Hacker News Reader

jcchin41on Elon Musk is launching a tunnel digging company to reduce traffic in cities

This could also be a stepping stone to reducing Hyperloop tunneling costs

jcchin41on NASA confirms yet again that the 'impossible' EMdrive thruster works

"EagleWorks" is not a recognized lab of NASA. Despite the title, this announcement comes from a (somewhat rogue) group of individuals, not the agency.

jcchin41on SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition

For those interested in getting a better handle on the vehicle thermodynamics, see[1]. Feel free to play around with the open-source python model here[2]

[1] https://mdao.grc.nasa.gov/publications/AIAA-2015-1587.pdf

[2] https://github.com/OpenMDAO-Plugins/Hyperloop

[3] http://www.popsci.com/hyped-up-startups-race-hyperloop-life

jcchin41on Why PowerPoint should be banned

Following Jean Luc Doumont's simple advice on creating powerpoints has dramatically helped me create more effective presentations that hold people's attention. I highly recommend his book [1] and presentations [2] on reducing noise in slides to maximize the effectiveness of key-takeaways.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meBXuTIPJQk [2] http://www.treesmapsandtheorems.com/

jcchin41on I Am Eric Ries, Author of the Lean Startup. AMA

I work for a large aerospace company. How can we adopt lean startup ideas for hardware projects where the design iterations are much more expensive and lead times more severe?

jcchin41on Google Makani – Wind Energy Kites

http://kitepowercoop.org/

Looks like there is an open-source community around energy kites. They're largely focused soft form kites, rather than fast moving rigid wings.

And another rigid wing competitor: http://www.ampyxpower.com/

jcchin41on In Defense of the Midwest

1 MILLION people aren't enough to see network effects?? Is 3M [1] closer to the magic number? I moved from Boston(4M) to Cleveland(1.7M) and although the lifestyle is different, there is still way more opportunities, culture, entertainment, etc..., than anyone could absorb in a single lifetime in either place.

I visit my friends in SF every year and although they make more than double my salary, they can't even come close to matching my apartment situation. There is an infinite number of things to do in any city, and I can already afford things (like a house, or an acre of land even!) that aren't even fathomable to them. I won't stay in Cleveland forever, simply because I'd like to experience other cities, but I can't say SF is even in my top three. SF is a great place, but I'd like to find one of the still relatively "undiscovered" great places that isn't completely saturated.

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_urban_are...

jcchin41on Ask HN: What alternative presentation formats to PowerPoint are there?

My favorite alternative: Reveal.js http://lab.hakim.se/reveal-js/#/ Simple HTML slides with snazzy transitions

Warning: A common pitfall of "flashy" presentations is that even if you can avoid making it look gimmicky, the audience is too busy watching the effects and not listening to you. Is your intention to dazzle people, or optimize the amount of information your audience absorbs? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meBXuTIPJQk

jcchin41on Why Airships Will Never Be Part of Our Transportation Infrastructure

Hybrid Airships might not fair well on the particular log/log plot shown, but there are other figures of merit to be considered: Emissions, noise, necessary landing infrastructure, flight-time, fuel consumption vs. aircraft productivity (payload x distance / hr)

jcchin41on NASA code from years of projects

Many projects at NASA are just starting to ramp up open-source efforts, and it can be very challenging to publicly release aerospace toolsets. Give it some time to build up momentum.

jcchin41on Hyperloop: Not so fast

NASA engineers have also released an optimization framework for the Hyperloop concept as well. It's completely open-source and written in Python. Docs here: http://openmdao-plugins.github.io/Hyperloop/

Their baseline optimization focuses on 5 subsystems: Compressor Cycle Analysis, Pod Geometry, Tube Flow Limitations, Tube Wall Temperature, and Mission Analysis

Initial results indicate that the concept is still very viable. However, due to very tight coupling between the tube and vehicle size, the tube size will need to be around twice as large as originally proposed by the Tesla/SpaceX team to reach the proposed speeds.

Feel free to download the entire analysis and play with it yourself, without purchasing several expensive toolboxes from MATLAB!

jcchin41on Ask HN: What did you make this year?

Working on my very first web app! I'm an aerospace engineer looking to get into web development.

-PushPlan, a group decision making app: https://pushplan.meteor.com/huddles/pBpn7KJ7jtAqNbNrJ

(A better way for groups to brainstorm ideas and schedule events.)