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History of mechanical engineering

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mechanical engineering is a discipline centered around the concept of using force multipliers, moving components, and machines. It utilizes knowledge of mathematics, physics, materials sciences, and engineering technologies. It is one of the oldest and broadest of the engineering disciplines.

Dawn of civilization to early Antiquity

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Engineering arose in early civilization as a general discipline for the creation of large scale structures such as irrigation, architecture, and military projects. Advances in food production through irrigation allowed a portion of the population to become specialists in Ancient Babylon.[1]

All six of the classic simple machines were known in the ancient Near East. The wedge and the inclined plane (ramp) were known since prehistoric times.[2] The wheel, along with the wheel and axle mechanism, was invented in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) during the 5th millennium BC.[3] The lever mechanism first appeared around 5,000 years ago in the Near East, where it was used in a simple balance scale,[4] and to move large objects in ancient Egyptian technology.[5] The lever was also used in the shadoof water-lifting device, the first crane machine, which appeared in Mesopotamia circa 3000 BC,[4] and then in ancient Egyptian technology circa 2000 BC.[6] The earliest evidence of pulleys date back to Mesopotamia in the early 2nd millennium BC,[7] and ancient Egypt during the Twelfth Dynasty (1991-1802 BC).[8] The screw, the last of the simple machines to be invented,[9] first appeared in Mesopotamia during the Neo-Assyrian period (911-609) BC.[10] The Egyptian pyramids were built using three of the six simple machines, the inclined plane, the wedge, and the lever, to create structures like the Great Pyramid of Giza.[11]

The Assyrians were notable in their use of metallurgy and incorporation of iron weapons. Many of their advancements were in military equipment. They were not the first to develop them, but did make advancements on the wheel and the chariot. They made use of pivot-able axles on their wagons, allowing easy turning. They were also one of the first armies to use the move-able siege tower and battering ram.[1]

The application of mechanical engineering can be seen in the archives of various ancient societies. The pulley appeared in Mesopotamia in 1,500 BC, improving water transportation. German Archaeologist Robert Koldewey found that the Hanging Gardens likely used a mechanical pump powered by these pulleys to transport water to the roof gardens.[12] The Mesopotamians would advance even further by replacing "the substitution of continuous for intermittent motion, and the rotary for back-and-forth motion" by 1,200 BC.[1]

In Ancient Egypt, the screw pump is another example of the use of engineering to boost efficiency of water transportation. Although the Early Egyptians built colossal structures such as the pyramids, they did not develop pulleys for the lifting of heavy stone, and used the wheel very little.[1]

The earliest practical water-powered machines, the water wheel and watermill, first appeared in the Persian Empire, in what are now Iraq and Iran, by the early 4th century BC.[13]

In Ancient Greece, Archimedes (287–212 BC) developed several key theories in the field of mechanical engineering including mechanical advantage, the Law of the Lever, and his name sake, Archimedes’ law. In Ptolematic Egypt, the Museum of Alexandria developed crane pulleys with block and tackles to lift stones. These cranes were powered with human tread wheels and were based on earlier Mesopotamian water-pulley systems.[1] The Greeks would later develop mechanical artillery independently of the Chinese. The first of these would fire darts, but advancements allowed for stone to be tossed at enemy fortifications or formations.[1]

Late Antiquity to early Middle Ages

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In Roman Egypt, Heron of Alexandria (c. 10–70 AD) created the first steam-powered device, the Aeolipile.[14] The first of its kind, it did not have the capability to move or power anything but its own rotation.

In China, Zhang Heng (78–139 AD) improved a water clock and invented a seismometer. Ma Jun (200–265 AD) invented a chariot with differential gears.

Leo the Philosopher is noted to have worked on a signal system using clocks in the Byzantine Empire in 850, connecting Constantinople with the Cicilian Frontier and was a continuation of the complex city clocks in Eastern Rome. These grand machines diffused into the Arabian Empire under Harun al-Rashid.[15]

Another grand mechanical device was the Organ, which was reintroduced in 757 when Constantine V gifted one to Pepin the short.[15]

With the exception of a few machines, engineering and science stagnated in the West due to the collapse of the Roman Empire during late antiquity.

Middle Ages

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During the Islamic Golden Age (7th to 15th century), Muslim inventors made remarkable contributions in the field of mechanical technology. Al-Jazari, who was one of them, wrote his famous Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices in 1206 and presented many mechanical designs.[16] Al-Jazari is also the first known person to create devices such as the crankshaft and camshaft, which now form the basics of many mechanisms.[17]

The earliest practical wind-powered machines, the windmill and wind pump, first appeared in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age, in what are now Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, by the 9th century AD.[18][19][20][21] The earliest practical steam-powered machine was a steam jack driven by a steam turbine, described in 1551 by Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf in Ottoman Egypt.[22][23]

The automatic flute player, which was invented in the 9th century by the Banū Mūsā brothers in Baghdad, is the first known example of a programmable machine. The work of the Banu Musa was influenced by their Hellenistic forebears, but it also makes significant improvements over Greek creation.[24] The pinned-barrel mechanism, which allowed for programmable variations in the rhythm and melody of the music, was the key contribution given by the Banu Musa.[25] In 1206, the Muslim inventor Al-Jazari (in the Artuqid Sultnate) described a drum machine which may have been an example of a programmable automaton.[26]

The cotton gin was invented in India by the 6th century AD,[27] and the spinning wheel was invented in the Islamic world by the early 11th century,[28] both of which were fundamental to the growth of the cotton industry. The spinning wheel was also a precursor to the spinning jenny, which was a key development during the early Industrial Revolution in the 18th century.[29] The crankshaft and camshaft were invented by Al-Jazari in Northern Mesopotamia circa 1206,[30][31][32] and they later became central to modern machinery such as the steam engine, internal combustion engine and automatic controls.[33]

The medieval Chinese horologist and engineer Su Song (1020–1101 AD) incorporated an escapement mechanism into his astronomical clock tower two centuries before escapement devices were found in medieval European clocks and also invented the world's first known endless power-transmitting chain drive.[34]

The Middle Ages saw the wide spread adoption of machines to aid in labor. The many rivers of England and northern Europe allowed the power of moving water to be utilized. The water-mill became instrumental in the production of many goods such as food, fabric, leathers, and papers. These machines used were some of the first to use cogs and gears, which greatly increased the mills productivity. The camshaft allowed rotational force to be converted into directional force. Less significantly, tides of bodies of water were also harnessed.[35]

Wind-power later became the new source of energy in Europe, supplementing the water mill. This advancement moved out of Europe into the Middle East during the Crusades.[35]

Metallurgy advanced by a large degree during the Middle Ages, with higher quality iron allowing for more sturdy constructions and designs. Mills and mechanical power provided a consistent supply of trip-hammer strikes and air from the bellows.[35]

Da Vinci's flying machine concepts

European Renaissance

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During the 17th century, important breakthroughs in the foundations of mechanical engineering occurred in England. Sir Isaac Newton formulated Newton's Laws of Motion and developed Calculus, the mathematical basis of physics. Newton was reluctant to publish his works for years, but he was finally persuaded to do so by his colleagues, such as Sir Edmond Halley, much to the benefit of all mankind. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz is also credited with creating Calculus during this time period.

Leonardo Da Vinci was a notable engineer, designing and studying many mechanical systems that were focused around transportation and warfare[36] His designs would later be compared to early aircraft design.[37]

Although wind power provided a source of energy away from riverside estate and saw massive improvements in its harnessing, it could not replace the consistent and strong power of the watermill. Water would remain the primary source of power of pre-industrial urban industry through the Renaissance.[38]

Industrial Revolution

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See also: History of the steam engine

At the end of the Renaissance, scientists and engineers were beginning to experiment with steam power. Most of the early apparatuses faced problems of low horsepower, inefficiency, or danger. The need arose for an effective and economical power source because of the flooding of deep-mines in England, which could not be pumped out using alternative methods. The first working design was Thomas Savory's 1698 patent. He continuously worked on improving and marketing the invention across England. At the same time, others were working on improvements to Savory's design, which did not transfer heat effectively.[39]

Thomas Newcomen would take all the advancements of the engineers and develop the Newcomen Atmospheric Engine. This new design would greatly reduce heat loss, move water directly from the engine, and allow variety of proportions to be built in.[39]

The Industrial Revolution brought steam powered factories utilizing mechanical engineering concepts. These advances allowed an incredible increase in production scale, numbers, and efficiency.

During the 19th century, material sciences advances had begun to allow implementation of steam engines into Steam Locomotives and Steam-Powered Ships, quickly increasing the speed at which people and goods could move across the world. The reason for these advances were the machine tools were developed in England, Germany, and Scotland. These allowed mechanical engineering to develop as a separate field within engineering. They brought with them manufacturing machines and the engines to power them.[40]

At the near end of the Industrial Revolution, internal combustion engine technology brought with it the piston airplane and automobile. Aerospace Engineering would develop in the early 20th century as a offshoot of mechanical engineering, eventually incorporating rocketry.

Coal was replaced by oil based derivatives for many applications.

Modern Age

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With the advents of computers in the 20th century, more precise design and manufacturing methods were available to engineers. Automated and Computerized manufacturing allowed many new fields to emerge from Mechanical Engineering such as Industrial Engineering. Although a majority of automobiles remain to be gas powered, electric vehicles have risen as a feasible alternative.[41]

Because of the increased complexity of engineering projects, many disciplines of engineer collaborate and specialize in sub fields.[42] One of these collaborations is the field of robotics, in which electrical engineers, computer engineers, and mechanical engineers can specialize in and work together.

Professional associations

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The first British professional society of mechanical engineers was formed in 1847 Institution of Mechanical Engineers, thirty years after the civil engineers formed the first such professional society Institution of Civil Engineers.[43]

In the United States, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) was formed in 1880, becoming the third such professional engineering society, after the American Society of Civil Engineers (1852) and the American Institute of Mining Engineers (1871).[44]

Education

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The first schools in the United States to offer a mechanical engineering education were the United States Military Academy in 1817, an institution now known as Norwich University in 1819, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1825. Education in mechanical engineering has historically been based on a strong foundation in mathematics and science.[45]

In the 20th century, many governments began regulating both the title of engineer and the practice of engineering, requiring a degree from an accredited university and to past a qualifying test.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f De Camp, Lyon Sprague (1963). The Ancient Engineers. Doubleday (publisher). pp. 20, 39, 59, 63–64, 104–106, 133–134, 149–150. ISBN 9780880294560.
  2. ^ Moorey, Peter Roger Stuart (1999). Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: The Archaeological Evidence. Eisenbrauns. ISBN 9781575060422.
  3. ^ D.T. Potts (2012). A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. p. 285.
  4. ^ a b Paipetis, S. A.; Ceccarelli, Marco (2010). The Genius of Archimedes -- 23 Centuries of Influence on Mathematics, Science and Engineering: Proceedings of an International Conference held at Syracuse, Italy, June 8-10, 2010. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 416. ISBN 9789048190911.
  5. ^ Clarke, Somers; Engelbach, Reginald (1990). Ancient Egyptian Construction and Architecture. Courier Corporation. pp. 86–90. ISBN 9780486264851.
  6. ^ Faiella, Graham (2006). The Technology of Mesopotamia. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 27. ISBN 9781404205604.
  7. ^ Moorey, Peter Roger Stuart (1999). Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: The Archaeological Evidence. Eisenbrauns. p. 4. ISBN 9781575060422.
  8. ^ Arnold, Dieter (1991). Building in Egypt: Pharaonic Stone Masonry. Oxford University Press. p. 71. ISBN 9780195113747.
  9. ^ Woods, Michael; Mary B. Woods (2000). Ancient Machines: From Wedges to Waterwheels. USA: Twenty-First Century Books. p. 58. ISBN 0-8225-2994-7.
  10. ^ Moorey, Peter Roger Stuart (1999). Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: The Archaeological Evidence. Eisenbrauns. p. 4. ISBN 9781575060422.
  11. ^ Wood, Michael (2000). Ancient Machines: From Grunts to Graffiti. Minneapolis, MN: Runestone Press. pp. 35, 36. ISBN 0-8225-2996-3.
  12. ^ Koldewey, Robert (1914). The excavations at Babylon. London: Macmillan and Co. p. 91. ISBN 9781298040022.
  13. ^ Selin, Helaine (2013). Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Westen Cultures. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 282. ISBN 9789401714167.
  14. ^ "Heron of Alexandria". Encyclopædia Britannica 2010 - Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Accessed: 9 May 2010.
  15. ^ a b Lavan, Luke; Zanini, Enrico; Sarantis, Alexander (2007). Technology in Trainsition A.D. 300-650. Boston. pp. 373–374. ISBN 9789004165496.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  16. ^ "Medieval robots: How al-Jazari's mechanical marvels have been resurrected in Istanbul". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  17. ^ Al-Jazarí. The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices: Kitáb fí ma'rifat al-hiyal al-handasiyya. Springer, 1973. ISBN 90-277-0329-9.
  18. ^ Ahmad Y Hassan, Donald Routledge Hill (1986). Islamic Technology: An illustrated history, p. 54. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-42239-6.
  19. ^ Lucas, Adam (2006), Wind, Water, Work: Ancient and Medieval Milling Technology, Brill Publishers, p. 65, ISBN 90-04-14649-0
  20. ^ Eldridge, Frank (1980). Wind Machines (2nd ed.). New York: Litton Educational Publishing, Inc. p. 15. ISBN 0-442-26134-9.
  21. ^ Shepherd, William (2011). Electricity Generation Using Wind Power (1 ed.). Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. p. 4. ISBN 978-981-4304-13-9.
  22. ^ Taqi al-Din and the First Steam Turbine, 1551 A.D. Archived 2008-02-18 at the Wayback Machine, web page, accessed on line 23 October 2009; this web page refers to Ahmad Y Hassan (1976), Taqi al-Din and Arabic Mechanical Engineering, pp. 34-5, Institute for the History of Arabic Science, University of Aleppo.
  23. ^ Ahmad Y. Hassan (1976), Taqi al-Din and Arabic Mechanical Engineering, p. 34-35, Institute for the History of Arabic Science, University of Aleppo
  24. ^ Koetsier, Teun (2001-05-01). "On the prehistory of programmable machines: musical automata, looms, calculators". Mechanism and Machine Theory. 36 (5): 589–603. doi:10.1016/S0094-114X(01)00005-2. ISSN 0094-114X.
  25. ^ Kapur, Ajay; Carnegie, Dale; Murphy, Jim; Long, Jason (2017). "Loudspeakers Optional: A history of non-loudspeaker-based electroacoustic music". Organised Sound. 22 (2). Cambridge University Press: 195–205. doi:10.1017/S1355771817000103. ISSN 1355-7718.
  26. ^ Professor Noel Sharkey, A 13th Century Programmable Robot (Archive), University of Sheffield, 2007
  27. ^ Lakwete, Angela (2003). Inventing the Cotton Gin: Machine and Myth in Antebellum America. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 1–6. ISBN 9780801873942.
  28. ^ Pacey, Arnold (1991) [1990]. Technology in World Civilization: A Thousand-Year History (First MIT Press paperback ed.). Cambridge MA: The MIT Press. pp. 23–24.
  29. ^ Žmolek, Michael Andrew (2013). Rethinking the Industrial Revolution: Five Centuries of Transition from Agrarian to Industrial Capitalism in England. BRILL. p. 328. ISBN 9789004251793. The spinning jenny was basically an adaptation of its precursor the spinning wheel
  30. ^ Banu Musa (authors), Donald Routledge Hill (translator) (1979), The book of ingenious devices (Kitāb al-ḥiyal), Springer, pp. 23–4, ISBN 90-277-0833-9 {{citation}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  31. ^ Sally Ganchy, Sarah Gancher (2009), Islam and Science, Medicine, and Technology, The Rosen Publishing Group, p. 41, ISBN 1-4358-5066-1
  32. ^ Georges Ifrah (2001). The Universal History of Computing: From the Abacus to the Quatum Computer, p. 171, Trans. E.F. Harding, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (See [1])
  33. ^ Hill, Donald (1998). Studies in Medieval Islamic Technology: From Philo to Al-Jazarī, from Alexandria to Diyār Bakr. Ashgate. pp. 231–232. ISBN 978-0-86078-606-1.
  34. ^ Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
  35. ^ a b c Gimpel, Jean (1976). The Medieval Machine : The Industrial Revolution of the Middle Ages. pp. 1–24, 66–67. ISBN 9780030146367.
  36. ^ "Leonardo Da Vinci". www.asme.org. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  37. ^ "Leonardo da Vinci and Flight". National Air and Space Museum. 2013-08-22. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  38. ^ Sawday, Jonathan (2007). Engines Of The Imagination: Renaissance Culture And The Rise Of The Machine. pp. 34–35. ISBN 9780203696156.
  39. ^ a b Thurston (1939). A history of the growth of the steam engine. New York. pp. 35–36.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  40. ^ Engineering – Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed 6 May 2008
  41. ^ DiChristopher, Tom (2018-05-30). "Electric vehicles will grow from 3 million to 125 million by 2030, International Energy Agency forecasts". CNBC. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  42. ^ "Mechanical Engineering | ZJU-UIUC Institute". zjui.intl.zju.edu.cn. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  43. ^ R.A. Buchanan. The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Feb. 1985), pp. 42–60.
  44. ^ ASME history Archived 23 February 2011 at Wikiwix, accessed 6 May 2008.
  45. ^ The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001, engineering, accessed 6 May 2008
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