ENGINEERING PROBLEM SOLVING: A CLASSICAL PERSPECTIVE pdf

[...]... aeronautical engineering is most like mechanical engineering • Naval architecture is most like civil engineering • Petroleum engineering corresponds to materials and chemical engineering What Engineers Do 5 CHEMICAL CIVIL MECHANICAL decreasing MATERIALS increasing QUALITATIVE ELECTRICAL QUANTITATIVE Figure 1.3 Engineering disciplines Despite the fact there are now a large number of engineering areas... finds that all their explanations are not true and warns against false ideas that are widely accepted (proverbial concepts) Galileo’s main objective is to explain the resistance to fracture that materials exhibit He begins by discussing the role that geometrical size plays relative to strength, and concludes that two geometrically similar machines made from identical material will not be proportionately... observation that establishment of a vacuum, as when two smooth flat plates separate, cannot be responsible for the resistance to fracture since generation of the vacuum follows separation by fracture (cause must precede effect) It is suggested that, at this point, passages 49–67 of the Galileo text be read to gain an appreciation for the way in which a problem is tackled by Galileo and the many interesting... illustrated by the fact that the first Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering was awarded at MIT in 1930 and by 1941 only 14 such degrees had been awarded there Today, this same department annually produces Ph.D.s by the dozens The growth of graduate training in engineering has occurred very rapidly About half of the engineers presently continue their formal studies for an advanced degree after graduation 6 Engineering. .. regard to an increasing emphasis on a quantitative approach Those branches of engineering near the top of the list are most like chemistry while those subjects near the bottom of the list are most like physics Mechanical engineering is almost as quantitative a discipline as electrical engineering The location of the other fields of engineering may be readily placed in Fig 1.3 For example: • Nuclear and... provides an explanation for other related ones, or even suggests new inventions • To illustrate the value of simulation in the solution of engineering problems • That in the approximate solution of engineering problems, relative values rather than absolute numerical values are often sufficient, more easily obtained, and in some cases, preferred 8 Engineering Problem Solving: A Classical Perspective. .. importance of approximation in the solution of real engineering problems and of ignoring second and higher order effects, but at the same time being sure that the effects ignored are small compared with those retained It is important that an engineer understand that the solution of new problems rarely involves a direct path of reasoning as textbook explanations usually do Instead, several false starts are... before a solution satisfying all requirements and constraints is obtained Galileo’s book is written as a rambling dialog between a professor (Salviati representing Galileo) and two students (Sagredo, an A student, and Simplicio, a C student) over a four-day period To say that the book rambles is an understatement, and a first reading is apt to be confusing when following the order in which the material... by Galileo Galilei is available as a free e-book at the web site: www.williamandrew.com.) Chapter 1 explains what engineers do and how those activities differ from those of physicists, chemists, and mathematicians Chapters 2–7 of this book are a guided re-examination of the major topics of the main branches of engineering and how those ideas are involved in the design of manufactured products and the... areas of specialization, the philosophy of approach is the same for all This involves a strong scientific base and the practice of breaking a large complex problem into smaller manageable units that are represented by an approximate model of the real situation One of the most important aspects of engineering is this approach to the solution of problems This is more or less the same for all branches Only . McGuire ULTRA-FINE PARTICLES: edited by Chikara Hayashi, R. Ueda and A. Tasaki WIDE BANDGAP SEMICONDUCTORS: edited by Stephen J. Pearton Ceramic and Other Materials—Processing and Technology ADVANCED CERAMIC. publication should satisfy himself as to such suitability, and that he can meet all applicable safety and health standards. Dedicated to my wife, Mary Jane Table of Contents xiii xiii 1 What Engineers. Cuomo, Stephen M. Rossnagel, and Harold R. Kaufman HANDBOOK OF MAGNETO-OPTICAL DATA RECORDING: edited by Terry McDaniel and Randall H. Victora HANDBOOK OF MULTILEVEL METALLIZATION FOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS: