Branches Of Engineering

Branches Of Engineering

Engineering has been defined as the art of directing the great sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of man. In its modern form the practice of engineering involves men, money, materials, machines and energy. It is differentiated from science because it is primarily concerned with how to apply and direct to useful ends the basic natural phenomena which scientists discover and formulate into acceptable theories. It is always dissatisfied with present methods and equipment. It seeks newer, cheaper, better means of using natural sources of energy and materials to improve man's standard of living and to diminish laborius toil.

     Traditional engineering.

Traditionally there were two divisions or disciplines, military engineering and civil engineering, As man's knowlendge of natural phenomena grew and the poteintial civil applications became more complex, the civilengineering discipline tended to became more and more specialized. The practicing engineer began to restrict his operations into narrower channels. For instance, civil engineering came to be concentrate on dymanic structures, such as machinery and enginees. Similarly, mining enginering became concerned with the discovery of and removal fromgeologocal structures of metall i ferous ore bodies,whereas metallurgical engineering involved extraction and rafinement of the metals from the ores. From the practical applications of electricity and chemistry, electrical and chemical engineer arose.

   This fractionating process continued as narrower specialization became more prevalent. Civil engineers had more specialized training as structural engineers, dam engineers, wather-power engineersm bridge engineers; mechanical engineers as machinemachine-design engineers, industrical engineers, motive power engineers (and the latter into telegraph, telephone, radio, television, and radar engineers, whereas the power engineers divided into fossil-fuel and nuclear engineering); mining engineers into metallic-ore and fossil-fuel mining (the latter into coal and petroleum engineering).

    Integrating influences.

While this specialization was taking place, there were also integrating influences in the engineering field. The growing complexity of modern technology called for many specialistic to cooperate in the design of industrial processes and even in the design of individual machines. This brought interdisciplinary activity to coordinate the specialists. For instance, the design of  a modern structure involves not only the static structural members but a vast complex including moving parts (elevators, for example), electric machinery and power distribution, communication systems, heating, ventilating and air-conditioning, and fore protection. Even the structural members must be designed not only for for static loading but for dynamic loadings such as for wind pressures and eathquakes. Because men and money are as much involved in engineering as materials, machines, and energy sourcesm the managment engineer arose as another integrating factor in modern technology.