Best ways to self-educate?

hexapus · Post by **hexapus** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 6:31 am

Ok, so this is sort of off-topic for an off-topic forum, but this doesn't fit anywhere else.

What would be some of the best resources you folks could recommend for educating myself to the point where I could actually contribute to research and development of polywell fusion?

I've got a high school diploma and limitless curiosity. I don't claim to be a genius, but I'm not totally dense either. I understand a fair chunk of what I've read so far on this board and elsewhere, but I've definitely got gaps between high school physics and practical nuclear fusion, which have me scratching my head at times. I'm definitely nowhere near the point where I'd be ready to start experimenting in my garage.

I'm not looking for a college degree because I don't care about the paper. I just want to acquire the practical knowledge necessary to become a contributing member of this community, and hopefully take part in the future of energy. Any suggestions are welcome!

Axil · Post by **Axil** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 6:34 am

Wikipedia

hexapus · Post by **hexapus** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 6:40 am

Indeed! I've spent countless hours there, clicking link after link...down the rabbit trail. Massively helpful.

I was just thinking more along the lines of if anyone knows a good college-level physics 101 course (and beyond) online that would be better organized and possibly get me up to speed a bit faster than wandering around an encyclopedia. A lot of times I read the wikipedia articles, and it's all greek to me. I keep reading though...it's always a nugget here and nugget there, but bit by bit...

Maybe that's all I need to do...just keep eating the elephant one bite at a time...

Betruger · Post by **Betruger** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 8:08 am

Not a path to polywell level education, but a wide selection of college entry topics to start with.
http://academicearth.org/subjects/

kunkmiester · Post by **kunkmiester** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 8:46 am

MATH and PHYSICS. If you can learn adequately from online courses, fine, but don't be afraid to pay for a class, you'll need to get past calculus to understand some of it.

MSimon · Post by **MSimon** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 2:53 pm

The sidebar at:

http://iecfusiontech.blogspot.com/

EricF · Post by **EricF** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 6:10 pm

kunkmiester wrote:MATH and PHYSICS. If you can learn adequately from online courses, fine, but don't be afraid to pay for a class, you'll need to get past calculus to understand some of it.

This. I am in college calculus 2 now and still feel like I have ever so barely scratched the surface. From what I have been able to determine, most of it is going to start to make a lot more sense once I finish sequences and series, and take differential equations. Then I will go back to reading Feynman looking for new understanding

KitemanSA · Post by **KitemanSA** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 6:45 pm

A number of sites I have found helpful:

http://www.ohiovr.com/polywell-faq/inde ... =Main_Page

http://www.askmar.com/Fusion.html

http://www.strout.net/info/science/polywell/index.html

DeltaV · Post by **DeltaV** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 9:13 pm

Lots of resources online (such as http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/ ), libraries, used book stores, etc.

There is a wide range of "pedagogical density" out there, from too light to too heavy. Pick materials which clearly present topics at a rate you are comfortable with, then devote a certain amount of time each day and stick with it. Make copious notes (likely to be upgraded over time, but you'll see where you went wrong).

Regarding the math:
1. If not already there, get a solid understanding of the basics of algebra, geometry, trigonometry.
2. If not already there, once comfortable with the above, tackle single-variable calculus.
3. Move on to multivariable calculus, differential equations, vector analysis, linear vector spaces, tensor analysis, and other topics that strike your fancy, as far as you are comfortable with.
Get at least the basics ("review" appendices in books are often gems). Caution: Be aware that agreement between "experts" tends to decrease and academic "turf protection" and "job security" tend to increase the higher you go in mathematical sophistication. Some "advanced" works are so abstract that they are effectively meaningless.

Along the way, add physics/engineering materials that interest you as your math knowledge improves. Sometimes all the math you need is in a book's appendix, so always check the back pages.

MSimon · Post by **MSimon** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:19 am

If you can understand calculus and do algebra/trig you have just covered 99% of the math you will ever NEED in engineering. Some statistics wouldn't hurt.

kunkmiester · Post by **kunkmiester** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 6:05 am

I understand what was going on in calc one(despite flunking), and calc two I understand is simply expanding on some of that. I do gotta wonder how much of the math I'll actually be using, and if there would be a better way for me to learn about it so I can do engineering(electrical) without losing my mind in calc.

KitemanSA · Post by **KitemanSA** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 1:21 pm

kunkmiester wrote: ... and if there would be a better way for me to learn about it so I can do engineering(electrical) without losing my mind in calc.

If you want to get into electrical engineering, I suspect a good grounding in LaPlace transforms might be in order. Not my cup-o-tea which may be why I am a mechanical/general engineer.

Professor Science · Post by **Professor Science** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 4:01 pm

I've found khan academy very useful, even as a review. I've been going the calculus module, and now that i'm taking my differential equations course i'm using it to augment the lectures, as it has a robust section on that too.

http://www.khanacademy.org/

MSimon · Post by **MSimon** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:24 pm

KitemanSA wrote:
kunkmiester wrote: ... and if there would be a better way for me to learn about it so I can do engineering(electrical) without losing my mind in calc.
If you want to get into electrical engineering, I suspect a good grounding in LaPlace transforms might be in order. Not my cup-o-tea which may be why I am a mechanical/general engineer.

I prefer Bode Plots of the Real Plant. Much more informative. IMO.

DeltaV · Post by **DeltaV** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:45 am

I like root locus. I own a spirule.