UNIT 4: ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENTS

Picture 11. Vintage aviation inventions

“KNOWLEDGE OF THE PAST AND OF THE PLACES OF THE EARTH IS THE ORNAMENT AND
FOOD OF THE MIND OF MAN” (Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519, Thoughts on Art and Life)

A) STARTING UP

Throughout history engineers turned ideas into innovation, but it was during the 20 th century
when engineering disciplines broadened to include new sectors and began incorporating new
methods, tools and testing techniques leading to major achievements that have changed our
world. These engineering achievements have become essential parts of our lives and have
laid the foundation for the great achievements of the 21st century.
In 2003 the National academy of engineering in the USA published 20 engineering
achievements that transformed our lives and had the greatest impact upon our lives during
and following this period.
1. What do you think are the greatest engineering achievements in history?

2. Can you name some of the greatest engineers of all time?

3. Which achievements have had the biggest impact on our lives today?
 Let's look at the link http://greatachievements.org/ to learn how engineering shaped a
century and changed the world.

Task 1. Provide your own definition for each achievement and explain the impact it had
on society.

Achievement Definition Effect

It made it possible for people to get around

The automobile The car quickly, to carry goods.

The Apollo missions to

the Moon

Power generation

Agricultural
mechanization

The airplane
The mass production
of integrated circuits

Refrigeration and air

conditioning

CAD and CAM

Bioengineering

Codes and standards

 B) READING / WRITING
READING FOR PURPOSE: UNDERSTANDING THE FORMAL FORMAT OF A TEXT
WRITING A SUMMARY BY USING TOPIC SENTENCES WRITING SKILLS CORNER, PAGE: 75

Task 2. Read THE TEXT AND COMPLETE IT WITH THE MISSING TOPIC SENTENCES , FOUND BELOW .
EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE OF THE TOPIC SENTENCE .

Refrigeration and air conditioning

1. _________________________________________. Food had to be bought the

same day it was used. Most foodstuffs could not be transported long distances, so people
had to live close to the source of food. Most foodstuffs could not be stored, so surplus food
could not be kept. A lot of food went bad and had to bet thrown away or gave people food
poisoning. In addition, in many countries, it was impossible to work during the summer
months. Some ancient peoples designed cooling methods for food and spaces. Some people
kept fresh food under running water. The Indians had wet mats hanging at windows. The
Arabs had cooling towers which sucked hot air out of the rooms at their base. However,
these early cooling systems were limited in their extent and efficacy.

2. ______________________________________. He was an American, but he lived

most of his life in Britain. Perkins was a true mechanical engineer. He invented a machine for
cutting and heading nails and he was the first person to use steel to make plates for
engraving bank notes. He invented machines for measuring the depth of water and the
speed of a ship. He improved gun manufacture. In 1830 he invented a radiator which
attached to a steam engine, an early form of central heating. But perhaps the greatest
invention was the first refrigerator.

3. ____________________________________________. In his patent application, he

described how the device worked by constantly condensing volatile fluids and bringing them
again and again into operation without waste. The recycling of fluids was an important
feature of the process, as later, it enabled refrigeration engineers to use hazardous fluids and
gases, such as CFC’s.

4. ____________________________________________________________________
_________. This was done by a Scottish printer James Harrison. He showed his design at the
International Exhibition in 1861 in London. Like all good engineers, Harrison was responding
to a problem. He realized that there was a surplus of meat in Australia, a British colony at the
time, while at the same time there was starvation in Britain. In 1873, he made his first
attempt to bring frozen meat from Australia to Britain, but it was a disaster. However, his
idea sparked the development of the worldwide “cold chain” which we have today.

5. ____________________________________________________________________
_________.That honor belongs to an American called Willis Carrier. However, Carrier did not
start with space cooling. He worked, instead, on devices for cooling machines. When
machines work, surfaces rub against each other and this contact causes friction, which in
turn produces heat. Hot machines are dangerous and inefficient. If a machine overheats it
can break down or even explode.

6. ____________________________________________________________. In 1907,
he founded the Carrier Air Conditioning Company, using a term that was only two years old.
He designed an apparatus to cool air using water sprays. He controlled the dew point of the
air, which is the point at which water vapor condenses out of the gas. This way he
conditioned the air, making it cooler and less humid.

7. ____________________________________________________. The new invention

spread quickly through the United States and then the world. Carrier is often called the
“father of air conditioning” not just for this invention, but also some other ones, such as the
chart that defines the relationship between air, water and energy.

8. ____________________________________________________________________
___________________. With cooled air, we can chill or freeze food to store it or to transport
it long distances. We can keep medical supplies in good condition. We can cool machines to
keep them run efficiently. Finally, we can cool factories, offices, homes and cars to make
them habitable even in the highest ambient temperatures.

Dunn, M.; Howey, D.; Ilic A.; Regan, N. (2012:17)

The topic sentences.

In 1834, Perkins obtained a patent for vapor compression system of cooling.
Before engineers learnt how to cool air, life was very different.

Mechanisms for cooling air have had a profound effect on human life all over the world.

The inventor of refrigeration was Jacob Perkins.

After cooling machines, Carrier moved on to rooms.

Perkins often does not get credit for his important invention, because he did not develop
it.

The work of Perkins and Harrison did not directly lead to the cooling of rooms.
In 1922, Carrier built his first true air-conditioning machine.

Task 3. Answer the following questions.

1. Which achievement is the text about?

2. What problem did people face in this area?

3. What was the turning point in solving the problem?

4. How did the solution change human life?

5. Go back to the text and find out what information comes after each topic sentence.
Write a summary of the text. Paraphrase the topic sentences. Add extra information
 and examples.

PREPARING AND PRESENTING

RESEARCH FINDINGS Communication skills corner, page: 94
Choose the project topic from the non exhaustive list of presentation topics and articles for
research on page 94 and follow the guidelines on how to structure the Power-point
presentation on page 95. Read the chosen article and if necessary further research your topic
in magazines such as The Engineer, Machine Design or other magazines in STEM areas.
Define the purpose and the key points of your presentation. Prepare the PowerPoint
presentation following the provided guidelines and present the research findings in duration
of 7-10 minutes.
B) EXTENDING SKILLS
USING COHESIVE LANGUAGE TO MAKE COMPOUND SENTENCES
A compound sentence is made up of two or more clauses joined by a coordinator such as
and, for addition, but, for contrast, or for alternatives. Each compound sentence can stand
alone and can be split into two (or more) shorter sentences.
1. If we want to add extra information to the text, we can do it by using which..., -for
example...-such as...,

a. In 1830 Jacob Perkins invented a radiator.

b. The radiator attached to a steam engine, an early form of central heating.

In 1830 Jacob Perkins invented a radiator which was attached to a steam engine
and served as an early form of central heating.
2. We use linking words and phrases to join ideas in a sequence, to show how the ideas
are related. Some linking words can be used to join independent and dependent
clauses in a sentence. Here are some linking words: because, since, as, therefore, so,
but…

a. Most foodstuffs could not be transported long distances.

b. Surplus food could not be kept.

Most foodstuffs could not be transported long distances, so surplus food could
not be kept.

Most foodstuffs could not be transported long distances. Therefore, surplus food
could not be kept.

Because/as/since most foodstuffs could not be transported long distances,

surplus food could not be kept.

3. However, if the second sentence contrasts with the first sentence we can link the two
sentences like this:

a. Jacob Perkins was an American.

b. He lived most of his life in Britain.

Jacob Perkins was an American, but he lived most of his life in Britain.
Although Jacob Perkins lived most of his life in Britain, he was an American.

To contrast the ideas in a sentence, the conjunctions but and although/though are used.

Task 4. Link these sentences using the above-mentioned linking words.

1. Mechanisms play a vital role in industry. They produce power to do work.

2. Copper is a really good conductor. It is used for electric wiring.

3. Weight is measured in Newtons. Mass is measured in kilograms.

4. Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon and much harder than either of the two elements.
 Ball bearings are usually made of steel.

5. High impact Polystyrene (HIPS) has high impact strength. It is used for tools,
prototypes and model making.

6. Friction is essential in brakes. Friction causes wear of the mechanical parts of an

engine.

7. Cars have transformed modern life. Cars are one of the great industrial stories of the
20th century.

Grammar links in texts: Using demonstrative pronouns to refer back in a text

One of the ways in which sentences in a text are held together is by grammar links. In this
extract, note how each expression in italics links with an earlier expression. It helps us avoid
repeating the same noun immediately or soon after the first mention.
Another very important force in engineering is the one caused by elasticity. A good
example of this is a spring. Springs exert more force the more they are stretched. This
property provides a way of measuring force.
Sometimes these links cause problems for readers because they cannot make the right
connection between words in different parts of a text.
Study these common grammar links:

1. A repeated noun becomes a pronoun. Springs exert more force the more they
are stretched. Springs becomes they.

2. A word replaces an earlier expression. Force in engineering becomes one.

3. A word replaces a whole sentence or clause. Springs exert more force the more
they are stretched becomes This property.
Task 5. With which earlier expressions do the words in italics link? Join them as in the
example above. Use also, they, their, ones, it. You might need to use the same
word twice.
Friction in machines is destructive and wasteful. It causes the moving parts to wear and
____________ produces heat where ____________ is not wanted. Engineers reduce friction
by using very highly polished materials and by lubricating ____________ surfaces with oil
and grease. ____________ also use ball bearings and roller bearings because rolling objects
cause less friction than sliding ____________.
C) FINDING THE MAIN INFORMATION BY IDENTIFYING THE PARTS
OF A LONG SENTENCE

Sentences in academic and technical texts are often very long. You often do not
have to understand every word, but you must identify the subject, the predicate and the
object, if there is one, in order to understand the sentence as a whole.
e.g. Before being pumped through the relevant parts of the engine, the lubricating
oil must be passed through a disposable filter made of paper or synthetic materials in
order to remove dirt which would otherwise create friction and cause wear to
components.

Subject

A subject is a part of sentence that shows what (or whom) the sentence is about
and tells us who or what performs the action (verb) in the sentence. It is sometimes called
the “naming part” of a sentence.
Subject in the sentence = oil

Predicate

The main part of the predicate is the verb or verbs that link up with the subject. It
is the main part of the sentence that shows the action or state of being in the sentence. A
verb always tells the time (tense) in the sentence.
Predicate in the sentence = must be passed through

Object

An object is a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase on which a verb performs an action.

It falls at the end of a sentence and is governed by a verb or a preposition.
Object in the sentence = in order to remove dirt…
 Remember!

You can remove any leading prepositional phrases at this point to help you find the
subject: e.g. Before being pumped…

You must then find the main words which modify the subject, predicate, and the
object or complement.

In the sentence above, we find:

What kind of oil? = the lubricating (oil)
What kind of filter? = disposable, made of paper or synthetic materials
Why? = in order to remove dirt

Task 6. Find the main information in the text by circling the subject, underlining the
predicate once and the object of the sentence twice.
1. Whenever an accident occurs that results in an injury, damage of equipment and
material, or both, prompt accident investigation by the immediate manager is
required.

2. A written preliminary investigation will be completed by the end of the particular shift
or business day on which the accident occurred.

3. Failure to comply with this requirement may subject the immediate manager to
disciplinary action up to and including discharge.

4. Without adequate accident investigation data the company may be subjected to

costs, claims and legal action for which it has no defense.
1.