A 17-year-old designed a novel synchronous reluctance motor • Hacker News Board

Re: A 17-year-old designed a novel synchronous reluctance motor

#91

Post by mminer237 » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 4:25 PM UTC

cma wrote: post #54

ordu wrote: post #27

> If his motor continues to perform with high speed and efficiency, he says he’ll move forward with the patenting process. Is it a wise move? Shouldn't he just file a patent application instantly? (It is not a kind of a sarcasm or something. I really do not know, and I'd like to hear from people experienced with patent applications.)

Even publishing it gets him a 1 year inventor's grace period where his publication can act as prior art to stop others from patenting, but doesn't stop him from patenting, under the newish first to file rules. But I dont know about internationally.

The USPTO's grace period is very generous internationally. About 16 countries have comparable rules.[1] In most of Europe, any public disclosure beforehand completely prohibits you from getting a patent. So if you want protection outside the Americas and Eastern Asia, you should still not disclose anything before you get a patent.

[1]: https://www.mewburn.com/law-practice-library/grace-periods-f...

Re: A 17-year-old designed a novel synchronous reluctance motor

#92

Post by jwitchel » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 4:26 PM UTC

slingnow wrote: post #65

jwitchel wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fair enough, but context matters and there are two that matter here: (1) The subject was the tech and the engineer not biased media narratives, and (2) HN is a forum that so many people look up to. So if you want to context switch to a discussion about the media (a worthy subject BTW) post a new thread; let's not do it on a thread that is spotlighting interesting tech from a promising engineer.

I would much rather live in a world where people question biased media narratives and we risk hurting someone's feelings than the other way around. If this kid can't handle a little bit of criticism, he won't be long for the engineering discipline.

It's not a binary choice. We can and should have both. We can also provide constructive feedback and at times criticism both without risking hurting their feelings. Again, the point is time and place.

Re: A 17-year-old designed a novel synchronous reluctance motor

#93

Post by phkahler » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 4:27 PM UTC

perf1 wrote: post #14

Why are there no improvements in traditional petrol engines? They basically convert 60% into heat. Like use the heat to run a steam engine?

There is a fundamental limit to ICE efficiency dictated by the laws of thermodynamics. You can push that theoretical limit up, but it is dependent on having a higher compression ratio. Diesel engines use higher compression ratios for ignition, but they are dirty (in comparison). Higher compression ratios tend to result in more NOx emissions too, so for the regular car makers there is a direct trade between efficiency/emissions/reliability. But even if you aim for highest efficiency at all cost, you'll never get close to 100 percent, as the theoretical max never goes there (or does it at infinite compression ratio?).

Re: A 17-year-old designed a novel synchronous reluctance motor

#94

Post by psd1 » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 4:28 PM UTC

zackmorris wrote: post #64

This is great, I'm happy for him! But I miss the creative aspect in myself. I used to be so creative like him, with so many half-finished inventions scattered around the house. Today there's nothing. I finally managed to carve out a day or two per week away from my job to work on personal projects after many years of failed attempts to get away at great personal expense. But the last 3 days that I went to work on som…

Sympathies. If it's any consolation, Janacek wrote his string quartets in his 80s.

Go to Burning Man. I spent a month on site at a regional burn; in the month since then, I've published two personal projects and been much more productive at work. I never found that spark on return from "normal" holidays.

Re: A 17-year-old designed a novel synchronous reluctance motor

#95

Post by BirAdam » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 4:28 PM UTC

I normally try to avoid posting a comment that echoes others, but I will make an exception this time.

I am old enough to remember issue after issue in the 90s of Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Scientific American, and other magazines wherein there’d be a breakthrough that promised to revolutionize the world. Then, you’d read news off Yahoo or Fark that would describe a young wiz kid’s new invention. Nothing happened. Ever.

Due to this inevitable hype train that lacks any kind of stopping ability, paranoid types would start thinking that the oil industry must be involved in stopping them. Not a bad assumption given things that megacorps have done in the past, but it is generally bad policy to invent large nefarious schemes with zero evidence.

As a younger guy, I was always intrigued and would then start drawing and writing about the world to come! It was so enjoyable and the crushing disappointment would come over the months as nothing more was heard or seen. I awoke to the reality that people run risk calculations on business, on machinery, on changes, and if the financials aren’t viable, things don’t happen. Additionally, young inventors are often seduced by patent purchase offers. Then if megacorp X has a bad culture that can’t produce a truly new product… it dies. Beyond all of those challenges, you have regulators to convince as well. Of course, here in the good ol’ USA, regulators don’t seem to care toooooo much about safety. Paper thin cars with zero crumple zones? okay. SUVs without doors, roofs, accurate steering? okay. Trucks and SUVs with very high rollover potential? sure. Non-lockable differentials? absolutely. Massive lithium batteries that catch fire somewhat easily? Why not.

Note, I am actually fairly libertarian and don’t support regulation in general, but I hear very frequently that automobile regulation is big reason for innovation being stifled, and in this case I do not see how that could be even remotely possible.

Re: A 17-year-old designed a novel synchronous reluctance motor

#96

Post by radicalbyte » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 4:29 PM UTC

RHSeeger wrote: post #76

todd8 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Back before the internet, in 1964, I read a brief Scientific American column on laboratory glass blowing (for making condensers and so forth). This set me on a quest; and I acquired supplies and primitive homemade equipment. I was years away from being able to drive so I took the bus downtown to the Detroit public library where I found several books devoted to the subject. I studied these for hours. I worked on this…

> So I moved on to my next project, making a solid fuel rocket from scratch Remember when you could get the ingredients to do things like that easily; sometimes even in a "Science Kit for Kids!" one would buy at Caldor or the like? Man, how times have changed.

I'm 42, when I sent my mom out with a shopping list for this stuff as a kid it ended up in her (almost) being arrested.

Re: A 17-year-old designed a novel synchronous reluctance motor

#97

Post by Aromasin » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 4:29 PM UTC

zackmorris wrote: post #64

This is great, I'm happy for him! But I miss the creative aspect in myself. I used to be so creative like him, with so many half-finished inventions scattered around the house. Today there's nothing. I finally managed to carve out a day or two per week away from my job to work on personal projects after many years of failed attempts to get away at great personal expense. But the last 3 days that I went to work on som…

It's not gone, just rusted. The oil to fix that is simply spending time in a creative space. Keep making time for yourself to build something. Even if you sit at a bench for 2 hours and do nothing (I bet you won't) it's moving you more in the direction of creativity again than any amount of time on a computer or doing chores will bring you.

Re: A 17-year-old designed a novel synchronous reluctance motor

#98

Post by eternalban » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 4:30 PM UTC

zackmorris wrote: post #64

This is great, I'm happy for him! But I miss the creative aspect in myself. I used to be so creative like him, with so many half-finished inventions scattered around the house. Today there's nothing. I finally managed to carve out a day or two per week away from my job to work on personal projects after many years of failed attempts to get away at great personal expense. But the last 3 days that I went to work on som…

> Does anyone know a way to truly rekindle the creative spark after it's completely died?

I don't know about a "way" but falling in love definitely kicks things back in gear. Go and get yourself a muse.

Re: A 17-year-old designed a novel synchronous reluctance motor

#99

Post by Aperocky » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 4:31 PM UTC

zackmorris wrote: post #64

This is great, I'm happy for him! But I miss the creative aspect in myself. I used to be so creative like him, with so many half-finished inventions scattered around the house. Today there's nothing. I finally managed to carve out a day or two per week away from my job to work on personal projects after many years of failed attempts to get away at great personal expense. But the last 3 days that I went to work on som…

> creative spark

The harder you want it, the more elusive it is.

I've done a bunch of projects that I'm proud of (on a very minor scale, mostly 0 use outside of satisfying my own curiosity), but if you ask me now on the spot I would have no idea what is the next interesting personal project that I'll find really creative and fun.

When it comes it comes.

Re: A 17-year-old designed a novel synchronous reluctance motor

#100

Post by hutzlibu » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 4:32 PM UTC

bckr wrote: post #87

hutzlibu wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your honesty was refreshing compared to others who jumped straight to hate, because there was no story about them as 17 year old inventors (so clearly he does not deserve it either). But a magic bullet to rekindle the creative spark? There is none. Give it a rest and it will come back, or not. Try something new, preferably somewhere else.

> Give it a rest and it will come back, or not. I don't think this is right. I think instead GP can pick up the brush over and over again and make things happen with or without the creative spark. The point is to get inspired by one's own creation, not to create ex nihilo.

When you pick up the brush with disgust, after a while you will feel only disgust with the whole art and never create anything inspired and beautiful again.