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This invention is awesome. I can't believe all the negativity in this thread for something created by a 17-year-old. So what if the technical complexity of th

This invention is awesome. I can't believe all the negativity in this thread for something created by a 17-year-old. So what if the technical complexity of this project isn't the super high? It's a novel approach to a real problem, he did the research to show that in theory it can be effective, and it seems reasonable practical. Beyond serious diseases, it seems very common to get a cold/cough/flu after flying. This is just anecdotal experience, but it sure seems like 100 people sharing the same 5000 cubic feet of air for 4 hours is the perfect storm for airborne contagions. CDC, please build on Raymond's work and get it rolled into production.

sliverstorm 11y ago
So what if the technical complexity of this project isn't the super high? I would even go the other way, the low complexity of the solution makes it all that more amazing. The kid ran his own studies and created a very simple solution that requires almost no effort to implement and yet should be hugely effective. That's the hallmark of great engineering, and what I strive for every day.
- surge 11y ago
  Right, also less complex solutions are often the most reliable, less points of failure or things that can go wrong.
NicoJuicy 11y ago
Good ideas dont have to be complex. What would we do without a wheel :-)
- limeyx 11y ago
  We'd be forced to finally use flying cars :)
  - NicoJuicy 11y ago
    Would cars exist in the first place, when there were no wheels.
    - justsid 11y ago
      Of course not. Flying cars, however, obviously would since we would need some means of transportation.
stefantalpalaru 11y ago
> he did the research to show that in theory it can be effective, and it seems reasonable practical Close, but no cigar. Do you have any idea at what speed the saliva particles are flying during a sneeze? There's no "wall of air" made by patented nozzle covers that can possibly stop them in the economy class of any commercial airplane. Let's show the guy some respect and stop patting him on the head for something of low quality and no value.
- phaemon 11y ago
  > Do you have any idea at what speed the saliva particles are flying during a sneeze? About 40mph. Why can't a droplet of moisture travelling at that speed be deflected by air?
notahacker 11y ago
I can see both sides of this. Raymond is obviously an outstanding individual, especially when you consider some of the other things he's done: http://plancanada.ca/page.aspx?pid=6613 http://plancanada.ca/page.aspx?pid=6613 On the other hand I'm not convinced of the novelty of the use of fins to direct the flow of conditioned air, and I can assure you that there are multiple companies whose entire business is making better air filtration and circulation systems for aircraft, so I'm fairly unimpressed by the article's assertion that few people are working on it (few people in the industry are working on it relative to problems such as safety and propulsion, but I'm not entirely convinced that's a bad thing either)
rebootthesystem 11y ago
This week one of my kids has an egg drop experiment at school. I could tell him we should use the same design we used successfully for his older brother a few years ago and we'd be done in fifteen minutes flat. Or I could tell him I am an engineer and I know what the optimal solutions we'll be. No need to waste any time. Or, One could do as I did which is to take him through a journey of exploration and imagination that had him building all sorts of crazy contraptions. Most of them failed. We discussed why and how and iterated. What's missing from this thread is that, yes, this kid needs to get nothing but praise whether this was a real solution or not. How else are you going to inspire young minds to develop love for science and engineering?
- sliverstorm 11y ago
  Many years ago my father used that teaching moment differently. I had tried all kinds of elaborate solutions (I was partial to parachutes). My father asked me, who does this for a living, and what can you learn from them. Half an hour later I had an answer and built my device. My classmates and even teacher all looked at me with pity, for it was clear my device would fail spectacularly. For flair I threw it another ten feet up (from the top of the bleachers). It made a sickening thump when it landed, and many grimaces were shared- but both the device & egg were unscathed. I think there's value in both approaches, depending on what the kid lacks.

sliverstorm 11y ago

So what if the technical complexity of this project isn't the super high? I would even go the other way, the low complexity of the solution makes it all that more amazing. The kid ran his own studies and created a very simple solution that requires almost no effort to implement and yet should be hugely effective. That's the hallmark of great engineering, and what I strive for every day.

surge 11y ago
Right, also less complex solutions are often the most reliable, less points of failure or things that can go wrong.

NicoJuicy 11y ago

Good ideas dont have to be complex. What would we do without a wheel :-)

limeyx 11y ago
We'd be forced to finally use flying cars :)
- NicoJuicy 11y ago
  Would cars exist in the first place, when there were no wheels.
  - justsid 11y ago
    Of course not. Flying cars, however, obviously would since we would need some means of transportation.

stefantalpalaru 11y ago

> he did the research to show that in theory it can be effective, and it seems reasonable practical Close, but no cigar. Do you have any idea at what speed the saliva particles are flying during a sneeze? There's no "wall of air" made by patented nozzle covers that can possibly stop them in the economy class of any commercial airplane. Let's show the guy some respect and stop patting him on the head for something of low quality and no value.

phaemon 11y ago
> Do you have any idea at what speed the saliva particles are flying during a sneeze? About 40mph. Why can't a droplet of moisture travelling at that speed be deflected by air?

notahacker 11y ago

I can see both sides of this. Raymond is obviously an outstanding individual, especially when you consider some of the other things he's done: http://plancanada.ca/page.aspx?pid=6613 http://plancanada.ca/page.aspx?pid=6613 On the other hand I'm not convinced of the novelty of the use of fins to direct the flow of conditioned air, and I can assure you that there are multiple companies whose entire business is making better air filtration and circulation systems for aircraft, so I'm fairly unimpressed by the article's assertion that few people are working on it (few people in the industry are working on it relative to problems such as safety and propulsion, but I'm not entirely convinced that's a bad thing either)

rebootthesystem 11y ago

This week one of my kids has an egg drop experiment at school. I could tell him we should use the same design we used successfully for his older brother a few years ago and we'd be done in fifteen minutes flat. Or I could tell him I am an engineer and I know what the optimal solutions we'll be. No need to waste any time. Or, One could do as I did which is to take him through a journey of exploration and imagination that had him building all sorts of crazy contraptions. Most of them failed. We discussed why and how and iterated. What's missing from this thread is that, yes, this kid needs to get nothing but praise whether this was a real solution or not. How else are you going to inspire young minds to develop love for science and engineering?

sliverstorm 11y ago
Many years ago my father used that teaching moment differently. I had tried all kinds of elaborate solutions (I was partial to parachutes). My father asked me, who does this for a living, and what can you learn from them. Half an hour later I had an answer and built my device. My classmates and even teacher all looked at me with pity, for it was clear my device would fail spectacularly. For flair I threw it another ten feet up (from the top of the bleachers). It made a sickening thump when it landed, and many grimaces were shared- but both the device & egg were unscathed. I think there's value in both approaches, depending on what the kid lacks.