Birth of Mechanical Engineering and a Glimpse …
3
their products.” In Encyclopedia Britannica, ‘mechanical engineering’ is described
as “The branch of engineering concerned with the design, manufacture, installation
and operation of engines, machines and manufacturing processes.” It further states
“Mechanical Engineering involves the application of the principles of dynamics,
control, thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, strength of materials, material science, tribology, mathematics and computation. Increasingly knowledge of
electronics and, in particular, of microprocessors are required.” In Collier’s Encyclopedia, the definition of ‘mechanical engineering’ takes the following form. “Mechanical Engineering is the application of engineering principles by mechanical means.
The scope of Mechanical Engineers’ work includes the generation of power and
its transmission; the design and production of all kinds of goods from the basic
machinery for mining, agriculture and other means of exploiting our natural resources
through the machines and tools for heavy and light industry to the everyday consumer
products; and the movement of people and goods in all types of transportation
and material handling equipment, including marine, rail, automotive, aeronautic,
conveying, and pumping equipment.” It is agreed that these definitions are elaborated and do not identify the basic core issues of ‘mechanical engineering’ are a
little obscure. The simplest and shortest description of ‘mechanical engineering’
is given in Lexicon Universal E’pedia. It is “Mechanical Engineering is concerned
primarily with means of converting energy to useful mechanical forms. The speciality
is machine oriented; Mechanical Engineers’ creations involve motion, in contrast to
other branches of engineering.”
Studying the above definitions of ‘mechanical engineering’, the basic structure of
this branch of engineering can be represented by a diagram as shown in Fig. 1. The
figure shows the hierarchy of activities in fundamental tree representing ‘Mechanical
Engineering’. Some examples of the machines and units for accomplishing the tasks
are indicated in the second column. The box shows the basic areas necessary for the
tasks encountered in mechanical engineering. It is evident that although there were
examples of some isolated applications of a few principles in the past, viz., various
mechanisms, water wheels, windmills, etc. There was never any contrivance that
used the basic principles of mechanical engineering. The search of a prime mover
that led to the invention of the engines by Thomas Newcomen was improved upon
by James Watt in the eighteenth century; the mankind first saw the application of
most of the basic aspects of mechanical engineering in the developed prime mover.
The following brief discussion on the evolution of the early prime movers illustrates
the point.
3 Acute Wood Famine and the Search for a Prime Mover
When one examines the old pictures depicting the landscapes of sixteenth-century
Europe, a very strange contrast with the present-day scenario can be noticed. Now
the landscapes of Europe shows wonderful green cover and the forests over the
empty lands, whereas in most old drawings the landscapes are barren and forests are
3
their products.” In Encyclopedia Britannica, ‘mechanical engineering’ is described
as “The branch of engineering concerned with the design, manufacture, installation
and operation of engines, machines and manufacturing processes.” It further states
“Mechanical Engineering involves the application of the principles of dynamics,
control, thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, strength of materials, material science, tribology, mathematics and computation. Increasingly knowledge of
electronics and, in particular, of microprocessors are required.” In Collier’s Encyclopedia, the definition of ‘mechanical engineering’ takes the following form. “Mechanical Engineering is the application of engineering principles by mechanical means.
The scope of Mechanical Engineers’ work includes the generation of power and
its transmission; the design and production of all kinds of goods from the basic
machinery for mining, agriculture and other means of exploiting our natural resources
through the machines and tools for heavy and light industry to the everyday consumer
products; and the movement of people and goods in all types of transportation
and material handling equipment, including marine, rail, automotive, aeronautic,
conveying, and pumping equipment.” It is agreed that these definitions are elaborated and do not identify the basic core issues of ‘mechanical engineering’ are a
little obscure. The simplest and shortest description of ‘mechanical engineering’
is given in Lexicon Universal E’pedia. It is “Mechanical Engineering is concerned
primarily with means of converting energy to useful mechanical forms. The speciality
is machine oriented; Mechanical Engineers’ creations involve motion, in contrast to
other branches of engineering.”
Studying the above definitions of ‘mechanical engineering’, the basic structure of
this branch of engineering can be represented by a diagram as shown in Fig. 1. The
figure shows the hierarchy of activities in fundamental tree representing ‘Mechanical
Engineering’. Some examples of the machines and units for accomplishing the tasks
are indicated in the second column. The box shows the basic areas necessary for the
tasks encountered in mechanical engineering. It is evident that although there were
examples of some isolated applications of a few principles in the past, viz., various
mechanisms, water wheels, windmills, etc. There was never any contrivance that
used the basic principles of mechanical engineering. The search of a prime mover
that led to the invention of the engines by Thomas Newcomen was improved upon
by James Watt in the eighteenth century; the mankind first saw the application of
most of the basic aspects of mechanical engineering in the developed prime mover.
The following brief discussion on the evolution of the early prime movers illustrates
the point.
3 Acute Wood Famine and the Search for a Prime Mover
When one examines the old pictures depicting the landscapes of sixteenth-century
Europe, a very strange contrast with the present-day scenario can be noticed. Now
the landscapes of Europe shows wonderful green cover and the forests over the
empty lands, whereas in most old drawings the landscapes are barren and forests are