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Table of Contents
Engineering is an overarching term for a wide variety of subfields, each focusing on a unique combination of mathematical and scientific principles and practical applications.
See the fact file below for more information on Engineering, or you can download our 30-page Engineering worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
- Innovation, design, construction, and maintenance of structures, equipment, materials, devices, systems, processes, and organizations all fall under the broad umbrella of engineering, defined as the imaginative application of scientific knowledge, mathematical methods, and empirical evidence.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
- Inventions like the wedge, lever, the wheel, and pulley show that people have been engaged in engineering for thousands of years.
- The origin of the word engineer may be traced back to 1390 when an engine’er meant “a constructor of the military.”
- The term “military engine” refers to an automatic weapon that is no longer used in modern warfare. Examples of dated usage of the word that has survived today include military engineering corps such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
- The word “engine” itself is pretty old, with its root in the Latin “Ingenium,” which means “innate quality, especially mental strength, consequently a brilliant innovation.”
- The term “civil engineering” came into use to differentiate between those specializing in the construction of non-military projects like bridges and buildings and those involved in the field of “military engineering”. As such, designing civilian structures like bridges and buildings developed as a technical discipline.
ANCIENT HISTORY
- The Ancient Romans built aqueducts so that people living in different parts of their empire could always get clean water. The Pyramids of Egypt, the Acropolis and Parthenon in Greece, Roman aqueducts, the Via Appia and the Colosseum, Teotihuacán, the Great Wall of China, and the Brihadeeswarar Temple of Thanjavur are just a few examples of ancient civil and military engineering marvels.
- Other ancient structures, like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Pharos of Alexandria, are considered part of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World because of their engineering success.
- Imhotep is the first civil engineer identified by name since he was an official of Pharaoh Djosér and played a role in the design and supervision of builds. The Pyramid of Djoser, also known as the Step Pyramid, was built in Egypt between 2630 BCE and 2611 BCE.
- Archimedes‘ inventions, such as the Antikythera mechanism, require a sophisticated knowledge of differential gearing. The two machine theory concepts helped build Industrial Revolution gear trains and are still used today in robotics and transportation engineering.
- The Ancient Greeks created valuable tools for both the home and the battlefield. The Antikythera device, the first known mechanical computer, and Archimedes‘ automatic discoveries are examples of early mechanical engineering. The Greeks created artillery in the fourth century BCE. The trireme, the ballista, and the catapult were all utilized by the armies of ancient China, Greece, Rome, and Hungary. The development of the trebuchet can be traced back to the Middle Ages.
- Wedge and inclined plane construction date back to ancient times. Mesopotamia is credited with inventing the wheel and axle system in the 5th millennium BCE. The earliest known uses of a lever mechanism were in the essential balance scales and heavy lifting equipment of ancient Egypt, dating back to roughly 5,000 BCE.
- The first crane machine, the shadoof water-lifting mechanism, was developed in Mesopotamia around 3000 BCE and later in ancient Egyptian technology around 2000 BCE, both of which used the lever.
RENAISSANCE-ERA
- Thomas Savery constructed the first working steam engine in 1698. The Industrial Revolution began when this machine was made.
- As engineering established itself as a profession in the 18th century, the term gradually began to refer only to those sub-disciplines that used mathematics and science to achieve their goals. Similar to how mechanic arts were absorbed into engineering alongside military and civil engineering.
- Numerous technical breakthroughs were made during the Renaissance. Several different engineers created tools that improved people’s lives during the Renaissance. To a greater or lesser extent, most of these innovations helped shape modern society. Humanity made enormous strides forward throughout the Renaissance.
- After the advent of new mathematical formulas, engineers and architects had a better way of ensuring their creations’ durability. Because of this, they could use these ideas to build more substantial buildings and make better plans for architecture.
- The architecture was one of the many fields in which Renaissance artist and engineer Leonardo da Vinci excelled. The catapult, parachute, flying machine, aerial screw, and ornithopter are just a few of the inventions he made. During this time, Leonardo also designed several bridges. He was an excellent engineer who came up with many innovations.
- Renaissance engineering was vital to modern engineering in many ways. The mathematical calculations allow for the construction of safer and more durable buildings. At the same time, da Vinci’s sketches sparked the development of aircraft and helicopters that lifted humans off the ground. Almost every innovation created during the Renaissance remains relevant today.
MODERN ERA
- Engineers are the driving force behind most of the progress being made today. Most of today’s services and products have been created with at least some help from engineers, allowing users to live happier, healthier, and longer lives.
- The International Space Station posed an engineering challenge for multiple fields in the 21st century. Contemporary mechanical engineering can be traced back to the work of Thomas Newcomen and James Watt.
- Mechanical engineering, which originated in Britain, saw rapid expansion there and elsewhere due to the creation of specialized machinery and machine tools throughout the Industrial Revolution.
- John Smeaton, contributed to the Lunar Society and founded the Civil Society of Engineers in 1771. It was renamed The Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers following Smeaton’s Death. Bridges, canals, harbors, and lighthouses were all his creations as an English civil engineer. He was also an accomplished physicist and skilled mechanical engineer. Built between 1755 and 1759, Smeaton’s third Eddystone Lighthouse was a technological breakthrough due to his innovative use of dovetailed granite blocks and hydraulic lime.
- Smeaton’s Tower, as his lighthouse was renamed after its partial relocation to Plymouth Hoe, served the area until 1877. Because of his work determining the chemical makeup of lime that would provide the desired “hydraulicity,” he has a prominent place in modern cement’s rediscovery, development, and name.
- In 1850, “engineer” appeared for the first time on a US census. 2,000 people claimed it as their profession. It’s estimated that fewer than 50 Americans graduated with an engineering degree before 1865.
- Today, electrical and electronics engineers outnumber their peers in any other technical specialization. This is because of the latest breakthroughs in a vacuum tubes and transistor technology, which further spurred the growth of electronics. As the nineteenth century came to a close, chemical engineering began to flourish.
- A new industry emerged in 1880 to focus on the creation and mass production of chemicals in purpose-built factories to meet the needs of the expanding industrial sector, which necessitated the use of novel materials and methods. The chemical engineer’s responsibility was the planning and construction of these facilities and operations.
MAIN BRANCHES OF ENGINEERING
- There are numerous subfields within engineering, but at its core, engineering is about applying domain-specific knowledge to the service of a problem’s resolution. In response to the ever-changing needs of society, engineers have established a wide variety of specialized professions. Here are the four main branches of Engineering:
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
- Chemical engineers take laboratory-developed processes and adapt them to industrial settings, where they are maintained and improved. They primarily utilize the three pillars of engineering (math, physics, and chemistry) (though biology plays an increasing role).
- Chemical engineers are responsible for designing and troubleshooting processes used in manufacturing a wide variety of products, including chemicals, fuels, foods, pharmaceuticals, and biologicals. They are commonly used by major production facilities to improve output and product quality while decreasing expenses.
CIVIL ENGINEERING
- Fixing infrastructure issues is what civil engineers do best. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that civil engineers work on various public and private sector projects, such as bridges, highways, tunnels, dams, and water and sewer systems.
- The efforts of civil engineers led to the construction of iconic structures like the Brooklyn Bridge, the Erie Canal, and the Thames Tunnel in London. The American Society of Civil Engineers has written about dozens of other important civil engineering projects, of which these three are just a tiny sample.
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
- Electrical engineers are responsible for the research, development, and production of electrical equipment and systems. They’re employed in academics, industry, and telecoms.
- What an individual can perform with a degree in electrical engineering varies significantly from industry to industry because it is one of the most generalized. Electrical engineers are needed in many fields, including circuits, computers, and electronics used in constructing fiber-optic networks and vision sensors for automobiles.
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
- Engineers specializing in mechanical engineering create and improve engines, tools, and machinery that can sense mechanical and temperature conditions. Electrical generators, batteries, and refrigeration systems are a few items that rely on mechanical engineering. To evaluate how an automatic device may aid a project, mechanical engineers analyze the project and conduct feasibility studies.
Other Engineering Branches
Bioengineering
- Bioengineering, often known as biological engineering, is the field that combines physical principles with engineering methods to develop products with practical and economic value. In the fields of medicine, biology, and ecology, it is utilized to provide better tools for diagnosis and treatment.
Aerospace Engineering
- Engineers in the aerospace industry focus on designing rockets, planes, satellites, and even weapons. They also build and test prototypes to ensure that the finished product meets design and quality standards.
Agricultural Engineering
- Agricultural engineers’ primary responsibility is to ensure that all aspects of agriculture, including its power infrastructure, machinery, buildings, facilities, pollution levels, and environmental conditions, operate as smoothly as possible with high yield.
Biomedical Engineering
- Biomedical and bioengineering professionals research, design, and develop equipment, computer systems, and software in various scientific disciplines by fusing engineering and science.
Computer Engineering
- Engineers in this field ensure that the many parts and pieces of computers, like motherboards, processors, networks, and routers, are compatible with the most recent software.
Environmental Engineering
- Environmental engineers use a combination of biology, chemistry, soil science, and engineering to help solve global environmental problems such as dirty water, climate change, public health, and sustainable development.
Health & Safety Engineering
- Engineers specializing in public safety and health create and design systems to prevent harm to people and property by combining engineering with health and safety.
Industrial Engineering
- Industrial engineers devise systems that integrate humans, machines, and other resources to produce goods and services to minimize waste.
Marine Engineering
- Ships have many complex systems on the inside that require the attention of marine engineers. They also create vessels like submarines, sailboats, and tankers.
Materials Engineering
- Metals, ceramics, polymers, and other materials are all subject to the scrutiny of materials engineers as they investigate their structure and behavior.
Geotechnical Engineering
- Mining and Geotechnical engineers are responsible for designing and operating mines and quarries where raw materials like coal and metals are extracted for further processing or use in infrastructure.
Nuclear Engineering
- Engineers in the nuclear energy industry focus on the many tools and systems used to extract atomic fission. These professionals research and develop nuclear equipment used in a wide range of fields, including medicine, transportation, and space exploration.
Petroleum Engineering
- Petroleum engineers create and implement novel ways to collect oil and gas from the Earth’s crust.
ENGINEERING FUNCTIONS
- All engineering work involves solving problems. It’s possible that the issue at hand is quantitative or qualitative, that it’s of a physical or economic nature, or that it requires high-level mathematics or good old-fashioned common sense. Creative synthesis or design, the process of combining ideas to produce a novel and optimal solution, is crucial.
- The same fundamental method can be used for various engineering challenges despite differences in scale and complexity. First, one must assess the circumstance and make a rough strategy call.
- Following this strategy, the issue is reframed as a more precise inquiry that can be posed logically. To find the solution, one can use inductive reasoning based on previously established principles or engage in creative synthesis, as in the case of a novel architectural concept. The correctness and sufficiency of the solution or design are always verified.
Engineering Worksheets
This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Engineering across 30 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets about Engineering, an overarching term for a wide variety of subfields, each focusing on a unique combination of mathematical and scientific principles and practical applications.
Complete list of included worksheets:
- Engineering Facts
- The Developer
- History Of Engineering
- Branches Of Engineering
- Guess The Emoji
- Engineering Trivia
- The Future
- If I Were You
- Top Engineer
- Research Project
- Plate 101
Frequently Asked Questions
What do engineers do?
As engineers, we are trained professionals who create, design, analyze and test various machines and materials to meet functional goals while considering the restrictions imposed by practicality, regulation, safety, and cost.
Why is it called an engineer?
The word “engine” was first used in 1390. Then, it meant someone who made machines for war. Now, an engine is a machine that does work.
What is the oldest engineering?
Civil engineering has been around since the beginning of time. It was created before military engineering. People made it to be different from military engineering and to show that it is its own thing.
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Use With Any Curriculum
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