What is Ideas: Definition and 912 Discussions

In common usage and in philosophy, ideas are abstract concepts. Also in philosophy, ideas can also be mental representational images of some object. Many philosophers have considered ideas to be a fundamental ontological category of being. The capacity to create and understand the meaning of ideas is considered to be an essential and defining feature of human beings. In a popular sense, an idea arises in a reflexive, spontaneous manner, even without thinking or serious reflection, for example, when we talk about the idea of a person or a place. A new or an original idea can often lead to innovation.

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  1. M

    Any ideas on what material this is?

    Hi everyone, I'm having trouble identifying the material used in the oil seal of a hydraulic gear pump. There is a picture of the microstructure of the oil seal with it's hardness. Any ideas? Cheers
  2. K

    International Companies Embrace Innovative Ideas, U.S. Companies Not So Much

    http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20061822-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20" seems like an interesting idea. I don't know how well it will pan out, but I find it interesting that U.S. companies rejected it out-of-hand, whereas companies elsewhere were more receptive. This I have...
  3. R

    Any ideas how I could fill a steel tube with pellets?

    Hello, I have a production problem and would welcome any ideas which would make this task easier. I need to fill a 5 meter tube with pellets of 5mm grain size. The inner diameter of the tube is approx 40mm. Here's the problem...I need to fill the tube while the pipe has only a...
  4. 0

    Using 555 Oscillator for Measurement: Experiences & Ideas

    I am thinking of using the output frequency of a 555 relaxation oscillator for measurement purposes. The frequency would be related to my measurement signal. How stable are these oscillators at low frequencies? Any personal experiences would help. How stable can you get then with good...
  5. J

    Major Project Ideas (Brain Storming)

    Good day everyone, I am currently doing an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering and minoring(specializing) in Instrumentations and Control Systems. I will be entering my final year September 2011, and in order to graduate I have to do a major project on anything involving the...
  6. epenguin

    Parents' ideas of jobs and where they are, are always wrong

    and even where not, should be ignored. At least in case of conflict. Discuss. In parents' imaginative, somehow at the same time ideal and dismal, worlds there are only engineers, doctors, lawyers and maybe a token economist. Inspired by posts like this I would not even stand too strongly...
  7. O

    Any ideas of how gyroscopes are applied in environment?

    I am writing an STSE and of course the last section is the environment section. I suck at this part because sometimes it's hard for me to connect to all categories. So how does a gyroscope relate with the environment? If you know of a small topic on this, please let me know and I can just go...
  8. K

    Any ideas on which material to actuate a robot hand?

    Hey guys, I was wondering if I could get a little info I'm building a robotic hand for a masters project. I'm interested in looking into actuating some of the joints using a 'dohelix' method, where a flexible plaited cord is twisted by a DC motor on one end to produce a translation on the...
  9. D

    Need ideas about a project : Thermodynamics description of a watt steam engine.

    I have to do a paper ( kind of project ) for 4-6 page on Thermodynamics description of a watt steam engine. i have no idea where to start. It is for a Thermodynamics 1 class. Thanks in advance.
  10. I

    Horse-related Research/Experiment Ideas?

    Hello PF Community, I've been browsing this site for...probably years now, and the time has come for me to seek advice! I'm having some difficulty in deciding on an area of research for my capstone (senior) project for college. I'm interested mainly in two things: horses and education. I'm...
  11. O

    Any ideas which improve quality of life

    Do you have any ideas like something which helps hearing impaired people to communicate with others who don't know sign language, for example a glove, which translates sign language to text which is displayed or even translates it to speech? Any kind of things like that or can be something...
  12. M

    Finding Data Sets & Ideas for Neural Network Training

    I'm looking for advice. I have an assignment to train a neural network. I am confident in my abilities to write the code and train the neural network. The problems are: 1. I lack an idea. I'd like to do something interesting and potentially useful, obviously. 2. I need a rather large data...
  13. S

    Physics research ideas for beginners

    Hello everyone, I'm just a college guy studying mechanical engineering and I'm very much keen to do something in physics. I've done a little search about a starting point from where i could start doing some physics stuff. I've also posted here some weeks before hoping i'd get something solid...
  14. S

    Seeking Ideas for a Big Project in Physics

    To everyone who is noticing it, its my sincere request to help me in providing some ideas about what I can do. I am actually a first year student of B.E. in Mechanical Engg. There always has been a big interest of mine in Physics; whatever comes up, it just fascinates me, if its Physics. Now I...
  15. M

    What Are Good Topics for a Senior Project in Structural Analysis?

    Hi everybody.. i shall start my senior project soon ... what I'm looking for now is the topic of the project .. I'm interested specifically in the structural analysis .. your ideas and advises are very welcomed
  16. R

    Searching for Technical Paper Topic? Get Ideas Here!

    Need a Topic! I’m in the 3rd year of Electrical & Electronics Engg. and well it’s high time I started work on a Technical paper. Primarily I’m interested in Power Electronics and love doing work on Electric Circuit Theory. Also love working in anything related to Mechanics. Microcontrollers...
  17. B

    Ideas for a physics based c program?

    I want to write a physics based c program but can't decide what to do it on any ideas?
  18. O

    Any ideas for grade 12 Physics project?

    I have this so called in class physics fair and its pretty much a project. But I'm having trouble thinking of a topic that is not of the common ones other people have done. Of course it has to be related to the grade 12 physics course and be within a small range budget? The grade 12 course...
  19. nukeman

    Need ideas for conserving Energy at my Campus? Any ideas?

    Im getting a little group together to submit some ideas on how our campus can conserve energy, and what would save the school money and energy. We came up with some really cool ideas, but I wanted to see if any of you guys/gals had some ideas, or heard of ideas certain campuses are doing to...
  20. F

    Ideas for a project on plasmonics

    So I'm a third year EE student and we have this thing called a "group project", where we work part times in groups of 2-3 students on a topic. Anyways I have been reading up a bit on plasmonics and I find it very interesting, so I was wondering if anyone might have an idea of some sort of...
  21. A

    How Can I Create an Effective Parachute for My Egg Drop Project?

    For a science project we have to make an ''egg protector''. It has to have: -parachute and -base to hold egg in (I just joined 30 minutes ago and could not find a forum like this. So sorry if this is a duplicate.) Aaaaaanyways, our group has to drop it from a 5m tall height, the...
  22. marcus

    FQXi grant awardee abstracts (novel time ideas)

    FQXi was set up to support research gambits with a chance of success but unconventional enough they wouldn't be funded thru normal channels. It has private money. We may be able to learn something by looking at the abstracts (brief summaries) of the grant winners' proposals. Here is the...
  23. S

    Innovative Ideas for Teaching Tires & Physics to my Class

    I have to teach Tires to my class and I want to do something innovative and new that will tie into Physics. Please help and any ideas you have that I could use would be greatly appreciated
  24. J

    What's the Best Research Question for a High Level Chemistry EE?

    I'm taking HL Chem and need to submit my research question proposal tomorrow. Any suggestions? A creative but doable research question. Thank you!
  25. Simfish

    Is it polite to ask professors for references to ideas that you have?

    For example, here's a e-mail I recently sent to a professor. ""Hello Professor XX, Do you know if any theoretical work has been done on the atmospheric evolution of a tidally locked planet facing a red dwarf star? Especially a planet whose atmosphere freezes over on the cold side, but...
  26. R

    Electronic Door Control Design Ideas

    Hi guys, I'm new to this forum, I'm in my final semester studying control systems and need to design something for my project class.I was thinking of building a miniature door frame with a door that opens and closes electronically while controlled by momentary on and off pushbuttons. But what...
  27. P

    A bit OffTopic: ideas for astronomy/astrophysics gift pack

    Hello! This is my first post here, I hope to have hit the right sub-forum. Recently a good friend told me that she is fascinated by astronomy and astrophysics. I'd like to put together a pack of material for her as a gift. Since I don't know much about the topic myself (although I love...
  28. J

    Some ideas to switch to that wireless receiver

    Hi Please don't give me another warning for posting in a wrong forum. Seriously, in my view this belong here in "General Discussion" forum. Where I'm placed these days here we have electricity blackouts several times a day, sometimes for as long as 3 hours at one time. My laptop could run...
  29. L

    Quantitative analysis (social science) ideas

    Hi all! I've been doing a lot of quantitative analysis on research work (PhD) within the social science domain. this has involved extensive identification and explanations on any repeating themes, linkages and whether they relate and patterns between two variables. as part of this I have...
  30. A

    Solving a Tough Math Problem: Any Ideas?

    I came across this problem on another forum. Seems to be very tough. The only trivial facts are: m is of the form 4x+3 for n>1 a trivial solution (n,m) is (0,2) for n even, m^m-1 is divisible by 3 for n odd, m^m-2 is divisible by 3 any ideas?
  31. Z

    What are the potential applications of high temperature superconductors?

    This may not be the best place to ask, but anyways, in class we are doing an independent project. We need to analyse a technological device that uses the properties of gravitational, electrical, and/or magnetic fields (eg. MRI machine, particle accelerator, zero gravity experiments), and explain...
  32. G

    Automated Camera Clicking: Get Your Ideas Here!

    Camera "clicker" I need to take a picture every 5-60 seconds for about 2.5 hours. The problem is, I won't be near my camera when I do that. I want to make something to attach to the "clicker" or whatever it's called on the camera that will click it about that often. The button definitely...
  33. P

    Physics Physics undergrad/grad gap year: ideas?

    One of our college's physics seniors scored poorly on the physics subject GRE and is looking for something to do for a year while s/he studies for, and retakes this test. Our student would like to find an appropriate position at a lab (academic, industrial, government...) which provides enough...
  34. Z

    Ideas for a nuclear research project

    I have a huge 3rd year design lab unit coming up for the next semester. The lab is very much independent work, and I would like something in nuclear physics (preferable in plasma physics). But I have barely any experience coming up with a hypothesis/experiment of my own. Do you guys have...
  35. J

    Beginner Model Rockets: Ideas and Suggestions

    Any one have any ideas or suggestions for beginner model rockets? I eventually want to make my own.
  36. G

    Measuring Force/Impulse for Football Helmets Collisions

    I'm looking for a way to measure force or impulse during collisions. I'm working on a project involving football helmets and collisions since it's in the news and was looking for suggestions regarding easily obtainable equipment I can possibly use to measure force or impulse during various...
  37. L

    Programming Language Project Ideas

    I am in a class where we are studying concepts and design of programming languages. For a project we are suppose to design our own programming language or come up with some alternative project idea to do for the class. So, my question is... do ya'll have any ideas for an interesting and...
  38. T

    Unique Invention Ideas: ISSCE, AND, and Miniature Beacon

    I've had a number of ideas for inventions lately. I lack a strong background in physics and chemistry to an advanced level so please try and forgive me for my ignorance as I would like to learn what I can at an appropriate pace and enjoyable manner. Sorry if to some of you more familiar with the...
  39. C

    I need some ideas for a sci-fi essay related to the accident of a LHC.

    Hi all, I'm writing a sci-fi story for a competition, are there any more realistic ideas of what accident can LHC cause that has massive impact on the whole earth? currently, my idea is the formation of massive black holes from quantum ones which led to the Earth being swallowed. How...
  40. M

    Cradle to Cradle Ideas = Feasible Career Path

    Hi All, How do I begin with this long and complicated story? I am a forth year college student majoring in physics. I began college as an architecture student, made some life-altering realizations during first year that it is not truly progress at all, just a rehashing of shapes/art school...
  41. N

    Gift ideas for my mom who is a physics teacher.

    My mom teaches high school physics (standard level and honors/AP). I want to get her a gift that will help her in the classroom. It could be a piece of lab equipment (nothing over a few hundred dollars) or a book of experiments, or even a display that goes on a wall that students would find...
  42. A

    Beginner Programmer Seeks Creative Ideas for Graphics Project

    I am just a beginner of programming and till now I have done much simple programming, just like printing multiplication tables or different sequences of (*) using FOR Loop. Now, last week, my teacher introduced us to the new graphics mode of the Turbo C, and at the end of a lesson, she asked...
  43. diogenesNY

    John Huchra Dies at 61; Maps Altered Ideas on Universe

    John Huchra Dies at 61; Maps Altered Ideas on Universe http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/us/14huchra.html?hpw
  44. H

    We don't have ideas that may attract engineers

    Hello... I am studying electrical engineering, with my colleagues i want to make a workshop in my university, but it's the first time we do such an activity, so we don't have ideas that may attract engineers and students from other universities... If anyone has some ideas, please share them...
  45. M

    Ideas for low power radio transmission in terrain

    Hi, I've been mulling over an idea (you know how it is, just to keep the grey matter ticking) on how to build a device for tracking...well anything... from hunting dogs to humans. The device would include a GPS (lat, long, altitude, vert & horz accuracy, UTC time) to give bearing over time...
  46. C

    Turning an RC Aircraft into a Water Bomber: Ideas & Suggestions

    I was wondering how you could turn an RC aircraft out to a water bomber?? I thought of installing a container in the fuselage where water could be filled but can't think of how to get water out. Any suggestions on that or any other ideas of loading the water?
  47. O

    Using physics to produce heat - need some ideas

    Is there a material/metal that will safely react with another catalyst (fuel) material which will cause the material/metal to become very hot? They should be: - cheap materials - safe and non-toxic (before and after reaction) - controllable and long lasting reaction Looking forward to some...
  48. K

    Ideas for undergraduate presentation

    Hey guys. I am required to do a presentation in physics (obviously) for about 15 mins or so. They haven't specified any parameters so what the topic can be is flexible. I wanted to something along the lines of physics that could be used in some emerging technology e.g. spintronics. Any...
  49. D

    Final year project ideas in mechanical engineering

    hi!... friends.. am new to this phyisics forum.. can anyone assist me in doing ma final year project? please give me some basic ideas to start with... thanks in advance..
  50. M

    Striling Engine (manufacturing project) ideas welcome

    hey guys, We have a design project where we are supposed to design something cool to machine and later auction it off. My group has already come up with a plan to build a small stirling engine. I've been thinking if there could be anything we can add on to it, like a useful/fun addon...
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