11 Facts About Engineering: Explore The Less Known

Engineer Engineering (Credit: Pixabay)

Probably the first things that spring to mind when you think about engineering are advanced technologies like skyscrapers, self-driving cars, or intricate systems that run our everyday life, but engineering is more than just the wonders of the modern world; it is a field that has influenced history, transformed ancient societies, and even stumps today's brightest brains where engineers are at the core of some of the most amazing things that humanity has ever achieved, whether it is breaking the rules of physics, creating novel materials, or unraveling long-standing riddles. We will explore 11 of the most unique and little-known engineering facts that cut across ages, civilizations, and academic disciplines in this blog post article as follows:

1. The Eiffel Tower Expands in Summer: Though you may have been in wonder of the famous Eiffel Tower, did you know that every summer, this emblem of Paris experiences an unexpected metamorphosis in the sense that the Eiffel Tower can expand by up to 6 inches (15 cm) in hot weather because iron expands. Metal expands when heated, which is why this phenomenon happens whereby when the temperature rises, iron, the main component used to build the Eiffel Tower, expands at the atomic level and even while this modification might not seem like much, it is a great illustration of material science in action where also in order to guarantee that the structure is stable even in the face of temperature variations, engineers take these expansions into consideration when designing. The Eiffel Tower is still captivating both engineers and tourists for a variety of reasons, one of which is its dynamic quality.

2. Engineers Revolutionised The Creation of Paper: The invention of paper in 105 AD is attributed to the Chinese inventor Cai Lun, to whom the world owes much. Prior to Cai Lun's creation, the main writing materials were silk, bamboo, or wood, all of which were difficult, costly, and heavy to use. In Cai Lun's method, a thin sheet of material suitable for writing was made from plant fibers like hemp and mulberry bark where this approach became widely used and radically altered record-keeping, communication, and the dissemination of knowledge making it impossible to overestimate the influence of paper on history; without it, the printing press, the Renaissance, and even the current era of knowledge may have looked very different. In addition to creating the material, engineers developed a method for mass-producing it, which had an impact on a wide range of industries, including technology and literature.

3. Ancient Roman Concrete Was More Durable Than Modern Concrete: In many aspects, especially building, the Romans were ahead of their time whereby they created concrete made of volcanic ash that has endured for almost 2,000 years and in reality, contemporary engineers have discovered that Roman concrete is more resilient than contemporary concrete with its special blend of lime, saltwater, and volcanic ash (which combines to form the mineral Al-tobermorite) being the key to its power. Even in submerged conditions, this mineral provides the concrete its durability like for instance, the Pantheon in Rome where the enormous, unreinforced concrete dome of the Pantheon, which was finished around 125 AD, remains the biggest in the world, thus today's engineers are researching Roman concrete in an effort to duplicate its remarkable endurance for contemporary construction, especially in light of the growing climate crisis.

4. India Graduates More Engineers Than Any Other Country: When it comes to the creation of engineering talent, India leads the world where in reality, no nation in the world produces more engineers annually than India emerging as a hub for technological innovation, digital solutions, and engineering development because of its extensive educational system, which produces more than a million engineers every year. A sizeable percentage of the employees at several of the biggest corporations in the world, such as Google, Microsoft, and IBM, are from India not forgetting that in addition to revolutionising India's economy, this expanding skill pool is establishing the nation as a pioneer in industries including software development, aeronautical engineering, and renewable energy.

5. The Strongest Material on Earth is Not Steel: When it comes to strength, engineers have been using steel for decades but the strongest material on the planet, however, is now graphene, which is made up of a single layer of carbon atoms organised in a hexagonal lattice. By weight, graphene is actually 200 times stronger than steel and not only that, but this wonder material also has other remarkable qualities, such as being extremely lightweight, highly flexible, and a superb heat and electrical conductor. From electronics (like quicker, more efficient computers) to energy storage (like more robust batteries), engineers are currently investigating ways to integrate graphene into a variety of applications where everything from the gadgets we carry in our pockets to the way we power our houses could be completely transformed by graphene.

6. The First Computer Engineer Was a Woman: Renowned American computer scientist and engineer Margaret Hamilton was the first computer engineer who made important contributions to NASA's Apollo program and the advancement of software engineering whereby her narrative is a monument to the ability of creativity and hard work to shape human success, with also her legacy continuing to inspire and impact this field of computer science.

7. The Boeing 747’s Wing is Designed to Flex: You might have observed how the wings of a Boeing 747 bend when in flight if you have ever taken a flight on one. This adaptability is deliberate whereby a 747's wings may flex up to 26 feet (8 meters) in order to withstand the forces of wind pressure and turbulence with the wings not breaking or snapping under the strain of flight thanks to its innovative design. The plane maintains its stability and safety by absorbing the forces and spreading them more evenly with also the wings' flexibility demonstrating how material science and aerodynamics work together to produce safer and more effective airplanes.

8. Engineers Have Designed Shoes That Let You "Walk" on Water: Scientists and engineers have created unique shoes that let people walk on water, which is an amazing example of hydrodynamic engineering in the sense that the physics of surface tension, which enables tiny insects like water striders to walk on the water's surface without sinking, served as the inspiration for these shoes and by dispersing the wearer's weight over a wide surface area, the shoes lessen the pressure on the water's surface. Even if the technology is not quite ready for daily use just yet, it is an intriguing investigation of how engineers might employ natural inspiration to tackle challenging issues.

9. The Tallest Building in The World is Made of Special Concrete: The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is an engineering marvel of the highest caliber whereby with a height of more than 828 meters (2,717 ft), it is the world's tallest structure but the high-performance concrete is what really sets this construction apart where engineers created a concrete mix with nano-materials for increased strength and durability in order to endure the building's huge weight and the pressures caused by its great height not forgetting that superplasticizers were also added to the mix to improve workability and guarantee that the concrete can be pumped to amazing heights without losing strength.

10. The Longest Bridge in The World is Floating: At 164.8 kilometres (102.4 miles), the Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge in China is the longest bridge in the world. However, the fact that this bridge is not totally composed of steel or concrete is what makes it so amazing. Rather, it crosses marshes and bodies of water using a network of viaducts, trestles, and floating sections with the inventiveness of the engineers who had to take into consideration the particular topographical difficulties presented by the terrain being evident in this creative design. Innovative solutions were needed throughout the bridge's construction to guarantee its efficiency, safety, and stability.

11. The Pyramids’ Construction Techniques Are Still a Mystery: The Great Pyramid of Giza is arguably the most persistent mystery in engineering history in the sense that engineers and archaeologists are still baffled by this architectural wonder, which was constructed more than 4,500 years ago with no one being certain how the ancient Egyptians accomplished such perfection with the technology available at the time, despite the many ideas regarding how they built the pyramid. According to some scholars, the Egyptians employed sophisticated geodesic measurements or secret technical methods that have since been forgotten with one of the biggest unanswered questions in ancient engineering being the precise techniques used to build the pyramid.

Summary

From historical marvels to contemporary technological innovations, engineering continues to influence the world in amazing and surprising ways. The facts covered above here are only a small sample of the wide and intriguing field of engineering, where some of the greatest achievements in human history have resulted from ingenuity, creativity, and problem-solving, hence engineering repeatedly demonstrates that the impossible is frequently only the beginning, whether it is expanding iron in a hot summer, creating a structure taller than any other, or discovering the mysteries of ancient civilizations.