Why my tutor let me study Thermal Image

[China NewBoy]

im a graduate student in China,and im major in electronics. for the past several months i have been working with PSU and Microcontroller,

now my first mission that the tutor assigned to me will finish.

However,two days ago, my tutor told me he decided to let me study Thermal Image ,which i know nothing about....

i dont konw the reason of his decision..and if i say no,i guess he will be angry..

i think after the several months working with with PSU and Microcontroller, i have learned about the basic knowledge of hardware,and i think i should countiue to work with them .

everytime i think about the  thermal image ,software..,my head ache.

what should i do

[T3sl4co1l]

Imaging*?

Tim

[China NewBoy]

Imaging*?

Tim

i know nothing about Thermal Image, even how to spell it

[China NewBoy]

Thermal imaging is a powerful tool for diagnosing power electronics (you did say PSU).
It allows you to see heat generation and dissipation easily, to help you diagnosing circuit misbehaving and thermal design flaws.

Contrary to common belief, thermal imaging is not just pointing a thermal camera at a board. There are tricks and traps that are worth learning.
FLIR offers good online training materials, and they are a treasure of information.

There is a thermal imaging section on this forum, and you can find answers to many questions should you run into one.

thank you for your information

[TeddyPython]

i dont konw the reason of his decision..and if i say no,i guess he will be angry..

Maybe ask your tutor (very politely) why he is asking you to study thermal imaging? That way you will know his motivation, and can think about the pros and cons of studying thermal imaging. It might be the tutor's funding requires work in this field, or that it will combine with your work in microcontroller and PSU. Maybe you tutor just thinks you would like to learn something different. First step to happy and fulfilling research is to know _why_ you are doing something.

Then you might feel happier studying thermal imaging. Or maybe you understand why your tutor has to ask you to do this work. Or maybe, you can (again politely) explain that you feel you are strongest in microcontroller and PSU work, and that thermal imaging is not something you are interested in at all. 

Unfortunately, there is almost always some work we don't enjoy... But that is part of life.   

[edy]

Perhaps there is an error in translation as we seem to all think of Thermal Imaging, aka... using an IR camera to look at the heat dissipation profile of your electronic device. Perhaps your teacher is hinting at some flaw in the device you have been working on. Does it have a potential over-heating problem? Will some components fail because of it? Heat-sinks, case design, air flow, thermal profile of components, etc.... all of these are important to the long-term stability and functionality of your product. Do you have a high-heat component sitting right next to a component that is going to dry out quicker because of it, and fail?

Perhaps the translation is more "Thermal Profile" or "Thermal Signature" or "Thermal Behaviour" or "Thermal Performance".... If you could further clarify what your teacher is asking and use a many-word description of what exactly "Thermal" is being asked, it make it through the translation better. And also if you can include a description/photo/schematic of your PSU/micro design that may also hint as to why (if for any reason) something "Thermal" was chosen. Of course, it may have nothing to do with your work and the teacher just wants you to learn about it.

[China NewBoy]

my tutor decide let me go into the thermal imaging area,his decision has nothing to Do with my current project,and i ask the reason of his decision,he said he think thermal imaging is a good direction for me ,besides that, he also said it is easier to release paper in thermal imaging than what i m doing now.

he want me to code and make a PCB of the thermal imaging camera ,then release paper ,not just simply use it as a tool to debug my circuit.

[Bud]

Wow!    What did your professor smoke?

[BravoV]

Only two options when seeing this matter ...

First, if you see it as a challenge, man up, and then go gung-ho just do it till done.

... or ... second option ...

... if you find it unbearable ... just quit .. give up ... its not that hard.


Its pointless whining like this publicly, and expecting strangers around the world to say something that can help you.

My 2 cents.

[Altair8800]

Is your Tutor a PI (Principle Investigator) and/or professor (assistant/associate/full professor)?  Or he/she is just another graduate student?

If you are trying to do a graduate paper, those are hard to get (time and money wise) and you would not want to waste time getting bad advice.  Maybe at minimum get a second opinion from someone else.  It might be that your tutor is actually very knowledgeable (and is trying to steer you away from a bad project idea).  But then again maybe your tutor is not as knowledgeable and you could get bad advice...

On the fun side...   This reminds me of a famous parody video...



Also located here (but video quality not as good).
https://www.dnatube.com/video/6771/Zheng-Lab--Bad-Project-Lady-Gaga-parody#

or do a web search for "Zheng Lab Bad Project Lady Gaga"

[mengfei]

he should have let you practice A.I. instead...

anyways just posted this here a few days ago which is actually a Thermal Gun project
we make those different types from simple stick it on the turkey to this thermal imaging types
this is useful for your PSU/ PWM type of projects

[edy]

On the fun side...   This reminds me of a famous parody video...
 "Zheng Lab Bad Project Lady Gaga"

       

The sad thing is, that video probably earned this investigator more views and career opportunities than their highly technical narrow-scope paper. 'Tis the bane of pure research... I was there once. Publish or perish!