Hi everyone.

So I was working in the electronics lab this morning, and the class that was in there was talking about an overunity device using a generator, a supercapacitor, and a motor connected to a spinning disc. Supposedly the spinning disc would turn the generator, which would charge the supercapacitors, which would run the motor, which would spin the disc again. What's the deal with that? Seems like a huge waste of time, if you ask me!

I know a lot of you guys work or used to work at universities. Have you ever seen this sort of thing taught, or is it unique to this school and its professors?

From what I can tell, I'm really not impressed with the professors at this school. I can't imagine how the students must feel. It seems the school only hires experts in the fields that have years of engineering experience, but don't have a clue how to teach. Most of them also have very heavy accents that I can't understand. I honestly don't see how the students can learn anything here. I've been working at the uni about a year now, and I'm noticing more and more professors who are terrible at teaching.

Another example is a class that I believe is about digital systems. The students are supposed to be learning how to write VHDL code in Altera Quartus, and use it to control the DE2 development board. The professor, however, is quite aged--it seems like he should have retired already--and he speaks very quietly and in a gruff voice. He also has a heavy accent, which because of his voice and mumbling, is impossible to identify. From what I gathered, he just writes the code up on the board and expects the students to know exactly how the program works right from the start--he doesn't seem to explain what does what.

I gotta say, I feel sorry for these students. Here they are paying for a good education, yet all they're getting is a crummy one that really doesn't teach them much.

I've seen several other professors, so I know it's not just this one or two. It seems to be a very common problem here at this university.

Vent over.

-Matt

 

Another cardboard imitation educational institution.

 

Excellent researchers who are lame tutors at the same time are my bane...

 

Hi everyone.

It seems the school only hires experts in the fields that have years of engineering experience, but don't have a clue how to teach. Most of them also have very heavy accents that I can't understand.

Welcome to modern US education. This has been going on for years. What makes it worse at universities is that the prof sits on his fat ass and gets his TAs to teach the class in a language that somewhat resembles English.

 

Perhaps it was a test? Maybe he was going to see how long it took before someone stood up and said "isn't that overunity?" but nobody ever did, so he just kept going? Perhaps you're the only person in the class who knows what overunity is? Perhaps if this exercise goes to fruition without you ever challenging it, everybody will fail?

I don't know. Just throwing ideas out there. Sounds pretty stupid in any case.

 

Perhaps it was a test? Maybe he was going to see how long it took before someone stood up and said "isn't that overunity?" but nobody ever did, so he just kept going? Perhaps you're the only person in the class who knows what overunity is? Perhaps if this exercise goes to fruition without you ever challenging it, everybody will fail?

I don't know. Just throwing ideas out there. Sounds pretty stupid in any case.

I suppose it's possible, but the professor was asking the students to present ideas, and one of them was set up as described in the first post. I don't know why they would do such exercises. Like I said before, seems like a waste of time to me.

 

Hello,

Perhaps it belongs to the "learning by doing".
That way they can see that overunity does not work.

Bertus

 

Hello,

Perhaps it belongs to the "learning by doing".
That way they can see that overunity does not work.

Bertus

Hi bertus--

I thought of that as well, but as far as I could tell they were only designing them. They weren't planning to build the devices.

I may have misunderstood what they were discussing, as I was in the equipment room all the way at the back of the lab, but I am pretty sure they were discussing ideas for perpetual motion machines.

 

With an infinitely large flywheel a car can save about 50% energy.

Two of these- 100% saving.
Three: 150%!!

About twenty large flywheels and you're fine. The car will run faster and faster so you need to brake it. Use the heat to boil water in a large tank. You will also have free steam.

 

Another example is a class that I believe is about digital systems. The students are supposed to be learning how to write VHDL code in Altera Quartus, and use it to control the DE2 development board. The professor, however, is quite aged--it seems like he should have retired already--and he speaks very quietly and in a gruff voice. He also has a heavy accent, which because of his voice and mumbling, is impossible to identify. From what I gathered, he just writes the code up on the board and expects the students to know exactly how the program works right from the start--he doesn't seem to explain what does what.

It is a saying that say "You can not learn to swim without getting wet" And it is much the same with learning a programming language. In order to learn you have to first type in the code by your self, then debug it, and as the icing on the cake. Verify the functionality. The tutor can only in class give the big picture. The rest is up to the student and labwork. For obvious reasons. I can not comment on the situation you saw. But at least in the beginning then learning how code. It is important that the students are not to much spoon-feed with ready-made examples. So all they have to do is just copy and paste.