>I'm not sure what kinds of other heavy scientific computing you've done, but CFD is a very difficult field and takes years to understand.

CFD isn't this difficult.

On one side you have partial differential equations (PDEs) describing fluid flow. On the other side you have numerical methods used to solve those PDEs. Put the two together, implement it in code, and you get a rudimentary CFD simulation. For CS students, who typically already have knowledge of numerical methods, coding one of these basic simulations can be done within a semester's worth of focused effort. Venturing into finer, more complex domains and trying to model more advanced flow phenomenons do indeed require years of study, but a beginner -- a 3rd year CS undergrad of all people -- has no need to deal with that stuff when all they want to accomplish is to get their feet wet with the inner workings of the simplest CFD simulation.

So let's not intimidate the poor kid and not oversell the profession. A lot of people love pretending like this stuff is black magic, presumably because it promotes job security, but it just isn't. There are lots of people doing CFD that come from CS and Applied Math backgrounds instead of Engineering or Physics. They all started somewhere. So can the OP.

-------------------------------------

@ /u/AnotherBrownBike

Khan Academy Physics, Fluid Dynamics lectures are your best friend in this.

I would recommend that you start with getting a decent physical understanding of incompressible (also called divergence-free) advection-diffusion equation. This is a simple PDE that describes how particles (or other quantities like energy) are transferred inside a physical system due to the process of diffusion and advection (aka convection). Solving this equation using a numerical solution method for PDEs (such as finite volume or finite element) will allow you to practice the fundamental underpinnings of a CFD code.

Finite Volume methods are more popular in CFD than finite element methods, because they're mathematically easier for people who have a robust understanding of fluid mechanics. That's not going to be the case for you, because you're not studying fluids academically. I would recommend that you focus on finite element methods instead. These are mathematically more challenging -- using them with fluid PDEs require stabilization terms (like SUPG or GLS) to prevent the solution from oscillating. However, the application of finite element methods to fluid PDEs require essentially no knowledge of the physics behind the PDE. It's pure mathematics, and you as a CS student should be well equipped to handle this.

If you're not familiar with finite element methods for solving PDEs, I would strongly recommend starting with a Python library called FEniCS. This is a brilliant finite element solver that allows you to input the bilinear form of your partial differential equation (Google what "bilinear form" is for finite element methods) in Python and generate a solution. This will allow you to practice the mathematics of finite element methods without getting tangled up in the code implementation of the solution process. Solve the Poisson equation first, and then the advection-diffusion.

Simple solvers you might like working with:

EasyCFD -- Educational program intended to teach the basics of a "black-box" CFD solver.

CFD Python -- A Python program designed with a 12-step lesson plan to solving Navier-Stokes equations.

PyFR -- Another Python-based flow solver. Documentation is a bit sparse, so you need an understanding of how CFD works to use it. But once you have that, PyFR's open-source nature allows you to break apart an actual full CFD solver and look at its components before trying to write your own.

Useful literature you might want to check out from your campus library:

White, Fluid Mechanics and/or Cengel and Cimbala, Fluid Mechanics -- Basically the two beginner level fluid mechanics bibles, depending on who you ask. An overwhelming number of engineers out there have had one or the other as their textbook in school. They're both fantastic. Flip a coin.

Moin, Fundamentals of Engineering Numerical Analysis -- Yet another undergraduate bible, this time on numerical methods commonly used by engineers (of all types). It covers material so crucial in all scientific computing that one of my doctoral qualification examiners specifically requested that I know this book from cover to cover.

Anderson, Computational Fluid Dynamics -- Superb introductory book that covers most everything related to CFD. If you're going to buy anything in this list, buy this one.

Hughes, Finite Element Methods -- The bible on finite element methods. The book focuses on structural applications (which do not require stabilization terms) but the mathematics involved are identical regardless of the physics behind the PDE, so this is still a very useful reference.

Zienkiewicz, Taylor and Nithiarasu, Finite Element Method for Fluid Dynamics -- Great supplement to Hughes' book for anyone using FEM on fluid flow. Covers stabilized methods, starting with easy equations (like advection-diffusion) and scaling up all the way to turbulent flows (which you shouldn't bother with right now).

Anderson, Fundamentals of Aerodynamics -- Just putting this down in case you ever need to specifically learn about aerodynamic applications of fluid flow.

Anderson, Introduction to Flight -- Used nationwide as an introductory aerospace engineering book. I recommend it to everybody outside of the industry who wants to work/study in it. Superfluously covers every aspect of the discipline, from structures to propulsion, from aerodynamics to flight control, from aviation to space.

Panton, Incompressible Flow -- Often used as a graduate level book on theoretical fluid mechanics. Focused mathematical approach. Not an easy read, required some prerequisite knowledge of fluid flow (overview of the fundamentals is very brief), but it's the next logical step up when you're ready to take your fluid work further.

Why I don't give a shit about coffee machine expenses, office furniture, etc:

Firstly, and this is important, Star Citizen is an extraordinarily challenging game to write from a technical perspective (even Derek says that they can't build don't have the tech for it). Extraordinary tech requires extraordinary engineers.

There is a long history of how various companies and colleges try to attract the best and the brightest. The first company that I know of which had to attract extraordinary engineers was General Atomic after WWII, which started working on Project Orion. Remember how your parents would give you pushes on the swing to make you go higher/further? Project Orion was basically that, except you're a spaceship and the push is really a nuclear explosion. Do you think I'm kidding? I'm not. So you're detonating hundreds of the most dangerous kind of bomb known at the time with specific timing in sequence: things have to go right. Therefore, you need the best engineers to work on it.

The facilities at the General Atomic campus were extensive, featuring an enormous library in the center that was shaped to be the same size of the spaceship they were trying to build. Other details can be found in George Dyson's book, but suffice it to say that General Atomic was able to recruit many of the Project Manhattan veterans because of some of these benefits and amenities: not all decisions come down to salary.

Google is a much more recent example; like General Atomic, Google wants the best. How does Google attract and retain the best engineers? Perks are a big, and well-documented, part of that. Just look at all these articles about the perks that Google employees get: https://www.google.com/search?q=general+atomic&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=google+perks.

Colleges do the same thing to try to get the best students to attend: they have large campuses with beautiful architecture. A state-of-the-art athletic center with more racketball and squash courts than would ever be used. A program to allow you to rent Picassos to hang in your dorm room. Hell, the school I work at has a parents association whose sole job is to bring the teachers lunch/breakfast once a month. I'd have left to be closer to friends/family long ago if it weren't for this (and other similar perks).

It's really clear to me that CIG is trying to do exactly this. I'm really surprised Derek hasn't mentioned this, but they have a full kitchen in the new California studio. Producers constantly talk about how they're working to make the engineer's lives better, sometimes that involves running errands or getting dinner. The mural on the wall helps people to take pride in their work (and is beautiful besides). A nice coffee machine and elegant furniture are ways to retain the amazing employees you have. That's part of the cost of hiring the best. Can you go overboard with it? Of course. Have they? Consider that this $20,000 coffee machine is less than 0.02% of their total crowdfunded number. They can afford it. And the employees deserve it.

Welcome to the real world, Derek. You can't just throw money at people and expect them to be inspired and give you their best. And you certainly can't do it when you're paying these people less than what they would get paid at other companies, no matter how awesome your project is.

These are some very broad questions, and some (like the age of the Earth) are outside the scope of biology but you are not alone and your questions, unfortunately, are common, especially for those coming from religiously fundamentalist backgrounds like yourself.

> I need to see evidence for myself.

If I showed you a murder weapon, a fingerprint that was lifted from it, and the finger print of a suspect, and you knew nothing about finger prints then the evidence, even in your hands, physically, wouldn't mean much to you. What's far more important than the evidence itself are the inferences we make from it, based on an understanding of how that evidence matters in some investigation. The same is true in biology and other fields of science.

So while you can certainly visit natural history museums and view their collections (like this or this), just seeing specimens won't really give you the whole story.

> Why should I, personally, be convinced that the Earth is billions of years old?

If you care about having beliefs that are true, then you should devote some time to understanding how we know the true age of the Earth, and the many different methods we use to demonstrate that it is indeed very old.

Wikipedia would be a great start:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_the_Earth
  
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiometric_dating
  
  As is typically the case, the sources are the the bottom of each page. If you're like me and you enjoy pop-science documentaries, you might enjoy episode 7 of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, titled The Clean Room which deals with how Clair Patterson became involved with one of the first accurate methods of dating the Earth, using uranium-lead dating. It does a good job of explaining the basics of radiometric dating, why it's accurate, and why we can trust it the way we trust other scientific processes to give us good answers.
  
  > How can I better understand the Fossil record, which supposedly somehow tells us that humans and dinosaurs were not in the same time period?
  
  You likely already know that sedimentary rocks are formed in layers, with newer rocks being deposited on top of older rocks. So while there are processes that tilt distort rocks, we don't find examples of older rocks being found on top of younger rocks, and we don't find examples of rabbit fossils being in the same layers as velociraptors, for example. A lot of the evidence you're likely to encounter is a variation on this theme: things that happened a long time ago leave evidence that is separate from the evidence from things that happened more recently.
  
  While I've not personally read it, I hear it being recommended by people from fundamentalist backgrounds saying that it helped them: The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood.
  
  > And though I get it as a concept, natural selection has always been confusing to me; I can't see how it would practically happen in real life.
  
  It might be that you're used to thinking on time scales you are familiar with. A billion years is an incredibly long time. An analogy here that is often useful is to think of the entire history of the universe, mapped onto a single calendar year, with 00:00 January 1st being the first meaningful moment after the Big Bang, and December 31st at 23:59:59 being now. In this analogy, our planet did not appear until the first week of September, and the first life appearing sometime around the middle of September. The first amphibians, descendants of lobe-finned fish, appeared around December 22nd, and the first mammals appeared December 26th. Anatomically modern humans appeared about 8 minutes before midnight on Dec 31st. You can see more examples here. I know that for me, this really helps me conceptualise deep time.
  
  Dogs are descended from wolves, and they domesticated themselves beginning a few tens of thousands of years ago. Most of the breeds of dogs you are familiar with appeared only in the last few centuries, through artificial selection. If we can go from wolves to chihuahuas in hundreds or thousands of years, it is not a huge stretch to imagine what natural selection could do over millions of years. And, we have lots of evidence to support this idea.
  
  > Because of the way I was raised, a lot of this sounds like science fiction to me.
  
  The difference between any holy book you'll read, and what we know from science, is that behind the person saying it, there is an answer to the question "how did it happen?" At most, a religious answer will involve some shrugging of the shoulders, and what frankly amounts to "magic".

I'll preface this with "to each his own". :)

I'd definitely recommend visiting a local club launch, NAR or Tripoli. I am a member of both our local chapters and the national organizations, so I can fly more often and meet more people.

Estes has a "designers special" that has lots of parts, cones, body tubes, etc. I'd encourage you, however, to not skip over their easy stuff (like the E2X Pro Series kits especially), they make a lot of great kits that you can learn a lot from. I'm Level 2 right now and I still buy simple kits sometimes just to have something easy to fly. Right now my favorite "quick" rocket is the Estes Majestic. Slapped it together in a short evening and was flying it the next day. Lots of fun.

I too am a "born again rocketeer", doing lots when I was a kid, stopping for a long time, then picking up again when I had kids old enough to fly, about 6 years ago. I re-started with the basic Estes kits and worked my way up. Now I'm about to do my Level 3 certification.

When we re-started, I had a hobby knife, cutting mat, and some glue. I bought a launch set kit so I had a launcher and pad. Everything I needed to build fit in a shoe box. Everything I needed to fly, including motors, fit in a shoe box. We hauled a "tv tray" table out to the launch site (a nearby park or soccer field) and flew. Simple.

Then I discovered my local Tripoli club. One visit and I was hooked.

Now half a room is dedicated to build supplies, materials and workspace, and a large number of various size rockets. Build supplies are on three different rack systems around the room, with bins dedicated to things like adhesives, sanding, measuring, airbrushing, electronics, clamps, and parts boxes full of hardware. I get new parts, tools, or other things on a very regular basis. You will always find something else you need. One thing I never knew I'd need was a razor saw with a mini miter box. Use it all the time now. The only thing I can say you will for sure need it a cutting instrument, appropriate adhesives, and time. :)

We haul two large toolboxes to launches, one with just motors and ignition stuff and another with other things like gloves, wipes, field repair supplies and radios. We also take a folding table, a portable shelter, rocket stands, chairs, and of course the mandatory Boonie Hat.

Everybody has their own thing, find your thing and enjoy it. I know guys who love steampunk rockets, or only do accurate scale rockets, or only low power, or only high power. One guy we see like once a year and he brings some monster rocket out and flies it once.

Me, I fly for fun, so I have Baby Bertha rockets and I have a 6+ foot tall 4" rocket with a 54mm motor. I'll fly them both the same day, for the joy of it.

You will also find LOTS of "religious arguments", things like the best this or that. Epoxy, fillet material, finishing method, spray paint, people who only fly Estes or hate Estes and only fly PML. Just do what works for you. Have fun and be safe, listen and learn, and share.

There are a few good books out there as well, depending on what you want to get into.

Handbook of Model Rocketry


Modern High Power Rocketry

Mechanical engineer, here. There is no substitute for actually building something, which it seems you're already doing. Outside of coursework and training, I would recommend the following resources:

FUNdaMENTALS of Design: You can download the PDF here. Tons of pictures and equations. This was the "course book" I used in undergrad @ MIT, and you can get it for free! Not really organized, per se, but one cool thing about it is that it's meant to be flipped through and printed double-sided. One side is always a birds-eye or holistic view, and the opposite side is always an in-depth and theoretical treatment of the topics. This is a great way to find out, "Wow! This exists, and here's what it's called!"

Mechanical Engineering Design: This is a pretty good primer on mechanical "stuff."

Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook: This is a great resource to keep handy. I look at this ALL the time, especially when I hit brick walls and need inspiration or fresh ideas.

Misumi: Pretty good place to get industrial-grade mechanical components... not sure about the prices for hobby-level stuff. They also have some good literature and tutorials here.


Hope it helps, and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Edit: primary != primer

Depends on what you're trying to do. Do you want to build and launch high power rockets for fun? Compete in competitions? Build model rockets with a focus on educational outreach? There's a lot of options.

I would recommend a bit of reading first: the Modern High-Power Rocketry 2 book is one I can vouch for. It provides a lot of good tips on build and launch activities.

As for clubs, check out NAR or Tripoli Rocketry Association's webpages to see if there are local chapters. Usually, local clubs have a website of their own where you should be able to find a contact. Don't hesitate to ask them for advice, as they're usually very generous with helping new people to the hobby get involved.

As for leadership: this is more nebulous. I would start by building up an executive board around you. Things like Treasurer, Secretary, Assistant Director, etc. are pretty much must haves and will help you divvy up the workload. Having an outreach focal helps to build involvement, and promote the club as well. Build a board, give people long term goals, and they should start making things move on their own.

Funding: if you're part of a major school, your school will have a funding program for student organizations. Start with them, build a case for what you need funds for, and how much you want, then use those funds to accomplish your first year goals. Build a baseline, and some history, before you attempt to contact outside funding sources (this isn't strictly necessary, but it will help make your growth long term sustainable and limit possible friction sources).

Things to consider: you'll need to find a decent workspace. Your college and department will be the deciding factor in whether or not this is easy, or a pain in the ass. Don't work out of some guys apartment, though.

Giving other people work that has clear objectives, is obviously beneficial to the program and their own lives, and has clear deadlines is a must for creating a cohesive working group. This applies to both an executive board and a student body. Don't try to do everything yourself unless you want to do everything by yourself.

Rockets are really cool. Try to do something (or several things) really cool in the first year. Go on a tour of a NASA or Space Industry company facility near your school. Build a rocket that goes supersonic, or is just your school's first high power rocket. Do an outreach program where you teach local kids about rocketry and space science. There's tons of opportunities. Find out what your club is interested in doing, and do your best to make that thing happen, and people will want to come back next year and do even better things.

I don't have a specific recommendation, but I like to do the same thing and I've been using these two books to find good places to explore:

1. Guide To Arizona Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails
   
2. Arizona Trails South Region
   
   Both provide routes with descriptions, photos, waypoints and turn by turn callouts. Each trail has difficulty rating and in the case of the second book, there is also a remoteness rating. We typically pick a route, follow the waypoints as described in the book the first time to learn the area, and then when we go back we explore side trails and such.
   
   The first book has a lot of the more well known routes all are day-trip length, the second book has much more routes and much more detail. trips in that book range from a few hours to a few days long. Each trail on those books typically includes one or more pretty interesting things to see or do, we haven't been let down yet.
   
   If you don't have one yet, get a state land trust permit, many of the backroads and trails go on state trust land, so if a ranger finds you out there without your permit, you can get fined. It's only $15/20 per year and you can do it all online (for an extra $1) by going here: https://land.az.gov/recreational-permit-portal
   
   I lied: If you've read down this far, here's a specific location that is pretty neat: There's an old gin house at the end of the trail that leads to Little Fish Canyon. That should be enough to get you to find it on google maps. satellite view might show you the structure a bit. The building is fenced in to keep the animals out, you can undo the fence on the north side to get through, just make sure to connect it back up when you are done. You can open window covers to peek in and get a better look, but make sure you close it all back up when you are done. do NOT enter the building, that might get you in trouble. All around those trails are a number of mines as well. most (all?) are sealed with gates to protect the bats, but still kind cool to look in.
   
   If you are on Facebook, search for "Tucson Jeeps" group and join it. People there are organizing runs all the time. Some of the trails are difficult and/or remote enough that you'll definitely want to go with others just in case.
   
   EDIT: oh, and about the cows, don't worry about driving through the cows, just take it slow and quiet. they WILL move out of the way before you bump them. I never really knew what to do until I ran across a huge herd being walked right down the middle of a highway once. The rancher was like "You don't have to stop, just keep driving, they'll move!"

/u/another_user_name posted this list a while back. Actual aerospace textbooks are towards the bottom but you'll need a working knowledge of the prereqs first.

Non-core/Pre-reqs:

Mathematics:

Calculus.

1-4) Calculus, Stewart -- This is a very common book and I felt it was ok, but there's mixed opinions about it. Try to get a cheap, used copy.

1-4) Calculus, A New Horizon, Anton -- This is highly valued by many people, but I haven't read it.

1-4) Essential Calculus With Applications, Silverman -- Dover book.

More discussion in this reddit thread.

Linear Algebra

3) Linear Algebra and Its Applications,Lay -- I had this one in school. I think it was decent.

3) Linear Algebra, Shilov -- Dover book.

Differential Equations

4) An Introduction to Ordinary Differential Equations, Coddington -- Dover book, highly reviewed on Amazon.

G) Partial Differential Equations, Evans

G) Partial Differential Equations For Scientists and Engineers, Farlow

More discussion here.

Numerical Analysis

5) Numerical Analysis, Burden and Faires

Chemistry:

1. General Chemistry, Pauling is a good, low cost choice. I'm not sure what we used in school.
   
   

   Physics:
   

   
   2-4) Physics, Cutnel -- This was highly recommended, but I've not read it.
   
   

   Programming:
   

   
   

   Introductory Programming
   

   
   Programming is becoming unavoidable as an engineering skill. I think Python is a strong introductory language that's got a lot of uses in industry.
   
   

2. Learning Python, Lutz
   
   
3. Learn Python the Hard Way, Shaw -- Gaining popularity, also free online.
   
   

   Core Curriculum:
   

   
   

   Introduction:
   

   
   

4. Introduction to Flight, Anderson
   
   

   Aerodynamics:
   

   
   

5. Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, Fox, Pritchard McDonald
   
   
6. Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, Anderson
   
   
7. Theory of Wing Sections, Abbot and von Doenhoff -- Dover book, but very good for what it is.
   
   
8. Aerodynamics for Engineers, Bertin and Cummings -- Didn't use this as the text (used Anderson instead) but it's got more on stuff like Vortex Lattice Methods.
   
   
9. Modern Compressible Flow: With Historical Perspective, Anderson
   
   
10. Computational Fluid Dynamics, Anderson
    
    

    Thermodynamics, Heat transfer and Propulsion:
    

    
    

11. Introduction to Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer, Cengel
    
    
12. Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Propulsion, Hill and Peterson
    
    

    Flight Mechanics, Stability and Control
    

    
    5+) Flight Stability and Automatic Control, Nelson
    
    5+)[Performance, Stability, Dynamics, and Control of Airplanes, Second Edition](http://www.amazon.com/Performance-Stability-Dynamics-Airplanes-Education/dp/1563475839/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315534435&sr=8-1, Pamadi) -- I gather this is better than Nelson
    
    

13. Airplane Aerodynamics and Performance, Roskam and Lan
    
    

    Engineering Mechanics and Structures:
    

    
    3-4) Engineering Mechanics: Statics and Dynamics, Hibbeler
    
    

14. Mechanics of Materials, Hibbeler
    
    
15. Mechanical Vibrations, Rao
    
    
16. Practical Stress Analysis for Design Engineers: Design & Analysis of Aerospace Vehicle Structures, Flabel
    
    6-8) Analysis and Design of Flight Vehicle Structures, Bruhn -- A good reference, never really used it as a text.
    
    
17. An Introduction to the Finite Element Method, Reddy
    
    G) Introduction to the Mechanics of a Continuous Medium, Malvern
    
    G) Fracture Mechanics, Anderson
    
    G) Mechanics of Composite Materials, Jones
    
    

    Electrical Engineering
    

    
    

18. Electrical Engineering Principles and Applications, Hambley
    
    

    Design and Optimization
    

    
    

19. Fundamentals of Aircraft and Airship Design, Nicolai and Carinchner
    
    
20. Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach, Raymer
    
    
21. Engineering Optimization: Theory and Practice, Rao
    
    

    Space Systems
    

    
    

22. Fundamentals of Astrodynamics and Applications, Vallado
    
    
23. Introduction to Space Dynamics, Thomson -- Dover book
    
    
24. Orbital Mechanics, Prussing and Conway
    
    
25. Fundamentals of Astrodynamics, Bate, Mueller and White
    
    
26. Space Mission Analysis and Design, Wertz and Larson

I'm no physicist. My degree is in computer science, but I'm in a somewhat similar boat. I read all these pop-science books that got me pumped (same ones you've read), so I decided to actually dive into the math.

​

Luckily I already had training in electromagnetics and calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra so I was not going in totally blind, though tbh i had forgotten most of it by the time I had this itch.

​

I've been at it for about a year now and I'm still nowhere close to where I want to be, but I'll share the books I've read and recommend them:

• First and foremost, read Feynman's Lectures on Physics and do not skip a lecture. You can find them free on the link there, but they also sell the 3 volumes on amazon. I love annotating so I got myself physical copies. These are the most comprehensible lectures on anything I've ever read. Feynman does an excellent job on teaching you pretty much all of physics + math (especially electromagnetics) up until basics of Quantum Mechanics and some Quantum Field Theory assuming little mathematics background.
  
• Feyman lectures on Quantum Electrodynamics (The first Quantum Field Theory). This is pop-sciency and not math heavy at all, but it provides a good intuition in preparation for the bullet points below
  
• You're going to need Calculus. So if you're not familiar comfortable with integral concepts like integration by parts, Quantum Mechanics will be very difficult.
  
• I watched MIT's opencourseware online lectures on Quantum Mechanics and I did all the assignments. This gave me what I believe is a solid mathematical understanding on Quantum Mechanics
  
• I'm currently reading and performing exercises from this Introduction to Classical Field Theory. . This is just Lagrangian Field Theory, which is the classical analog of QFT. I'm doing this in preparation for the next bullet-point:
  
• Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell. Very math heavy - but thats what we're after isnt it? I havent started on this yet since it relies on the previous PDF, but it was recommended in Feynmans QED book.
  
• I've had training on Linear Algebra during my CS education. You're going to need it as well. I recommend watching this linear algebra playlist by 3Blue1Brown. It's almost substitute for the rigorous math. My life would've been a lot easier if that playlist existed before i took my linear algebra course, which was taught through this book.
  
• Linear Algebra Part 2 - Tensor analysis! You need this for General Relativity. This is the pdf im currently reading and doing all the exercises. This pdf is preparing me for...
  
• Gravity. This 1000+ page behemoth comes highly recommended by pretty much all physicist I talk to and I can't wait for it.
  
• Concurrently I'm also reading this book which introduces you to the Standard Model.
  
  ​
  
  I'm available if you want to PM me directly. I love talking to others about this stuff.

If you're looking to get started, you should start with a good book like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Computational-Fluid-Dynamics-John-Anderson/dp/0070016852

That book starts out with the basics of Fluid Dynamics equations and is really very good.

Turbulence theory and turbulence modeling is a pretty advanced topic. You will first have to learn about laminar boundary layers, boundary layer equations and then about transition to turbulence, turbulent boundary layers and turbulence modeling.

This is the best book I have read on Boundary Layer theory that covers both laminar and turbulent flow:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/3540662707/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1425473580&sr=8-1&keywords=schlicting+boundary+layer&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=41ZQZkmQBNL&ref=plSrch

Turbulence modeling is something you can move on to after that. I recommend this book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1928729088/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1425473660&sr=8-1&keywords=wilcox+turbulence+modeling

Wilcox goes into much detail about the nature of turbulence and the different methods that have been formulated to model this phenomenon.

Here is a book that talks about the basics of fluid dynamics that is pretty good too:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0123821002/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1425473759&sr=8-1&keywords=kundu+fluid+mechanics&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=41h-Ynv4uGL&ref=plSrch


Another great resource is this set of fluid dynamics videos made a few decades ago. They are awesome and will give you a strong conceptual understanding:
http://web.mit.edu/hml/ncfmf.html

There you go. I'm sorry if I was unclear on anything. Let me know about it and I'll be glad to help you out more.

Now could you point me to some material about how you use hydrodynamics in your field? I love to learn about different fields! Thank you in advance!

Titan is Saturn's moon, and yes, its ice volcanoes are one of the coolest tectonic events in our solar system.

As far as we know, there aren't any solid diamonds at the center of anything. Diamonds are much lighter than metals and other heavy elements, and would not sink to the center of a planetoid. Perhaps some pre-supernova planets, but those wouldn't have any of the heavy elements necessary to support life. Once we are traveling between stars, it's the biogenetic substances--like water and unrefined carbon--that will be the most valuable and useful to mine. With space colonization it becomes a matter of sustaining the continuing expansion of life, not space ships, that is most important. Fortunately there is a lot of ice on moons like Europa, and plenty of other valuable minerals and metals in the asteroid belt. There has always been a frontier: cyberspace has come and gone as the lastest frontier: next comes a space station! Once we've colonized out to the asteroid belt, perhaps interplanetary cyberspace will become still another metaphysical frontier to be explored?

I'm not sure where I was going with all of that. It trips me out.

Have you read The Millennial Project: Colonizing the Galaxy in Eight Easy Steps? I think it would be right in line with your interests. It is the most mind-blowing book I have ever read, making NASA look like a bunch of idiots and literally turning galactic colonization into a rather common-sensical eight easy steps, beautiful in their simplicity. If you have a scientific mind, this book will make you trip hard balls of intellectual goodness. There's even a website carrying on the book's legacy by updating the material as new scientific insights arise.

If you are going to use it in place of a car, I'd spend at least $200-300 on the bike, with extra on accessories (helmet, panniers, good shorts, shoes, etc).

Are you comfortable working on it yourself? If so, buying used will be your most cost-effective option. You can find good deals on craigslist, but be wary: a lot of people don't take good care of their bikes, so you may be inheriting their neglect when you buy a used bike. A properly cared for bike won't have any rust anywhere (not even on the chain or cogs) and you won't hear any squeaks when it moves.

If not, buying new can be good because most bikes come with great warranties.

As far as models, there are tons. Too many to suggest without knowing more about your needs. There are plenty of good brands out there though, go to a bike shop and check them out. My personal favorites are Specialized, Cannondale, and Giant. They also have great warranties if you buy them new.

Whether you buy new or used, try to learn to do maintenance yourself. The tools are an initial investment, but they save you over the long run. Get a book on maintenance; I'd recommend this one, there's also a version for mountain bikes if that's more your style. There are tons of great online resources too, but I like having a hard copy.

All that said, you CAN get a good, new bike for pretty cheap: my commuter is a singlespeed that cost me less than $200 for everything. The catch is, I ordered it online (along with all the other upgraded parts) and had to build it up myself. If you don't know what you're doing, this can be a daunting task.

I've worked with some designers who had books like these:

Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices

[507 Mechanical Movements and Designs]
(https://www.amazon.com/507-Mechanical-Movements-Mechanisms-Devices/dp/0486443604/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484237480&sr=8-2&keywords=mechanisms)

Honestly though, these books might be good bathroom reading, but design comes down to experience. The more problems you solve, and the more things you make, the better your designs will be.

Having been a design engineer for a while now, the absolute best advice I can give you is to talk to the other people who will be using the stuff you design. Starting out, your designs aren't going to be the most elegant. Focus on getting something that is functional.

Then, talk to the machinist who is making the parts. He'll have some advice on what features are difficult to machine, or some features you could include that make your parts easier to manufacture, such as adding a flat surface to use as a datum for machining setups, or "bonus holes" that can be used for lifting or securing the parts on the machine. Maybe if you loosen some tolerances, he can order a piece of mill standard pipe instead of having to hog out a huge piece of round stock. Maybe if you tweak the geometry just a little bit, the part can be made on a manual machine instead of having to wait for the 5 axis CNC to open up.

Talk to the techs who have to operate or maintain the machines. What makes their jobs difficult? They'll know best what parts are hard to access, or which tightly packed assemblies don't have clearances to fit tools in, or what's constantly breaking and needs to be replaced often. They'll show you the "custom made tools" that they improvise so that they can actually work with your equipment.

Talk to the people in procurement, or your suppliers and vendors. Is there cheaper hardware you could use? Maybe switching materials would make it easier to source raw stock. Maybe there's an off-the-shelf coupling you could use instead of machining a custom bracket to join two components. These guys work with lots of other people in your industry, and will gladly share "how the other guy did it".

Ah, sorry - I mean that's a pretty sufficient TL;DR, but if you want more of a story, I was never really a great Mormon - I always had my issues with the doctrine, only went semi-actively, and never served a mission, but after moving to SLC for a job I needed friends so I began attending a YSA ward and I was all-in. I met my wife and we became engaged. I went through the temple for the first time at 27 - it disturbed me. I never went back (other than for the wedding) and became an active NOM at that point.

Then one night, in 2014, I was on field assignment in Northern Canada. I was working night shift logging drill core and reading a book about the implausibility of Noah's Flood during my down time. I decided to see how this jived with Mormon beliefs. Well, one thing led to another and I stumbled across the CES Letter. Suddenly it all made sense - why I could never be the good Mormon I was raised to be. Why I had so many issues with the one true church.

I got home, let her know what I had discovered. She was not happy. We argued a lot over religion. A few months later we discovered we were having a little boy. She made it clear our son would be raised Mormon. I hated that because I knew he would be raised to see me as a sinner. I knew she was not a huge fan of Utah, so I decided applying for work anywhere. I ran this across her and she agreed. I figured Godless New England would be our best bet - I must've sent out 100 resumes. No luck for a year. We had our baby, I blessed him in our house, they'd go to church without me. I kept sending resumes and started expanding my locations. Seattle, Portland, Pittsburgh, New York, ... Then finally, at long last I got a job offer! ... The offer was in Detroit. I knew nothing about Detroit other than abandoned homes, but... we needed a new home, and Detroit needs new people, so it sounded perfect!

So we packed up everything, sold our house, and moved 2,000 miles to the Great Lakes State and settled in a little suburb of Detroit. She relaxed the Mormon-image that she was keeping for her family and friends over the first few months. A sleeveless shirt here, a Sunday at the park there, but yes we still argued about church and she still attended most of the time.

One Sunday morning we had an argument about the November 2015 policy. I knew her acceptance of LGBT rights and I knew this terrible policy had to bother her as much as it did me. She left for church angry and texted me about 60 minutes later, "You're right. I don't believe it anymore."

I felt so bad, but so relieved at the same time. Today we go to church on occasion, but for cultural/familial reasons; neither of us believe - though I believe she still maintains a minor NOM aspect and maintains firm belief in Christianity while I'm a bit more Agnostic. Our little boy has never been to nursery and never will. We'll be having a second kid in a few weeks and they'll never know anything of Mormonism other than, "Oh, that's that thing Grandma and Grandpa do on Sundays."

Oh, and did I mention we love Detroit? It's an incredible city! Not just because we moved here, but the history, the arts, the culture, the sports, the cuisine - it's a real big city, but at a discount price. Plus, neighbors don't judge us for not being at church. We just bought a house, and I think we may just make it a long term home.

STEM generates wealth. Good message.

But apace advocates have been saying this since the 1960's. Neil's not bringing anything new to the table. This 2012 testimony didn't generate much support from policy makers. Neither did the book he published in 2012.

Space advocates can point to huge benefits generated by research from the 1950's and 60's. Not all of it was NASA R&D. Some of it was military and commercial. A few of the more prominent:

Miniaturization of electronics -- Rockets and missiles needed compact, low mass electronics. U.S. funded R&D helped put American companies at the forefront of an electronics revolution. There were already transistor radios around when NASA formed but the R&D helped accelerate trends like Moore's Law.

Communication sats. Generally not NASA's but it's hard to imagine commerical entities launching satellites if NASA and the U.S. military hadn't blazed a trail. These are huge beneficial spin off from the space program.

Weather sats. Again, not NASA but enabled by development of launch technology More accurate weather prediction has saved lives, prevented property damage and enabled farmers to produce more food.

Will future NASA endeavors generate such dramatic spin offs? If that could be solidly demonstrated, it'd be easier to persuade policy makers. I certainly don't regard it as a given.

One of the rallying cries has been Colonize Mars! With huge, disposable rockets like the SLS. Basically Apollo rockets redux. The Apollo trips to the moon were about 10 billion a pop. It is likely SLS trips to Mars every two years would be even more expensive. Settling Mars would take a long sustained effort taking decades or maybe even centuries. Would policy makers support that sustained effort? An expensive, high profile program would be a lightning rod for policy makers that want to appear fiscally responsible. I'd give the program two presidential cycles. Agaiin, Apollo redux.

Some critics maintain the chief benefit of SLS and Orion is providing employment in certain congressional districts. Pork, in other words. I tend to agree. I don't think NASA is blazing new trails with SLS and Orion.

Many serious proponents of exploiting and settling space call for improved robotics and In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). Already British Petroleum is using remotely operated vehicles to build sophisticated infrastructure on the sea floor where humans can't reach. Should NASA invest heavily in improved tele-robots, this could potentially generate enormous spin offs. I can see tele-robot operaters donning their motion capture suits in their living rooms. No need to commute to work. Besides working on the lunar surface or on asteroids, tele-robot operatros could do work in the deeper mines, high mountain tops, the sea floor. As well as hazardous disaster areas like Fukashima after a tsunami.

Summary: "A penny for NASA" is too simplistic. Some NASA projects might have big pay offs. Others are likely dead ends. If we want to persuade policy makers and fire up the public, we need to place our bets on good horses.

A lot of my professors put their video lectures on youtube now so those are a lot of great videos to watch, but I'm not sure on the rules of whether or not I'm supposed to share them so I can only link the ones that have public Youtube channels.

For Electronics (BJTs, MOSFETs, Feedback networks and things like that) you're gonna want to eiter download or buy a copy of this book (https://www.amazon.com/Microelectronic-Circuits-Electrical-Computer-Engineering/dp/0199339139). It's a pretty easy to follow text that is great for learning all the basics of micro electronics. Most universities use is so there are a lot of lectures using that text as reference.

For Digital systems (El E 235), and some useful Engineering matrix math and probability (Engr 310) on this channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf4G95tHQPnphwpfrkzelgA
and https://www.youtube.com/user/OleMissVLSI (EL E 385 for computer architecture and the like)

For basic circuits this channel is good.
https://www.youtube.com/user/RebelsLoveCircuits

Programming is best learned on codeacademy.com unless you want to learn C or something lower level, in which case i'm not too sure where to do that other than a course or reading a book online.

For your basic math and calculus you'll want
https://www.youtube.com/user/patrickJMT (the real mvp)
and Kahn Academy of course.

Then once you've gotten down the Laplace Transforms and understand the Laplace domain and Frequency domains, you can go onto my favourite topic in El E which is control theory. For that you're gonna want:
https://www.youtube.com/watchv=oBc_BHxw78s&list=PLUMWjy5jgHK1NC52DXXrriwihVrYZKqjk.

I'm not really sure what else there is, but If you can think of any specific topic I can try to find the best material I remember using.

OK, I'll go first:

1. I first read Buddhism Without Beliefs on the advice of a friend about a year ago. I'd always been vaguely interested in Buddhism, but never really known where to start and "bad" at meditation. BWB helped me change the way I think about Buddhism in a really powerful way. I'm interested in it less as a belief system, and more as a set of practices and processes that can help one lead a better life, for some definitions of the word "better".
   
   
2. I'm a private consultant living in NYC. I like to get out of the city and go hiking whenever I can. The thing I miss most about my childhood in rural Alaska is looking at the stars.
   
   
3. I'm hoping that in having rituals with and obligations to other people, I'll be more likely to stick to the course long-term. Of course, that will only happen if there are people here, so it also encourages me to make this the best possible study group subreddit ever.
   
   I have been running /r/SF_Book_Club for over 4 years now, and will use what I have learned about managing small, active, discussion-based communities.
   
   
4. It's a tie between The Ego Tunnel by Thomas Metzinger, this talk about African Fractals, and this funny story from /r/buddhism last week.

Northern AZ XJ guy here. Not sure about local places around PHX, but a good place to start is this book and be ready to travel a little. There are a number of great trails and off road areas throughout the state. The southern areas require a good cooling system, and the when it snows up north, a good heater! A really interesting place to live; I hope you like it!

Guide to Arizona Backroads

I see a lot of parallels in your story to my own. I became an evangelical at 18 -- fully committed and ready to evangelize the world. I met a Christian girl and got married at 20. At 23, I went to Bible college with the intention of going into ministry. At 27, I graduated and attempted to plant a church (and failed badly). By 29, I was in a full depression because I realized that ministry was not for me and I had wasted my education. Also, I had rushed into a marriage with someone that I wasn't really compatible with; we believed that putting Jesus at the center of our marriage would solve all problems. It wasn't working. And on top of that, we had multiple miscarriages in our attempts to have children. I was pretty damn miserable all around, even though I'm pretty good at putting on a smiling face and soldiering on.

My religion was the one thing I sunk deeper and deeper into to find comfort. And the deeper I went, the more I alienated myself from society around me, and from reality.

I scuttled all ministry aspirations and found a much better career path. Things were turning around. We even managed to produce a couple of kids. That was when my wife of 15 years announced she was moving away and was going to take the kids. She had no career, no income, and no solid plan. Fortunately, I easily won the ensuing custody fight.

I found myself back in the dating scene as a middle aged man. After 15 years of married sex, there was no way I could just turn off sexual desire. I had several monogamous, adult relationships over the next decade.

Now, if I could draw a graph of my faith over time... the peak would be at age 18, with a gradual but noticeable decline over time. There would be peaks and valleys, but a steady, downward trend.

My prayer life, also over time, went from very complex, lofty prayers to increasingly simpler and more direct declarations. Towards the end, my most common prayer was a simple, "God help me," chanted over and over and over, because I had never really known God to answer my prayers in specific ways.

27 years after my profession of faith in a Baptist church, I find that my faith is completely bankrupt. I can't honestly say that the gospel of evangelicalism ever worked as promised.

I decided that I was going to put it all on the table and reboot. I would find out what was true and real in my faith, and start building from there. That meant reading material I had long avoided, and opening doors I had intentionally left shut.

I read this book about geology and the flood. I knew for a long time that the Bible accounts didn't line up with science. It was time to own up to it.

I watched this video about the real history of God and the Jews; that fucking blew me away. I had never heard of these things.

For about two weeks, I devoured every critical resource I could get my hands on. And like you, I knew that I had to follow truth, no matter where it led. By the end of those two weeks, I had nothing left to base my faith on.

That was four and a half years ago. The first few months were a little rough, but also exhilarating. But every day got a little better. Where I'm at now, I am so much happier.

It looks like you're set up as far as it goes for electronics (projectors, a TV, and hopefully at least one computer) so I wouldn't waste any money there. Look for things that are reusable and don't have a high cost of upkeep.

Basics

First and foremost set aside some money for classroom basics that will be useful for any type of science lab.

• Safety goggles
  
• Good quality rulers
  
• Tape measures
  
• Stopwatches
  
• Duct tape
  
• Wire clips
  
• Cheap multimeters
  
• Battery chargers
  
  Life Sciences
  
  This is probably the cheapest subject to teach since a lot of the things you'll cover can be grown in coffee cans and mason jars. You'll need flower pots, some spades, watering cans, and some grow lights if you don't have good natural lighting. You can do simple and cheap projects like a tabletop biosphere with some mason jars. You should probably get one decent microscope with a camera you can hook up to a computer or directly to a projector. The students don't need to learn to use a microscope, they need to learn about whatever you're looking at with the microscope.
  
  Physical Sciences
  
  If you want to teach the kids electronics buy this whole series of books and several of these bad boys. The Electronic Playgrounds are fantastic for teaching basic electronics because they don't need any soldering, are very versatile, and best of all reusable. If you lose some of the wire they come with just clip your own. IIRC the instruction booklet gives all the gauges different wires.
  
  Earth/Space Sciences
  
  These sciences are larger in scale and scope than you might be able to demonstrate in the classroom. You might buy a cheap weather station and make a project out of keeping track of the readings. Over the years students will be able to compare their measurements to those of classes made years prior. This is also a place where decent software or just some good imagery will help teach the subject.
  
  Check out the following sites for some idea for experiments/demonstrations/activities and then work backwards from there. Figure out what you would need to perform experiments you think will fit your lesson plans and then build a shopping list. There's a multitude of science demonstration projects you can do very inexpensively. If you're smart with your money you can fund your science lab for the next few years even if you've got to spend all the money right now.
  
  Exploratorium Science Explorer
  PBS Kids Science Experiments
  Hands-on Activities for Teaching Biology to High School or Middle School Students
  National Geographic Lesson Plans
  Scientific American Bring Science Home
  
  
  Get a class subscription to Make magazine, National Geographic, Astronomy Magazine and whatever else seems appropriate. Build a small science library in the classroom. Get some good science oriented DVDs. As a practical matter you might also want to get a nice locking cabinet to store whatever nice new things you end up buying. It would be horrible to spend your grant money only to have all your new expensive equipment stolen by some asshole.

All the land is under the thumb of one government or another, so simply purchasing land will do you no good. The one possible exception is Somalia, but then you'll be just another warlord, and the guys already there have more practice than you. You'll need to create new land.

Start by donating to focusfusion.org. If it works out (and things are looking good so far) then in five years we have commercial small-scale non-radioactive fusion reactors producing power at 1/50 the price of coal. As a backup, invest in polywell fusion, which will be a bit slower to develop but still good. From there you can take two routes:

• These little fusion reactors will make excellent rockets, bringing launch costs down enough for middle-class people to get to space, with travel time to Mars of about a month. Start a space colony.
  
  
• With cheap plentiful power, you can implement Marshall Savage's seasteading project, accreting "seacrete" from the ocean and cheaply building a large ocean colony. (See Savage's book The Millenial Project: Colonizing the Galaxy in Eight Easy Steps.)
  
  For an even more speculative project, fund experiments on the Woodward Effect, which, if Einstein and Mach were right, could reduce launch costs to almost nothing and get us to Mars in a couple days, and Saturn in a week.
  
  Since you're proposing a massive land purchase, perhaps you have massive funds to do this sort of thing. You could get your libertarian nation without hassling with legacy governments, and incidentally, save the world.
  
  If you don't have the massive funds yourself, start a foundation and get a big group of people together to do it.
  
  
  

Well the whole field of what you are delving into is categorized as Kinematics and Dynamics, which is enormous.

​

There are very many types of mechanical devices designed by various people throughout the world which can accomplish what you need.

​

Many of them could be applied to your system and only you can fully determine what the "best" one is, depending on your requirements.

​

This is a nice book to look through for ideas:

​

https://www.amazon.com/Mechanisms-Mechanical-Devices-Sourcebook-5th/dp/0071704426/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2CRBTTO3RT6RC&keywords=mechanisms+and+mechanical+devices+sourcebook&qid=1557683532&s=gateway&sprefix=mechanisms+and+mechanical+%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-1

​

As far as calculating things, it's extremely difficult without some knowledge of math and a little experience in applying said math to your design. This is pretty hard to do without formal education of at least the basics of these fields.

​

For example, do you know how to isolate the elements of your design and draw a free body diagram of each of them, without making logical errors (which are pretty easy to do by the way).

​

This is a basic engineering design method you need to use to perform calculations on your proposed designs. I don't think it could be well explained through a forum post. It would go much faster by having somebody help you out in person, or if you can do this, pick up an engineering book and read the relevant sections carefully so you understand them enough to apply them. This tool is initially learned in the fields of Statics, so you'd need a Statics book first. Then you'd need a Kinematics and Dynamics book to determine forces due to acceleration.

​

Looking briefly at your design, my first impression is that it can work. However, make sure that the linkage attached to the servo and the push rod and control horn never fully go parallel to each other. If that happens, you have no guarantee that the mechanism will return to its original proper position.

​

I can explain with a very disturbing analogy. Imagine your elbow can rotate 180 degrees so you can bend your arm backward fully, and for our sake, lets also imagine that this is totally normal and is not damaging.

​

Now imagine you are holding your arm straight against a wall so that the two linkages of your arm, the (1) forearm part and (2) bicep part are in alignment.

​

When you push against the wall, will your arm bend one way, or the other way? The arm has three options, depending on minute and uncontrollable differences: (1) If the force is perfectly horizontal your arm will not move at all and will continue to push against the wall (2) the forearm moves "up" and bends as normal and (3) the forearm moves "down" and bends backwards.

​

The same will happen in linkages if the they all line up. Since we want the linkage to always move the way we want it to move, we have to prevent this special position form occurring.

​

That's a common problem that people who have never designed linkages easily run into.

I've used one on a custom car we made in high school. It was (relatively) easy to fiddle with if you know what you're doing. If you want anything custom(sequential injection or coil on plug ignition), you're going to have to know how to solder. It's pretty good for turbo applications (IMO) because they have a pretty good boost control solenoid for relatively cheep that's easy to install and a built-in MAP sensor. A megasquirt is what I'm going to get when I do my KA-T build. They're also pretty expandable if you want to change anything later.

If you do decide to go the megasquirt route, I would suggest reading a book like this or this so you really know what in the hell you're doing when it comes time to "mess with the tables". It was pretty challenging on that custom car.

Also, Porsche is awesome.

Heh, of course no one can hold their best 500 m time for 2k. But if you're well-trained, you should be able to predict your 2k time to a very rough approximation from your 500 m time. Yours isn't that far off, I would say. My bests were around 1:29 and 1:44.

A couple caveats: It's not a direct linear relationship, as split scales to the 1/3rs power of power output, and human power output is, obviously, a function of exertion time.

The linked plot appears in Bicycling Science, which has a ton of interesting information about human power output and endurance in general, which is applicable to rowing.

EDIT: Now I'm bored and curious. I'm going to apply the Concept II formula to the data in the human power curve. I will report back with a rough idea of humanity's rough limits for split vs. time. If I'm still bored, I'll give best efforts to distance and compare with actual records.

DOUBLE EDIT: Here we go! The splits here are comically low, which I believe reflects the fact that they're not only best efforts, but best efforts for an ideal mechanism, which the erg, while pretty good, is not.

TRIPLE EDIT: And here's the theoretical best times!. All the same caveats apply as before. Also note this is a log-log scale, rather than a semilog scale as before. The record data came from concept II. There actually is an individual 1 megameter record, but it's off the plot range it's so high. I'm not fixing the spelling error in the first plot.

First of all I will say that no matter what you look at, physics is one of those things where you can never be "correct" per se without understanding the math. That goes double for QM which is math all the way down. No matter how you explain it, you will always find that "but what about this exception" can be answered to your satisfaction only by getting a mathematically rigorous treatment of the topic.

That said, for understanding quantum on a "fun" level (i.e. skipping a couple of years of calculus, linear algebra, and numerical analysis), I'd recommend Richard Feynman's QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter. A very well-known and highly respected physicist with a talent for teaching. Although "quantum electrodynamics" as covered in the book is not strictly QM as generally imagined, he does cover the core of what is at interest in quantum theory (electromagnetic interactions at a subatomic level) in a pretty interesting and decently understandable way. That sounds like about what you're looking for.

It wasn't well worded. His point is that a great argument can be made that we have had both the technological and financial capability to start sending humans to Mars on the regular since the 1980's. What we've lacked is only the political and social will to do so.

NASA often comes up with fantastic new excuses for this, some more valid than others. "We need to learn more about the long term physiological effects" is valid, but is mostly invalidated by the tremendous amount of research that has already been done. When do we have, "enough"?

Saying we need this hibernation technology to do it is a lot like saying we need a better propulsion system to do it. We don't. Would it be nice? Sure. Is it an excuse for not going? Hell no.

For a much more in-depth analysis of this, and for a look at what is in many opinions a vastly superior way to do approach this, check out that book.

Amazon link.

Edit: As an added note, Elon Musk has a similar outlook. The implementation he's seeking is significantly different, but it has the same attitude. But unlike Zubrin, Musk had the capital to say, "screw it, I'll do it myself".

[Glen Ballou's book] (http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Sound-Engineers-4th-Edition/dp/0240809696/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=17XRBA75YDQ47T230Q36) has a lot of really good information in it. Also , this [one] (http://www.amazon.com/Timer-Amp-Optoelectronic-Circuits-Projects/dp/0945053290/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406325087&sr=1-1&keywords=timers+and+op+amps) from Forrest Mims is cheap effective. Learning some BEE (basic electronics and electricity) is a great place to start. The one /u/tvdf mentioned has a ton of useful information as well. Good luck, it's a lot of fun once you get started!

These are the two Banish books I'm most familiar with: Engine Management: Advanced Tuning, Designing and Tuning High Performance Fuel Injection Systems. They're pretty similar but the main difference is obvious from the title: the former is just tuning with a little bit of hardware and the second is about half and half hardware and tuning.

I try to remember that the RPi isn't really targeted at hobbyists, it's really an educational board. There are definitely better options if you're willing to give up the support and community. The Banana Pi is looking pretty good as well as the whole ODROID line. Since I'm not a coding guy I would probably be running a tuning PC program hence the requirement of x86.

hijacking top comment to put in a shameless plug for Robert Zubrin's The Case for Mars, an awesome discussion of why we need to go to Mars.

as /u/deanoyj says, it has all the things we need for an industrial civilisation, and also, due to a quirk of interplanetary mechanics, it doesn't cost much more fuel to go to Mars compared to going to the moon, just more time.

Mars has everything we need, is (relatively) easy to get to, and can act as a halfway station to the asteroid belt, a vast untapped wealth of raw metals and resources. Bonus: colonising mars will force the settlers to recycle everything, which will give them a strong incentive to invent things that would be very useful down here on earth.

Seriously, go buy the book, Zubrin explains all the issues in detail and so much better than I ever could. I went in thinking we should go to the moon, and came out convinced we need to go to Mars, and we can do it fairly cheaply, if we accept some modest risks.

As the widely varying answers in this thread suggest, the size of the boat is far from the sole criterion you should be considering; people have traversed the oceans in rowboats. It's not comfortable, but it CAN be done.

Instead, you should ask yourself the question "What do I want to accomplish, and what are the options available to me within my budget?" The Pardeys circumnavigated in a 24-footer that I would find extremely cramped, but they were competent sailors, knew what they enjoyed, and they did a great job of it.

If you're thinking about production boats, this book would be a good place to get you started. In the end, it's a combination of factors having to do with you, the boat, and the way you intend to sail her.

I originally tried the same thing (googling everything) but trying to find all the information I was looking for in one place was next to impossible. Plus you have so many contradicting views on how to go about tuning...etc.

Engine Management: Advanced Tuning by Greg banish. Its a little older (written in 2007) but still covers all the basics you will need.

http://www.amazon.com/Engine-Management-Advanced-Greg-Banish/dp/1932494421/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1416614952&sr=1-1&keywords=engine+management+advanced+tuning

Automotive engine management systems by Jeff Heartman. This book came out in 2013 (i believe) and deals a lot with volumetric efficiency (VE) based engine management systems (like the AEM infinity). This book was the first one I read and it really gives you a good understanding of things. Its much longer then the book above, but seeing as how it goes into greater depth and more aspects of tuning its worth the read.

http://www.amazon.com/Modify-Automotive-Engine-Management-Systems/dp/0760343454/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1416615138&sr=1-1&keywords=automotive+engine+management+systems

Other honourable mentions:

Maximum boost by Corky bell (the book is a bit older, but its really well written and interesting)

"How to build" Max-Performance Mitsubishi 4G63 engines, by Robert Bowen (and Robert Garcia of Road Race Engineering RRE)

Engine Airflow by Harold Bettes

In Vancouver there's an awesome community bike shop called Moto Method where you can do your own wrenching. Tire swaps are always easier to let somebody else handle. The further south you are the easier it is to find nice Mexican mechanics/muffler shops that you can haggle with to let you use tools you don't have packed and/or weld something up for you.

I prefer to do this kind of travelling solo. Forgive me if I'm getting a little philosophical, but I think Ted Simon explains the benefits of solo travel best in his book Jupiter's Travels: he speaks of how the only way to truly let the world change and affect you is when you travel alone, because if you travel with a partner you tend to see yourself as a reflection of how they see you and their perception of you is resistant to change. Why else do we travel but to let the world sweep us up and affect and change and become a part of us in some meaningful way?

Hey, congrats, you have a budget. The downside though is your budget is pretty small for a world cruiser. You're going to be limited to older boats in the 26-30ft range and even then you may need to save up some to equip some addons like a liferaft, windvane and maybe a SSB radio or something for weather.

A start would be here: http://www.atomvoyages.com/planning/good-old-boats-list.html

You can also start with this book: http://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Small-Sailboats-Take-Anywhere/dp/0939837323

I wouldn't start collecting equipment now. I'd be looking a good solid core boat that you like the layout on that fits your current budget with some money left over. I'd then start cruising more locally on it first and then add the gear you want and need on her for an ocean cruise. Basically shake her down and learn on her with smaller cruises, then work up to bigger ones.

But you want that good solid base of a boat first. Something you can really trust to keep you safe in bad weather and rough seas.

Another option would be to just crew on other people's boats who are cruising the world.

Your post has too little context/content for anyone to give you particularly relevant or specific advice. You should list what you know already and what you’re trying to learn. I find it’s easiest to research a new subject when I have a concrete problem I’m trying to solve.

But anyway, I’m going to assume you studied up through single variable calculus and are reasonably motivated to put some effort in with your reading. Here are some books which you might enjoy, depending on your interests. All should be reasonably accessible (to, say, a sharp and motivated undergraduate), but they’ll all take some work:

(in no particular order)
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (wikipedia)
To Mock a Mockingbird (wikipedia)
Structure in Nature is a Strategy for Design
Geometry and the Imagination
Visual Group Theory (website)
The Little Schemer (website)
Visual Complex Analysis (website)
Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos (website)
Music, a Mathematical Offering (website)
QED
Mathematics and its History
The Nature and Growth of Modern Mathematics
Proofs from THE BOOK (wikipedia)
Concrete Mathematics (website, wikipedia)
The Symmetries of Things
Quantum Computing Since Democritus (website)
Solid Shape
On Numbers and Games (wikipedia)
Street-Fighting Mathematics (website)

But also, you’ll probably get more useful response somewhere else, e.g. /r/learnmath. (On /r/math you’re likely to attract downvotes with a question like this.)

You might enjoy:
https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/2mkmk0/a_compilation_of_useful_free_online_math_resources/
https://www.reddit.com/r/mathbooks/top/?sort=top&t=all

I really enjoyed "Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood", which I don't think I've ever seen mentioned here (I only heard about it myself because it was a local author).

It's been a while since I read it, but what I remember enjoying was how the religious beliefs of our earliest geologists influenced their understanding of what they were discovering in the field. The early explorers set out to find evidence for Noah's flood, so it was amusing seeing them trying to wrap their heads around things like finding mammoths in Siberia, that were obviously washed away in the deluge!

I've not read it myself, but I really enjoyed the Your Inner Fish documentary series and have been reading to pick this one up.

For the downlink, sounds like you need a copy of SMAD. I'm sure you can find a free copy somewhere, but here's a link. http://www.amazon.com/Mission-Analysis-Design-Technology-Library/dp/1881883108

Specifically, it discusses the link budget equation in great detail. A necessary estimate of the type of power/antenna/frequency/datarate configuration you'll need. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_budget#Equation

That said, the old team I was a part of used a UHF radio at ~700 MHz for our simple 9600 bps beaconing system. For one spacecraft, that was our only way of downlinking pictures, and yes, it tooks quite a few passes to get a full-res image. Compression sure helps.

For higher datarates, people typically move to an S-Band radio, which we did for subsequent cubesats. As a general rule, higher frequency means you can shove more data into the transmission. However, keep in mind your frequency's interaction with the atmosphere.

That said, I'm not an EE, I just worked with a bunch of 'em. :D

Explaining anything quantum is always frustrating, because the logic behind it is completely alien to our brains, and you have to use a complex mathematical framework to explain it ... unless your name is Richard Feynman and you have God-like explaining powers.

Here's a book with transcripts of seminars that he gave explaining one of his theories named "quantum electrodynamics" - theory for which he was awarded a Nobel prize. The seminars were geared towards people who do not have a mathematics background, but are curious and still want to understand a bit more about quantum mechanics. And he nails it. I think that he uses only a single equation during all the seminars, and still he manages to pass the ideas behind his theory very well.

I'll try to explain the advantage of quantum computers without entering into the ... well ... quantum details. First thing, forget anything from the video that talks about "parallelization" and stuff like this. It's not technically incorrect, but it's not a good way to describe the advantages of a quantum computer.

Let us take the classical example of finding the prime factors of a number (which she talks about a bit at the end of the video). This problem has a series of mathematical properties which we can exploit to solve it. The thing is, the ways that we can use these exploits are limited by the tools that we have at hand - in this case, which operations a computer can do.

In the case of this factorization, the toolset of classical computers is not good enough to do this efficiently - there's a key component (named Fourier transform) of this exploit that's reeeeally expensive to be done using a classical computer's toolset.

BUT, quantum computers have a different, more general toolset than classical computers ... including a "built-in" and fast form of Fourier transform. That's why a quantum computer can solve certain problems faster than a classical one: not because it's faster or more powerful (a quantum computer will never run Crysis ...), but because it has a more appropriate toolset to deal with the problem.

For a comparison in terms of real-world computers: take an old Pentium 4 and a modern Core i7. Their clocks are not so different, maxing around 3.8 ~ 4GHz. Still, there is no question that the i7 is a lot more faster than the P4. Why? Because it has a more efficient architecture and instruction set - a better toolset - and can do more at this same frequency. A similar thing happens with quantum computers, but on steroids.

Here's a blog post that explains all this quite well, and in relatively simple terms.. He also explains what is this "Fourier transform" operation in the context of quantum computers.

What is it exactly that you've always wanted? I'm guessing the answer is not round-the-buoys racing :) Regardless, you're going to need to get some experience with the basics before people start trusting you with their lives on the open ocean.

Really though, sailing isn't hard. Check out your local sailing clubs, crew for a bit, see if you still love it. If you do, study up on piloting, navigation and the "rules of the road", then rather than being under some skipper's thumb, think about buying your own boat. Check out 20 Small Sailboats To Take You Anywhere from your local library. For the cost of a few month's rent you will have a simple, capable vessel that you can sail wherever you want. Living on a sailboat can be very inexpensive (though it can also be quite expensive).

Good luck, live your dream, and thanks for your service in Afghanistan.

I tend to think the same way you do. Don't know where to start, just wish I could have someone explain everything and let me ask questions. While I'm sure that exists in the sense that there might be some expert out there willing to sit down and teach it, but what you're asking for is a course and instruction. Again, I'm sure that exists and it will cost money, I don't know where to start with that.

Otherwise it is completely up to you. Start scouring the internet, look through build threads and tuning forums, and read books on the subject. I just finished this one and I think it is a pretty good place to start if you need the basics on turbos. After that I'm moving on to this one to learn more about tuning. Just like most things in life, there is no easy button. If you want to learn it you have to do it yourself.

The book The Millenial Project: Colonizing the Galaxy in Eight Easy Steps talks about a suit that is made from a material similar to lycra.

The anthology Armored has a bunch of stories about armored suits, and possible variations from those.

Imagine the suits to vary depending on mission and MOS. Infantry, navigation, logistics, engineering etc.


If we get all fancy, lets imagine that they are all made of smart matter, or quantum dots, or some sort of mix that allows high variability, adaptation, low weight, and lots of energy available to do the sort of stuff our hero would need doing.

Remember the utility fog in "Quantum Thief"? I imagine that these new suits would be pretty much like that, fast reaction times, not in the way unless needed, light, flexible and extremely expensive. Also, failure ought to be benign as to protect until rescued.

> How much does an average launch cost?

There is no such thing as an "average launch." Even if you restrict this to a specific motor class, there are many other things to factor in such as whether you factor in all of your shop supples, how much you need to spend on gas driving to a launch site, whether you factor in club fees, and countless other items.

> Is there any website better than amazon for buying engines, wadding paper, etc.?

For LPR motors, typically the best price can be had at Michaels taking advantage of their 40% off coupons. For MPR and HPR motors, you can often get your best deal purchasing from an on-site vendor at a club launch, particularly if HAZMAT shipping is required.

> How far can I expect the rocket to drift after the parachute deploys?

Depends entirely on the wind speed and the size of your parachute. This can be modeled in a simulator such as OpenRocket.

> And are there any good books/websites about this hobby that can possibly tell me more?

This is your best read for getting started:

http://homepage.usask.ca/~llr130/launch/wmci-estes_rocket_manual.pdf

Apogee Components has a huge amount of info on their website but unfortunately navigating it is an absolute nightmare. They also have a great channel on youtube.

This is pretty much the definitive guide in print:

https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Model-Rocketry-7th-Official/dp/0471472425

And when you move into larger rockets:

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-High-Power-Rocketry-Mark-Canepa/dp/1412058104

If you're worried about your linear algebra, it's likely what you want isn't an "upper level teach yourself book", it's a "foundational teach yourself book" which will build out the pyramid of mathematical knowledge that statistics & ML are based on.

To that end, Stroud's Engineering Mathematics is the greatest foundational maths textbook ever written (if nothing else, 25 out of 30 five-star amazon reviews is pretty impressive). It guides you by hand from numberlines and basic arithmetic through to multivariable calculus, and has enough additional examples and problems to make your eyes bleed.

Yes, it's a thousand pages. They aren't very dense, but yes it'll take a good month or two solid study to get through. You can certainly skip it if you want, and god knows enough "data scientists" and "analysts" have. You'll just have no idea what you're doing.

I am a current EE student right now and saw you ask in another comment about book recommendations so I thought I would throw a few in:

• a frequently recommended electronics book is :Art of Electronics
  
• A frequently used (us included) electronics book is Microelectronic Circuits
  
  
• For introductory circuits we use (and i enjoy) : Fundamentals of electric circuits
  
  
• I am hoping to get through : Signal Processing and Linear Systems
  
  
• instead of the above the smartest professor I know recommends anything by : Oppenheim
  
  
• a couple good books for brushing up/learning engineering mathematics: Engineering Mathmatics and Advanced Engineering Mathmatics
  
  
  You should probably throw in some electromagnetic and semiconductor physics for good measure as well.

If you are interested in digital design with a focus on computers, take a look at this video by Ben Eater.

https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/688eq4/ever_wonder_how_computers_work_this_guy_builds/?st=J33580O9&sh=82ff497b

Ben posted an entire video series which goes through building that computer from scratch. He also has an accompanying website. The computer is based on the design laid out in Digital Computer Electronics by Malvino. The book is out of print but you can find a paperback version on Amazon for fairly cheap. In it, you'll learn everything from logic gates and flip flops to building SAP-1 (Simple As Possible computer).

I bought it after seeing that video and wanting to learn about how computers work. It's a phenomenal book that explains things very clearly with as few words as possible. If you are interested at all in computer design, I highly recommend it!

Otherwise, if you are more interested in analog electronics, you can't go wrong with Art of Electronics.

Also, any of Forest Mimms' books are exactly what you are looking for. I started my electronics hobby building 555 timer circuits from this book

Timer, Op Amp, and Optoelectronic Circuits & Projects https://www.amazon.com/dp/0945053290/

Personally, I love learning about quantum mechanics and relativity.

Stuff like this: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7_gcs09iThXybpVgjHZ_7g if you want to watch cool animated explanations of advanced science.

* Almost forgot Fermilab: https://www.youtube.com/user/fermilab

Stuff like this if you want to read laymen textbooks to wrap your head around QM and relativity: (Altho get the paper versions, because they have diagrams and illustrations and stuff illegible on the ebooks):

https://www.amazon.com/Six-Not-So-Easy-Pieces-Einstein-s-Relativity/dp/0465025269/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0

https://www.amazon.com/QED-Strange-Princeton-Science-Library/dp/0691164096/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0

https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Universe-Anything-That-Happen/dp/0306821443/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_1

https://www.amazon.com/Why-Does-mc2-Should-Care/dp/0306818760/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2

All of those are mind-bogglingly cool, as well as being actual real science!

Getting away from 1%er type books - this is a pretty well known book in Europe but maybe not so much in the US, I don't know to be honest.

In 1973 Ted Simon set off on a 63,000 mile round the world trip on a 500cc Triumph Tiger 100. He did it again at the age of 70(!) in 2001 as it happens, but this book's about the first '73 trip which took him 4 years. Well worth a read if you haven't come across it. The US Amazon site has jumped the distance up to 78k miles, I have no idea why. He wrote a follow up, Jupiter's Travels.

Guy's a rider, that's for sure.

Ted Simon - Jupiter's Travels

The bike

His website

I would say the Art of Electronics is great for people who don't have an exceptional math base. So in that sense yes it is good.

I've always found however that the Art of Electronics is not as great as a book to read from front to back. To me it is better as a reference text.

To know what else to recommend I would need to know what exactly your skill level is. The first book where I truly began to learn electronics in university was Sedra and Smith's Microelectronic Circuits. For the most part the math is not too difficult, however it is still university level so it helps to know at least basic calculus. I think you could probably get by without calculus however for at least the early chapters (first half or so) which comprises a first course in electronics.

Go classy. See the world on a motorbike. Camp along the way. Carry more than on a bicycle but be highly approachable, fuel efficient and relatively low impact. Here are some good examples of folks who have (I'm sure there are many others as well):

• 'Ultimate Journey' motorcycle travelogue from aRound The World couple
  
• Horizons Unlimited forum for RTW motorcyclists
  
• Article about pioneering female motorcycle traveler
  
• English dude who rode through Asia and Africa from Europe
  
  Also, for additional points read Ten Years on Two Wheels, One Man Caravan and Jupiter's Travels for inspiration.
  
  

Fly Me to the Moon, about non standard spacecraft trajectories has been sitting on my shelf, think thats gonna be the next book I read.
Mary Roach writes great nonfiction, but it tends to be more biology/anthropology.
Project Orion, a book about proposed nuclear powered space craft was excellent as well.
Lunar Base Handbook is more just a collection of papers, but its fascinating.

There's actually a strain of philosophy of mind and neuroscience dealing with this question right now:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Ego-Tunnel-Science-Mind/dp/0465020690

is a good example. While you might feel like "yourself" has a unifying central intelligence, and it is most certainly true from a subjective personal standpoint, analysis of the actual neural substrates and cognitive processes that generate of that sense of selfhood shows that it might actually be a very powerful illusion.

So as far as hobby books go, I'd generally suggest the Forest Mims Engineering note books. They have a ton of useful circuits, and mini projects and stuff. Very useful for Tinkering and useful all around. Also pretty easy to read and follow.

• Book 1
  
• Book 2
  
• Book 3
  
• Book 4

I like learning from books.

I suggest first going through this book: Handbook of Model Rocketry

Learn the concepts (things like CG, CP, thrust vs impulse, etc) and apply them by building multiple rockets with different aspects.

Once you've gotten everything you can out of that book, get this guy: Modern High-Power Rocketry 2. Work your way through it by joining a local NAR/Tripoli chapter. Get your L1 cert, spend some time there doing multiple projects. After you've done a fair amount, go get your L2. Maybe a year later, go for your L3. Projects you can do in each cert level:

• Go for speed
  
• Go for altitude
  
• Two stage
  
• Dual deploy
  
• Cluster
  
  Or just have fun building rockets you think look cool or are fun to fly!

It's not a long trail 3.4 miles but it is a lot of fun as you drive on the rocks and there is one optional part you can play around on that goes almost straight down that the Jeep tours scare people on. Easily the best 4x4 trail in AZ and a top 10 in the USA. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arizona/broken-arrow-4x4-trail

Now that you have a 4x4 in AZ go get this book and it has broken arrow in it. https://smile.amazon.com/Guide-Arizona-Backroads-4-Wheel-Drive-Trails/dp/1934838195/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1523235879&sr=8-5

If you have a GPS the traxs are nice to have to but not required.

Very nice. Its nice to see this particular school of philosophy-of-mind getting out there. If you enjoyed this, I would also recommend the fantastic Out of our Heads by Alva Noe, and The Ego Tunnel by Thomas Metzinger.

Yeah I read long way round.. but you HAVE to read Jupiters travels.. it's what inpired Ewan and Charlie in the first place..

GET JUPITERS TRAVELS!!!!! BEST BOOK EVER.. and it's a better route than the Long Way Round crew took.

http://www.amazon.com/Jupiters-Travels-Years-Around-Triumph/dp/0965478521

> With all of that said, I feel as though I am seriously lacking in more complex electronic knowledge: solenoids/inductors, capacitors, relays

No offense, that's still the basic stuff. An EE degree would have covered all of that stuff in the 1st year.

You're still in the beginner stages if you are unable to analyze basic inductor, capacitor, and resistor circuits. You may have the math-chops for the differential-equations and get a jump-start into filter design (year 2)... but you're not yet ready to even tackle transistors or designing with op-amps yet (year 2 or 3ish).

Still, its good that you've got Op-Amp experience. That's real good, but without understanding capacitor circuits... it really makes me wonder. Ex: There are a lot of capacitors in a lot of Op-Amp use-cases. Integrator, differentiator, as well as very important filter designs.

> So what are some good resources I can use to supplement the knowledge that I already have without having to dig out small pieces of knowledge from beginners guides?

You're in an awkward position. You're an advanced beginner that is missing some fundamental knowledge due to the ad-hoc nature of studying a bit of this or that.

Fortunately, there's really no reason you couldn't just march forward in whatever interests you anyway. Go to your university's library, check out Sedra / Smith and just have at it. The basics are covered in Chapter 1 and the Appendix.

You'll of course run into issues due to your gap in knowledge, but whatever. Just pickup a beginner book and scan through the formulas you don't know as you come across those gaps. There's no reason you can't just jump into the interesting stuff when you're doing self-study.

------------

I highly suggest you start with:

• Sedra / Smith Appendix C: http://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199339136/student/app/app_c
  
  
• Sedra / Smith Appendix D: http://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199339136/student/app/app_d
  
  
• Sedra / Smith Appendix E: http://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199339136/student/app/app_e
  
  
• Sedra / Smith Appendix F: http://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199339136/student/app/app_f
  
  
• Sedra / Smith Chapters 1 through 3. (Which covers basics of Diodes, Op-Amps, and Electronics)
  
  It'd be advanced, but it would be far more interesting than covering the basics from a beginner book. The "practicality" of 3rd year material of EE stuff is obvious. Playing with resistors and capacitors... while important fundamentally... is kind of arcane. Its difficult to see the applicability of an LRC circuit, but amplifiers are just... grossly obvious in their applicability.
  
  Appendix C, D, E and F are a summary of everything you'd learn from year 1 of an EE Degree. They are missing phasors and other stuff... but you'll find that these ~30 pages or so cover a huge amount of ground. They would provide you a decent starting-point to read the rest of the Sedra / Smith book.
  
  You'll probably need to go back to a "beginner book" to learn about AC circuits and phasors. But you probably can totally just tackle Sedra / Smith right now if you wanted.

I built something similar a few years back. I just wanted inexpensive blinking lights to skater around. You probably can't do much better than a 555 timer. A quick search will turn up hundreds of schematics (try terms like this )

One of the best resources would be Forrest Mims. If you "look inside" and go to "first pages" you will see pretty much exactly what you need. And if you decide to dig deeper into electronics you couldn't start much better than Mims. Seriously, the whole book is a gold mine.

Finally, you may want to look at making a custom PCB. I can't find the files anymore, but you can squeeze 6 copies of the complete circuit on a one 2" x 4" board fairly easily. I'll see if I can't find my layout. Sourcing PCBs is really easy these days. I've used these guys before. They were ok but a little pricey but I was only prototyping so it wasn't a big deal.

EDIT: Seconding what jptdrake wrote. Also, if you goal is a few pounds per box, ditch the PCB. Get some perf board and a soldering iron.

It's not an ebook, but Apogee Components has an incredible amount of information on their site that is extremely helpful. Not to mention that they are great to purchase from, I've placed several orders with them and have had nothing but very positive experiences with them. They get customer service, and know how to keep customers coming back for more from them.

https://www.apogeerockets.com/New_to_Model_Rocketry

As far as books, Modern High-Power Rocketry 2 by Mark Canepa has a lot of really good information, although it isn't available in an e-book format as far as I know.

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-High-Power-Rocketry-Mark-Canepa/dp/1412058104/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468194798&sr=1-1&keywords=modern+high+powered+rocketry+2

There are some great suggestions here, and I would include The Rocks Don't Lie.

It does a great job recounting the history of geology as the science evolved, and how it affected culture. I different take than the other suggestions, but certainly relevant and well worth the read.

The author is a well known geomorphology expert.

The book Bicycling Science is a great resource. It doesn't have all the answers but it has some really good information as a starting point to understand some of the more recent discussions.

https://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Science-Press-Gordon-Wilson/dp/0262731541/

If I recall correctly that's more about handling than rider fit. The modern approach to rider fit is based on stack and reach, which you can read about here:

https://www.slowtwitch.com/Bike_Fit/Choosing_a_Tri_Bike_via_Stack_and_Reach/The_Stacktennial_3432.html

CG is easy -- put a motor in, pack the recovery system and find the point where it balances. That's the Center of Gravity.

CP is calculated via modeling. The easiest way is RockSim or Open Rocket. It's the center of aerodynamic pressure.

Do you understand the significance of CP and CG to flight stability? If not, I'd suggest you pick up and read a copy of either Modern High Power Rocketry 2 or The Handbook of Model Rocketry

Both are very good reads with a lot of great info.

Finally, something I can answer:

I have two books in my repertoire:

Bike Science 3rd Ed. - This breaks down the physics of what's happening. It goes in depth about materials, history, really everything bike related. It doesn't go into detail about makes and models though.

Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance - Where Bike Science is the why, Zinn gets down to brass tacks and gives you useful information on how to fix a bike (note that there is also a Zinn book for Mt. Bikes and triathlon bikes which I haven't read yet...). This is my go-to reference when something goes wrong with my bike.

BikeForums.net - So I don't know everything about anything but this is the place to do research. SRAM vs Ultegra? Trek vs Cannondale? Someone has already asked the question and it's on BikeForums somewhere. I trust people who've actually ridden/owned a bike I have a question about far more than some online review that was vetted by the manufacturer.

Hope it helps.

Hey, falingodingo, here is a book that might interest you, Colonizing the galaxy in eight easy steps. While it is outlandish in the extreme, it also has this impossible grandiose vision of easy space exploration. I do think that, if we humans wanted to go to space we would achieve it through fast innovations and cheap designs.

Even if it is not volunteer anything, even it is for profit, we could go spending these 150billion or 1 trillion or whatever. But since there is no need to go, no need to explore (sadly) there is no incentive.

Well, we can always go in the Chinese or Indian ships, many years from now.

Well those 9mm axles aren't the stoutest of things. It's why I wish the move to 15mm through axles would happen a little quicker. Who knows, you probably hit a bump or pothole somewhere.

Also, check out Zinn and the art of road bike maintenance. You said you wish someone would teach you maintenance, well that's about the most comprehensive guide you can get. Since you mentioned biopace, I linked to an older version, which is a lot cheaper than the latest and might be more appropriate. But you can certainly get the newest if you want, after all the basics don't change.

I also have that book. I think it's great if you already understand orbits. If you don't, it might be a little too technical. However, to anyone that already has a base in orbits, that is a great book.

Another good one!

Um, to be honest I haven't read much from neuroscience other than Libet's Experiment and the clinical neuropsychologist Paul Broks saying, “We have this deep intuition that there is a core… But neuroscience shows that there is no center in that brain where things do all come together.”

There are some articles and books I have in my reading list, but once you get that this can be easily confirmed in DIRECT EXPERIENCE, the other materials are just superfluous, IMO. Here, I'll share them anyway.

“Who’s There?” Is The Self A Convenient Fiction?

Ego Trick: In Search of the Self

The Self Illusion: How the Social Brain Creates Identity

What Exactly Is the Self? Insights from Neuroscience

Neuroscience of Self and Self-Regulation

The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self

Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain

And check out The Ascent of Humanity for a thorough discussion of the implications of the separate self on lots of aspects of our (collective) lives. Eisenstein traces all of the converging crises of our age to a common source, which he calls Separation. It is the ideology of the discrete and separate self that has generated these crises; therefore, he argues, nothing less than a "revolution in human beingness" will be sufficient to transform our relationship to each other and the planet.

-----
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BOOKS

Children Electronics and Electricity books:

• "Electricity for Young Makers" by de Vinck.
  
  
• "Make: Easy Electronics" by Platt. (12 experiments)
  
  
• "Electronics for Kids: Play with Simple Circuits and Experiment with Electricity!" by Dahl.
  
  
• "Electronics For Kids For Dummies" by Shamieh. (13 experiments)
  
  Newbie Electronics books:
  
  
• "Make: How to Use a Breadboard" by Ragan and Culkin. (10 experiments)
  
  
• "Make: Electronics" by Platt. (34 experiments)
  
  
• "Make: More Electronics" by Platt. (36 experiments)
  
  
• "Lessons in Electric Circuits - Volume VI - Experiments" by Kuphaldt. (free book)
  
  
• Series "Engineer's Mini-Notebook" booklets by Forrest Mims. (download archives)
  
  
• List of books about 555-series Timer ICs on Wikipedia.
  
  Basic Circuit Theory books:
  
  
• "Electrical Circuit Theory and Technology" by Bird. (download old edition)
  
  
• "Introductory Circuit Analysis" by Boylestad. (download old edition)
  
  
• Series "Lessons In Electric Circuits" by Kuphaldt. (free books)
  
  
• List of books about Diodes, Transistors on Wikipedia.
  
  Analog Design books:
  
  
• "Microelectronic Circuits" by Sedra and Smith. (download old edition)
  
  
• "Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory" by Boylestad and Nashelsky. (download old edition)
  
  
• List of books about Operational Amplifier (OpAmp) ICs on Wikipedia.
  
  
• List of books about LM-series Analog Linear ICs on Wikipedia.
  
  Digital Design books:
  
  
• "Digital Fundamentals" by Floyd. (download old edition)
  
  
• "Digital Design: Principles and Practices" by Wakerly. (download old edition)
  
  
• "Digital Design: with Introduction to Verilog, VHDL, SystemVerilog" by Mano and Ciletti. (download old edition)
  
  
• "Digital Design and Computer Architecture" by Harris and Harris.
  (download old edition)
  
  
• List of books about 7400-series TTL Digital Logic ICs on Wikipedia.
  
  
• List of books about 4000-series CMOS Digital Logic ICs on Wikipedia.
  
  Digital Signal Processing books:
  
  
• "Scientist and Engineer's Guide to Digital Signal Processing" by Smith. (download or online)
  
  Computer Design books:
  
  
• List of books about
  6502,
  6800,
  6809,
  8080,
  8085,
  Z80,
  68000,
  x86
  processors on Wikipedia.
  
  
• List of books about
  8051,
  ARM,
  AVR,
  PIC,
  RISC-V
  microcontrollers on Wikipedia.
  
  Electronics Reference books:
  
  
• "The Art of Electronics" by Horowitz and Hill. (download example chapter)
  
  
• "The Art of Electronics - The X Chapters" by Horowitz and Hill. Shipping in 2020.
  
  
• "ARRL Handbook" by various ARRL authors. (download very old edition)
  
  Historical books:
  
  
• "The Intellectual Rise In Electricity - A History" by Park Benjamin in 1895.
  
  
• "Electricity - It's History and Development" by William Durgin in 1912.
  
  
• "Bibliographical History of Electricity & Magnetism" by Paul Mottelay in 1922.
  
  
• "History of Communications Electronics in the United States Navy" by Linwood Howeth in 1963.
  
  -----
  -----
  
  

  MAGAZINES
  

  
  Current Electronics Magazines: (subscribe now)
  
  

• "Circuit Cellar"
  
  
• "Elektor"
  
  
• "Everyday Practical Electronics"
  
  
• "Nuts & Volts"
  
  Historical Electronics Magazines: (archives)
  
  
• "Electronics Today"
  
  
• "Everyday Electronics"
  
  
• "Popular Electronics"
  
  
• "Practical Electronics"
  
  
• "Radio Electronics"
  
  Historical Computer Magazines: (archives)
  
  
• "Byte" - 2nd group
  
  
• "Dr Dobb's Journal"
  
  
• "Interface Age"
  
  

• "Kilobaud"
  
  -----
  

I got World of Atoms and Quarks for my own kids. Richard Feynman's book QED is also really good. I don't know your age or background, but learning about symmetries and Noether's theorem are really valuable.

My background is in physics, and though for a time I wanted to do particle theory, I learned of so much other interesting stuff going on while I was in grad school that I'm more content as a generalist. I work in an EE-type job now.

There are several courses that ARO (usually) has, but ME exclusive program doesn't, such as Gas Dynamics, Low/High Speed Aerodynamics, Orbital Mechanics, Aircraft Stability, and Jet Propulsion. I based this statement from the school (CalPoly Pomona) that I went to. YMMV.

Book recommendations:

• Orbital Mechanics
  
• Gas Dynamics & High Speed Aerodynamics
  
• Flight Mechanics
  
• Jet Propulsion
  
• Spacecraft Design
  
• Rocket Propulsion
  
  Aerospace is broad subject, you haven't specified whether you're interested in structures, aerodynamics, flight mechanics, or propulsion. I gave you a broad list of selection to reflect that, although I assume you are more inclined toward Astronautics (Space) part of Aerospace instead of Aeronautics (Air); hence you posted your question in /r/space.

THis is a repost for me... but fits the situation. You will inevitably come up with the idea that you want to try to get sponsorship as well as everyone thinks it would be easy and I talk about that here:

Ok... From someone that is doing the same thing and has ridden on all but one continent, I will start off being blunt as I was initially told.

YOU ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING SPECIAL!!! NOTHING!!! This goes for sponsorship... There are probably 10k people or more right now on Round the World trips in various Degrees. Some guys on prewar sidecars.. guys on scooters, sportbikes, people doing it 2 up, some with kids.. yada yada... You WILL NOT get a bike sponsorship at all... This will be assured. You may be able to get discounts on gear though, but even this is far fetched as you have NOTHING to bring to a sponsor. How are you going to get them a return? How are you documenting it? Are you filming? Are you a photographer? What gear do you already own? Basically you need to do it for yourself with your own money. Once you get a charity involved you need lawyers as how much of the donation will go for your trip and how much will go to whatever you are donating? 10%... 90%???? I am assuming you wanted donations to help pay your way, but I may be wrong. The only way you may is through your church, as most churches are gullible as hell and have money to burn when it comes to thinking about someone riding the world converting heathens on some mission.

Your bike choices are just meh and all aren't really RTW bikes. You are on a crap bike that will leave you stranded on a bike you are unfamiliar on. Also, getting a bike in and out of some countries is a PAIN IN THE ASS not to mention the cost of anything over 125cc in the rest of the world once you take taxes in to consideration. A non kitted BMW Adventure will run about 18k in the states... while in SE Asia, the bike is 38k-44k. Mind you this is a 1200 and a big bike. What you need to be looking at are Dual Sports be it a BMW or Honda. I'd look at a BMW Dakkar or Honda TransAlp for the budget conscious. Forget the sidecar as it just adds weight and can be a pain in the ass for a novice rider and stay as far away from an unreliable Ural for this type of trip.

I don't know what your financial situation is or your work situation, but it is something you need to save for. The bike being your most important asset. It is what will make or break your trip. Then you have all of the gear associated with this. Also, where have you ridden before? Is your longest trip 1500km? 10000km? 50km? Have you ever been on a bike for 2 months straight? How mechanically inclined are you. Can you do your own maintenance? All of these are musts. You will need to be as self sufficient as possible. This even comes down to first aid and being rescued. Do you have evacuation insurance? Insurance on your bike in each country? Are you getting a Sat Phone? GPS tracking with rescue ala a Spot tracker? Do you know how to travel in different countries, like where to keep money, carrying 7 or eight copies of your crucial documents, carrying multiple copies of an international DL as well as. Do you even know what an International DL is?

I am not saying you that your trip is impossible, but the way you are thinking about it is very very unlikely. Why did McGreggor and Boreman get shit??? Well it is fucking Luke Skywalker and the money behind the name. Rewatch Long Way Around again and notice how THEY almost didn't get a bike sponsorship and were bluntly turned down by KTM. This is with the backing of the BBC. I was told long ago, you need to do this trip for yourself if you want it, not for someone else. This comes in everything. I know guys that have climbed Everest with sponsorship.... their second time. Once you show you are able to do something on your own, and show a viable product... this is when sponsorship will come. But then, it is only helping you do what your passion is. right now, from the rest of your posts it seems that you are 2-3 years of really getting into this before I would even recommend this to you. This is after you have ALL of the gear and about 80k USD in the bank. You never know what will happen. Plus, some of the coutries you mentioned mandate you have a Carnet of Passage. This is basically an insurance policy stating that everything you have with you will be with you when you leave or you will pay for it. This alone cost me 50k bond to be held by the company holding my Carnet. I am not including this mandatory 50k in the 80k you should have in your banks.

When I mentioned 80k that was for a RTW trip and being gone for a year. It won't be as much for you as you are not having to take into account the $1k it costs to ship bikes between continents and then your airfare. Also, this is purely a rough estimate and a reserve fund. Your trip will probably cost about $10-15k depending on how fast you travel and where you stay. Camping isn't normally done unless you are out in the severe outback, as most of where you are going will have fairly inexpensive hotel lodging. Always have double the money you think it might take as a reserve. So if you think it would cost you 15k have 30k at your disposal in case of injury, bike breaking down, the grand or so for tires you will need, accidentally killing some farmers goat, ransom, bribes... all have a chance of happening.

How many people? Another bike? Or Two up with your significant other? Even the best friendships will get strained just being with one person for months. I have been there... hell even in LWR they couldn't stand each other for the last legs of the trip. It happens and if you say it won't, you are being VERY NAIVE. Also, what is your nationality? This makes a huge difference too. Americans can't travel into some countries that you have planned. Well, at least not with a ton of red tape and finding people that will help you.
What gear do you own? Plan on buying quality gear as it will make your life so much easier. Don't worry about spending $500 on those riding pants or $900 on your jacket as you will be in them EVERY DAY for a couple months and they could save your life. You must be safe. Read this thread. Clayton became a quadriplegic after hitting a burro in mexico on his way to South America. After a while of living in this state, he killed himself. Shit happens.

You need to read, and read a lot. Buy these and use them as your bibles:

Adventure Motorcycling Handbook

Jupiters Travells

Two Wheels Through Terror

Or Glen's other book One More Day Everywhere

Get them and read. Can you ride offroad? There is a reason nearly everyone does a RTW trip on a dual sport. This is why I said 3 years. Gear costs money...

It is basically said:

PLan on a 6 month planning time frame for a trip in between countries, 1-2 years of planning for multiple continents. Also remember, that bike you buy has to be paid off. No leans. this means you have to come up with the cash for this upfront.

My last trip across North America was 28k km, lasted 3 months and cost 10k after I already had my gear. This is also camping everywhere in the US and Canada and hoteling it in Cental America. My trip to South America was about 14k for a similar time frame. Remember everything cost money. You want to go to Machu Piccu... that is 150 bucks. MMMMM.. wanna see the Nazca Lines from a plane, that will be 200. There will be tons of things you will want to see as well on your trip. And you can't say FUCK I dont have the cash to see it. That defeats the complete purpose of the trip.

Having the will is great and so is optimism. But Blind optimism gets you injured or killed. Where have you ridden before? What is your longest ride? Honestly you sound like every other person that has seen LWR and made their way to the net with grandiose plans only to realize that it is A GREAT DEAL harder than you thought. Even if you had the funds.. which you don't as you probably balked at having 80k in the bank... a multiple continent motorcycle ride is difficult. But the benefits are AMAZING!!!

All That being said, it is the problems you overcome that will be in your memories and stories forever. Nobody ever remembers that day where you rode and stopped at a little restaurant for coffee then pulled up into a hotel. No, they remember the time you ran out of gas and blew a tire 200km from anywhere and you had to put your bike in the back of a military truck to get to help. That story you will tell FOREVER!!! The adventure begins with the adversity.

Sorry for the long wall of text...TLDR READ IT ALL....

OH... all my cost are in USD

In most scientific disciplines all you need is a firm grasp of statistics. Following the general trend however, most natural scientists should in this day and age have at least some grasp of computational modelling.

Personally I despised Maths for much of my school career. Due to interest in Music Recording I did my Bachelor in Electronic Engineering and since then I've moved on to a MSc and PhD in Computational Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics. I find that much of the Math I learned at school was either irrelevant (doing tedious arithmetic or performing endless calculations) or turned very basic when put into the proper context (although I certainly didn't think so in my days at school).

My advice would be not to worry at all and simply be proactive about it. Get yourself a decent Math book (I'd recommend Stroud's Engineering Mathematics) and teach yourself all the necessary Maths for a science degree within a few weeks.

Already discussed somewhat recently here (although this asked about working with older bikes): http://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/comments/6zxd3/i_want_to_learn_how_to_fix_up_old_bikes_any_good/

I think the top-voted advice is very good: you can never go wrong with Sheldon Brown, whether working with old bikes or new.

The hardcopy book that seems to be most popular and most often recommended is Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance: http://www.amazon.com/Zinn-Art-Road-Bike-Maintenance/dp/1884737706
I own this book and it has served me well.

Learn from as many different sources as you can find. I recommend Forrest Mims's books (one) , (two) , (three)

Beware that most SPICE simulators focus on very simple 2-terminal and 3-terminal electronic devices: resistors, capacitors, inductors, transistors. But in today's modern world, we design electronics using VLSI integrated circuits, and these are seldom available as SPICE models.

So you will be able to SPICE simulate transistor circuits like the winkie-blinkie thing you built years ago. You'll be able to SPICE simulate opamp circuits, and 555 timer circuits. But not much more, because you won't have the requisite simulation models. Eventually you'll have to build real circuits in the real world and test them out in reality.

If you're an experienced software engineer then you can handle the calculus-I level math needed to understand "real electrical engineering" as practiced by non-hobbyists. After you get somewhat up to speed designing and simulating and building circuits that work (say, in 9 or 12 months), you can start to read college EE textbooks and begin to understand what SPICE ".AC analysis" actually is & why it's useful. You'll learn what SPICE ".FOURIER" is good for, and what it isn't. And so forth.

I really liked The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking. It gives you a perspective of string theory, multiverse, tons of stuff about the universe, origins of the universe, and the philosophy of science that is ment for more entertainment and informing than dense physics literature.

If your looking more for space stuff there is Space Chronicles by Neal deGrasse Tyson

>whether the self has an objective basis

The self is an illusion; per Metzinger’s Ego Tunnel:
"the conscious self is the content of a model created by our brain—an internal image, but one we cannot experience as an image. Everything we experience is 'a virtual self in a virtual reality.'"

This book will help you understand the neurological foundation for the sensation of self.

>and if so, life itself would not be individual existence in itself? What is biological life and why is it created?

Life is a series of complex chemical reactions driven by the energy of the sun and the earth, existing only to maximize entropy.

Nice! To help your problem along, I'm pretty sure this is the AZ 4x4 bible. Might be worth ordering or at least checking out from a library.

Dr. Tyson - Are you doing a book tour to promote Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier?

If so, will the schedule be posted on the Hayden website?

If not, and at the risk of bombarding the Hayden Planetarium with mail, is there a proper channel in order to get your autograph on said book?

Like most Redditors, I'd love to get it in person, but NYC is a bit far from San Antonio.

My copy is being shipped to me as we speak and I hope to start reading it as soon as tomorrow!

> about the acceleration you will get from big bombs out of the atmosphere.

Is not correct. They intended to use relatively small yield "pulse units" (they preferred to not use the word bomb). These were to be about 1-2 kilotons. Not even up the Fat Man or Little Boy yields. And even smaller, like 200 tons in initial take off from earth's surface.

A good read is the book "Project Orion" by George Dyson.

>Nuclear explosions have somewhat different effects out of an atmosphere

The propulsion was going to be from the plasma of the bomb casing hitting the pusher plate and the ablation of the oil layer pumped onto it. They were even planning on nuclear shaped charges to focus as much of this plasma toward the pusher plate as possible.

This is a great book I recommend that I’m using and gives you over 100 trails and gives you all the info on them and location and rates them from easy, med, and hard.
Guide to Arizona Backroads

There's a book by that very name: https://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Science-Press-Gordon-Wilson/dp/0262731541/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

I've only read a few chapters, but it covers a lot of pretty interesting topics.

The Top post has got most things covered for a LEO satellite (cube and buying space for a launch)

If you want to quit this boring earth orbiting shit and go into deep space (or to Mars), communication and tracking is going to be a major problem. Staying in LEO has major advantages as theres a package deal to use internet through other satellites (for coms) and also using GPS for tracking. Going outside that range means hiring telescopes all around the world and/or very large ones for short periods of time, and I would consider it undoable to do it alone, un-affiliated.

Unless.... you build your own large telescope and operate the spacecraft with it for a brief period once every day.

•For the inside of the craft, getting a nice on board computer(GNU license), memory storage, power maintaining unit and energy (solar) is pretty cheap and easy. The only cost driving factors is that radiation kills the computer, and that space computer technology is about 5-10 years behind modern society.


• Also, remember to coat the spacecraft correctly so you don't overheat/freeze the computer. If you wanna go further away from the Sun than mars, heating might be something you want to look into.


•Omni-directional antennae are decently cheap but have a shitty bandwidth, but it's still a better idea than using a directed antenna.


•Use a honeycomb structure of aluminium as casing, it's durable and light weight.


•The hard part might be getting your hand on a propulsion system that works in space, many are super toxic and/or high-tech and not easily bought (ion thrusters, etc). You might want to look into solid rocket fuel, but it's basically like lighting a bomb, and gives you no maneuverability.


The cost driving factors though are really your work hours, your targeted failure rate level and the length of your mission, but I think it's feasible to send something nice and with decent survivability chance to Mars Orbit for 100'000€


Source: SMAD
( http://www.amazon.com/Mission-Analysis-Design-Technology-Library/dp/1881883108 ), ESA, MSc in Space physics

@HardHarry

How much do you think the US government spends on NASA per year?

Go read Neil De Grasse Tyson's latest book

http://www.amazon.com/Space-Chronicles-Facing-Ultimate-Frontier/dp/0393082105/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332717037&sr=8-1


@yogthos

Tyson also mentions that those social programs have largely been addressed -- with typical government efficiency -- already. Alternate energy research is also in progress.

Other forms of science.... well, in these anti-science times that we live in, if it isn't bogus global warming science, it doesn't matter.

For other perspectives, try reading some different blogs:

http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/

http://launiusr.wordpress.com/

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/beyondapollo/

https://www.amazon.ca/Computational-Fluid-Dynamics-John-Anderson/dp/0070016852

I'd recommend starting with this. Yes, it's from 1995 but the basics haven't changed. He walks you through the math for a not-so-simple solver and there's some sample code. Possibly Fortran but I can't recall.

Either way, it's a good way to get your feet wet. You can learn about the more advanced techniques later.

Few will read this but I highly recommend reading 8 steps to colonize the Galaxy.

The Millennial Project: Colonizing the Galaxy in Eight Easy Steps https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316771635/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ZWAPBbT92H2SG

To add, to this, one of the ways for humanity to harness Sun's energy is a Dyson sphere. However, there are A LOT of technical challenges to overcome. A good book I read about some of the challenges and possible solutions to harvesting energy from the Sun is The Millenial Project.

You will have to take my word for it. My library is a mess and I can't find my copy of "Project Orion: The True Story of the Atomic Spaceship"

Freeman Dyson explained how this result was exciting and started the line of research that started the design of this system. He indicated it created a stagnation layer that prevented the plasma from directly touching the metal. The only issue was radiative heat transfer and that was solved by making the plate a large heatsink and lowering the duty cycle of the impinging plasma.

This book will show you the way. It's the next best thing to having a friend who already knows. Though I don't believe it discusses 3D printing.

Have you read or watched Feynman's lectures on QED? I find the book better, but either is a decent overview of the topic.

It's pretty cool how he starts out with some simple but seemingly counter-intuitive ideas, but brings in how they explain diffraction gratings, focusing lenses, etc.

I'm quite seriously considering a sailing wander about early retirement/escape. I recommend r/sailing. There are some experienced sailors there, and sometimes the discussion addresses cruising. I'd also recommend The Coastal Cruiser: A complete guide to the design, selection, purchase, and outfitting of auxiliary sailboats under 30 feet--with a portfolio of successful designs , . Twenty Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere , and Chapman Piloting & Seamanship 66th Edition

I don’t live in Arizona, but my dad bought this guys book for California in the 80s. He has new ones and I use them for California. He has an Arizona book. I would strongly encourage it.

https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Arizona-Backroads-4-Wheel-Drive-Trails/dp/1934838195

I figured responding would be better than downvoting and what not. Here's a short list of some good textbooks to start with.


Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications: This is my favourite general fluid dynamics textbook.

Race Car Aerodynamics: Designing for Speed: Considered one of if not the best textbooks for race car specific aerodynamics.

Race Car Vehicle Dynamics: This is the defacto vehicle dynamics textbook. I don't think any F1 engineer out there hasn't read this.

Computational Fluid Dynamics: The CFD Bible.

PM me if you want ahem links to the digital versions. Sorry if I've been harsh earlier, everyone starts somewhere and some concepts aren't particularly intuitive. You've got the right attitude though, a better feel for aerodynamics will come soon enough.

Well lets see. This year:

• he published a book
  
• had an article published in a journal on foreign affairs
  
• is getting ready to host a reboot of Cosmos
  
• Continued to be the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
  
  When did you last contribute anything sensible to anything?

Machine Design by Norton
Theory of Machines and Mechanisms by Shigley
are considered the two bibles on machine design and are common in machine design courses.

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design by Ashby

The Machinery's Handbook is a must have and I assume you already know about this.

Mechanisms and Mechanical Designs Sourcebook is good to help spark ideas or solve problems. There are other books along the same lines.

There's information on tolerancing and machining in The Machinery's Handbook especially. I'm not sure on other resources for those. There are books on manufacturing processes that'll discuss the tolerances capable and design limitations.

Not sure what to say as words of wisdom, except that you should get a copy of SMAD III if you're serious about making this project work.

The JC2Sat mission was supposed to be about a year, though the satellites should remain functional in orbit for years afterwards.

I don't have any ideas for a science project to include on the reddit satellite, just keep in mind that that space-certified equipment is outrageously expensive so you might just want to do something simple (like Sputnik) for a first shot at space.

There are literally hundreds of companies which specialize in all sorts of space-certified parts, with most of the big ones being American firms. If you expect participation of non-Americans with any of the hardware acquisition/assembly/etc, you'll probably run into ITAR restrictions at some point. For all the good that comes with international collaboration on space projects, ITAR pretty much negates it all. You wouldn't believe the hoops that non-American persons and companies have to jump through in order to buy something as simple as a space-certified hinge from an American firm...

The Park Took repair guide is a good way to teach yourself. I've also seen lots of folks recommend Zinn's Art of Road Bike Maintenance.

Common jobs on the road: repair a flat, clean and lubricate chain, adjust brakes, adjust derailleur, diagnose a squeak, replace brake pads, true a wheel, replace a spoke, repair a broken pannier or rack, replace chain and cassette.

Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook might be nice.

Its like a museum of mechanisms. I like the 2nd Edition cover for a "coffee table book".

>Self as illusion is a central view in Buddhism, for example. I know Sam Harris has studied Eastern religions, so why not just admit that some religions, at least, have something to offer?

Here is an old essay by him on the subject of Buddhism having things to offer: Killing The Buddha - Sam Harris, Shambhala Sun

Also, speaking on the matter of the self being an illusion, Thomas Metzinger's Self-model theory is pretty interesting. There are several lectures on youtube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFjY1fAcESs

The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self. Thomas Metzinger.

Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Brain. Michael Gazzaniga (neuroscientist)

Neuroexistentialism: Meaning, Morals, and Purpose in the Age of Neuroscience. Gregg Caruso and Owen Flanagan, Eds. (Part 3: Free Will, Moral Responsibility, and Meaning in Life has 6 essays by Derk Pereboom, Caruso, Gazzaniga, and others, and other essays scattered throughout the book are also pertinent)

He's a neat guy. I really enjoyed Project Orion.

I find there's a lot of information on forums for popular boats regarding their mechanical and construction deficiencies. E.g. Discussion on certain boats getting blisters, or needing bulkhead replacements. However, there's basically no information on design deficiencies, and most of the discussion you do find is pure speculation. The reason for this is because boat design is more of a tradeoff of different qualities. You want to research these qualities as much as possible. For instance: displacement, sail area, keel type, hull construction, cabin layout, cockpit size and layout, water line length, ability for the boat to right itself and how it affects stability, etc. Most of the information on these subjects is available on books and not necessarily easily accessible on the web. Here are some good books:

• http://www.amazon.com/Inspecting-Sailboat-International-Marine-Library/dp/0071445455
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Small-Sailboats-Take-Anywhere/dp/0939837323
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Seaworthy-Offshore-Sailboat-Essential-Features/dp/007137616X/ref=pd_sim_b_1
  
  Now, these books are slanted on offshore sailing which is what I'm interested in. You didn't specify where you'd be sailing or how you'd be using it. My guess is general weekend cruising.
  
  So no, I haven't seen any discussion on the differences between boats like that. You have to make an informed decision on the data available (e.g. of sailboatdata.com, class association sites, owner postings on forums, etc). Best thing to do is ask people who have knowledge once you've narrowed it down. The truth of the matter is, no matter what boat you get you will have to deal with the tradeoffs. Some guy saying that "X" boat is slow or fast is completely subjective and doesn't mean a damn thing to you. You have to figure out what the qualities you want are first and find the boat that best fits those qualities.
  
  Lastly, if this is your first boat please go small and with something that you can easily sell again. Chances are your wants and needs will change, and dumping a whole bunch of money into the wrong boat may be a big mistake. Get something simple that is easy to maintain, so you can learn how to properly maintain a sailboat. The mistakes you will make will not be a big deal on a small boat, but if you buy a 40 ft Catalina a small mistake can balloon very quickly.

Engineering Mathematics by K.A.Stroud is excellent for self-study. Read the reviews.

I'm far from having finished the first volume, but I'm already looking forward to Advanced Egineering Mathematics.

Those two books are about 1200 pages each, but the reviews speak for themselves and I can say for the first one that it's indeed great for self-study.

That being said, you say you lack basic math skills. Engineering Mathematics starts with Arithmetic, so maybe it's also fine for you. When I started with the book I was somewhere at highschool-level. For example I didn't know what 1/2 or 3/7 as the exponent of a number meant.

I think if you look around, you'll see that every major bicycle maker has a large variety of bicycles available. Almost all of them offer at least a few options made of carbon, aluminum, and steel. Not all high-end, lightweight bikes are carbon. Weight very much matters in some applications. In others, it doesn't as much. In your application, it doesn't as much.

Tires: Wider tires allows you to run lower pressure. This can help in both comfort and traction with certain surfaces.

I'm about your size, carfree, and live in a City with horrible roads (mostly from all the snow plowing). I wouldn't dream of running below 35cm front and rear. My most often used bike is a rigid 29er that weighs in near 30lbs with front and rear racks.

I'm not familiar wit touring bikes set up as you describe. Most touring rigs run wider than 23/25.

If you're into the science of this endeavor, this book is pretty great.

https://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Science-Press-Gordon-Wilson/dp/0262731541

i personally wouldn't tune for knock, the power should be a bell curve so as you hone in on the best settings power should rise then fall after maximum power is reached, then start to drop off before it knocks.

so that is what i'd tune for. at worst knock tuning would be a disaster on some engines, and on others you're likely loosing power . at the dyno i've often seen people say tune to knock then back off a whatever a good number/% they've heard is.

you have to know a lot of about the math of specific engine you're tuning for to do proper calcs to get you base maps that are close, so since not all that is available, VE being the most useful, it often does become iterative and you just get a feel for it.

dynos aren't that complex, they just measure torque. the manual for them usually has the operation procedure in them, or the rep shows you. but basically you just do a pull on it while it measures rpm/tq and AFR then it plots an HP/TQ graph usually with some compensation for loss, or which conversion factor to use, SAE etc (where a lot of the online battles take place on dyno figures)

i prefer dynapak's myself, mostly since theyre a lot safer and i don't walk over the roller when concentrating on the laptop, and i've felt they're more controllable/repeatable but YMMV

https://www.dynomitedynamometer.com/dyno-dynamometer-article.htm has a good overview of the different styles.

these are some of the books i have

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0837603005

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470057572

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0837611083 (general motronic overview)

https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-Automotive-Handbook-Robert-GmbH/dp/0837617324

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0837615410

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1932494421 good starter book

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0760315825

https://www.amazon.com/Auto-Math-Handbook-HP1554-Calculations (updated ver)

Well, I'm not super well-versed in physics tbh but I use to really want to be a physcisits so I know a little stuff here and there.

I've read:

https://www.amazon.com/Surely-Feynman-Adventures-Curious-Character/dp/0393316041

https://www.amazon.com/Genius-Life-Science-Richard-Feynman-ebook/dp/B004LRPQIO/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=genius+feynman&qid=1569787475&s=books&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.com/QED-Strange-Princeton-Science-Library/dp/0691164096/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=QED+feynman&qid=1569787491&s=books&sr=1-1

Also, Feynman is related to philosophy because quantum physics makes many epistemological and metaphysical claims and Feyman made many advances in the quantum physics field. Look up some interviews online, his thought process is really cooled and really makes you wonder about the natural world and how its works/structured

I highly recommend this book. Engine Management: Advanced Tuning https://www.amazon.com/dp/1932494421/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Tms.AbSAJMG09
It starts from the basics and then gets fairly complex so I feel it covers anything a new tuner would need. It describes the science behind what is happening so I guarantee you will find things in here you will use in the design presentation. It includes graphs and examples. Take notes as you go. The book covers the main forms of tuning an engine. MAF, alpha-n, and speed density. Realize that even though some things are described with MAF or turbos in mind, you can apply it to the other forms. Be able to tell your judge why you chose your strategy and how you executed it. The book is laid out really well and the later chapters describe how to go about tuning after all the terms have been described. 10/10, 11/10 w/ ethanol.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0262731541/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/179-6181336-7358164

This book is pretty thorough. Might be worth a buy considering your interests.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porkchop_plot

​

Find one of these for the earth-moon system, if you haven't already.

​

Did your prof say how much they weigh delta-v vs time of flight? Knowing how they are going to grade is probably better for making a cost function than assuming how much consumables/fuel you need.

​

There is this, I have no idea how helpful it will be: https://www.nasa.gov/offices/ocfo/nasa-cost-estimating-handbook-ceh

​

A copy of SMAD may be available at your local uni library: https://www.amazon.com/Mission-Analysis-Design-Technology-Library/dp/1881883108

​

Barring that, you could assume a rate for consumption of well, consumables (food, air, etc) and use that to find a mass budget for that. You can then assuming a launch cost per lb. Do something similar for your propulsion system, but assuming an engine with a certain ISP/propellant.

Neil Degrasse Tyson addresses #8 (#10?) in his book Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier. He makes the point that truly cutting-edge exploration and the necessary technological advances it requires is far too risky of an enterprise to make it a sound business investment. However, those same advances go on to benefit private industry and society as a whole.

Edit: The second #8... Probably should be #10.

John D. Anderson writes amazing books, and his computational fluids dynamics book is a work of art.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0070016852?pc_redir=1406696573&robot_redir=1

BBC made an hour long documentary about this project and it's well worth the watch. It's available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYoLcJuBtOw

There's also a book written by Dyson's son, although I have not yet read it so I can't attest to how good it is. This is it here: http://www.amazon.com/Project-Orion-Story-Atomic-Spaceship/dp/0805059857

I also recommend buying a copy of Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance It will pay for itself quickly, and help you understand how your bike works.

Might as well buy it used too, cuz yer gonna get grease and schmutz on it.

There is also a very good book about it by George Dyson who is Freeman Dyson's son.

https://www.amazon.com/Project-Orion-Story-Atomic-Spaceship/dp/0805059857

It is actually a plausible way to travel to another Star quickly.

These three books are AWESOME reference materials for beginners:
Electronic Formulas, Symbols & Circuits https://www.amazon.com/dp/0945053304/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_jH83AbPDS160A

Timer, Op Amp, and Optoelectronic Circuits & Projects https://www.amazon.com/dp/0945053290/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_mI83Ab16XQRSG

Electronic Sensor Circuits & Projects, Volume III (Engineer's Mini Notebook) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0945053312/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_II83Ab8BXSKS1

Totally possible. Check out John Vigors "20 Small Boats to take you anywhere".

You don't say what your budget is, but Seawards are awesome trailer sailors that can cruise anywhere. http://www.seawardyachts.com/ They are obviously not cheap. Good luck!

I'll have to check that book out, and highly recommend Metzinger's The Ego Tunnel in turn.

In the context of #2 I often think about Hoftadter's I Am a Strange Loop and tangled hiearchies.

It seems like awareness arises when systems that integrate internal and external processing reach a certain amount of complexity.

I have this book and I love it

https://www.amazon.com/Mechanisms-Mechanical-Devices-Sourcebook-5th/dp/0071704426/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542986124&sr=8-1&keywords=mechanisms

I thought it was around 20% c from the book for the Orion Project max speed. Did you read the book?

http://www.amazon.com/Project-Orion-Story-Atomic-Spaceship/dp/0805059857/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449250466&sr=1-1&keywords=orion+project

Looks like most websites reference 10% of c as the max speed. Wish I still had the book to look up what the scientists calculations were.

Good summary.

I'd add one more point, related to this quote. I've encountered this in another piece of fiction, and the author actually credited this in part to Metzinger's book called The Ego Tunnel. I'm guessing there's other works that touch on this too. Anyway, the gist is that the conscious self is the content of a model created by our brain—an internal image, but one we cannot experience as an image. Everything we experience is "a virtual self in a virtual reality." But this isn't philosophy not informed by science; Metzinger draws on a whole lot of studies and experiments into human cognition. Worth checking out, although it's a big honking work.

I would say don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Yes, in the US, you have some bat shit crazy christians that take a literal view of the bible. Go back in time a century or two to any of the universities that the major churches were sponsoring, and they'd laugh at the suggestion that the bible should be taken literally, even in the theology department. Yes, they tried to view the evidence they had through a prism that presumed the bible was in some way true, but they were willing to reject the idea that each word was litterally true. "The Rocks Don't lie" gives a pretty interesting account of that from a geology perspective https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rocks-Dont-Lie-Geologist-Investigates/dp/0393346242/

​

The Modern Catholic church doesn't reject science. The pope worked in Chemistry, evolution and the big bang are accepted as facts, even if again the religious prism is applied to map that to "how God did it". The Catholic church still does a lot scientific research, recognising "How" and "Why/Who" are different questions. (Thats not dimiss the major, major issues with the modern Catholic Church, but their treatment of science isn't one of them).

​

At the risk of invoking the no true scotsman theory, a lot of the stuff that American preachers today are saying, were rejected a long, long time ago by theologans.

Perhaps not exactly the cup of tea you're looking for but it's about travelling and certainly worth the read:

http://www.amazon.com/Jupiters-Travels-Years-Around-Triumph/dp/0965478521

Mars One is a company that is dedicated to doing just that. Also be sure to check out The Case For Mars.

Twenty Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0939837323/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_CAPWCb34QV9EG

These will be more in the civic line, although in terms of good little work horses, they can usually still play.

if you're a bibliophile, this book is a must

also consider investing in tools so that you can do your own wrenching. Spending a couple hundred dollars on a set of tools that will last a lifetime? not priceless, but they pay for themselves eventually considering you don't need to take your bike to the shop anymore, and it's definitely worth it if you're in this for the long haul.

Would probably be better to post this to r/ECE rather than to Hardware, but either way:

Shortly summarized:
A MOSFET is a 3-terminal device (4 if counting bulk, and there's also a 6T type), where you have Gate, Drain & Source. Assuming you know BJTs, you can "map" them as:

• BJT - MOSFET
  
• Base - Gate
  
• Collector - Drain
  
• Emitter - Source.
  
  If again, we're comparing MOSFETs to BJTs, we can say that a MOSFET is a VCCS (Voltage controlled current-source), while BJTs are CCCS (Current controlled current-source). In other words, when you apply a voltage to the gate of a MOSFET you'll create a current at the drain of the MOSFET. The current that's generated depends of the operating region:
  
  
• Subthreshold (Voltage over Gate-Source are less than the threshold voltage; Vgs < Vth)
  
• Linear/Triode region (Voltage over Gate-Source are more or less than threshold, but Voltage over Drain-Source are less than the Gate-Source voltage; Vgs >= Vth, Vds < Vgs)
  
• Saturation region (Voltage over Gate-Source are more or less than threshold, and voltage over Drain-Source are more than or equal to Gate-source voltage; Vgs >= Vth, Vds >= Vgs).
  
  Normally one operates in the the saturation region.
  
  Not sure how much details you want, but if you want to read more about MOSFETs you've got books such as Sedra & Smith or Razavi

Indeed, but it's actually from Neil deGrasse Tyson's new book: Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier. It's really good, but I'm only a quarter of the way through.

> Meanwhile, we could be researching a technology right in front of us quickly that can benefit us now, help us better exploit resources we do have, help us get to that distant technology faster, and utilize that distant technology once it's time.

Arghh, this is indicitive of such a broken ideology. We can do both. America, alone, could do ALL OF IT if we cut the DoD budget by as little as 20%. And I'm not even suggesting that America does this alone.

I want those other things too, I want research on solutions to global warming and cancer and AIDS and dead puppies, but there's no reason we can't also colonize space.

Please, I'm begging you in solidarity as a fellow human being, do some reading.

Start here but keep following the references and allusions to other sources and, if you've got the fortitude for it, to hard research studies. I can point you in other directions if you like, but that's my personal favorite starting point when suggesting education.

And if you're too lazy to do that, at least look at the goddamn numbers.

I just got this book a few weeks ago, it is full of awesome mechanisms.

> we're so far from an awesome Mars colony....
> I won't see it in my lifetime

You should read The Case For Mars next.

http://www.amazon.com/Case-Mars-Plan-Settle-Planet/dp/0684835509/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266988147&sr=8-1

Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon is a great read. It documents Ted Simon's ride around the world in the 70s.

'Distances' in space are odd, even though the distance between two points may be further than another trip, it may not take that much more effort to get there. The Moon is far closer than Mars, and takes a few days rather than a few months to arrive, but I hear you need about the same size of rocket. Distances can be measured in required Delta-V, or change in velocity. Heinlein, a mid 20th century science fiction author (Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land) said, “Reach low orbit and you’re halfway to anywhere in the Solar System.”

'The point of Heinlein’s maxim is that the same amount of energy it takes to go from Earth’s surface to Earth orbit is roughly equivalent to the energy required to travel from Earth orbit to the planets. The point is that if you can get to orbit, you have the capacity to also reach most of the solar system.' Source

So, the Moon isn't necessary any easier to get to than Mars is, barring problems with months of radiation exposure, low gravity exposure, and additional effort required to launch from a planet with a larger gravity well and atmosphere.

In The Case for Mars the author explains a few resources that Mars has which allow synthesis of fuel for both rockets and internal combustion engines, growth of food, and with a not-insignificant amount of planning/science/care, become self sustaining far easier than a moon colony could.

Microelectronic Circuits from Sedra/Smith for all things amplifier! Wonderful textbook. https://www.amazon.ca/Microelectronic-Circuits-Adel-Sedra/dp/0199339139/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502291667&sr=8-1&keywords=sedra+smith

A bit longer, but all are solid suggestions, and although I could add two dozen more, I'm sure others will take up the cause.

• What the dog saw, by Malcolm Gladwell
  
  
• Bad Science, by Ben Goldacre
  
  
• 
  God is Not Great, by Christopher Hitchens
  
  
• The Moral Landscape, by Sam Harris
  
  
• The Shock Doctrine, by Naomi Klein
  
  
• Super Freakonomics, by Levitt & Dubner
  
  
• The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan
  
  
• The Case for Mars, by Robert Zubrin
  
  
• The Value of Nothing, by Raj Patel
  
  
  

So, coastal cruiser, homebase Maine, 'Snowbird' itinerary.

That leaves the budget question as the big variable we need if you want specific recommendations. You can do this at many different $$$ levels...but the boat selection and priorities will change.

This is a good place to start: Greg Nestor - "Twenty affordable sailboats to take you anywhere"

http://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Affordable-Sailboats-Anywhere-ebook/dp/B00422LH04/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368355828&sr=1-1&keywords=Nestor+sail

If you need to go for less $$$...that means either smaller, older, or more 'sweat equity' by you. Don't give up here. Many sailors have years of fullfilling cruising under the 'go small, go simple, go early' approach. Refer to this very similar book by John Vigor - "Twenty small sailboats to take you anywhere"

http://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Small-Sailboats-Take-Anywhere/dp/0939837323/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1368355337&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=Vigor+sail

Plan on 50% of purchase cost, additional, to put it right, depending on the boat and your plans. Strongly consider a survey for the boat that is the "one". They cost too damn much to do more than one, but can save you from that BIG mistake.

I loved his book: The Case for Mars

If you're looking for a good lay explanation, start here: QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter. Nice short book by Feynman.

A really fascinating book about the history of geology (with a focus on how much of it was shaped in relation to a cultural belief in the Noachian Flood) is The Rocks Don't Lie

Can't recommend it enough. It really puts modern flood geology in perspective.

I have the Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook, Amazon. I have the fourth edition, but the link is the fifth. It's a good book showing how to design them and has a ton of examples.

Excellent book on this subject: Bicycling Science by David Wilson. There's a formula in there for power vs. airspeed, if I remember right.

Also on the technical side, if you want some of the inspiration for the mission architecture, try The Case For Mars by Robert Zubrin. For an insightful critique of TCFM from 18 years later, try The International Mars Research Station by Shaun Moss.

If you want to build your own rocket, buy a commercial solid motor to fly in it. Don't try to dive in head first to building liquid engines. There are hobbyists out there building liquid engines, but they've had years and years of experience prior to that.

I would recommend this for any beginner:

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-High-Power-Rocketry-Mark-Canepa/dp/1412058104/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398218024&sr=8-1&keywords=high+power+rocketry+2

Welcome to AZ! https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Arizona-Backroads-4-Wheel-Drive-Trails/dp/1934838195/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

I understand and love your enthusiasm, but take it slow. With time you'll be an above-average schmuck fixing all kinds of problems with your bike. But for now you should stick with the basics... Let the experts handle the more advanced problems. You should definitely pick up a copy of Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance.

C'mon guys! Down votes? This BleLLL just wants to learn about bike maintenance. Let's not be discouraging.

Well, I was just recommend this book from the post above you (top post) http://www.amazon.com/Modern-High-Power-Rocketry-Mark-Canepa/dp/1412058104/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398218024&sr=8-1&keywords=high+power+rocketry+2

If you loved math before, don't let some bad grades convince you you're bad at it. Math isn't that hard to study on your own, without stressing out about what someone else thinks about your progress. If you're interested in some books to go with Khan Academy, I'd check these out:

Free online:

• http://openstax.org/details/algebra-and-trigonometry
  
• http://openstax.org/details/precalculus
  
• http://www.stitz-zeager.com/
  
• http://www.mecmath.net/trig/
  
  Dead tree books that cost money:
  
  
• Axler, Algebra and Trigonometry: http://amazon.com/dp/047047081X
  
• Stroud and Booth, Engineering Mathematics: http://amazon.com/dp/0831133279
  
• Gelfand and Saul, Trigonometry: http://amazon.com/dp/0817639144
  
  Note that in the US system, often "Algebra and Trigonometry" and "Precalculus" are taught out of the same book with the first course covering the earlier chapters and the second covering the later chapters. In some cases (like OpenStax) you'll see that there are separate books for the two subjects but most of the chapters are the same, with A&T including a bit of extra basic material and precalc including limits at the very end.
  

That exact question is addressed in David Wilson's "Bicycle Science" book. Don't have the reference handy, but it is an interesting read.

Check this one out - https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Arizona-Backroads-4-Wheel-Drive-Trails/dp/1934838195

I have it on my desk, its really quite good.

I use this one a lot for inspiration when I need to design new mechanisms.

https://www.amazon.com/Mechanisms-Mechanical-Devices-Sourcebook-5th/dp/0071704426

To quote Richard Feynman
>"...there is also an amplitude for light to go faster (or slower) than the conventional speed of light. You found out in the last lecture that light doesn't go only in straight lines; now, you find out that it doesn't go only at the speed of light! It may surprise you that there is an amplitude for a photon to go at speeds faster or slower than the conventional speed, c."

When Feynman said "amplitude" he meant "the square of the probability of an event." The above quote came from a series of lectures he gave at UCLA that were subsequently published.

I just ordered Engineering Mathematics by K.A. Stroud to brush up on my own fundamentals. Covers calculus, algebra, and a degree of probability - the follow-up book, "Advanced Engineering Mathematics", covers much more advanced (grad-level) engineering math topics.

It seems interesting because it's all very much guided self-study as opposed to your usual textbook that's only useful when paired with lectures. As a warning, it's a honking 1200 pages.

Anyhoo, YMMV. It seems to be rated quite highly but I'll tell you how it goes when I get the book.

Two contemporary books, by western scientists, pretty much confirm the position about "self" found in Buddhist philosophy.

The Self Illusion by Bruce Hood (https://www.amazon.com/Self-Illusion-Social-Creates-Identity/dp/0199988781)

The Ego Tunnel by Thomas Metzinger (https://www.amazon.com/Ego-Tunnel-Science-Mind-Myth/dp/0465020690)

• http://www.amazon.com/Zinn-Art-Road-Bike-Maintenance/dp/1884737706
  
• http://www.sheldonbrown.com/
  
• http://www.parktool.com/repair/
  
  Also, check your area for a bike co-op or get friendly with the wrenches at your LBS.

Space Chronicles by Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Looks good!

If you don't mind the 'aerospace perspective', this is a very good book. You can also check /r/CFD.

Work through this. It will fill the gaps and is really good.
http://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Mathematics-K-Stroud/dp/0831133279/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309609633&sr=8-1