Old Engineering References 2

[Ussuri]

I have just purchased a copy of The Civil Engineers Reference Book by John C Trautwine originally published in 1872. It makes for really interesting reading on the history of engineering and still contains information relative today.

There area couple of really good quotes in the preface though, which I wanted to share:

"Comparatively few engineers are good mathematicians, and in the writers opinion, it is fortunate that such is the case; for nature rarely combines high mathematical talent with practical tact"

"[when discussing engineering principles] It is the ignorance of these principles, so easily taught even to children, that constitutes what is popularly called 'The Practical Engineer'; which in the great majority of cases, means simply an ignoramus, who blunders along without knowing any other reason for what he does, than that he has seen it done so before"

And I spent all those years at University learning maths.

 

[zeitghost]

I have a book on Electric Lighting.

From 1884.

Didn't realise that you could write such a thick book (1 inch) on Electric Lighting in 1884.

 

[drawoh]

Mechanic's Calculator
By William Grier
Civil Engineer
Second Edition
Corrected and greatly enlarged
Blackie & Son
MDCCCXXXV

This covers all sorts of neat stuff, like Arithmetic, Fractions, vulgar and decimal, weights and measures, mechanisms, materials, heat, steam, you name it. I now know that a firkin is 72 pints beer. I do not know how wide ranging the chain of pubs is, but they are common in Canada now.

There is a section on Horsepower. They had not worked out yet what a horsepower was. The number could be 22916, 27300, 33000 or 44000 ft.lb/min.

I have actually got to use the book for real work. I am trying to figure out a hand drawn cart. The book claims that a man can pull efficiently 31.5lb at 2mph.

I should probably read up on the parliamentary investigations that were going at the time about abuse of factory workers.

JHG