ENGINEERING 



2905 



ENGINEERING 



man," a definition which covers all 

 the activities of the engineer, 

 whether he call himself civil, me- 

 chanical, or electrical. 



The development of the steam 

 engine led to an enormous and 

 rapid expansion in the branch of 

 civil engineering devoted to the 

 design and construction of motive- 

 power machinery and mechanical 

 appliances, and to the develop- 

 ment of manufacturing processes, 

 and from this period dates the pro- 

 fessional term mechanical engineer. 

 Still later, the development of the 

 electric dynamo and of all the elec- 

 trical appliances and accessories to 

 electric power and lighting, ren- 

 dered this sub- branch of mechanical 

 engineering sufficiently important 

 to justify the use of the professional 

 title of electrical engineer. 

 Specialised Branches 

 The more recent rapid develop- 

 ments in all branches of engin- 

 eering have necessitated further 

 intensive specialisation, and aero 

 engineering, agricultural engineer- 

 ing, chemical engineering, and 

 metallurgical engineering are now 

 to all intents and purposes separate 

 professions. In general the term 

 civil engineering is now confined to 

 the design and construction of such 

 works as roads, bridges, railways, 

 docks, harbours, canals, dams, and 

 coast defences, all of which are 

 essentially of a foundational and 

 stationary character. 



The scientific study of engineer- 

 ing principles is of comparatively 

 recent growth. The first engineer- 

 ing school attached to any uni- 

 versity in the United Kingdom was 

 founded at Glasgow. This was 

 quickly followed by similar schools ' 

 at other universities, and a training 

 in the profession can now be ob- 

 tained at any university or technical 

 institute in the kingdom. 



In the domain of mechanical en- 

 gineering the steam engine has 

 been developed and improved until 

 in its modern form its output of 

 energy per pound of fuel is im- 

 mensely greater than that of its 

 predecessors. Other forms of prime 

 mover, steam turbines, gas, oil, or 

 petrol engines, have also been de- 

 veloped, until from the point of 

 view of efficiency little further scopr 

 for improvement seems possible. 

 Thanks to the reduction in weight 

 found possible by scientific atten- 

 tion to design and by the use of 

 high tensile steels and aluminium 

 alloys developed by the metallur- 

 gical engineer, the weight per h.p. 

 of the petrol engine has been cut 

 down to a figure which, only a few 

 years ago, would have been thought 

 fantastic, and the performance of 

 the modern aeroplane has been 

 rendered possible. 



In electrical engineering, the 

 development of high-tension over- 

 head transmission lines, by which 

 electrical energy may be trans- 

 mitted for very long distances 

 comparatively cheaply and effi- 

 ciently under a pressure of several 

 thousand volts, has rendered it 

 possible to harness many large 

 waterfalls and other sources of 

 water-power remote from any 

 industrial centre, and to transmit 

 this energy, developed by the use 

 of hydraulic turbines coupled to 

 electric generators, to be used at 

 the most convenient site. In the 

 U.S.A. and Canada such trans- 

 mission lines, some of them exceed- 

 ing 200 m. in length, have long 

 been in use. 



In view of the success of these 

 systems, of the comparative cheap- 

 ness with which water-power can 

 be developed, and of the rising 

 cost of coal, great interest is being 

 taken in the harnessing of water- 

 power in most countries of the 

 civilized world, and such hydro- 

 electric development promises to 

 provide a most interesting chapter 

 of engineering history. The possi- 

 bility of utilising very large powers 

 in this way has reacted on the 

 mechanical side of hydraulic en- 

 gineering. The size of the turbine 

 units has increased by leaps and 

 bounds, culminating, for the pres- 

 ent, in the units of 100,000 h.p. 

 each, now under consideration for 

 the Queenston-Chippewa project 

 on the Niagara river. 

 Electro-chemical and other Processes 



The possibility of obtaining 

 large blocks of power at the low 

 prices obtaining in many hydro- 

 electric developments has given a 

 great stimulus to electro-chemical 

 and electro -metallurgical processes. 

 Many processes, partly chemical and 



Eartly engineering, e.g. the manu- 

 icture of aluminium and the pro- 

 duction of electrolytic copper, are 

 only commercially possible where 

 electrical energy at a very cheap 

 rate is available. On the European 

 continent much electrical energy 

 derived from water-power is also 

 being used for the production of 

 artificial fertilisers from the nitro- 

 gen of the air. 



In view of the rapid depletion of 

 xne world's natural nitrate deposits, 

 and of the diminution in fertility 

 of most of the great wheat and 

 cotton growing areas, the produc- 

 tion of such artificial fertilisers 

 must become a question of world- 

 wide importance. Among other 

 important developments in elec- 

 trical engineering may be men- 

 tioned electric lighting by the arc 

 and incandescent lamp, electric 

 traction as applied to tramways 

 and, more recently, to suburban 



and main railway lines, and wire- 

 less telegraphy and telephony. 



The developments in civil 

 engineering have been probably 

 less marked than in any other 

 branch. Methods of construction 

 have been in general improved 

 and rendered more efficient by 

 the extended use of labour-saving 

 machinery ; the design of masonry 

 structures and of steel bridges has 

 been put on to a more satis- 

 factory footing, and the necessity 

 for road surfaces capable of with- 

 standing the wear and tear of high- 

 speed motor traffic has led to 

 advances in the art of road 

 construction. The introduction of 

 ferro -concrete, with its combina- 

 tion of steel bars embedded in 

 concrete to increase its tensile 

 strength, has given rise to a dis- 

 tinctive type of construction which 

 for such structures as bridges, 

 retaining walls, and large buildings 

 often offers many advantages in 

 the way of cheapness of construc- 

 tion and maintenance over the older 

 type of masonry or steel structure. 



Training of the Engineer 

 This brief review indicates to 

 what an extent the material pros- 

 perity of mankind depends on the 

 work of the engineer. Its means of 

 communication, transport, and 

 locomotion, whether by land, water, 

 or air ; its energy supplies ; its 

 water supplies and drainage, are 

 dependent on his activities. In- 

 deed, civilization in the modern 

 sense of the word and engineering 

 may be said to be synonymous. 

 While the enormous range of the 

 subject renders it imperative for 

 the engineer to specialise in some 

 one branch of his profession, the 

 training of the young engineer 

 should be on as broad lines as 

 possible, and the wider his grasp of 

 the outlines of all its branches, the 

 better are his prospects of ultimate 

 success. The professional training 

 should include a three years' 

 course in the engineering school of 

 some university or technical insti- 

 tute. The first two years of this 

 course are common to all branches 

 of engineering, and usually include 

 the study of chemistry, physics, 

 and mathematics, and the elemen- 

 tary study of civil and mechanical 

 engineering construction, strength 

 of materials, heat engines, hydrau- 

 lics, mechanics, along with design 

 work in the drawing-office. 



The third year is usually devoted 

 to a more advanced treatment of 

 the subjects relating to some 

 special branch of engineering, and 

 this theoretical training should be 

 followed by a course of practical 

 work in the appropriate workshops 

 or engineering office. It is in 

 some respects an advantage for the 



