
>>1508869
>Do you feel that your degree adequately enabled you to design/build something potentially complex on your own?
With a BSME, you don't really design stuff so much. For example, in my job all I do basically is test big pieces of metal for internal cracks using an ultrasonic device. The place I work for tests every piece that goes out, because a hidden air bubble concentrates the stress at the weak point (you probably know this already) so it's incredibly important that we ensure nothing of that sort gets out of our production line.
If you had a masters/phd you would probably be on the design team, because you can propose a design and analyze it, and know reasonably well how it will perform in the field.

[Anonymous No.1508921]

>>1508832
Chain? Nigga please. Even automobiles use belts. A chain is going to have too much friction.

[Anonymous No.1508927]

>>1508911
A lot in this post lol
>what is the daily life of a civil engineer like?
From what I've heard, it's kind of boring. You ensure building codes are enforced, you do soil analysis, and stuff.
> Is my concept of "you get to build really fucking cool machines" for M.E. correct?
Pretty much, yep. You don't get to do that until you have several years of hands on experience though, just like you won't be designing a skyscraper right out of architecture (enjoy your toilets and sinks)
>And what field do you generally think would be good to go into for alternative energy; E.E. or M.E.?
Hard to say. EE's don't really touch things that don't have wires though, so things like the liquid salt solar plant that just got announced (check it out, its cool tech) would be in the realm of mechanical.
That's not to say EE's dont play a part because they do. But as far as energy *generation* is concerned, they aren't even in the game.

[Anonymous No.1508929]

>>1508914

Why don't you have a masters or PhD? DO I SMELL AN AVERAGE SMAVERAGE?!

LOLOLOLOL

[Anonymous No.1508936]

>>1508921
>herp derp
I assume anyone who uses a chain would keep it oiled up. Thats like complaining your clothes are wrinkled because you didn't fold them.

[Anonymous No.1508947]

>>1508927
Cool beans. I actually was just reading up on the thermal salt plant yesterday; have to say, I am getting quite interested in ME and alternative energy, so we'll see where I can go with that.
Also: Bachelors or Masters?

[Anonymous No.1508948]

>>1508929
Didn't want to do the extra work, and didn't want to pay to go back to school.
It was a smart decision. Now I'm making 80k 3 years out of college.

Also my captcha that I just got was "the game" I swear to god. I only realized it after the page had moved away.

[Pedro No.1508954]

Do you think that the field of M.E. covers a lot of things? what options of career do you have at your disposal? what is the focus of the course? is it true it is very focused on cars and engines?

[Anonymous No.1508956]

Do you think that somebody with a good understanding of Physics and Math that doesn't have an engineering degree could do your job?

[Anonymous No.1508967]

>>1508948
Do you enjoy your job, money aside? I am looking for fulfillment in a career, and am unsure if M.E. would provide that over a science, but I have very little exposure to ME and thus do not know.

[Anonymous No.1508970]

How would you solve a practical problem...for instance, how would you stop some big mean mother fucker from tearing you a structurally superfluous new behind?

[Anonymous No.1508980]

Hey there!
I'm in an aerospace undergrad program, and am going to going through an internship after I finish this sophomore year

What can I expect to spend my time on? How many hours/day do you spend on various mechanical engineer'n tasks?

[Anonymous No.1508984]

>>1508936
Oiling is expensive. Chains aren't practical for high speeds. Large chains are heavy and will constitute a sizeable portion of the load. Repairing broken links is impractical because when a chain breaks, it's a sign that the rest of chain has problems too.

[Anonymous No.1508993]

>>1507434
Do you fix cars?

[Anonymous No.1509000]

>>1508954
No, at least not specifically cars.
In practice, ME's deal with stuff with basically anything that moves.
>>1508956
Absolutely not. I'll give you an example: did you know that steel (and just about everything else) is made up of 'grains' just like wood has grains? The grains are crystalline structures within the metal. In fact, some applications of steel such as airplane turbines have single grains of steel that make them up. It would actually be accurate to call them steel "crystals".

No amount of physics or math will teach you about the makeup of materials. Almost nothing is theoretical, because almost all of our knowledge of mechanics of materials is based off of observations in real life.

Don't get me wrong, you need a SOLID background in physics and math to succeed in ME (and really, any engineering).

[Anonymous No.1509005]

OP! how fix this?

[Anonymous No.1509007]

>>1508970
Build a gun.

[Anonymous No.1509011]

>>1507434
Have you ever seen that film, shake hands with danger?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_gEVILWVUM

[Anonymous No.1509012]

>>1508914

Thanks for the response. In your experience, do Mechanical Engineers work primarily amongst other ME's, or are most work environments interdisciplinary? i.e. Mechatronics = Mechanical/Electrical Engineers.

[Anonymous No.1509047]

>>1508984
>Oiling is expensive
There are chains that will oil themselves. You think after hundreds of years of use, nobody came up with a better way to oil a chain?
>Chains aren't practical for high speeds.
Wind turbines bro. How do they work?
I'll give you a hint, they don't spin more than maybe a few thousand RPM. That's not even in the realm of "high speed".
>Large chains are heavy and will constitute a sizeable portion of the load
The alternator is going to have a significantly higher portion of the load than the chain.
Also any belt worth a damn is going to weigh only slightly less than a steel or aluminum chain.
The belts in cars use very heavy duty rubber so that they last a long time.
> Repairing broken links is impractical because when a chain breaks, it's a sign that the rest of chain has problems too.
That's only true if the chain was a contiguous piece of metal, where there is a deformation field around the failure area. When things fail, they tend to fail at the weakest point, which is going to be a single link in the chain. The rest of the links wont have broken, because they were not the weak point in the chain.
Unless you mean to say they all share the same lifespan, and so when one fails, the rest are about to fail too.
If we ignore environmental effects (rusting, hydrogen embrittlement, temperature), the only failure mode is fatigue, and if I'm not mistaken, the chain is hardly pulling any serious load. If it's really pulling half of the metal's yield point in stress (protip, it's about 40 thousand pounds per square inch for steel), then I must be thinking of something else that isn't a wind turbine.

[Anonymous No.1509060]

Did they teach you about various mechanical devices in college, OP? Or was it more just the science behind it?

[Anonymous No.1509066]

>>1509012
Most everything you go into will be interdisciplinary
I think you'd be hard pressed to find something that was completely self contained.

[Anonymous No.1509078]

>>1509060
What kind of devices?
It really depends. We learned about almost all different devices in thermodynamics, but almost none in engineering materials and design.
In a very basic sense, you learn that "in devices like this, the stresses go here so watch out for it".

[Anonymous No.1509087]

OP is not a faggot and has actually started a really interesting thread. For every other good thread I find on /sci/ tonight, my transformer will rape a boy in your honor.

[Anonymous No.1509112]

How does it feel knowing EEs get the same knowledge from your whole bachelors in 2 classes?

Weak sauce.

[Anonymous No.1509128]

>>1509112
Do you know how heat exchangers work?
Do you know how a compressor works?
Do you know how six sigma?
Do you know what nyquist criterion are?
Do you know to manufacture anything?
CHECKMATE

[Anonymous No.1509130]

inb4 are you gay/a faggot

[Anonymous No.1509150]

>>1509128
>Do you know how a compressor works?
Basic Thermo
>Do you know how six sigma?
lulz you already have to result to shitty norms because you don't learn science?
>Do you know what nyquist criterion are?
1 class : control systems, lulz. easiest class in my bachelors.
>Do you know to manufacture anything?
Yes I do.

[Anonymous No.1509157]

>>1509078

I was thinking car engines and the like mostly.

[Anonymous No.1509161]

Is it still tight, or do years of wear and tear make things slide right in?

[Anonymous No.1509162]

Going into 2nd year mechanical engineering as well, loving it!

[Anonymous No.1509186]

[Anonymous No.1509191]

>>1509128
>Do you know what nyquist criterion are?
>He doesn't know criterion is singular!
laughinggirls.jpg

[Anonymous No.1509211]

>>1509191
One could argue there's the stability one and the sampling one but then again.

lulz MEs

[Anonymous No.1509218]

How is the work schedule for ME?
They have a call at 5 am because something was broken in the plant?

[Anonymous No.1509228]

>>1509047
If chains are so good, then how come belts are still used for generators and factory machinery? Checkmate.

[Anonymous No.1509236]

Who ends up having the easiest day to day job: Computer Science major, EE, MechE, or Computer Engineer?

I have genuine interest in all of these fields but I know most CompSci majors hate their jobs.

[Anonymous No.1509240]

>>1509047
Belts are infinitely better and quieter than chains. Accept you are wrong and move on.

[Anonymous No.1509241]

>>1509186
>Aerospace Engineer
>Not in god tier

>my face when I have no face to describe this

[Anonymous No.1509250]

>>1509236
Same here

[Anonymous No.1509255]

>>1509236
Mech E > Comp Sci > Comp Eng > EE in terms of easiest job.
I suggest taking Comp Eng or EE... and learning about Comp Sci.. you'll need it anyway.

>>1509241
lulz... Aerospace Eng.. hard?

[Anonymous No.1509267]

>>1509255
And in terms of stressful job?

[Anonymous No.1509281]

Do you live in San Francisco?

[Anonymous No.1509283]

>>1509267
Comp sci is pretty stressful.. since you always have always have to release release release.

Comp Eng / EE depends on your field. Mine is pretty stressful since I design solutions that need to be released pretty quick (reverse engineering for car third party solutions).

And Mech Eng.. lulz... don't even show up and people won't realize it.

[Anonymous No.1509294]

>>1509283
This is kind of pissing me off because mechE seems to have the heaviest undergrad workload at my school compared to CS and CE.

[Anonymous No.1509302]

>>1509283
But in CompSci you are a geek programming, if you fail, nothing happen, only shit from your boss. In MechE if you fail in the calculations of the machines, the factory workers can be injured, and you are going to be fucked. INB4 learn english.

[Anonymous No.1509306]

>>1509302
lulz. if you're in mech e, you design boxes to store products in.

nice try faggot.

>>1509294

cs... maybe... CE? Lulz, troll harder.

[Anonymous No.1509308]

>>1509302
So what, you're not doing a constant hardcore grind of work every day like programmers are forced to.

Plus you're fucked once you get old in CS.

[Anonymous No.1509309]

>>1509302
Yeah, because there's no applications for, well, applications that have significant repercussions if they fail. Nope, none at all.

[Anonymous No.1509319]

>>1509306
MechE is like 140 credits and every single teacher is a total dick that makes you throw your life away for a B.

CompSci and CE(for the most) part are cake walks because they have only a handful of differing courses and all the CS teachers are cool and laid back.

[Anonymous No.1509320]

>>1509308
Yeah, that is true.

[Anonymous No.1509323]

>>1509319
You do realize CEs have most classes with EE... which is a ton fuck harder than ME.

>>1509309
EEs and CEs usually do applications on those tho :)

[Anonymous No.1509326]

>>1509302
Implying computer programs can't get people killed if they fuck up. Autopilots, nuclear reactor control systems, 911 call centres, industrial equipment control, automated transit vehicles, etc etc.

[Anonymous No.1509327]

So.. in job speaking,

MechE > CompSci

Period.

[Anonymous No.1509329]

>>1509323
There are only 7 CMPE specific courses at my university, everything else is math/CS.

80% of the CS and CE majors are identical.

[Anonymous No.1509335]

>>1509329
and 2 of those are capstone projects

So CE and CS are virtually identical, CE gets a taste of EE but thats it.

[Anonymous No.1509338]

>>1509191
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyquist_stability_criterion
Note that's criterion, not criteria. there's more than one.
>lulz you already have to result to shitty norms because you don't learn science?
Yea keep pretending that your wires and capacitors mean anything.
>>1509228
Because they run at high RPM.
Windmills run at low rpm.
Checkmate derpfag.
>>1509240
It's run outside. Nobody gives a fuck. It's a fucking windmill generator. Noise isn't an issue.
graspingatstraws.jpg
Seriously you guys. This is why I'm an engineer and you aren't. I take more things into consideration than "well these guys do it, you should do it too".

[Anonymous No.1509341]

OP, I want to go to university to study Mechanical Engineering. What level of Physics/Mathematics would be needed? I never did A-Levels...

[Anonymous No.1509352]

>>1509338
I like how my desire for multiple wind turbines in my backyard is pissing people off

[Anonymous No.1509353]

>>1509338
oh lulz, nice trolling, 2 hours later. and yes, electromagnetism is alot harder then high school physics.

[Anonymous No.1509364]

EE's are vastly superior, EE junior here :D

JK, I was an ME major when I started, but realized that I'm much more interested and apt for electrical and computer engineering.

[Anonymous No.1509373]

>>1509341
Let me put it this way. I got B/C grades in high school math, but I took honors physics. I learned more in that class than I did in 2 years of college level physics, the college physics just had calculus in it.
>>1509353
>my major is better than your major!
You know nothing about mechanics of materials by your own admission. You know nothing about failure modes, nothing about strengthening methods, nothing about failure analysis, crack formation, creep, fatigue, etc.
The most you know is maybe that you can temper things to make them stronger, but not why it is that way.
Trust me, I took a materials science class with EE's who thought they were hot shit and then the midterm rolled around and showed them what the fuck was up.

[Anonymous No.1509380]

>>1509373
How is your work schedule?

[Anonymous No.1509384]

Why the fuck does everyone say EE is difficult? What the fuck makes it harder than anything else?

[Anonymous No.1509387]

>>1509373
I'm taking Dynamics and I'll admit that the ME's are doing better than me. I'm one of the quicker EE students too........just I fucked around a lot earlier. I Just now got serious about going to class.

[Anonymous No.1509388]

>>1509373
Where did I say anything about not knowing anything about mechanics of materials?

It's might be high tier for you but it's pretty low tier for us. Not because I'm not a specialist in that, that I can't just take my book, read it and school you in it 10 hours later.

Face it, ME is shit tier, there's a reason. Same reason why marketing majors are the laughing stock of business majors (who are laughing stock of all majors, but that's another story).

[Anonymous No.1509393]

>>1509380
Easy enough for entry level grunt work. Test things, report results, repeat.
I'm just doing this for the work experience, so I can move up the job ladder. Most places don't hire fresh ME's unless it's an internship, or work that a high schooler could do. You really need work experience to get anywhere, but it's the same with all engineering.

[Anonymous No.1509397]

>>1509384
A lot more advanced math than any of the other engineering disciplines, plus some people find it hard because there isn't any sort of intuition to some of the concepts (like there often is in mechanics)

Some people don't want to learn programming either.

I'm taking electromagnetics this fall so the raping will continue........

[Anonymous No.1509401]

the company i interned at gave me a faster computer with dual monitors as opposed to a senior EE working there :P

[Anonymous No.1509407]

Also you can tell how young someone is by how much dickwaving they do about X vs Y engineering discipline. My Circuits II teacher likes to joke around about Civils not being able to do Laplace transforms, but he's not serious.

[Anonymous No.1509417]

>>1509407
Hmm... all engineers majors are able to Laplace Transform... wowow.. basic integral.

The dickwaving is mostly due to having to deal with other disciplines after having to deal with your own peers for a while.

[Anonymous No.1509432]

Why is classical controls design done in Laplace space (with transfer functions and shit)?

I don't have an intuitive understanding of why things are put into Laplace space.

[Anonymous No.1509440]

>>1509388
Solve this problem.
Get back to me when you have an answer.
You're smarter than an ME right? You should have no problem.

[Anonymous No.1509441]

>>1509432
> Why is classical controls design done in Laplace space (with transfer functions and shit)?
Because the time domain is a bitch.

[Anonymous No.1509454]

How is the job demand for MechE's? I know CS is continuing to explode and you're pretty much guaranteed a sweet gig out of college on the east coast with all the defense contractors.

[Anonymous No.1509460]

>>1509440
that's pretty durn tough without numboos

[Anonymous No.1509468]

>>1509440
I'm not the person you're asking, though I'm an EE. One way to solve it would be using a position loop equation (we used these for solving linkages in Dynamics) and differentiating wrt time twice. It would be one hell of a set of equations.....but not entirely difficult.

[Anonymous No.1509476]

for M.E.'s, it kinda depends where you are. my school is close to several defense contractors, so they usually come and pick up several graduates for jobs. on the flip side, some friends of mine who graduated with CS degrees are having a shitty time trying to find a job. every company keeps telling them unless they have 2 years experience, they aren't interested. basically, so long as you co-op or intern somewhere during your school years, you will be greatly helped in finding a job

[Anonymous No.1509485]

>>1509432
Laplace domain is used when the state of something at a given time doesn't really matter, but what does matter is what the state is.

Take for example a light switch. In the time domain it would start at zero, after a certain time it would go to the "on" position, and sit there until infinity.
In the laplace domain, you switch it on, and you can measure the rise time, % overshoot, settling time, etc. of the signal, and know that when you flip the switch, it will respond this fast, and sit at this value. And if you don't like the results, it allows you to easily compensate it to have a longer or shorter response characteristic.

Basically, it converts things from amplitude-time to amplitude-frequency which is easier to work with when dealing with signals.

[Anonymous No.1509494]

>>1509186
>My face when mechatronics engineering is not on the list.

[Anonymous No.1509499]

I've got a question. I'm going into my third year undergrad of ME, I'm enjoying it, learning alot.

But I need to decide on my electives soon, and what concentration to go into. I really have no idea what to do.
Is there any field of ME that is growing or would be good to go into now? Any recommendations?

[Anonymous No.1509500]

>>1509460
You don't need numbers. Here's a hint: try solving it with respect to the C reference frame.

This is the easiest problem I can think of off the top of my head. If you can't solve this, then just admit that you don't know shit about ME and concede the point. Or just stop posting.

[Anonymous No.1509517]

i once knew a electronic/electrical engineer (BS) who laughed in the face of a physics grad student who had a bachelor's in astrophysics when the grad student said calculations involving a rotating magnetic field were easy. the EE just told him no and laughed at him. it apparently did not occur to him that anyone could possibly be smarter than him.
this same EE presumed to know more about subjects he did no studying on than people who studied them their entire lives (global warming, even though he literally had no chemistry experience, the moon landing, etc).
I know another electronic/electrical engineer who has the same attitude.
what is it about EE that attracts egomaniacal dumbass douchenozzles? is asperger's part of the entry conditions?

[Anonymous No.1509533]

>>1509499

i am roughly at the same stage now. from my understanding, if you want to take the absolute safest route to guarantee a job later (and if it's all the same to you), i'd suggest going into the thermal and fluid sciences. there is always going to be high demand for optimizing cooling, flight, engines, and power generation. but, in the end, it's where you want to be and what you want to be doing. materials science lends itself to metallurgy, designing support structures for just about anything not covered by the civil department. or controls for developing how things will operate and such

[Anonymous No.1509575]

>>1509500
not op here.

are those joints? or is the whole body rotating? is the base fixed? are you saying you find end effector position problems easy (which they are)?

shitty drawing is shitty. add "numboos"

[Anonymous No.1509603]

>>1509575
Three arms which rotate about one axis.
A rotates about NZ
B rotates about NX
C rotates about NY
I drew arrows indicating where "positive" angular rotation is, but it shouldn't make a difference in the final answer.

[Anonymous No.1509604]

Question (Sorry, I know you're not an EE, but you prolly know anyway):

When a fence sign says 10,000 Volts what does it mean exactly? It's comparing the difference in electrical potential between two points. But what two points? The fence and the ground?

Why do we always measure electrical potential in comparison to something else (volts)? Is there such thing as a sensor that reads absolute electrical potential? If there's such thing as absolute zero (temperature) shouldn't there be such thing as absolute zero electrical potential?

halp

[Anonymous No.1509621]

can somebody tell me why biomedical is considered shit tier?

does it not deliver on it's potential? sounds like an interesting field.

[Anonymous No.1509622]

>>1509604
Well there's line voltage and phase voltage. If the fence is single phase (I don't see why it wouldn't be) then the 10kV is measured with one probe on the fence, other on a ground source.

[Anonymous No.1509631]

>>1509621
I know a ME prof at my school who is working on a pulley system for patients in hospitals. EEs work on electronic implants and such. A lot of work like that employs engineers of all kinds.

[Anonymous No.1509648]

>>1509621

Aside from job availability, don't let someone tell you that one branch of engineering is "better" than another.

That kind of retarded thinking is like saying a hammer is better than a screwdriver.

Have respect for all branches of engineering.

[Anonymous No.1509655]

>>1509648
absolutely... who do you think makes surgical robots?

[Anonymous No.1509658]

>>1509631

i have heard a lot of the fields are interconnected.


also, how is the job market for ME?

im going into EE/nano engineering because i find it fascinating, but i keep hearing about global competition! your thoughts anons?

thank you :)

[Anonymous No.1509667]

how do i shot web

I'm sorry. I won't do it again.

[Anonymous No.1509672]

>>1509604
Since it's a permanent building (i.e. not portable) it is 10,000 volts relative to the earth.
>Why do we always measure electrical potential in comparison to something else (volts)?
Because voltage is literally a comparison of the difference.

Lets say for example the two of us are standing on the ground outside. You would say that the difference in altitude between us is roughly zero, right?
Now lets say I dig a deep hole under me, and stand on the bottom. The difference is now much greater between us.
If you dig an even deeper hole, the difference is even greater than before.
In this example, you are high voltage, and I am the "ground" voltage.

Does that make sense?

>Is there such thing as a sensor that reads absolute electrical potential?
Well, a potentiometer (read: voltmeter) only measures the difference between high voltage, and whatever you signify is the 'ground' voltage. For all intents and purposes, an earth ground (as in, the wire literally leads to the dirt in the ground) is the "absolute" ground.

> If there's such thing as absolute zero (temperature) shouldn't there be such thing as absolute zero electrical potential?
Absolute zero is absence of movement of subatomic particles.
Ground is the absence of a difference between high and low. if that makes sense.

[Anonymous No.1509675]

>>1509672
>Ground is the absence of a difference between high and low. if that makes sense.
I meant to say 0v is the absence of a difference

[Anonymous No.1509692]

>>1509658

Hard to say. Job market depends on where you are and what you want to go into.

But people are pretty much always looking for MEs. Sometimes it's tough to find those people. Right now there are still people hiring despite the shitty economy, it's just tougher to find them.

[Anonymous No.1509712]

A ground is basically just a reference point. In a circuit the ground is almost always referred to as 0 volts.
In electric distribution to homes and businesses, the earth is our 0 volt reference point.
In a car, the vehicle chassis is the ground

[Anonymous No.1509733]

>>1509692

thank you for the response.

im glad i am genuinely interested in my field of study :)

[Anonymous No.1509751]

Do MechE's/CE's/EE's often work lots of unpaid overtime?

[Anonymous No.1509778]

bump for thread justice

[Anonymous No.1509821]

In a home outlet, one of the holes is the "hot" wire and the other hole is the "neutral". The neutral wire is grounded, so it should have the same voltage as ground.

Since the power is AC and the current is constantly alternating direction, does that mean that my appliance is periodically receiving 0V when current is flowing from the neutral wire into the hot wire?

[Anonymous No.1509831]

how far must a gas pipe lie from the ground floor

[Anonymous No.1509832]

>>1509751

depends on the company. some of the big ones have labor unions; at boeing only management is salaried so as long as you stay an engineer you will always get overtime for over 40 hours. including double time on sundays and holidays.

[Anonymous No.1509841]

>>1507638
How does it feel knowing Indians do the same job you do for pennies on the dollar?

[Anonymous No.1509850]

I'm going in a bs physics degree with intent to get a masters in ME after

would it be better just to get a bs in ME

[Anonymous No.1509858]

>>1509850
Get a B.S. in Engineering Physics. There are a few schools that offer physics-concentrated engineering programs, then you can go whichever direction you want with grad school.

[Anonymous No.1509861]

>>1507638
Generally everywhere you see a machine. Like, anything that ever uses a machine. Ever.

[Anonymous No.1509869]

>>1509858
Engineering physics, would that be the same as applied phyics?

[Anonymous No.1509876]

>>1509821
yes, the voltage switches, and in turn the current direction changes
The 115 volts rating is just the RMS average voltage
the actual voltage varies between about +170V to -170 V

[Anonymous No.1509883]

>>1509821
alternating current is pretty much a sinewave of voltage. It will go positive, then zero, then negative (i.e. positive voltage in the opposite direction).
The neutral wire carries the currrent from your stuff thats plugged in, back to the electral panen in your house, where it eventually leads to a ground.
The "ground" wire is just for safety in case there is a connection from hot to neutral that isn't grounded i.e. if your toaster finds its way into your bath tub. The ground wire provides another path to ground, so that your bath water isn't the lowest local voltage.

[Anonymous No.1509884]

>>1509841

this true? :( EE fucked?

[Anonymous No.1509887]

>>1507638
EE/ME double major here.
you're both small time.

[Anonymous No.1509902]

>>1509887

pfffft

[Anonymous No.1509915]

>>1509869
Someone with an Enginnering Physics degree here.

At my school, it was the same as LAS physics, but fewer gen-eds and more math and CS. I thought a course on PDEs was a better use of my time than a 4th semester of composition.

[Anonymous No.1509921]

>>1509915 here again,
In hindsight my proof-reading skills need some brushing up...

[Anonymous No.1509922]

>>1509884
Just letting you know:
Any engineering is pretty much big time. Everyone here is trolling, and you should not be influenced on your life decisions by trolls, but by what you want to do.

[Anonymous No.1509933]

>>1509922

thanks


also WTF IS THIS SHIT?!

[Anonymous No.1509969]

>>1509883

True, the neutral wire is grounded, but doesn't it actually lead back to the power generator?

I recently interviewed for a position and my interviewer told me I drew a building light circuit incorrectly (I drew the neutral going into ground). I think I was supposed to draw the neutral connected to ground, but leading back to the power source.

[Anonymous No.1509983]

>>1509884

Don't listen to that ass muncher. EEs get a lot of respect.

And Indians are a pretty smart bunch, so there's not shame in getting paid well for the work.

[Anonymous No.1510022]

>>1509983
the problem, is that no one wants to pay you, for the same work indians will do cheaper/better/with less complaining.

[Anonymous No.1510031]

>>1510022
Yes, it is a crisis.
Thousands of EEs are going hungry every day because no one ever hires them.
Please, donate to the EE donation funds and you could sponsor your own EE. We will send you a picture of your sponsored EE every year, along with a thank you note for your contribution.

[Anonymous No.1510036]

Since when did science become about the money?

[Anonymous No.1510045]

:( anon

i guess i will have to look up some statistics

[Anonymous No.1510048]

>>1510036

since xkcd started selling t-shirts

[Anonymous No.1510051]

>>1510036

its not, but living is. it isn't completely unreasonable to choose a better paying field if it is no less interesting

[Anonymous No.1510053]

>>1510036
Since any capitalist society where everything is about money.

Its funny because actually, people function better when they aren't doing it for teh money

[Anonymous No.1510054]

>>1510048

which happened when xkcd's entire reader base started using ad blockers.

[Anonymous No.1510071]

>>1510054
>>1510048
>xkcd

[Anonymous No.1510091]

>>1510071

fuck it ill just major in women's studies

[Anonymous No.1510190]

>>1509969
Yes, in household wiring both the neutral and ground are connected together at the fuse panel, and then by wire to the earth. The ground wire in an appliance is basically just a shortcut back to the fuse panel, so if there is a short, the breaker will trip before anyone gets hurt.

Also, yes the neutral wire is connected to earth at the power plant, and along the lines, and at your house.Current normally flows through the neutral wire, not the ground, because of its higher resistance. In some places, there is no neutral wire, and the circuit is completed through the ground. This is lower cost, but lowers power quality and can be dangerous with higher currents.

[Anonymous No.1510196]

ANOTHER QUESTION:

As a capacitor charges it stores electrons on one of its sides. As this happens, why does current continue to flow on the other side of the capacitor? Isn't a capacitor like a tiny gap in the circuit?

A physics professor told me that the electrons on the other side of the capacitor are pushed out from the repulsion of the stored charge. This causes the current to continue on the other side of the capacitor. When I asked what happens when that side of the capacitor runs out of electrons, he just said, "it has a lot of electrons".

Is this an accurate explanation?

[Anonymous No.1510225]

>>1510190

Thanks for the explanation.

I read before about neutral going straight into the ground, but I didn't realize this was less common. I just thought, "WTF? I guess AC power doesn't require a complete circuit." I didn't realize the circuit was being completed by the ground.
That's what led me to draw the neutral wire "incorrectly" during my interview.

I swear, for something so simple, electricity is fucking confusing to learn. It's only after I understand it that I realize how easy it is.

[Anonymous No.1510260]

>>1509821
0V only happens for an infinitesimal time twice per cycle. What you're describing happens for half of the cycle when the hot has a lower voltage than neutral. There is still power flowing to your appliances. If there was a pipe expelling air, you could take some power from the stream by putting a pinwheel at the end of the pipe. You could do the same if the pipe were sucking air. This is like the hot wire when it has a negative voltage.

[Anonymous No.1510261]

>>1507458
why are you posting k-on and bringing shame to MEs everywhere.

[Anonymous No.1510272]

Sup OP, I'm currently working towards a degree in M.E. as well. From what I understand, on hand expierience is much more useful than the schooling so I went to a cheaper state college to avoid taking out a student loan.

Think that was a good idea? I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything too important. Where'd you get your degree at?

[Anonymous No.1510286]

>>1509000
yo OP, you take materias processing? At my university physics fags learn about materials like steel too, they do not however learn about materials processing.

[Anonymous No.1510287]

>>1510196
A capacitor is like a dam. Once there is water stored up, it releases it out the other end.
Once its full it has to release some so that it doesn't overflow.

[Anonymous No.1510301]

>>1510196

I'm going to assume this is all in DC

The simplest type of capacitor are just two parallel plates (so yes kinda a tiny gap.) Now in order to store electrons the capacitor must be charged with a battery. This will cause the electrons to build up on the one side of the plate attempting to get as close to the positive side as possible.

I'm not sure as to what the hell your physics teacher was trying to say (perhaps just a bad explanation) But for a capacitor to discharge (unless its dialetric break down which i doubt your dealing with so i'll ignore it) you need to to have a path to the other side of the battery (or circuit w/e). So when you connect a path to the other side of the circuit all of these capacitors will just rush to the other side, (cool thing to do is to just charge a capacitor then connect a wire to discharge it. You get a spark). Then as these electrons rush to the other side they leave the capacitor, and all new electrons coming out of the battery ignore the capacitor. So the capacitor discharges and then has no more electrons to give.

Basically in DC the capacitor can be seen as a storage spot for electrons, when they get their chance to leave they leave. And the capacitor isn't needed anymore.

Quick example hook a battery up to a capacitor. This will charge the capacitor. take out the battery put in a lightbulb. The electrons will rush to the other side very (much less than a second) And this should cause you to see a flash of light.

[Anonymous No.1510307]

>>1510286
Where I go, materials science is the generic ME class, where you learn about grains, grain boundaries, intermolecular forces, etc.
It's also one of the hardest classes, probably to weed out the weaklings.

>Where'd you get your degree at?
I'd rather not say. It's a very prestigious, but lesser known private engineering school that ends in "institute of technology". That's all I'll say.

[Anonymous No.1510313]

It's funny how way more than half of MEs at every mediocre state university think they're going to be working for an auto manufacturer or NASA contractor or some other glamorous job when in reality almost all of them will end up selling compressor systems to mechanics shops and other mundane shit.

To 4channers: if you have a cool ME related dream, you need to get into a top 10 school and graduate very near the top of the class and have worked on some successful extracurricular projects.

[Anonymous No.1510322]

>>1510287
Actually it works the opposite way of that. It flows current until it is charged and then stops.

Women's Studies major, I hope?

[Anonymous No.1510323]

>>1510307
Ha ha, IIT sucks balls

[Anonymous No.1510329]

>>1510301
OP here.
I have a question for you, since I don't understand that much about capacitors myself.

In AC/DC situations, most capacitors flow in only one direction, correct?
So when the power is alternating, it charges one side, and when it switches, discharges through the side that now has high voltage, if I'm not mistaken.

Is there some power leakage like in an op-amp from forwards to backwards? Or does it literally act like a short circuit when electrons are going the opposite way?

[Anonymous No.1510333]

>>1510260

Would I be correct in saying that half of the time my appliance is receiving a "negative" voltage (when current is flowing from neutral to hot)?

>>1510287

Are you sure that's correct? I don't think capacitors discharge out the other end unless the current burns through the dielectric. I think the charge discharges out from the direction it entered. And once a capacitor is fully charged it is the same as an open circuit.

Can someone correct me if I say something incorrect.

[Anonymous No.1510337]

>>1510323
Wrong part of the country

[Anonymous No.1510343]

>>1510333
Yes, it is receiving a negative voltage, but everything is the same except the current is going the other way. The hot is sucking instead of blowing (or the opposite way if you want to think electrons)

[Anonymous No.1510363]

>>1510329
TBH capacitors arn't used in DC very much, In DC they will flow until charged and then current stops.

And for AC the current changes direction, but remember that the capacitor became charged and dosn't discharge instantly. So while the current is positive the capacitor will "charge up" while current is negative the electrons leave through the same side they came in. Then after one whole period of current (one positive one negative so that were back to the beginning essentially) the charge on the capacitor will be zero (except for initial conditions that is).

So High voltage side stays high voltage side, current leaves through same side as it went in. TBH when you do any circuit analysis you don't even deal with this stuff, you go right to the S domain and forget about the real world.

[Anonymous No.1510368]

>>1510301

I get all that.

The part I was curious about is:
As one of parallel plates in a capacitor is charging (current is flowing into it), does the other plate experience a current flowing out of it? From my professor's explanation, it sounded like there was.

Thank you for your contributions to the thread.

[Anonymous No.1510374]

> S domain
You mean laplace?
Because that would make a lot more sense.

[Anonymous No.1510375]

>>1510368
Yes, as charge separation increases in the capacitor, though, the outgoing decays exponentially.

More current flows in than flows out (collecting charge), until both stop.

[Anonymous No.1510379]

>>1510363
Capacitors have their place in DC: to smooth out voltage sources.

[Anonymous No.1510382]

>>1510363

Ain't it the truth. Circuit analysis was the first time I realized, "shit, that Laplace stuff is actually going to be important."

[Anonymous No.1510394]

>>1510382
I still don't know how to do an inverse laplace.
I just got a calculator program that does it for me.
This is what engineers actually believe

[Anonymous No.1510396]

>>1510368
Essentially yes there is current flowing out of it. Kurchof's( thats spelled wrong) current law must be obeyed.

And there are a LOT of electrons (remember this only happens in conductors which are described as having a "sea of electrons") and remember only very few of these elctrons flow out of the other plate, not nearly as many as are there.

[Anonymous No.1510416]

>>1510374
You laplace everything to the S-Domain. Its what it is all called.

>>1510379
True they do have their place. But by comparison they are so much more usefull in AC.

[Anonymous No.1510434]

>>1510394

I don't get it.

Are you joking about engineers that think there's a calculator program that will do inverse Laplace's for you?

It's going over my head.

[Anonymous No.1510450]

Civilfag here: Dynamics classes suck for us, why do you ME's impose your retarted springs on us?

Also, w/ a geo-enviro remediation emphasis, why do I find the majority of cases of chemical spills come from mechanical and aeronautics firms? Srsly, what is so hard about recycling oil or not dumping volatile solvents in creeks?

[Anonymous No.1510455]

>>1510434
I think that is what he ment, but what the original poster said would suggest that he didn't think the Laplace would useful at all, so why would he care if his calculator could do it?

Pretty sure the poster of the "joke" is just a huge faggot and not terribly intelligent.

[Anonymous No.1510460]

>>1510434
I was joking about how engineers always pick the path of least resistance.
In this case, using a calculator program to save time and not have to bother learning the math behind the integral.
I popped one of these guys on an exam and my professor was like WAT because not only were we not supposed to put it in time domain, but it would have taken hours to work out the integral.

[Anonymous No.1510468]

>>1510455
I never said it wasn't useful. It's just one step in a multistep problem that I can avoid having to do, and save myself time.
Guess what, I also have one that goes from transform to state space form. I use it all the time.
Do I want to do the 20 steps involved in getting from point A to B so I can continue with the problem? Not as much as I want to get on to the next problem.

[Anonymous No.1510470]

>>1510450
>Srsly, what is so hard about recycling oil or not dumping volatile solvents in creeks?
Because, come on
Come onnnnnnn

[Anonymous No.1510484]

>>1510460
wut
In every test I've taken in the ME plan, we could never use anything other than a scientific calculator only, no graphing or programming allowed.

>>1507434
Hey OP, I'm a junior now, breezing through classes with A's and B's. Usually self-taught, classes rarely add anything for me. Usually my classmates bitch about how tough classes are, when I think they're easy, so I don't know what to think when I keep hearing how hard the FE is.

Anyway, OP, how hard is the FE really, and what is the best way to prepare for it?

[Anonymous No.1510505]

>>1510484
Not OP, but as an EIT I must express that the best preparation is to go through the manual beforehand and get at least 2 good nights sleep. The test is geared to measure your problem solving ability and knowing where to turn to in the book and having a clear mind will help you TREMENDOUSLY more than focusing on singular subjects.

What do you plan to do, general-general or gen-mech?

[Anonymous No.1510522]

>>1510484

LOL

Not OP, but anyone can tell you that the FE isn't very hard at all.

First half of the test (AM session) is absurdly easy.

The second half depends on which test you take. You can switch your test at any time if you want to stop partway through.

For the afternoon session, my school only required the MEs to take the General test. It's really not too bad if you studied, but it's significantly more challenging than the morning questions.

The Mechanical Engineering test is notoriously hard. But a smart guy like you might be able to do it.

All in all, just review all the subjects and at least be able to answer the easiest questions from each subject. Most students pass the test on their first try.

[Anonymous No.1510551]

>>1510505
>>1510522
Mechanical
Well OK then, thanks for the confidence boost non-OPs

[Anonymous No.1510566]

>>1510551

Are you required to take the ME test instead of the General in the afternoon?

The ME test is supposed to be pretty difficult.

[Anonymous No.1510580]

Are you really the Engineer?

[Anonymous No.1510593]

>>1510566
Not sure, but I might as well prepare for it, even if I can take the general. I think I may have to, something about my uni requiring it because it has accreditation or some bull.

[Anonymous No.1510709]

Where could one find an old test, or sample test questions for the PE?
You guys got me interested now.

[Anonymous No.1510725]

what do you do to fend of pseudoscience?

[Anonymous No.1510739]

>>1510709
Also for Civils plox!

[Anonymous No.1510849]

>>1510709
Anyone?

[Pingasboy No.1510914]

Which deepening areas you could choose in your course and which optative disciplines you chose?

[Anonymous No.1510931]

NG's a SPY!

[Pingasboy No.1510933]

I guess ME is the engineering that uses Technical Drawing the most than the other ones(while others like Enviromental and Industrial don't even have drawing in their courses). I'm majoring in EE and we only slightly learned how to use the AutoCAD and Tango, a software used for projecting printed circuit boards.

[r̲̫͓͍͛̾o̻̦͊ͤͤͦ͗ͯ̆ͅỷ̢̪̜̗̤̦̻ͭ̎n͕͛̽ͮ !nEeEeEeeEs No.1510940]

>195 posts omitted

[Anonymous No.1510951]

>>1509186
You totally forgot Fishing Engineering as juice-of-shit-powder-mixed-with-llama-vomit-and-some-rotten-avocados tier

[Anonymous No.1510955]

>>1507434
Did your parents had any involvement in making you choose this profession?

[Anonymous No.1511039]

>>1510955
Nope. I knew I wanted to be an engineer once I took a drafting class in high school and loved the hell out of it.
>>1510933
If you want to do CAD, architecture, or architectural engineering are probably your best bets. But architecture guys tend to be complete pompus assholes (lets make this building GREEN and SUSTAINABLE) and we don't go together well.
Architectural engineers on the other hand, are the most reasonable, well mannered people I've met outside of my major. Almost every friend I made is an AE.

[Anonymous No.1511773]

bump for answers

[Anonymous No.1511787]

>>1507434
How much sperm do you ingest per year?
How may dicks do you take in your ass?

[Anonymous No.1511789]

>>1507434
When did you know you were "different"?
When did you come out of the closet?

[Anonymous No.1511790]

what's with this shit about gay engineers and crap

sure engineers aren't theoretical scientists, they pretty much use the info given to them by theoretical scientists to make stuff that's useful, based on that info

what's with all this bullshit?

some sort of elaborate troll scheme to make this the XKCD boards?

[Anonymous No.1511795]

>>1507434
How does it feel to be an abomination unto the lord?

GOD HATES FAGGOTS!

[Anonymous No.1511800]

>>1511790

[Anonymous No.1511837]

engineers.... ahhahaa

[Anonymous No.1511874]

considering engineers can do useful things, I want to build a sex robot

why?

just because, people's reactions would be hilarious if I were to go out in public, french a robot and then they hear it scream OH GOD MY NIPPLES ARE SO HARD

I would probably do this at some sort of political event, just for kicks

[Anonymous No.1511879]

>>1511837
>>1511800
>>1511795
Architects are gayer...

[Anonymous No.1511882]

>>1510522
I took the ME portion for my FE test, and passed it. I figure if I was going to fail, I was going to fail with style.

[Anonymous No.1511883]

>>1511874
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O_rXZ381vo

[Anonymous No.1511890]

ME Bro here, been unemployed for 18 months now. Feels bad man. apparently people here can't distinguish between ME's and drafters.

[Anonymous No.1511898]

What's the main use of this kind of gear?

[Anonymous No.1511916]

>>1511883

thanks, and here's a related video I just saw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbFFs4DHWys&feature=fvw

UNCANNY VALLEY UNCANNY VALLEY UNCANNY VALLEY

[Anonymous No.1511925]

Hey, going to into ME here, but what's a good minor that could (I don't have to have one, but still want one) accompany it? I've only really consider math since I heard I'll be like 2 classes away from it with the ME program.

[Anonymous No.1511939]

Which CAD program you use?

[Anonymous No.1512196]

bump 4 interests

[Anonymous No.1513802]

up to [ 0 ]

[Anonymous No.1513845]

>>1511898
nice job, try to stump him and don't even change the file name. dumbass.

>Bilobe gears (oval gears) have been used in flowmeters and pumps. Using precision elliptical bilobe gears, flowmeters can have good linearity over a wide range of flow rates and viscosities.

[Anonymous No.1514792]

>>1507434

Tell us your grades so we can know you are a true engineer

[Anonymous No.1514965]

Mechanical engineering is cool, too bad it's done. The only realms of mechanical engineering still advancing is combustion (engins), heat exchange, and vibrations, but you're creeping into materials science once you've come that far. Electrical, Chemical, and Material are still wide-open playgrounds. Mechanical is a closed pool.


Oh, and Mechanical engineers don't go to school to learn how to CAD. Mechies != Industrial Designers

[Anonymous No.1515007]

>>1514965

stop trolling, there are absolutely evolving fields. and even if there are not, there are still needs for engineers