Unit One

Engineering

Engineering is the application of science to the needs of humanity.

This is accomplished through knowledge, Mathematics, and practical

experience applied to the design of useful objects or processes.

Professional practitioners of engineering are called engineers.

Etymology:
It is a myth that engineer originated to describe those who built

engines. In fact, the words engine and engineer (as well as ingenious)

developed in parallel from the Latin root ingenious, meaning "Skilled".

An engineer is thus a clever, practical problem solver. The spelling of

engineer was later influenced by back-formation from engine. The term

later evolved to include all fields where the skills of application of the

scientific method are used. In some other languages, such as Arabic, the

word for "engineering" also means "geometry".

Compared to other professions:

You see things; and you say "Why?" But I dream things that never
were; and I say "why not?" George Bernard Shaw

Engineering is concerned with the implementation of a solution to

a practical problem. A scientist may ask "why?" and proceed to research

the answer to the question. By contrast, engineers want to know how to

solve a problem and how to implement that solution.

 In other words, scientists investigate phenomena, whereas

engineers create solutions to problems or improve upon existing

solutions. However, in the course of their work, scientists may have to

complete engineering tasks (such as: designing experimental apparatus,

or building prototypes), while engineers may occasionally have to do

scientific research.

A scientist builds in order to learn. An engineer learns in order to

build. As an illustrative example, on November 21, 1877, Thomas A.

Edison developed the phonograph a remarkable feat of engineering.

Then, he directed his assistant (the technologist) to improve the device

further by removing harmonics from the sound output.

The task of engineering:

The engineer must identify and understand the relevant constraints

in order to produce a successful result. Constraints include available

resources, physical or technical limitations, flexibility for future

modifications and additions, and other factors such as requirements for

cost, manufacturability, and serviceability. By understanding the

constraints, engineers deduce specifications for the limits within which an

object or system may be produced and operated. Engineering is therefore

influenced by many considerations.

Problem solving:
 Engineers use their knowledge of science and mathematics, and

appropriate experience, to find suitable solutions to a problem. Creating

an appropriate mathematical model of a problem allows them to analyze

it (perhaps, but exceptionally, definitively), and to test potential solutions.

If multiple, reasonable solutions exist; engineers evaluate the different

design choices on their merits and choose the solution that best meets the

requirements.

Engineers typically attempt to predict how well their designs will

perform to their specifications prior to full- scale production. They use,

among other things: prototypes, scale models, simulations, destructive

tests, nondestructive testing, and stress tests. Testing ensures,

nondestructive testing and stress tests. Testing ensures that products will

perform as expected. Engineers as professionals take seriously their

responsibility to produce designs that will perform as expected and will

not cause unintended harm to the public at large. Engineers typically

include a factor of safety in their designs to reduce the risk of unexpected

failure.

Use of computers
Computers and design software, play an increasingly important
role. Using computer aided design (CAD) software; engineers are able to

capture more information about their designs. The computer can

automatically translate some models to instructions suitable for automatic

machinery (e.g., CNC) to fabricate (part of) a design. The computer also
allows increased reuse of previous developed designs by presenting an

engineer with a library of predefined parts ready to be used in designs.

Additionally engineers make use of a variety of circuit schematics

software to aid in the creation of circuit designs that perform an electronic

task when used a printed circuit board (PCB) of a computer chip.

Connections to other disciplines

Science attempts to explain newly observed and unexplained

phenomena, often creating mathematical models of observed phenomena.

Technology and engineering are attempts at practical application of

knowledge (often from science). Scientists work on science; engineers

work on technology. However, there is often an overlap between science

and engineering. It is not uncommon for scientists to become involved. in

the process of developing technology engineers sometimes find

themselves exploring new phenomena, thus becoming, for the moment,

scientists.

There are significant parallels between the practice of medicine and

engineering. Both professions are well known for their pragmatism- the

solution to real world problems often requires moving forward before

phenomena are completely understood in a more rigorous scientific sense.

There are also close connections between the workings of

engineers and artists; they are direct in some fields, for example,

architecture, landscape and industrial design, and indirect in others.

Engineers in Culture
 Historically, engineering has been seen somewhat dry,

uninteresting field in popular cultures and has also been thought to be the

domain of nerds. Little of romance that attaches to hacker cultures, for

example, the cartoon character Dilbert is an engineer.

In science-fiction, also thought to be the domain of nerds,

engineers are often portrayed as highly knowledgeable and respectable

individuals who understand the overwhelming future technologies often

portrayed in the genre. The Star Trek characters Montgomery Scott and

Geordi LaForge are famous examples.

I. Terminology
Science is both a process of gaining knowledge, and the organized body

of knowledge gained by this process. The scientific process is the

systematic acquisition of new knowledge about a system. This systematic

acquisition is generally the scientific method, and the system is generally

nature. Science is also the scientific knowledge that has been

systematically acquired by this scientific process.

Knowledge is the awareness and understanding of facts, truths or

information gained in the form of experience or learning. Knowledge is

an appreciation of the possession of interconnected details which, in

isolation, are of lesser value.

Thomas Alva Edison (Feb. 11, 1847 – Oct. 18, 1931) was a United

States inventor and businessman who developed many important devices.

"The Wizard of Menlo Park" was one of the first inventors apply the

principles of mass production to the process of invention. Edison was

considered one of the most prolific inventors of his time, holding a record

1.093 patents in his name Most of these inventions were not completely

original but improvements of earlier patents, and were actually made by

his numerous employees.

A mathematical model is the use of mathematical language to describe

the behavior of a system, be it biological, economic, electrical,

mechanical, thermodynamic, or one of many other examples.

A design choice, in civil engineering, is a possible solution to a problem.

Given a situation and a set of criteria (design specifications), a concept of

how to meet those requirements is drafted. Each of these preliminary

possibilities is in reality a design choice.

Prototypes or prototypical instances combine the most representative

attributes of a category. They are the best examples among the members

of a category and serve as benchmarks against which the surrounding

"poorer" instances are categorized.

A scale model is a representation or copy of an object that is larger or

smaller than the actual size of the object being represented, Very often

the scale model is smaller than the original used as a guide to making the

object in full size.

A simulation is an imitation of some real device or state of affairs

Simulation attempts to represent certain features of the behavior of a

physical or abstract system by the behavior of another system. Simulation

attempts to represent certain features of the behavior of a physical or

abstract system by the behavior of another system.

In destructive testing, tests are carried out to the specimen's failure,

these tests are generally much easier to carryout, yield more information,

and are easier to interpret then nondestructive testing.

In nondestructive testing, tests and carried cut in such a way as to not

disturb the specimen's structural or surface integrity. This type of testing I

valuable because the specimen is not destroyed, however, these

techniques generally require greater operator skill and the results are not

always straightforward to interpret. In general, destructive testing yields

much more valuable information on the condition of the specimen.

Stress testing is a form of testing which is used to determine the stability

of a given system or entity. It often involves testing something beyond its

normal operational capacity in order to observe the results. For example,

a web server may be stress tested using scripts, bots and various denial of

service tools. Also see testing.

Factor of safety (FOS), also known as Safety Factor, is a multiplier

applied to the calculated maximum load (Force, torque, bending moment

or a combination) to which a component will be subjected. Safety factors

are needed to account for imperfections in materials, flaws in assembly,

material degradation, and uncertainty in load estimates. An alternative

way to use the safety is to derate the strength of the material to get a

"design" strength.

A schematic is a diagram, drawing or sketch that details the elements of a

system, such as the elements of an electrical or electronic circuit or the

elements of a logic diagram for a computer or communications system.

A printed circuit board or PCB interconnects electronic components

without discrete wires. Alternative names are printed wiring board or

PWB.

An engine is something that produces some effect from a given input.

The origin of engineering was the working of engines. There is an

overlap in English between two meanings of the word "engineer": those

who operate engines' and those who design and construct new items'.

The scientific method is a sequence or collection of processes that are

considered characteristic of scientific investigation and the acquisition of

new scientific of scientific investigation and the acquisition of new

scientific knowledge based upon physical evidence.

The phrase mechanic arts is an obsolete and archaic term. In the 19th

century, it referred to the fields now as engineering. It was apparently an

attempt to distinguish the engineering fields, in the sense that they are

creative and artistic endeavors (but ones that strongly rely on science),

from other less scientific fields like the performing arts and the fine arts.

Technology has more than one definition. One is the development and,

application of tools, materials and processes that help to solve human

problems. As a human activity, technology predates both science and

engineering. The term technology thus often characterises inventions and

gadgets using recently- discovered scientific principles and processes.

However, even very old inventions such as the wheel exemplify

technology.

Medicine is a branch of health science concerned with restoring and

maintaining health and wellness. Broadly, it is the practical science of

preventing and curing diseases. However, medicine often refers more

specifically to matters dealt with physicians and surgeons.

Industrial Design is an applied art whereby the aesthetics and usability

of products may be improved. Design aspects specified by the industrial

designer may include the overall form of the object, the location of details

with respect to one another, colors, textures, sounds, and ergonomics.

Often, through the application of industrial design, a product's appeal to

the consumer is greatly improved.

Popular culture, or pop culture is the vernacular (people's) culture that

prevails in a modern society. The content of popular culture is determined

in large part by industries the disseminate cultural material, for example

the film, television, and publishing industries, as well as the news media.

But popular culture cannot be described as just the aggregate product of

those industries; instead it is the result of a continuing interaction

between those industries and the people of the society who consume their

products.

Nerd was adopted in the mid- 1960s to describe a stereotypical intelligent

recluse with poor social skills, one who is usually the bun of others' jokes.

The word was first used in Dr. Seuss's book I, Ran the Zoo, published in

1950 where it is simply a name for one of Seuss's many comical

imaginary animals.

Hacker is a term used to describe different types of computer experts. It

is also sometimes extended to mean any kind of expert, especially with

the connotation of having particularly detailed knowledge or of cleverly

circumventing limits. The meaning of the tern, when used in a computer

context, has changed somewhat over the decades since it first came into
use, as it has been given additional and clashing meanings by new users

of word.

Dilbert is a satirical comic strip about a micro- managed office

environment, featuring a software engineer of that name. The strip,

created by Scott Adams, has run in newspapers since April 16, 1989,

spawning several books, an animated television series, a computer game,

and numerous tie-in products ranging from stuffed dolls to ice cream.

Science fiction is a form of fiction which deals principally with the

impact of imagined science and/ or technology upon society or

individuals.

II. Comprehension Questions:

1. What is engineering?

2. How did the term engineer originate?

3. What are characteristics of an engineer?

4. Compare the work of the engineer to the work of Scientist?

5. What is the task of the engineer?

6. Why must the engineer identify and understand the relevant

constraints?

7. By understanding the constraints, what do engineers deduce?

8. How can engineers find suitable solutions to problem?

9. What should engineers do if multiple reasonable solutions exist?

10. What do engineers typically attempt to predict?

What do they use to achieve that?

11. Why are computers important to the field of engineering?

12. There is often an overlap between science and engineering.

Explain.
 13. What are the significant parallels between the practice of medicine

and engineering?

14. There are close connections between the workings of engineers and

artists, How?

15. How are engineers often portrayed in science fiction?

III. Define the following terms:

Engine-science-civil engineering-technology-mechanical engineering-

knowledge-design-scientific method-schematic- mechanic arts

IV. Translate the second paragraph of above passage into Arabic.

V. Linguistic Drills:

Verbs:

The Present tense

a. The Present tense of be conjugates thus

I am

He is she is It is

We are You are they are

b. The present tense of have conjugates thus:

I have

He has She has It has

We have You have they have.

c. The present continuous tense is used to talk about actions happening at

the moment of speech

It is formed from the present tense of be + the- ing form of a verb

e. g. The boys are now sitting in the garden.

What are you saying?

Is Ali working today?

d. The present simple is used to express facts, thoughts and feelings and

also in talking about familiar happenings.

e. g. The sun rises in the east (fact).

I wish you success.. (feeling).

Every day we go to school (familiar happening).

Exercise
You are writing a letter to a friend. Write a paragraph about what

you do in your spare time. (Use the present tense).