Examples of Great Engineering Societies

1
Examples of Great Engineering Societies

• Mesopotamia
• Chinese Dynasties
• Egypt
• Mayans
• European Renaissance
• United States

2
Mesopotamia from about 3000 - 2300
B.C.Beginnings of western civilization

• Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning 'between the
  rivers'. The rivers are the Tigris and Euphrate
  which flow through modern Iraq.
• Early civilizations first developed in
  Mesopotamia over six thousand years ago. Some of
  the first western cities were established, a
  writing system was developed, empires were
  created and monumental buildings were
  constructed.

3
Architecture and Irrigation

• The innovation of irrigation agriculture made
  possible human settlement and population
  expansion in otherwise inhospitable areas.
  Mesopotamia exemplifies this emergent phenomena
  and provides one of the earliest case studies of
  a circumscribed marginal ecology being
  transformed into a breadbasket supporting large
  population centers.
• Public architecture evidence community
  organization

4
Elaborate Water Works

• Canals and irrigation ditches were built for
  redirecting the water to the fields. Regulators
  were then used to raise and lower the water
  levels in the canals so the water could be used
  by farmers.

5
Hanging Gardens of Babylon

• The ancient Hanging Gardens of Babylon (604-562
  BC) is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient
  World.
• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were a series of
  terraces filled with plants. Excavations have
  found an elaborate tunnel and pulley system that
  apparently brought water from the ground level to
  the top terrace.

6
Chinese Dynasties

• Eighteen Dynasties from 2000 B.C to 1911 A.D
• A Dynasty is a time period that is ruled by a
  specific family.

7
Chinese Engineering Achievements

• Building of the Great Wall 4500 miles long
  Construction began in the 7th century BC
• In order to facilitate defense of the country,
  the First Emperor went on a building spree,
  conscripting over 1.5 million laborers for
  numerous canals, roads, and palaces.

8
Other Chinese Achievements

• Decimal Place System 1400 B.C.
• Lacquer, the first plastic -13th century BC
• Iron Plow - 475-221 BC
• Kites used in 1232 A.D. flew messages over Mongol
  lines
• Invention of the Magnetic Compass
• Wheel Barrow
• Suspension Bridge
• Block Printing

9
Egypt Arose about 5,000 years ago in the Nile
River Valley in northeastern Africa. It thrived
for over 2,000 years

• Engineers surveyed land to construct the bases of
  pyramid
• Invented Cement
• Elaborate water works for irrigation.

Giza Pyramid today outside of Cairo, Egypt. One
of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
10
Egypt

• Irrigation allowed the waters of the Nile River
  to be directed further inland. This meant that
  more as well as better crops could be grown

11
Egypt
A great Egyptian achievement was the construction
of huge barges that carried enormous stone
pillars called obelisks from quarries up the Nile
River. The biggest barges measured more than 200
feet long and carried 680 metric tons of cargo.
12
Egypt
Papyrus and A written language
Clock
Heron develops the Steam engine in 100 A.D.
First invention That converts steam into Rotary
motion.
13
Egypt

• Archimedes - (287-212 BC) was a prolific ancient
  Greek mathematician.

Screw conveyors are one of the oldest and
simplest methods for moving bulk materials and
consist primarily of a conveyor screw rotating in
a stationary trough.
Levers "Give me a place to stand and with a
lever I will move the whole world."
14
Mayans 2600 B.C. to A.D. 900

• The pyramids of Teotihuacan MX rise as high as
  twenty-story buildings
• All of the buildings are aligned with the stars
  and the solar system from precise survey points
  in the nearby mountain range, using an advanced
  understanding of mathematics, geometry and
  astronomy.

15
Mayan Astronomical Measurements

• The Mayans discovered that in a lunar month there
  were 29.53019 days. With the calculations of
  todays technology, we have found the lunar month
  to be 29.53020 days
• With such crude instruments as sticks the Maya
  were able to calculate the length of the year to
  be 365.242 days (the modern value is 365.242198
  days).

The Caracol building in Chichén Itza is thought
by many to be a Mayan observatory.
16
European Renaissance

• Parachutes, Submarines,
• Underwater Rebreathing Devices,
• Self Floatation/Ocean Rescue Devices
• Swimming Fins
• Water Turbines
• Steam Calorimeters
• Water-well Drill
• Swing Bridges
• Canals
• Leveling/Surveying Instruments
• Cranes
• Pulley Systems
• Street-lighting Systems
• Convection Roasting Spit
• Mechanical Saw
• Treadle-operated Lathe
• Compasses
• Contact Lenses

Leonardo Da Vinci 1452 to 1519
17
European Renaissance

• Nicolaus Copernicus - 1473 to 1543
• Polish Scientist
• Developed the Heliocentric Theory of the solar
  system. Meaning the sun was at the center and
  not the earth.

18
European Renaissance
Telescope Cannons Thermometer Microscope Improved
Pendulum Clock Cathedrals
Galileo Galilei 1564 to 1642
Flying Buttresses Notre Dame, Paris
St Peters Dome, Rome Brunelleschis Cupola,
Florence
19
The 20th Century

• Agricultural MechanizationAir Conditioning
  and RefrigerationAirplaneAutomobileComputersEl
  ectrificationElectronicsHealth
  TechnologiesHigh Performance MaterialsHighwaysH
  ousehold AppliancesImagingInternetLaser and
  Fiber OpticsNuclear TechnologiesPetroleum and
  Petrochemical TechnologiesRadio and
  TelevisionSpacecraftTelephonesWater Supply and
  Distribution