For context, I am a Mechanical Engineer EIT with R&D experience. I don't do as much writing these days, so I thought I'd do my best to help out other users with their stories! Engineering is a broad subject, but luckily my discipline is the least specialized, so I can answer questions that relate to the following subjects (from most to least specialized):
- Thermodynamics (law of energy conservation)
- Heat Transfer (conduction, convection, radiation, EM spectrum)
- Fluid Mechanics (air, water, or any other fluid at rest or in motion)
- Statics/Dynamics (Newton's Laws)
- Mechanics of Materials (stress, strain, shear, torque, torsion)
I can answer most things under those categories, but I'm more of a subject matter expert in the following:
- Energy usage and analysis (any applied energy source like power plants, batteries, fuel cells, etc)
- Nuclear science* (fission, fusion, shielding, radiation, waste)
- Design optimization (machine design)
* keep in mind that I am not a nuclear engineer; I've simply worked in the nuclear industry (nuclear power plant + nuclear nonproliferation for long-term storage) and have taken multiple energy classes to understand the conceptual basics. I would not be able to demonstrate complex nuclear physics, for example.
Engineering is simply applied science, so example questions of the topics above could include:
- If there was a nuclear fallout, how would one obtain a reliable source of electricity?
- If my story takes places hundreds of years in the future, what may the energy infrastructure look like? (Hint: it's likely not combustion or typical power plants with a linear grid!)
- How would a space ship and/or submarine reliably obtain power?
- Would X design work for Y application?
- How can I make this superpower adhere to the laws of physics?
- My character has lasers coming out of their eyeballs. Can you explain what would happen if they lasered a person? What about a lead block? What about water? What if they were in space?
The following are subjects that are not my strength, so it may take some time to answer:
Spoiler! :
Still, if you ask something I'm not an expert in, I may be able to come up with a general answer or ping someone in my network. I have an extensive network that include mechanical, electrical, chemical, material, and civil engineers.
This is just for fun and to help out fellow authors, so please don't post questions that obviously relate back to homework or other assignments. We've got the Homework Mat for that! I can certainly explain concepts that may help though, i.e. how does an internal combustion engine work?
Ask away! ~
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