"This country has imported theories from abroad and concentrated on its application to concrete and immediate problems, such as the case of the Atom bomb" (Science and Public Policy). Americans have made less than what they are expected to contribute to engineering. Instead Americans have showed how to apply pure science to engineering. This is what Americans are well known for and have been well known for. The Americans applied pure science to come up with the Atom bomb. Europeans are credited with fundamental engineering advances. "Nations depend upon one another for engineering advances" (Engineering in History). In other words, nations depend on each other to come up with new engineering plans to solve hectic problems that surround the engineering world today. The best way to find these "problem solvers" is through history. History is th

History of engineering that has been recorded dates back to about 3,000 B.C. Men settled in the Tigris-Euphrates and Nile Valleys solved a lot of problems in different fields of engineering. Such fields include: structural, hydraulic, transportation, and metallurgical engineering. Before 3,000 B.C. big palaces were built for princes and big temples for priests. Increases in wealth, political power expansion, and trade growth led to growth in the cities. This growth led to increase in engineering and knowledge. It also led to the construction of monumental tombs. Engineers solved transportation problems by learning how to build roads, bridges, and ships, which could travel great distances. Hydraulic engineering came into play when they placed open drains to remove surface water, and underground drains that kept building foundations from sinking into mud. Because food production was important, early engineers built levees, dams, reservoirs, and canals to prevent floods and to irrigate their crop. About 700 B.C. stone aqueducts were used to transport water from reservoirs to the cities.

After 3,000 B.C. ships of different sizes were coming about. Designers applied knowledge of the working and joining of wood. Ships of this period were only moved by human effort.

Engineers of Mesopotamia developed two kinds of arches during their period. "The first was a corbelled, or false, arch built up with horizontal courses of brick or stone, each projecting slightly beyond the one below it until the two sides are met and closed the opening at the top. The principle of cantilevers could not be carried far with such materials. The corbelled arches of the engineers were therefore about spans, impressive neither in width nor in height. The second arch was a true arch, found in gates through walls." (Engineering in History) Engineers on the Arabian shore of the Red Sea in the tenth century built huge dams to store rains in the hills, save topsoil from erosion, and provide for irrigation. Among one of these dams was the Yemen Dam. This dam was one of the largest ever built. Hard-surfaced streets may have been one of the earliest achievements in engineering than sewer systems and water supply.

Records show that history of engineering is showed as progressive and cumulative. "Progress indicates advances that are built upon and include previous existing knowledge" (Engineering in History). "Civil engineers are busying themselves with the art of the practical application of scientific and empirical knowledge to the design and production or accomplishment of various sorts of constructive projects, machines and materials of use or value to man." (Atomic

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Approximate Word count = 1809
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)