WorldWide Drilling Resource

Northern Plains Chapter of the ISEE President: Ron Eastman Tel: 307-680-8805 www.npcisee.org 29 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® JULY 2013 Education: We Need the Basics by Britt Storkson Owner, P2FlowLLC When teaching, one must be care- ful to teach the basics - over and over again. This includes the terms - words which describe the operations you are trying to accomplish. When I teach micro- processors, I’m constantly amazed at the number of students - even good students from good schools - who do not know basic mathematical terms. We are not talking about terms university math majors would need to know, we are talking about grade school informa- tion. When adding two numbers, what’s the result of this mathematical operation called? It’s the sum. When subtracting two numbers, the result of this operation is the difference. When multiplying two numbers, the result is the product. When dividing two numbers, the result is the quotient. We need to know these terms to describe what we are doing with the numbers. I can include myself in this infor- mation dearth. I didn’t learn what the function of the mathematical term pi was until I was in my early 20s. I knew pi was 3.1416, but that was about it. It is the relationship of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. The circum- ference of a circle is always 3.14 times its diameter. So if you have a wheel that is 10 inches in diameter, the cir- cumference of that wheel is 31.4 inches. Where did I finally learn this? Was it in a graduate school course? A high- level technical seminar hosted by a promi- nent university? No, I learned this from an old logger deep in the backwoods of Washington State, and he probably learned it in a one-room schoolhouse that only went to the 6th or 8th grade. I may have learned this in school at one time, but it wasn’t emphasized as basic and important to higher learning - and that’s the problem. I’m concerned about the robotics courses so popular now that do not teach the basics of electricity. Sure, the kids can type in a few commands and the robot does this or that, but what hap- pens when a wire comes loose? Most of these students do not know what an open circuit (where current does not flow) or a short circuit (where current goes where it isn’t supposed to, usually blow- ing a fuse) is, or how to test for each condition. This isn’t hard, but without the right basic information, it’s impossible. The students must be able to test for volt- age and current. If one has voltage, one will have current. It is possible to have voltage, but no (or very little) current. But it is not possible to have current without voltage “pushing” that current through the conductor - just like it is pos- sible to have water pressure at a faucet without having water flow (when the faucet is off). But it is not possible to have water flow without water pressure “pushing” the water out of the faucet. The above paragraph is the basis of Ohm’s law which states it takes 1 volt to push 1 amp of current through 1 ohm of resistance. Armed with this basic information, one is empowered to do all sorts of things. If there is a 1-volt dif- ferential (remember the “difference” dis- cussed earlier...one number subtracted from another) from one point to another in a conductor (anything that conducts electricity...typically wire or cable) and there is 1 amp going through the con- ductor, the resistance of that conductor is 1 ohm. Armed with the basics (regarding any subject) one can solve most any problem with logic and reason. Without this basic information, one is completely lost. Britt Britt Storkson may be contacted via e-mail at admin@ worldwidedrillingresource.com Educación: Necesitamos los Conceptos Básicos por Britt Storkson Propietario, P2FlowLLC Al enseñar, uno debe ser cuidadoso y enseñar conceptos básicos una y otra vez. Esto incluye los términos - palabras que describen la operación que están tratando de lograr. Cuando enseño mi- croprocesadores, constantemente me sorprendo de la cantidad de alumnos - incluyendo alumnos de buenas escuelas - que no saben los términos básicos de matemáticas. No estamos hablando de términos que estudiantes de matemá- ticas de universidad deberían saber, me refiero a información de nivel de escuela primaria. Al sumar dos números, ¿como se llama el resultado de esta operación matemática? Se llama suma. Cuando restamos dos números, el resultado de esta operación es la diferencia. Cuando multiplicamos dos números, el resultado es el producto. Al dividir dos números, el resultado es el cociente. Necesitamos saber estos términos para describir lo que estamos haciendo con los números. Puedo incluirme yo mismo en esta escasez de información. Yo no aprendí lo que era la función del termino ma- Hector Leos Translator In Memoriam Silvio Giavitto ISEE (International Society of Explosives Engineers) re- ported the sudden passing of Silvio Giavitto on April 2, 2013, at his residence in Udine, Italy. He was 65. He was a worldwide expert in the manufacture of explo- sives and an expert panel member of SAFEX. With his son Igor, he founded HIGH ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES in 2002. Silvio is survived by his wife Claudia, daughter Petra, and son Igor. The management and staff of WorldWide Drilling Resource ® extend their condolences to Silvio’s family and friends. Storkson trans. cont’d on page 30.