Flying Buttresses, Entropy, and O-Rings: The World of an Engineer

Adams, James L.

ISBN 10: 0674306880 / ISBN 13: 9780674306882

Published by Harvard University Press, 1992

Seller Inventory # 0674306880-3-35231290

Synopsis:

James Adams begins with a history of technology and the engineering profession. The author next takes the reader on a guided tour of the engineer's world, beginning with design and invention - the part of engineering that generates new ideas. The next stop is in the field of mathematics, the discipline that allows engineers to build sophisticated products yet makes it a mystical enterprise to the lay public. Science and research, we learn, are the source of many creative directions in technology, but the interrelations between "basic" and "applied" professions are reciprocal and subtle. Experiment and testing introduce the trial-and-error aspect of engineering, which reduces, but can never eliminate, risk and failure. The author also covers manufacturing and assembly, practical processes that impose constraints on the idealistic inventions of the designer's mind; business and money, the latter being required to finance engineering and the former being the means for generating the money; and the controversial but inevitable role of technology regulation. "Flying Buttresses, Entropy and O-rings" aims to demystify a profession that is quite often taken for granted and to inspire an appreciation of the world of engineering.

Review: This text was written to provide a general audience with access to the subjects of engineering and technology. It is a superb book...Discussions of the "Challenger" tragedy, the balcony collapse at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, a DC-10 crash...and other technical topics make the book readable, convincing, and enjoyable. In this engaging book, the author of "Conceptual Blockbusting" introduces the world of engineering, from the origins of problems to design and invention; mathematics; science and research; development, testing and failure; manufacturing; money and business; and regulation. In these witty and engrossing pages, Adams demonstrates that engineering actually can be as divine an occupation as the clergy and as soulful as an aria...Adams' literary tour is the next best thing to visiting a hands-on engineering exhibit. -- Alex Raksin "Los Angeles Times Book Review" Adams has covered his subject well, and his book would make excellent reading for young people contemplating a career in engineering...�It is� well organized, well written and often amusing, with some very shrewd observations...�The author� deserves our thanks for an interesting and valuable book. -- Michael French "Times Higher Education Supplement"

Bibliographic Details

Title: Flying Buttresses, Entropy, and O-Rings: The...
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Publication Date: 1992
Binding: hardcover
Condition: Good