Lucky13
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Who was the greatest engineer of the industrial revolution?8)
Engineering?
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Lucky13
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Why am I not surprised that Isambard Kingdom Brunel popped up? 
Was he the greatest though?
Was he the greatest though?
Colin1
Senior Master Sergeant
Why
only from the Industrial Revolution?
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Lucky13
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That was when I was born.... Just what I thought would be interesting mate. We can go further back, if you like...
Any suggestions? 8)
Just what I thought would be interesting mate. We can go further back, if you like...Any suggestions? 8)
Colin1
Senior Master Sergeant
Or further forwardThat was when I was born....
Any suggestions? 8)
I was thinking of Nikola Tesla, the man who invented the 20th century 8)
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Lucky13
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Todays engineers has it too "easy" mate....
pbfoot
1st Lieutenant
Yep he's the man did a lot of his work on AC in Niagara certainly upset Edison and on the flip side made Westinghouse lots of money
Colin1
Senior Master Sergeant
True
Edison took advantage of both Tesla's engineering brilliance and commercial naivete; while the rest of the world were contemplating the enormous difficulties of dc distribution, it was Tesla who came up with the concept of ac distribution - the national grid.
Tesla was also working on wireless power, his 'power tower' still stands, I believe, in Shoreham on Long Island NY. Once the banks (closely tied to industrial magnates like Edison) realised what Tesla was about to stumble on, they foreclosed on him. For all his brilliance, Tesla departed this world penniless. Imagine it, free power.
Books on Tesla and his work are fiendishly difficult to get hold of, I have one or two and the fact that they're so poorly published is testament to just what a fright he gave the establishment, they just wanted his work to disappear.
Colin1
Senior Master Sergeant
We don't know for sure who built the Giza pyramids
but that was one serious feat of engineering, with all our heavy plant we still can't build a similar pyramid today. The maths of astronomy that was built into the structures, along with their precision, is astounding.
I think the question of 'who' is as valid as 'how' and as much to the point, 'where' - where did they go? Civil engineering is supposed to get better as a civilisation matures, in Ancient Egypt it got considerably worse.
An odd title but a good read is "Edison and the Electric Chair." Discusses in detail the bitter rivalry between Edison and Westinghouse based on the type of electric current that was to power the first electric chair. Highly recommend it...
Screaming Eagle
Senior Master Sergeant
Whats the worse thing an engineer can say to you?
"I'm here to help"
Little joke us boilermakers have
"I'm here to help"
Little joke us boilermakers have
Whats the worse thing an engineer can say to you?
"I'm here to help"
Little joke us boilermakers have
I know what you mean.
SoD Stitch
Banned
Don't fool yourself, aliens built the pyramids . . . . .
drgondog
Major
We have very similar perspectives regarding the Great Pyramids.
The eternal unanswered questions are;
first - how to plan and execute a plan to place 6,000,000 blocks in such precision- not just for the first course but each succeeding layer, as well as the shafts and passageways which are so incredibly straight. Think about not only the base plane but also the precision of the corners all the way to the apex.
second - how did the Egyptians go 'suddenly dumb' with respect to Engineering? A drop off of knowledge and technology implies a catastrophic near extinction event - or a withdrawal of 'superior services and technology' leaving the labor force the results but not the technology?
last - how were the alleged tools of the day (rope, angles, bronze tools) adequate to carve the inside of the granite 'sarcophagus' in the King's Chamber with such precision much less layout four sides of a base which is max 9" out of square in over 750 linear feet/side?
I don't buy it.
I disagree with higher intelligence theory. I don't have all the answers but consider the following.
Apart from the 3 main piramids. Their are plently of others including failed attempts. Most of which are now buried under the sand but do show an evolotion too the process of building the pyramids. To plan your individual pyramid make a model(just as good as CAD). For precision don't knock sighting sticks, plumb bobs, water levels of various kinds etc(despite lasers, they still part of the builders tool kit).
How did the Egyptians go dumb. Pyramids weren't secure. It was more effective hiding bodies in the valley of the kings. Also consider catastrophe, slaves doing a runner and foreign takeover. Don't forget Europe had its dark ages with the collapse of Rome. If it wasn't for the arabs we might still think the earth is flat.
A copper saw will cut a giant block of stone very neatly and n areasnable time with a mix of sand and water. To lift a needle roll base up ramp of sand over a sand pit. Open a door to release sand from pit. Needle will hit turning goove at approx 85%. Requiring some labur to pull the needle the last 5% with rope and pulley(cant pull with rope and pulley from horizontal as requre to many men and ropes and wll damage needle in turning groove.
As for precison mathmatics:-
trigonometry :: Ancient Egypt and the Mediterranean world -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia
