Engineering is part of almost everything we do - from the water we drink and the food we eat, to the buildings we live in and the roads and railways we travel on. In this Very Short Introduction, David Blockley explores the nature and practice of engineering, its history, its scope, and its relationship with art, craft, science, and technology. He considers the role of engineering in the modern world, demonstrating its need to provide both practical and socially acceptable solutions, and explores how engineers use natural phenomena to embrace human needs.
From its early roots starting with Archimedes to some of the great figures of engineering such as Brunel and Marconi, right up to the modern day, he also looks at some of its challenges - when things go wrong - such as at Chernobyl. Ultimately, he shows how engineering is intimately part of who and what we are.
1: From idea to reality
2: The age of gravity - time for work
3: The age of heat - you can't get something for nothing
4: The age of electromagnetism - the power of attraction
5: The age of information - getting smaller
6: The age of systems - risky futures
Glossary
Further reading
"Any engineer who has spent a few years out of the classroom can benefit from reading this tiny volume as a refresher course on some basic, yet key, concepts of engineering" - The Tech
"This concise book provides excellent references for further reading and is an affordable, quick read to brush up on engineering history and its modern-day application. It is even more powerful as a tool for non-engineers to understand how intimately engineering contributes to the quality of peoples' lives - and the consequences of success or failure." - Civil Engineering Journal
ISBN : 9780199578696
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