Engineering: For Other Uses, See
Engineering: For Other Uses, See
Engineering: For Other Uses, See
The steam engine, a major driver in the Industrial Revolution, underscores the importance of
engineering in modern history. This beam engine is on display in the Technical University of
Madrid.
Engineering is the application of mathematics, science, economics, empirical evidence,
social knowledge, and practical knowledge to invent, innovate, design,
build, maintain, research, and
improve structures, machines, tools, systems, components, materials, processes,
solutions, and organizations. See glossary of engineering.
The discipline of engineering encompasses a range of more specialized fields of
engineering, each with a more specific emphasis on particular areas of applied
mathematics, applied science, and types of application.
The term engineering is derived from the Latin ingenium, meaning "cleverness"
and ingeniare, meaning "to contrive, devise"
Definition[edit]
The American Engineers' Council for Professional Development (ECPD, the
predecessor of ABET)[2] has defined "engineering" as:
The creative application of scientific principles to design or develop structures,
machines, apparatus, or manufacturing processes, or works utilizing them singly or in
combination; or to construct or operate the same with full cognizance of their design; or
to forecast their behavior under specific operating conditions; all as respects an
intended function, economics of operation and safety to life and property. [3][4]
History[edit]
Main article: History of engineering
Relief map of the Citadel of Lille, designed in 1668 by Vauban, the foremost military engineer of
his age.
Engineering has existed since ancient times, when humans devised inventions such as
the wedge, lever, wheel and pulley.
The term engineering is derived from the word engineer, which itself dates back to 1390
when an engine'er (literally, one who operates an engine) referred to "a constructor of
military engines."[5] In this context, now obsolete, an "engine" referred to a military
machine, i.e., a mechanical contraption used in war (for example, a catapult). Notable
examples of the obsolete usage which have survived to the present day are military
engineering corps, e.g., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The word "engine" itself is of even older origin, ultimately deriving from
the Latin ingenium (c. 1250), meaning "innate quality, especially mental power, hence a
clever invention."[6]
Later, as the design of civilian structures, such as bridges and buildings, matured as a
technical discipline, the term civil engineering[4]entered the lexicon as a way to
distinguish between those specializing in the construction of such non-military projects
and those involved in the discipline of military engineering.
Ancient era[edit]
The Ancient Romans built aqueducts to bring a steady supply of clean and fresh water to cities
and towns in the empire.
The pyramids in Egypt, the Acropolis and the Parthenon in Greece, the Roman
aqueducts, Via Appia and the Colosseum, Teotihuacán, the Great Wall of China,
the Brihadeeswarar Temple of Thanjavur, among many others, stand as a testament to
the ingenuity and skill of ancient civil and military engineers. Other monuments, no
longer standing, such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and the Pharos of
Alexandriawere important engineering achievements of their time and were considered
among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The earliest civil engineer known by name is Imhotep.[4] As one of the officials of
the Pharaoh, Djosèr, he probably designed and supervised the construction of
the Pyramid of Djoser (the Step Pyramid) at Saqqara in Egypt around 2630–2611
BC.[7] Ancient Greece developed machines in both civilian and military domains.
The Antikythera mechanism, the first known mechanical computer,[8][9] and the
mechanical inventions of Archimedes are examples of early mechanical engineering.
Some of Archimedes' inventions as well as the Antikythera mechanism required
sophisticated knowledge of differential gearing or epicyclic gearing, two key principles in
machine theory that helped design the gear trains of the Industrial Revolution, and are
still widely used today in diverse fields such as robotics and automotive engineering.[10]
Ancient Chinese, Greek, Roman and Hungarian armies employed military machines
and inventions such as artillery which was developed by the Greeks around the 4th
century B.C.,[11] the trireme, the ballista and the catapult. In the Middle Ages,
the trebuchet was developed.
Renaissance era[edit]
The first steam engine was built in 1698 by Thomas Savery.[12] The development of this
device gave rise to the Industrial Revolution in the coming decades, allowing for the
beginnings of mass production.
With the rise of engineering as a profession in the 18th century, the term became more
narrowly applied to fields in which mathematics and science were applied to these ends.
Similarly, in addition to military and civil engineering, the fields then known as
the mechanic arts became incorporated into engineering.
Modern era[edit]
The International Space Stationrepresents a modern engineering challenge for many
disciplines.
The inventions of Thomas Newcomen and James Watt gave rise to modern mechanical
engineering. The development of specialized machines and machine tools during the
industrial revolution led to the rapid growth of mechanical engineering both in its
birthplace Britain and abroad.[4]
Structural engineers working on NASA's Mars-bound spacecraft, the Phoenix Mars Lander
John Smeaton was the first self-proclaimed civil engineer and is often regarded as the
"father" of civil engineering. He was an English civil engineer responsible for the design
of bridges, canals, harbours, and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical
engineer and an eminent physicist. Smeaton designed the third Eddystone
Lighthouse (1755–59) where he pioneered the use of 'hydraulic lime' (a form
of mortar which will set under water) and developed a technique involving dovetailed
blocks of granite in the building of the lighthouse. His lighthouse remained in use until
1877 and was dismantled and partially rebuilt at Plymouth Hoe where it is known
as Smeaton's Tower. He is important in the history, rediscovery of, and development of
modern cement, because he identified the compositional requirements needed to obtain
"hydraulicity" in lime; work which led ultimately to the invention of Portland cement.
The United States census of 1850 listed the occupation of "engineer" for the first time
with a count of 2,000.[13] There were fewer than 50 engineering graduates in the U.S.
before 1865. In 1870 there were a dozen U.S. mechanical engineering graduates, with
that number increasing to 43 per year in 1875. In 1890, there were 6,000 engineers in
civil, mining, mechanical and electrical.[14]
There was no chair of applied mechanism and applied mechanics at Cambridge until
1875, and no chair of engineering at Oxford until 1907. Germany established technical
universities earlier.[15]
The foundations of electrical engineering in the 1800s included the experiments
of Alessandro Volta, Michael Faraday, Georg Ohm and others and the invention of
the electric telegraph in 1816 and the electric motor in 1872. The theoretical work
of James Maxwell (see: Maxwell's equations) and Heinrich Hertz in the late 19th century
gave rise to the field of electronics. The later inventions of the vacuum tube and
the transistor further accelerated the development of electronics to such an extent that
electrical and electronics engineers currently outnumber their colleagues of any other
engineering specialty.[4] Chemical engineering developed in the late nineteenth
century.[4] Industrial scale manufacturing demanded new materials and new processes
and by 1880 the need for large scale production of chemicals was such that a new
industry was created, dedicated to the development and large scale manufacturing of
chemicals in new industrial plants.[4] The role of the chemical engineer was the design of
these chemical plants and processes.[4]
Contents
[hide]
1Chemical engineering
2Civil engineering
3Electrical engineering
4Mechanical engineering
5Interdisciplinary
6See also
7References
Chemical engineering[edit]
Chemical engineering is the application of chemical, physical and biological sciences to the
process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms.
Civil engineering[edit]
Civil engineering comprises the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and
natural built environments.
Electrical engineering[edit]
Electrical engineering comprises the study and application
of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism.
Mechanical engineering[edit]
Mechanical engineering comprises the design and analysis of heat and mechanical power for
the operation of machines and mechanical systems.
Concerns the
manipulation and
control of vibration,
Acoustical
especially vibration
engineering
isolation and the
reduction of
unwanted sounds.
Subdiscipline Scope Major specialties
Concerns dealing
with different
manufacturing
practices and the
Manufacturing
research and
engineering
development of
systems, processes,
machines, tools and
equipment.
Concerns heating
or cooling of Air conditioning
Thermal processes,
Refrigeration
engineering equipment, or
Heating, ventilating
enclosed
environments.
Is a field of
engineering that
involves the design,
development and
testing of sport
equipment. The
equipment used by
Sports
athletes has always
engineering
gone through
technological
design and
development based
on current
knowledge and
understanding.
Subdiscipline Scope Major specialties
Field of
engineering that Geothermal power plants
designs, construct Coal-fired power plants
and maintains Hydroelectric power plants
Power plant
different types Diesel engine (ICE) power plants
engineering
of power plants. Tidal power plants
Serves as the prime Wind turbine power plants
mover to produce Solar power plants
electricity.
Energy efficiency,
energy services,
facility
management, plant
engineering,
environmental
compliance and
energy production.
Energy
Energy efficiency
engineering
of buildings and
manufacturing
processes,
employing
advances in
lighting, insulation
and heating/cooling
properties.
Interdisciplinary[edit]
Discipline Scope Major specialties
Additionally, students
are given experience in
plant design and layout,
machine and wet
process design and
improvement and
designing and creating
textile products.
Throughout the textile
engineering curriculum,
students take classes
from other engineering
and disciplines
including: mechanical,
chemical, materials and
industrial engineering.