Liberal Arts Blog — The Orion of Tesla, ChatGPT, Sal Khan, Safety
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Liberal Arts Blog — Wednesday is the Joy of Science, Engineering, and Technology Day
Today’s Topic — The Orion of Tesla, ChatGPT, Sal Khan, Safety
What are the one, three, seven most important things to know about Nikolai Tesla? Are all opinions on the subject created equal? Which one, three, or seven things should every 3rd, 5th, 8th, 12th grader know? Who has the intelligence to put those “facts” into supremely succinct sentences that capture the essence of Tesla’s contribution? Who has the power to put those facts into a series of rhyming couplets, forming a sonnet or series of sonnets? Who has the power to illustrate each advance with the best graphic ever used to explain it? And to extract from the morass of everything ever written the best quantitative illustration of each breakthrough idea? Can Chat GPT do this today? Will it be able to in a few weeks or months? Khan Academy is experimenting with the use of ChatGPT for education purposes. Personally, I have yet to get over the primal fear of it infecting my computer. Have you used it yet? Last week, an Orion of Photography. This week the beginning of an Orion of Nikolai Tesla. What should be three stars of the belt? Why? What should Alnilam be? Why? Experts — please chime in. Correct, elaborate, elucidate.
THE AC MOTOR — is this Alnilam (the central star of the belt)? If not, what is?
1. “The induction motor with rotating magnetic field…made unit drives for machines feasible and made AC power transmission an economic necessity.”
2. “In 1895, $8 billion US dollars ($25bn in today’s money) were invested in the first hydroelectric power plant in the world, at Niagara Falls, marking the golden triumph of Tesla’s genius.”
3. “He signed the first contract for the commercial use of the AC motor that featured the rotating magnetic field in Strasbourg in 1883.”
IS THE MERRY-GO-ROUND THE BEST ANALOGY TO GET AN INTUITIVE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE AC MOTOR WORKS? (see second link below)
1. Your kid is on the merry-go- round. You want to spin your kid.
2. There is a pole on the merry-go-round. You grab the pole and push it across and the merry-go-round goes around.
3. The Pole on the merry-go-round is the electromagnet on the inner cylinder.
NB: “You are the magnet on the outside and you are timing your grab… No sparking. No smell. Nothing wearing out.”
FOUR BASIC PARTS: ROTOR, STATOR, WINDINGS, PERMANENT MAGNETS (see fourth link below)
1. “90% of industrial motors are induction motors.”
2. “Nikola Tesla conceived the basic principles of the polyphase induction motor in 1883 and had a half horsepower (400 watts) model by 1888.”
3. “Tesla sold the manufacturing rights to George Westinghouse for $65,000.”
Revolution in the field: Tesla’s AC motor — Google Arts & Culture
How Does an AC Motor Work? From Tesla
How does an Induction Motor work?
PS: I am off to NYC later this morning. Posts should resume next Monday.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
My spin — then periodically review, re-rank, and exchange your list with those you love. I call this the “Orion Exchange” because seven is about as many as any human can digest at a time. Game?
A LINK TO THE LAST FOUR YEARS OF POSTS ORGANIZED BY THEME:
#1 A graphic guide to justice (9 metaphors on one page).
#2 “39 Songs, Prayers, and Poems: the Keys to the Hearts of Seven Billion People” — Adams House Senior Common Room Presentation, (11/17/20)
PDF with headlines — Google Drive
YOUR TURN
Please share the coolest thing you learned this week related to science, engineering, or technology. Or, even better, the coolest or most important thing you learned in your life related to science and engineering.
This is your chance to make someone else’s day. Or to cement in your mind something that you might otherwise forget. Or to think more deeply about something dear to your heart. Continuity is key to depth of thought.
