Engineering histories for scientists/engineers
November 28, 2014 1:26 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for media (books mostly) related to technical histories of engineering projects.
I stumbled upon a presentation earlier today about some of the assumptions underpinning the structural design of the original World Trade Center Buildings. This reminded me how much I enjoy reading technical histories that are geared to people with a background in math, physics, engineering, and statistics. I'm mostly not interested in the social histories of projects, but how engineering problems were discovered and solved. Not necessarily even contemporary projects, but projects that represented leaps in terms of engineering understanding.
I'm especially interested in large public works type projects such as bridges, skyscrapers, dams, tunnels, railroads. I also would enjoy reading about large command and control systems, telecommunications systems, electrical distribution, space exploration. Once again, I would like the emphasis to be on media for the technical literate with backgrounds in math and science, preferably calculus based. Not so much into the social politics.
Some examples:
The Apollo Guidance Computer by O'Brien
The Science of Radio by Nahin
I stumbled upon a presentation earlier today about some of the assumptions underpinning the structural design of the original World Trade Center Buildings. This reminded me how much I enjoy reading technical histories that are geared to people with a background in math, physics, engineering, and statistics. I'm mostly not interested in the social histories of projects, but how engineering problems were discovered and solved. Not necessarily even contemporary projects, but projects that represented leaps in terms of engineering understanding.
I'm especially interested in large public works type projects such as bridges, skyscrapers, dams, tunnels, railroads. I also would enjoy reading about large command and control systems, telecommunications systems, electrical distribution, space exploration. Once again, I would like the emphasis to be on media for the technical literate with backgrounds in math and science, preferably calculus based. Not so much into the social politics.
Some examples:
The Apollo Guidance Computer by O'Brien
The Science of Radio by Nahin
I've also heard a lot of good things about books by Henry Petroski. I saw him give a talk about the history of suspension bridges and he stressed "Form doesn't follow function, form follows failure" where he discussed the tendency to whittle away at aspects of design to improve aesthetics until there's a failure.
posted by crashlanding at 1:46 PM on November 28, 2014
posted by crashlanding at 1:46 PM on November 28, 2014
Best answer: The NASA e-Book Archive: more than you ever wanted to know about pressure suits, the X-15 program, wind tunnels, etc.
Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight
Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module
Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System
posted by djb at 2:13 PM on November 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight
Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module
Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System
posted by djb at 2:13 PM on November 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
I'm mostly not interested in the social histories of projects, but how engineering problems were discovered and solved.
Any veridical history of how engineering problems were conceptualized and solved will involve social history. Take, for example, the development of CNC machinery. Its origins are in the interplay of institutional actors, groups of workers and engineers, and broad economic trends.
posted by phrontist at 2:35 PM on November 28, 2014
Any veridical history of how engineering problems were conceptualized and solved will involve social history. Take, for example, the development of CNC machinery. Its origins are in the interplay of institutional actors, groups of workers and engineers, and broad economic trends.
posted by phrontist at 2:35 PM on November 28, 2014
An older project -
Brunelleschis-Dome
I also enjoyed Tilt - about the causes and cures for the campanille in Pisa.
(My copy is actually a parallelogram rather than a rectanglular book..
posted by rudd135 at 2:55 PM on November 28, 2014
Brunelleschis-Dome
I also enjoyed Tilt - about the causes and cures for the campanille in Pisa.
(My copy is actually a parallelogram rather than a rectanglular book..
posted by rudd135 at 2:55 PM on November 28, 2014
There's and old BBC book on the technology that was driven by/drove WW2 that lighted my interest in this genre many years ago. I think many, but not all, of the stories are better known now, so it may not have quite the same impact as it once did - The Secret War.
Francis Spufford's The Backroom Boys is a very accessible and interesting look at some of the engineering achievements, celebrated or otherwise, of 80's UK. It's excellently written and very engaging. Not all are large scale, but some are.
I would also recommend The Lunar Men which is an interesting look at some of the main protaganists of the Industrial Revolution (Watt, Wedgwood, E. Darwin etc) and how they brought science and engineering principles into the mainstream.
posted by Jakey at 4:03 PM on November 28, 2014
Francis Spufford's The Backroom Boys is a very accessible and interesting look at some of the engineering achievements, celebrated or otherwise, of 80's UK. It's excellently written and very engaging. Not all are large scale, but some are.
I would also recommend The Lunar Men which is an interesting look at some of the main protaganists of the Industrial Revolution (Watt, Wedgwood, E. Darwin etc) and how they brought science and engineering principles into the mainstream.
posted by Jakey at 4:03 PM on November 28, 2014
I've also heard a lot of good things about books by Henry Petroski.
I've read a number of his books and really enjoyed them. He can be a little too pop-culture-y sometimes but he's pretty readable and very engineer-y. You might want to pick up his book Remaking the World: Adventures in Engineering which is a series of essays, to see if you like his style and it also focuses a lot on "stuff that had never been done before, and how they did it" as does his book Pushing the Limits: New Adventures in Engineering
I'm reading his book To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure right now and it's so wonky, talks a lot about how engineering education works and how the study of systems failing became a thing people started paying attention to. He has other books that are more laypeople oriented like The Book on the Book Shelf which are more history oriented.
Another book that might be a little too mainstream is Edward Tenner's Why Things Bite Back: technology and the revenge of unintended consequences. Richard Feynman's book What Do You Care What Other People Think? is half a book about Feynman (i.e. not what you're looking for) but also half about his service on the Rogers Commission after the Challenger disaster. I agree with phrontist, the engineering history (especially of accidents and disasters) often has social history folded into it. This book is a good merging of both.
posted by jessamyn at 4:23 PM on November 28, 2014
I've read a number of his books and really enjoyed them. He can be a little too pop-culture-y sometimes but he's pretty readable and very engineer-y. You might want to pick up his book Remaking the World: Adventures in Engineering which is a series of essays, to see if you like his style and it also focuses a lot on "stuff that had never been done before, and how they did it" as does his book Pushing the Limits: New Adventures in Engineering
I'm reading his book To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure right now and it's so wonky, talks a lot about how engineering education works and how the study of systems failing became a thing people started paying attention to. He has other books that are more laypeople oriented like The Book on the Book Shelf which are more history oriented.
Another book that might be a little too mainstream is Edward Tenner's Why Things Bite Back: technology and the revenge of unintended consequences. Richard Feynman's book What Do You Care What Other People Think? is half a book about Feynman (i.e. not what you're looking for) but also half about his service on the Rogers Commission after the Challenger disaster. I agree with phrontist, the engineering history (especially of accidents and disasters) often has social history folded into it. This book is a good merging of both.
posted by jessamyn at 4:23 PM on November 28, 2014
Aramis, or the Love of Technology
This account of a failed transit system is structured a bit like a detective novel. It's very much involved with the overlapping sociology, but in a way that makes sure that even the mechanical systems involved are given a chance to offer their two cents. Nothing quite like it.
posted by rhymes with carrots at 7:20 PM on November 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
This account of a failed transit system is structured a bit like a detective novel. It's very much involved with the overlapping sociology, but in a way that makes sure that even the mechanical systems involved are given a chance to offer their two cents. Nothing quite like it.
posted by rhymes with carrots at 7:20 PM on November 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Chariots of Apollo is great in the NASA archive.
Longitude http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude_%28book%29
The history of revolutinary precision in timepieces for navigation.
posted by nickggully at 8:13 PM on November 28, 2014
Longitude http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude_%28book%29
The history of revolutinary precision in timepieces for navigation.
posted by nickggully at 8:13 PM on November 28, 2014
Best answer: These are the books on my shelf from a very fun romp through the history of engineering and sciences. These aren't totally structural and you get a real feel for how the millwright became the modern engineer.
Yankee Science in the Making
What Engineers Know and How they Know it
History of Strength of Materials
The Evolution of Technology
Asimov's Chronology of Science & Discovery
Technology in World Civilization
posted by Nanukthedog at 9:49 PM on November 28, 2014
Yankee Science in the Making
What Engineers Know and How they Know it
History of Strength of Materials
The Evolution of Technology
Asimov's Chronology of Science & Discovery
Technology in World Civilization
posted by Nanukthedog at 9:49 PM on November 28, 2014
Best answer: Seconding Aramis, it was very influential for me.
Soul Of A New Machine as well, recounting the design and release of an early 80’s microcomputer.
posted by migurski at 10:42 PM on November 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
Soul Of A New Machine as well, recounting the design and release of an early 80’s microcomputer.
posted by migurski at 10:42 PM on November 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I know this isn't exactly what you're asking for, but Engines of our Ingenuity is a podcast of daily short segments on what you're asking for. As a spoken medium, they rarely delve into mathematical terms. And really, for much of scientific history, the math is not going to be particularly exciting, and the social factors matter.
For example, the science behind yesterday's segment on trilobites and punctuated evolution relies on simple counting and inventory, but the findings were very nearly lost because the original author, Rudolf Kauffman, lost his job at his university, found his publication suppressed by the Nazi Regime, and killed a decade later, all owing to his Jewish heritage.
You might think of it as a sampler, and when something unusually interesting pops up, you can start looking for books on the subject / project. They usually include a reference or two to start your search with.
posted by pwnguin at 12:59 AM on November 29, 2014
For example, the science behind yesterday's segment on trilobites and punctuated evolution relies on simple counting and inventory, but the findings were very nearly lost because the original author, Rudolf Kauffman, lost his job at his university, found his publication suppressed by the Nazi Regime, and killed a decade later, all owing to his Jewish heritage.
You might think of it as a sampler, and when something unusually interesting pops up, you can start looking for books on the subject / project. They usually include a reference or two to start your search with.
posted by pwnguin at 12:59 AM on November 29, 2014
Best answer: Look for books on the Brooklyn Bridge. Davis McCullough has one, but I can't vouch for it in particular.
The Polaris Missle project is another great topic. It was the first big project to be run with PERT charts and critical path analysis.
A ton has been written on the Manhattan Project.
Apollo 13: the flight that failed is a great book about engineering teamwork under pressure.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:42 AM on November 29, 2014
The Polaris Missle project is another great topic. It was the first big project to be run with PERT charts and critical path analysis.
A ton has been written on the Manhattan Project.
Apollo 13: the flight that failed is a great book about engineering teamwork under pressure.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:42 AM on November 29, 2014
Proving the Principle - a history of the Idaho National Labs. I'd particularly recommend Chapter 15 [pdf] on the SL-1 nuclear reactor accident.
Engineering Features of the Snowy Hydro Scheme (you may struggle to find a copy outside of an Australian library). The Snowy Mountains Scheme was the largest engineering project in Australian history.
posted by KirkpatrickMac at 6:01 AM on November 29, 2014 [1 favorite]
Engineering Features of the Snowy Hydro Scheme (you may struggle to find a copy outside of an Australian library). The Snowy Mountains Scheme was the largest engineering project in Australian history.
posted by KirkpatrickMac at 6:01 AM on November 29, 2014 [1 favorite]
Check out the writings of Apple fellow Don Norman.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 8:30 PM on November 29, 2014
posted by ZenMasterThis at 8:30 PM on November 29, 2014
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posted by crashlanding at 1:42 PM on November 28, 2014 [1 favorite]