tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post1473925416592385196..comments2024-03-29T22:17:01.876-05:00Comments on nanoscale views: Distinguishable from magic?Douglas Natelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13340091255404229559noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-75738092492268297972014-08-29T08:53:39.591-05:002014-08-29T08:53:39.591-05:00I have a generally positive outlook on this - yes,...I have a generally positive outlook on this - yes, in general fixing electronic devices has become much harder. Not only are newer devices hardly ever documented, but also the prevalence of SMD parts creates a barrier of entry for inexperienced solderers.<br /><br />However, in addition to nice projects like the Raspberry PI and the Beaglebone, there is nowadays a wealth of information freely accessible on the internet - when I was in my early teens, the only source of information was about half a shelf of books on electronics and computers at the local library. I think the bigger challenge when you have a child that gets interested in technical things is to get them started in a way that is not completely overwhelming.<br /><br />Also, of course the topics that are accessible are much different today. When I was a young teen, I built an AM radio from discrete parts, but the FM radio I built already used an integrated PLL. I'm sure some purist could've argued that I'll never turn out to be a good RF designer because of that - but then this gave me more time to look into microcontrollers, bus systems etc. Today someone probably wouldn't bother with that, because every $1 MCU comes with a built-in UART, and so the "young apprentices" can jump on other things. A particularly good example I think are the PWM units that many MCUs come with - they're a great opportunity for cool circuit designs, and eventually you'll run into situations in which you'll have to learn about RC filters.<br /><br />To make a long story short, I believe that for an interested youngster, the grass is greener than ever today, due to the information (and communities producing them) available online.Tobiasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-1110011458852699212014-08-20T02:22:55.799-05:002014-08-20T02:22:55.799-05:00Great blog!
Like you I also ripped apart transisto...Great blog!<br />Like you I also ripped apart transistor radios in my childhood but that time I didn't know anything about it.As a science student now I know how it works.<br />Thank you...<br /><a href="http://holidaysinindia.holiday" rel="nofollow">Travel to India</a>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05471374460001673351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13869903.post-5997546998264176472014-08-19T08:17:30.859-05:002014-08-19T08:17:30.859-05:001. I think we've also done a disservice in red...1. I think we've also done a disservice in reducing VoTech options in schools. One of the greatest things I've learned to do in my Physics PhD education was learn how to do milling and lathing (it really helped me start to understand experimental physics more). As for those string-theory purists? Eh, it'll do their soul good to get their hands covered in tapping fluid once and a while.<br /><br />2. Curriculum suggestion for Rice physics--I think a lot of the experiments we did for 111/112 and even 231 were kind of goofy, and didn't really do much to teach me experimental physics. I'd really suggest that instead of 10 unrelated mini labs students work on one or two multi-step projects each semester where they do a little design, a little programming (say with a microcontroller), and then cap it off with a real experiment.<br /><br />3. This is on top of my (again) suggestion that we need to make sure Rice physics undergrads know how to program. You don't need to know how to manage fancy APIs and discuss the finer points of algorithm design, but I think that anyone who leaves Rice unable to control a oscilloscope by USB and code up an adaptive Runge-Kutta solver that deals with an arbitrary input function in their sleep is really at a disadvantage. The intro to Matlab done in DiffE is a start but just not enough. (It's one semester, one time).Anzelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11518178405267774499noreply@blogger.com