Engineering Achievments- June Sri

I consider electricity the most important of engineering achievements of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Elecricity changed our very way of life. It dates back to the 19^th century when Edison first invented electric light bulb. Before then, most people used gas as their fuel. Gas fuel is very dangerous and is difficult to replace once it is used up. Naturally, elecricity was found to be the answer to what could be used to replace natural fuels like oil.

There is much debate about the oil crisis right now. There is an increasing demand for oil due to the boost in the auto industry, but there is not enough gas. This need for oil is causing prices at the gas stations to rise which, in effect, is causing the prices for food and other goods to rise as well. Cars that use electricity instead of fuel can resolve these problems. Electricity is also used to make electronic devices such as computers, cell phones, and an artificial body organelle such as an artificial heart.

I also consider the airplane an important engineering achievement of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. After the Wright brothers’ famous trials at Kitty Hawk, people changed their beliefs about flight. In modern times, the airplane is a very important form of transportation. Airplanes are useful in shortening the time to travel long distances. Airplanes are also used in war and for observation, collecting valuable information.

Engineering Achievements – Kolyo

The greatest engineering achievement I believe was the airplane. I chose the airplane because there is so many benefits that the airplane brought to mankind. Even thou the airplane was created a little later that some other important inventions there was and is still a major contributor to the advancement of the human kind. I believe that the airplane was a great achievement because it could be put to good uses. Trips that would take weeks and weeks of traveling were shrunk to a day or even hours. A lot of packages could be transported a great distance and many people benefited from this because the global economy could flourish and become stronger.

Global trade was now available to anyone. I can purchase a phone from china over the internet and have it delivered to my in 2 days, which would have took more than 2 weeks if it was not for airplanes. There are many other numerous advantages that the airplane brought to human kind. I believe that the airplane was the greatest achievement because airplanes required so much engineering. Every kind of engineering goes into making an airplane mechanical, aerodynamic, electrical, computer, and fluid dynamic engineering.

Greatest Achievements of the 19th and 20th century Elton

The greatest achievement of the 19th and 20th century is the invention of the car.  The automobile has become a bases of transportation across land. Cars have the power of hundreds of horses allowing people to not have to take care of horses to use them for travel.  Everyone needs a car to go any where that is unreasonable to walk.  If no one could drive the majority of the businesses and places to far to walk would not be used. Now since the assembly line has been used cars are mass produced and everyone can get one.

The making of an automobile takes hundreds of people.  A whole factory is needed just to construct the car but the planning of the car takes great minds and big ideas of improving the car.  The car starts out as an idea which is turned into a drawing.  The drawing is shaped out and turned into a shell.  A chassis and motor set up are made before the body or shell is put on.  The right balance of weight, power, and design are what makes the cars such a big achievement in the world.

The majority of transportation around the world is by vehicle.  When the first car was made no one could afford it, but now since the assembly line there are millions of cars on the roads today. Its the most convenient and cheapest way to travel.  Cars are versatile as well because a car does not always have to be used on a paved road. Off road cars, war machines, and tanks are big parts of the cars world and have been used to shape countries and help people across the world.

Cars are also customizable now making it an even more comfortable way to travel as well.  A driver could turn there car into a travel machine or just something to get to point a to b in the fastest time possible.  The interior to the exterior are all customizable to make the car something the driver enjoys, because they wil be spending so much time in it anyway.  The car is the greatest achievment of the 19th and 20th century because of what has done and what it can do for the world.

Greatest Engineering Achievement – Karaffa

The 19th century was a great time for the field of engineering. Advancements were constantly being made and new inventions were anything but scarce. Many new inventors faces were emerging and becoming renowned, and technology was blowing up. However one invention which helped unite America that surpasses all others was the steam locomotive.

The steam locomotive was a machine that had been worked on for years. It was first designed in the late 17th century yet it did not come to the machine that we depict it as until the early 19th century. This invention became the sole basis for the train and railroad. The train helped unite North America in the late 19th century and was a catalyst for the future of engineering. The railroad was not only a new way of travel but it also helped in communication and in the connecting of the American people.

Although the locomotive was not specifically the machine that helped push America into such a united country that would soon become a super power, it was a prototype of the invention that did, therefore its importance was just as vital as the train itself. Sometimes its not always the end product of an achievement that the praise is due but the small achievements leading up to it.

Greatest Engineering Achievements-Ben M

What I believe to be the most important engineering achievement is turbine generator. It was first created by Charles G. Curtis in 1903 and was used with steam and later used with water in dams. The way it works is by built up pressure either from water or steam pushes the turbine making it spin. As the turbine spins it turns the generator that it is connected to making a charge called electricity.

The reason why i think the turbine is such an important invention is because it helped produce enough energy to power our country. In the early 1900’s it was used with coal and water and helped power small towns. As time went on and new technologies were discovered the turbine became more use full. With new stronger steal people were able to build stronger turbines which were able to put out more energy. even now we use the turbine with nuclear power plants which are able to power multiple states.

In conclusion i believe turbine generator is the greatest engineering achievement in the 1900’s. Without it we wouldn’t be able to provide enough energy to power this country and also wouldn’t been able to use it as a stepping stone in the early years of electricity.

Engineering Achievement – Wesley C

When it comes to great engineering achievements, almost everyone appreciates the telephone, the automobile, or the Internet. These inventions make life easier, make life luxurious compared to before, but as far as they may go, they will always be for the individual. The highway, as under appreciated as it is, is great in its effect on society.

The highway expands society. It allows us to branch out. Society is no longer centralized around one large city. The city even no longer needs its citizens to be present. The highway is the transition between socially severred farmers and industrialized entrepreneurs living away from the city. With the invention of highway, today’s city workers are not forced to live within the city, and the city is not immensely overpopulated.

There is no longer a need for a city to provide all the resources demanded by its citizens. The resources demanded by a city’s residents no longer need to be provided by its residents. With the highway, resources can be transported long distances efficiently without the wasted time of local roads. The skills needed to fulfill our demands can be used outside the city.

One of the unknown uses of the highway is the fact that it can haul large, heavy vehicles across long distances.

The highway is an invention that applies to society and has opened up immense possibilities to many individuals.

Engineering achievements (Automobile) – Kevin

The invention of automobile to me is the most noteable engineering achievement in the 19th and 20th century. It opened up so much business to many other countries besides the U.S. Germany and Japan are huge distributors of cars and this in turn improves our relationships between us. Not only do cars help out with global affairs but obviously they are the number one form of transportation in the world. Without cars, letters would still be sent through a messenger riding a horse. An important package would take months to get to your home but with the invention of the car it could take weeks to even to a couple of days.

Not only did the car setup business but it also opened up the minds of future inventors. The first automobile had to cranked up and they were all hard to drive because they were all manuals. Most people don’t know how to drive a manual being taught from someone, just imagine trying to teach yourself to drive without a teacher because no one knew how to drive. Now they have automatic transmission in cars and now they are even in the makings of trying alternate power sources for the car. Hybrids are being mass produced and cars with cleaner exhaust fumes are out on the market. This world is revolved around our use of this form of transportation.

Not only are we improving of the first models of the car but it has also given so much business to fast food resturants (drive thru) and also drive-in movies. We have interstates, such as I-95, that connect as far as Washington D.C to Florida. Without the invention of a car we would have never driven on I-95 or drive at all for that matter. We have invented cold air intakes, GPS systems, hydrolics, and so many more things because of this. If this isn’t the greatest invention i don’t know what is.

Engineering Achievements – Keith F

I believe the Radio was one of the most significant inventions of the 20th century. Previously before the invention of radio, the telegraph required an expensive infrastructure in the form permanently installed wires and the present technology did not permit the use of trans-oceanic cables.  Wireless telegraphy allowed people to communicate more frequently and it was cheaper allowing it to be utilized by a greater audience.
The ability to transmit electronic waves was first predicted by world-recognized physicist James Maxwell and first demonstrated by German physicist Heinrich Hertz. The wireless telegraph was first practically put to use by American Dentist Mahlon Loomis through the use of Spark Gap technology to transmit Morse code wirelessly.
Today, we rely on the radio in many aspects of out lives. Everything from Wireless Data used by Computer and Cell phones to the NOAA weather hazard alert system. Without it, there would be no cars, computers or even TV’s as all of these devices rely on the principle of electronic oscillations to operate.

Engineering Achievements – Dave

Although it it a rather simple idea, I believe the most important engineering achievement of the 19th and 20th centuries is the innovation of the power grid. I believe that without the idea of a power grid, massive amounts of people would not be able to efficiently receive power. Any other invention; the light bulb, the computer, the Internet, would not have been possible without the simple task of routing power from one place to another. Sure, one person may have a home produced source of power, and be able to use one of these great inventions, but what’s the point if it’s not being used on a massive scale? These invention would not have reached their peak without the use of a power grid to make them available to the public in general.

Now just a power grid in general has done wonders to the advancement of the technological age, but an efficient power grid is what really keeping it going. As the world increasingly depends on electricity, the importance of a efficient power grid increases. You may not think about it when you turn on your computer, but a short space of time where the power grid failed and you lost power could mean loosing hours of work on your computer.

So not only did the innovation of the power grid push the success of the technological age, it also keeps all of these great inventions up and running. When it’s run efficiently, a power grid can successfully power, and run, thousands upon thousands of peoples’ lives. Without this innovation, people would have to produce their own power, thus greatly slowing the growth of technology. That is why the massive power grid can be considered one of the greatest engineering achievements of the 19th and 20th century.

Engineering Achievements – Robert

During the 19th and 20th centuries, many significant inventions were created. Some of these inventions were used in people’s everyday lives, such as the telephone and the computer. Other inventions, like the airplane, helped people travel to other places much faster. However, I believe that the most important invention durring this time period was the satellite.

Satellites are the most important creation because they allow people to do many things that would be almost impossible without them. Some kinds of satellites make it possible for people from even the most remote parts of the world to communicate with eveyone else in the world. Other kinds of satellites are used to create very accurate maps of the globe. Some satelites have even been used to make maps of other planets. Satellites can also be used to transmit television signals to every home with a satellite dish. Because of these and many other reasons, I believe that satellites are the most important invention during the 19th and 20th centuries.