ENGR110 THE RENAISSANCE

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ENGR110THE RENAISSANCE
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LATER MIDDLE AGESTHE RENAISSANCE

• The Italian Renaissance involved a rediscovery
  of the Greek approach to Science -- influenced by
  Islamic (Arab) scientists
• Laid the important foundations for engineering
  analysis forces, statics, bending, strength of
  materials, etc

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The Renaissance

• French for rebirth
• Renewal of scholarship
• Flowering of art, literature, architecture
• Began in Florence about 1300
• Spread across Europe over the next 300 years

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Impact of the Renaissance

• Driving force in ending feudal government system
• Rise of national governments
• Reduced influence of the Church
• Protestant reformation of Martin Luther weakened
  power of the Catholic Church

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A new age of adventureand curiosity

• Voyages of exploration
• Increased trade and sharing of ideas
• Interest in mankind
• Humanism
• The importance of the individual
• Change from Latin to the vernacular (local
  languages) in literature

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Spread of the Renaissance

• To France from late 1400s
• England from 1485 after the Wars of the Roses
• Rome becomes Italys cultural centre from the
  1500s
• Reformation in Germany 1517

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Some noted figures

• Giotto (1267-1337) Painter, sculptor, architect
  (bell tower of Florence Cathedral 90 m high)
• Brunelleschi (1377-1446) studied Roman ruins to
  learn principles. Dome for Florence Cathedral.
• Michaelangelo (1475-1564) leading artist
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) the universal
  man -- mitreing canal lock gate (and many other
  unrealized inventions)

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The Italian Renaissance da Vinci (right) showed
that an arch would not break if the chord of the
outer arch does not touch the inner arch
(Source A history of engineering and technology,
p.121)
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ITALIAN RENAISSANCE C14TH1527

• Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) -- wrote the
  first printed book on architecture in 1485
  describes the concept of a canal lock
• Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) -- strength of
  materials, dynamics, etc.
• Rome sacked (yet again) in 1527 by the Northern
  Condottière (directed by Charles of Spain) the
  impetus of The Rennaissance faded in Italy -- but
  was passed to other European countries.

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Leaning Tower of Pisa (leans 5 of height)
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THE RE-AWAKENING OF SCIENCE 1527-1750

• Simon Stevin (1548-1620) -- statics (force
  triangle)
• Evangalista Torricelli (1608-1647) --
  hydrodynamics
• Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) -- Pascals law
• Pierre Fermat (1601-1665) -- analytic geometry
• René Descartes (1596-1650) -- co-ordinate systems
• Robert Boyle (1627-1691) -- Boyles law
• Robert Hooke (1635-1703) -- Hookes law
• Christian Huygens (1629-1695) -- pendulums,
  motion
• Isaac Newton (1642 -1727) -- nearly everything
• All PUBLISHED their works in their lifetimes

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BOOKS AND THE RE-AWAKENING OF SCIENCE

• Printing and publishing broke down the secrecy
  and mystery of many arts
• Mass-produced books from the printing press
  enabled this information to be available
  throughout Europe in a way never before possible
• This allowed scientists to swiftly build upon and
  progress further the works of others.
• These scientific advances (effectively
  engineering science) had a major impact because
  they allowed engineers to design in advance by
  calculation from theory.

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Key points

• The Renaissance led to a change in political and
  religious systems
• The dominance of the Church declined and the
  individual became more important
• The foundations for Engineering Science were laid
• Discoveries were published and disseminated widely