Historical And Societal Influences

Engineers have been responsible for the built and technological world we have today. Since the Neolithic revolution humans have innovated and most of these innovations fall under the banner of engineering. Below is a chronological list of some key engineering innovations that have enriched humanity.

• Wheel: (approx 4' Millennium BC) revolutionised transport, construction and warfare.

• Bronze: (4th Millennium BC) the first alloy used by humanity. Bronze (copper and tin) was stronger than copper alone.

• Arch: (2nd Millennium BC) first used in Mesopotamia it allowed more advanced construction in buildings and bridges. Used extensively by Roman engineers for many famous architectural structures.

• Iron: (1* Millennium BC) this metal was stronger than Bronze but its higher melting point meant that it was not until around 6' Century BC that the Chinese managed to cast iron.

• Suspension Bridge: (1433) while rope style suspension bridges had existed for years, the modern form of suspension bridge first appeared in Bhutan in 1433. In the 18th century the suspension bridge advanced much further, with the Clifton Suspension bridge of IK Brunel being a good example of wrought iron chain suspension bridge.

• Steam Engine: (1698) while earlier steam developments had occurred Thomas Savery developed the first practical steam powered engine, it was used as a water pump. By 1712 Thomas Newcomen developed the Atmospheric Engine and this laid the foundations for the steam powered Industrial Revolution.

• Cast iron: (1707) "modern" cast irons first appeared when Abraham Darby patented a new method of cast iron manufacture. During the 18' Century cast iron became a dominant material of the Industrial Revolution, offering excellent formability through casting and excellent compressive strength

• Steel: (1856) while steel existed before this Henry Bessemer developed the Bessemer converter that allowed steel to be mass produced, it quickly supplanted wrought iron as the new building material for the engineered world.

• Otto Cycle Engine: (1867) now known as the petrol or spark ignition engine developed by Nikolaus Otto it has been the dominant engine for light road transport since Gottlieb Daimler modified it for the early cars.

• Aluminum smelting: (1886-1888) the commercial smelting of aluminium using the Hall-Héroult process allowed aluminum to be extracted from the plentiful ores and allowed aluminium and its alloys to be industrially used.

• Diesel Engine: (1893) also known as the compression ignition engine, developed by Rudolf Diesel, was the power plant that supplanted the steam engine for heavy transportation. Now around 50% of cars sold in Europe are powered by diesel engines and the proportion is increasing in Australia too.

• AC Electricity: (1886) the work of Nikola Tesla was pivotal in establishing AC electricity over DC electricity for power systems and electricity distribution in domestic and commercial applications. It was significantly better to transmit over distance than DC and it was possible to use transformers to step up or step down the voltage.

• Human Flight: (1903) Orville and Wilbur Wright ushered in human flight and this developed to allow rapid mass transport of people across distances in a fraction of the time of land and water based transport.

• Stainless Steel: (1912) Harry Brearly developed this important alloy while researching alloys for guns. Its corrosion resistant properties allowed the use of ferrous alloys in applications that otherwise would have needed non-ferrous alloys.

• Helicopter: (1920s) during the 1920s the basis for the modern helicopter was developed by a variety of people in different countries. It was not until the late 1930s that practical helicopters entered service with German forces.

• Gas turbine engine: (1935-37) developed simultaneously by Frank Whittle in the UK and Hans von Ohain in Germany it allowed the development of jet aircraft. The first combat jet aircraft appeared at the end of World War 2 and post World War 2 it soon supplanted propellers as the power plant of choice for most combat and large commercial aviation.

• Transistor: (1948) the development of the transistor in the USA was pivotal in allowing the miniaturisation of electronics and is the key ingredient to the advanced microelectronics that forms the basis for modern computing.

• Pacemaker: (1958) the first fully implanted pacemaker was surgically implanted in Sweden, the patient received a total of 26 devices over the course of his life.