4 ms·

No user serviceable parts inside

76 points by nickb 18y ago

niels_olson 18y ago
So true: > The nice thing about power distribution and generation was the math was absolutely trivial compared to the partial differential world of quantum physics. All the answers involve the square root of two. Most power systems math can be summed this way: take a really big number and multiply by the square root of two. You can use three sometimes, but only when things are totally out of control.
jrnkntl 18y ago
"Women make boys want to burn things". Women are the source of all this, us, hanging around on hacker news; learning, digesting, trying, applying and executing. In the hope of getting successful at what we're actually trying to do, look good and buy ourselves, indirectly or some directly... women.
- lucumo 18y ago
  Except of course when you are a woman...
  - rufo 18y ago
    ...or gay.
    - rufo 18y ago
      Just for the record, in case anyone looks back: I meant this only as pointing out there are men who derive inspiration from other men, and not as any sort of slam or slant.
- robertk 18y ago
  But...but...Platonic pursuit of knowledge and happiness?
- palish 18y ago
  Just pointing out... You picked the one quote that was likely to turn an otherwise interesting discussion into a Reddit-esque sarcasm pile-on. So far it has.
  - lucumo 18y ago
    Allow me to explain my other post. I wasn't being sarcastic. I was merely pointing out that this women-are-only-there-to-drive-men-to-better-themselves is a bit silly. There are a lot of women that are constantly improving themselves too. And not just by putting on make-up and practicing their "sexy look". I have no doubt there are women here and the fact that I can't pin-point them is a good thing. It means that as a group we stopped caring about such meaningless (in the intellectual endeavour we're all pursuing) things like gender. It's simply not important and it shouldn't be. But my original post was probably too short to convey correctly what I was trying to convey, and for that I apologise.
  - DougBTX 18y ago
    HN jumped the shark on Erlang day.
sketerpot 18y ago
This rings true so hard that it's almost spooky. The two main reasons I tend to avoid power electronics are because I hate getting electrocuted (this happened again just a week ago) and because I keep forgetting when you're supposed to multiply by the square root of three and when you're supposed to divide. (Next week I'll be working with 40 amp relays and some heavy-gauge electrical wiring. Damn it! Is there no escape?)
- billswift 18y ago
  I learned when a teenager that you need to make sure the power is OFF! OFF! OFF! before messing with high-voltage, high-current circuits. I saw a large screwdriver shaft blown in half when my father thought the power was cut. I have managed to avoid getting any significant shocks in the thirty years since.

76 points by nickb 18y ago

So true: > The nice thing about power distribution and generation was the math was absolutely trivial compared to the partial differential world of quantum physics. All the answers involve the square root of two. Most power systems math can be summed this way: take a really big number and multiply by the square root of two. You can use three sometimes, but only when things are totally out of control.

jrnkntl 18y ago

"Women make boys want to burn things". Women are the source of all this, us, hanging around on hacker news; learning, digesting, trying, applying and executing. In the hope of getting successful at what we're actually trying to do, look good and buy ourselves, indirectly or some directly... women.

lucumo 18y ago
Except of course when you are a woman...
- rufo 18y ago
  ...or gay.
  - rufo 18y ago
    Just for the record, in case anyone looks back: I meant this only as pointing out there are men who derive inspiration from other men, and not as any sort of slam or slant.
robertk 18y ago
But...but...Platonic pursuit of knowledge and happiness?
palish 18y ago
Just pointing out... You picked the one quote that was likely to turn an otherwise interesting discussion into a Reddit-esque sarcasm pile-on. So far it has.
- lucumo 18y ago
  Allow me to explain my other post. I wasn't being sarcastic. I was merely pointing out that this women-are-only-there-to-drive-men-to-better-themselves is a bit silly. There are a lot of women that are constantly improving themselves too. And not just by putting on make-up and practicing their "sexy look". I have no doubt there are women here and the fact that I can't pin-point them is a good thing. It means that as a group we stopped caring about such meaningless (in the intellectual endeavour we're all pursuing) things like gender. It's simply not important and it shouldn't be. But my original post was probably too short to convey correctly what I was trying to convey, and for that I apologise.
- DougBTX 18y ago
  HN jumped the shark on Erlang day.

sketerpot 18y ago

This rings true so hard that it's almost spooky. The two main reasons I tend to avoid power electronics are because I hate getting electrocuted (this happened again just a week ago) and because I keep forgetting when you're supposed to multiply by the square root of three and when you're supposed to divide. (Next week I'll be working with 40 amp relays and some heavy-gauge electrical wiring. Damn it! Is there no escape?)

billswift 18y ago
I learned when a teenager that you need to make sure the power is OFF! OFF! OFF! before messing with high-voltage, high-current circuits. I saw a large screwdriver shaft blown in half when my father thought the power was cut. I have managed to avoid getting any significant shocks in the thirty years since.