A Better Wheel Would Be Nice

Thread Starter

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
9,069
I find it sad the overwhelming majority of bright-eyed, bushy tailed wheel reinventors are really just spinning their own, so to speak. The new wheel they think they have a vision of will so close to certainly gain no traction it is unlikely we will ever witness the birth of the better wheel among the hundreds, or thousands of enthusiastic, idiosyncratic, confident, sometimes bordering on paranoid attempts that appear in this forum.

I don't wish them ill, it would be really exciting to see the beginning of something genuinely new. I think we need the blissful ignorance that lets them try, or the unjustified arrogance that might just bear fruit, but I know it would be like winning the lottery, and I am not going to be doing that either.
 

BR-549

Joined Sep 22, 2013
4,928
It's a disappointing...joy to me. Disappointing because the "new" concept, once understood, usually dies a quick death. I for one, delight in a new understanding. Or a new reference.

But a true joy to see the average working stiff, defy the establishment. And stubborn.....most need multiple convincings. Some never quit, just go silent.

Without these characters......we all would probably be herding goats for some warlord.

Trying something over and over again, and expecting(hoping) for a different result......is the work of our success. Long, long before science or procedure. Like hitting a rabbit with a stone. The monkeys quit, we didn't.
 

Hypatia's Protege

Joined Mar 1, 2015
3,228
I think we need the blissful ignorance that lets them try
I'd agree was said endeavor/motivation reasonably self-limited to the possible... - Unfortunately, it seems any creative paradigm consistent with said perspective tends to quickly degenerate to little more than an 'over-unity fair':rolleyes:


Inasmuch as others have offered literal replies -- here's my $0.02o_O

IMO 'the perfect wheel' (as applied to a surface vehicle operating within a significant [e.g. terrestrial] gravitational field) would be an implementation of a perfect sphere enclosing and suspending/'gravitationally aligning' its payload, power plant, guidance/control and 'motive apparatus' - The latter supplying angular force ('torque') to the sphere via 'working against' the mass (or, more to the point, the 'weight') of said contents:cool: -- Of course maximum achievable continuous (tractive and/or guidance) torque would necessarily be a function of suspended content mass -- attempt to exceed said torque and your wheel is just spinning you!:eek:

Best regards
HP:)

PS -- By way of 'preemption' -- While it goes without saying that, in theory, any amount of torque may be developed sans exploitation of 'ambient gravitation' -- riding an 'impact wrench' is my idea of neither 'perfect' nor 'better'!o_O
 
Last edited:

Kjeldgaard

Joined Apr 7, 2016
476
IMO 'the perfect wheel' (as applied to a surface vehicle operating within a significant [e.g. terrestrial] gravitational field) would be an implementation of a perfect sphere enclosing and suspending/'gravitationally aligning' its payload, power plant, guidance/control and 'motive apparatus' - The latter supplying angular force ('torque') to the sphere via 'working against' the mass (or, more to the point, the 'weight') of said contents:cool: -- Of course maximum achievable (tractive and/or guidance) torque would necessarily be a function of suspended content mass -- attempt to exceed said torque and your wheel is just spinning you!
A bit like BB-8?
 

pmd34

Joined Feb 22, 2014
527
Ooof yes, everyone has a small start up at the moment, and just how many new "apps" do we need! Some have good interesting ideas, and should be encouraged, some should be taken out back and.... persuaded otherwise. I guess the challenge is to stay open minded enough to see real winners. Unfortunately there's a huge drive by funding bodies to encourage them all, but these have very limited horizons, thinking it will only take 3 years or less: Idea/patent, mass market, takeover, retirement. Which is ideal for today's ADHD media but back in the real world, sadly things take a great deal of time and effort! Facebook wasn't built in a day!

As to wheels... as my old maths teacher like to say "You know what came after the square wheel? The triangular - one less bump!"
 

BobTPH

Joined Jun 5, 2013
8,804
IMO 'the perfect wheel' (as applied to a surface vehicle operating within a significant [e.g. terrestrial] gravitational field) would be an implementation of a perfect sphere enclosing and suspending/'gravitationally aligning' its payload, power plant, guidance/control and 'motive apparatus' - The latter supplying angular force ('torque') to the sphere via 'working against' the mass (or, more to the point, the 'weight') of said contents:cool: -- Of course maximum achievable continuous (tractive and/or guidance) torque would necessarily be a function of suspended content mass -- attempt to exceed said torque and your wheel is just spinning you!:eek:
Don't think it would do well on ice and snow.

Bob
 

Hypatia's Protege

Joined Mar 1, 2015
3,228
I was just commenting on this. My comment was "No. Just no."

No flying cars, no tire propellors. No.
Indeed! It seems multi-mode vehicles are but a variant of the 'Swiss Army Knife Syndrome' -- To wit: bundling/conjunction of necessarily compromised tools in the name of expedience but at considerable expense of the level of quality (practically) realizable only via dedicated (CIP discrete) systems! -- All hark the battle cry of commercialism: 'Function follows form' ! (sic) -- Wadda world! Wadda world! (smh)

Best regards
HP:cool:
 

Thread Starter

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
9,069
Indeed! It seems multi-mode vehicles are but a variant of the 'Swiss Army Knife Syndrome' -- To wit: bundling/conjunction of necessarily compromised tools in the name of expedience but at considerable expense of the level of quality (practically) realizable only via dedicated systems! -- All hark the battle cry of commercialism: 'Function follows form' ! (sic) -- Wadda world! Wadda world! (smh)

Best regards
HP:cool:
Even if you could make a practical flying car, we can't even handle rolling ones. The human cost of flying cars would be too great to contemplate.
 
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