Engineering definition. Medieval technologies that changed our lives forever. The Large Hadron Collider

Engineering

Engineering, engineering(from fr. ingénierie, Also engineering from English engineering, originally from Lat. ingenium- ingenuity; artifice; knowledge, skillful) - an area of ​​human intellectual activity, a discipline, a profession, the task of which is to apply the achievements of science, technology, the use of laws and natural resources to solve specific problems, goals and objectives of humanity.

Otherwise, engineering is a set of applied works, including pre-design feasibility studies and justification of planned investments, the necessary laboratory and experimental refinement of technologies and prototypes, their industrial development, as well as subsequent services and consultations.

American Council of Engineers for Professional Development American Engineers" Council for Professional Development (ECPD) ) gave the following definition of the term “engineering”:

Engineering is implemented through the application of both scientific knowledge and practical experience (engineering skills, abilities) with the aim of creating (primarily designing) useful technological and technical processes and objects that implement these processes. Engineering services can be performed by both NGOs and independent engineering companies. Such organizations offer a range of commercial services for the preparation and support of the production process and sales of products, for the maintenance and operation of industrial, infrastructure and other facilities, which includes engineering and consulting services of a research, design, calculation and analytical nature, for the preparation of technical economic justifications, development of recommendations in the field of organization of production and management.

History of engineering

Despite the fact that engineering tasks faced humanity at the very early stages of its development, the engineering specialty as a separate profession began to take shape only in modern times. Technical activity has always existed, but in order for engineering to stand out among others, humanity had to go through a long path of development. Only the division of labor marked the beginning of this process, and only the emergence of special engineering education recorded the formation of engineering activity.

Nevertheless, it is possible to consider many achievements of the past as cleverly solved engineering problems. The creation of a bow, wheel, and plow required mental work, the ability to handle tools, and the use of creative abilities.

Many technical solutions and inventions created both the material basis for subsequent development and formed skills and abilities passed on from generation to generation, which, accumulating, became the basis for subsequent theoretical understanding.

The development of construction played a special role. The construction of cities, defensive structures, and religious buildings has always required the most advanced technical methods. Most likely, it was in construction that the concept of a project first appeared, when in order to implement a plan it was necessary to separate the idea from direct production in order to be able to manage the process. The most complex structures of antiquity - the Egyptian pyramids, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Lighthouse of Alexandria - required not only labor, but also skillful organization of the technical process.

The first engineers include the ancient Egyptian architect Imhotep, the ancient Chinese hydraulic engineer Great Yu, and the ancient Greek sculptor and architect Phidias. They performed both technical and organizational functions inherent in engineers. However, at the same time, their activity was based for the most part not on theoretical knowledge, but on experience, and their engineering talent was indivisible among other talents: every engineer of antiquity was, first of all, a sage who combined a philosopher, scientist, politician, writer.

The first attempt to consider engineering as a special type of activity can be considered the work of Vitruvius “Ten Books on Architecture” (lat. De architectura libri decem). It makes the first known attempts to describe the process of an engineer's activity. Vitruvius draws attention to such important methods for an engineer as “reflection” and “invention”, and notes the need to create a drawing of a future structure. However, for the most part, Vitruvius bases his descriptions on practical experience. In ancient times, the theory of structures was still at the very beginning of its development.

The most important step in engineering was the use of scale drawings. This method developed in the 17th century and had a strong influence on the subsequent history of engineering. Thanks to him, it became possible to divide engineering work into the actual development of an idea and its technical implementation. Having in front of him a design of any large structure on paper, the engineer got rid of the narrow-mindedness of the artisan, often limited only by the detail on which he is working at the moment.

In 1653, the first cadet school training engineers was opened in Prussia. Also, for the purpose of training military engineers, the first special school was created in Denmark in the 17th century. In 1690, an artillery school was founded in France.

The first engineering and technical educational institution in Russia to begin providing systematic education was the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences, founded in 1701 by Peter I. The education of military engineers began during the reign of Vasily Shuisky. The “Charter of Military Affairs” was translated into Russian, which, among other things, talked about the rules for the defense of fortresses and the construction of defensive structures. The training was conducted by invited foreign specialists. But it was Peter I who played an outstanding role in the development of engineering in Russia. In 1712, the first engineering school was opened in Moscow, and in 1719, the second engineering school was opened in St. Petersburg. In 1715, the Maritime Academy was created, in 1725 the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was opened with a university and a gymnasium.

In 1742, the Dresden Engineering School was opened, in 1744 - the Austrian Academy of Engineering, in 1750 - the Application School in Mieser, 1788 - the Engineering School in Potsdam.

The first textbook on engineering can be considered a textbook for military engineers, “The Science of Engineering,” published in 1729.

The modern system of higher engineering education in Russia was born in the nineteenth century. The first higher engineering educational institution became in 1810 the Main Engineering School of the Russian Empire (and now VITU), founded in 1804, due to the addition of additional officer classes and a two-year continuation of officer training, in contrast to all other cadet corps and engineering educational institutions in Russia. As the outstanding mechanical scientist and graduate of the Institute of Railway Engineers Timoshenko, Stepan Prokofievich wrote in his book “Engineering Education in Russia”, the educational scheme of the Main Engineering School, born after the addition of senior officer classes, with the division of the Five-Year Education into two stages in the future, is based on the example The Institute of Railway Engineers spread in Russia and continues to this day. This made it possible to start teaching mathematics, mechanics and physics at a fairly high level already in the first years and give students sufficient preparation in fundamental subjects, and then use the time to study engineering disciplines.

In 1809, Alexander I founded the Corps of Railway Engineers in St. Petersburg. An Institute was established under him (Institute of the Corps of Railway Engineers). One of the first higher technical educational institutions in Russia later became the alma mother of many talented Russian engineers and professors.

During the 19th century, the creation of various specializations and areas of higher engineering education continued, which occurred during the transition of the most advanced engineering and technical educational institutions of the Russian Empire to the system of higher education, which led to qualitative development, since each educational institution created its own program that did not exist before new direction or specialization of higher engineering education, borrowing the best practices of others, collaborating and sharing innovations. One of the outstanding organizers of this process was Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev.

In England, engineering specialists were trained by the following institutions: The Institute of Civil Engineers (England) (eng. Institution of Civil Engineers ) (founded 1818), Institution of Mechanical Engineers (eng. Institution of Mechanical Engineers ) (1847), Institute of Naval Architects (eng. Royal Institution of Naval Architects ) (1860), Institution of Electrical Engineers (eng. Institution of Electrical Engineers ) (1871).

Engineering as a profession

People who engage in engineering on a regular and professional basis are called engineers. Engineers apply their scientific knowledge to find a suitable solution to a problem or to create improvements.

The critical and unique challenge of engineers is to identify, understand, and interpret design constraints to achieve a successful outcome. Typically, it is not enough to create a successful product; it must meet further requirements.

In general, the life cycle of an engineering structure can be divided into several stages:

• need
• study
• design
• construction
• exploitation
• liquidation.

The process of engineering activity begins with the formation of the need for an artificial mechanism or process. Having studied this need, the engineer must formulate an idea for a solution, which must be given a certain form - a project. A project is needed so that the plan of an engineer (a group of engineers), existing as an idea, becomes clear to other people. The project is subsequently translated into reality with the help of building materials.

When solving the problem facing him, an engineer can use already developed solutions. In particular, standard design has become widespread from the earliest times. However, for non-trivial problems standard solutions are not enough. In such cases, we can talk about engineering as an “art of engineering”, when, using specialized knowledge, an engineer must create an object, come up with a method that has not previously existed. The professional thinking of an engineer is a complex mental process, which, like any art, is difficult to formalize. In general approximation, the following stages can be distinguished when solving an engineering problem:

• understanding the technical requirements contained in the initial task;
• creating a solution plan;
• confirmation or refutation of the plan.

These stages do not necessarily occur sequentially; rather, the process of forming a response to a given task occurs cyclically, and not always with clear awareness. Sometimes a hunch may appear as an intuitive insight. Based on accumulated experience, it can later be explained and analyzed, but at the first moment it is not possible to say how and why it was born. Guessing is possible with an intuitive subtype of thinking, which can be considered the main source of generating ideas. It is closely related to other subtypes: synthetic and analytical, creative and routine, logical.

Eiffel Tower (Gustav Eiffel, Maurice Ququelin (eng. Maurice Koechlin ), Emile Nougier (eng. Émile Nouguier ) and etc.)
Engineers	Idea	Project	Construction	Finished building

CAE systems

CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) - computer engineering based on the use of CAE systems.

Codes in knowledge classification systems

Kinds

• Pedagogical engineering

Notes

see also

Literature

• V. E. Zelensky Monuments of military engineering art: historical memory and new objects of cultural heritage of Russia. Archived from the original on November 29, 2012.
• T. Karman, M. Bio, Mathematical methods in engineering, OGIZ, 1948, 424 pp.
• Saprykin D. L. Engineering education in Russia: History, concept, perspective // ​​Higher education in Russia. No. 1, 2012.

Engineering

Engineering, engineering(from fr. ingénierie, Also engineering from English engineering, originally from Lat. ingenium- ingenuity; artifice; knowledge, skillful) - an area of ​​human intellectual activity, a discipline, a profession, the task of which is to apply the achievements of science, technology, the use of laws and natural resources to solve specific problems, goals and objectives of humanity.

Otherwise, engineering is a set of applied works, including pre-design feasibility studies and justification of planned investments, the necessary laboratory and experimental refinement of technologies and prototypes, their industrial development, as well as subsequent services and consultations.

American Council of Engineers for Professional Development American Engineers" Council for Professional Development (ECPD) ) gave the following definition of the term “engineering”:

Engineering is implemented through the application of both scientific knowledge and practical experience (engineering skills, abilities) with the aim of creating (primarily designing) useful technological and technical processes and objects that implement these processes. Engineering services can be performed by both NGOs and independent engineering companies. Such organizations offer a range of commercial services for the preparation and support of the production process and sales of products, for the maintenance and operation of industrial, infrastructure and other facilities, which includes engineering and consulting services of a research, design, calculation and analytical nature, for the preparation of technical economic justifications, development of recommendations in the field of organization of production and management.

History of engineering

Despite the fact that engineering tasks faced humanity at the very early stages of its development, the engineering specialty as a separate profession began to take shape only in modern times. Technical activity has always existed, but in order for engineering to stand out among others, humanity had to go through a long path of development. Only the division of labor marked the beginning of this process, and only the emergence of special engineering education recorded the formation of engineering activity.

Nevertheless, it is possible to consider many achievements of the past as cleverly solved engineering problems. The creation of a bow, wheel, and plow required mental work, the ability to handle tools, and the use of creative abilities.

Many technical solutions and inventions created both the material basis for subsequent development and formed skills and abilities passed on from generation to generation, which, accumulating, became the basis for subsequent theoretical understanding.

The development of construction played a special role. The construction of cities, defensive structures, and religious buildings has always required the most advanced technical methods. Most likely, it was in construction that the concept of a project first appeared, when in order to implement a plan it was necessary to separate the idea from direct production in order to be able to manage the process. The most complex structures of antiquity - the Egyptian pyramids, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Lighthouse of Alexandria - required not only labor, but also skillful organization of the technical process.

The first engineers include the ancient Egyptian architect Imhotep, the ancient Chinese hydraulic engineer Great Yu, and the ancient Greek sculptor and architect Phidias. They performed both technical and organizational functions inherent in engineers. However, at the same time, their activity was based for the most part not on theoretical knowledge, but on experience, and their engineering talent was indivisible among other talents: every engineer of antiquity was, first of all, a sage who combined a philosopher, scientist, politician, writer.

The first attempt to consider engineering as a special type of activity can be considered the work of Vitruvius “Ten Books on Architecture” (lat. De architectura libri decem). It makes the first known attempts to describe the process of an engineer's activity. Vitruvius draws attention to such important methods for an engineer as “reflection” and “invention”, and notes the need to create a drawing of a future structure. However, for the most part, Vitruvius bases his descriptions on practical experience. In ancient times, the theory of structures was still at the very beginning of its development.

The most important step in engineering was the use of scale drawings. This method developed in the 17th century and had a strong influence on the subsequent history of engineering. Thanks to him, it became possible to divide engineering work into the actual development of an idea and its technical implementation. Having in front of him a design of any large structure on paper, the engineer got rid of the narrow-mindedness of the artisan, often limited only by the detail on which he is working at the moment.

In 1653, the first cadet school training engineers was opened in Prussia. Also, for the purpose of training military engineers, the first special school was created in Denmark in the 17th century. In 1690, an artillery school was founded in France.

The first engineering and technical educational institution in Russia to begin providing systematic education was the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences, founded in 1701 by Peter I. The education of military engineers began during the reign of Vasily Shuisky. The “Charter of Military Affairs” was translated into Russian, which, among other things, talked about the rules for the defense of fortresses and the construction of defensive structures. The training was conducted by invited foreign specialists. But it was Peter I who played an outstanding role in the development of engineering in Russia. In 1712, the first engineering school was opened in Moscow, and in 1719, the second engineering school was opened in St. Petersburg. In 1715, the Maritime Academy was created, in 1725 the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was opened with a university and a gymnasium.

In 1742, the Dresden Engineering School was opened, in 1744 - the Austrian Academy of Engineering, in 1750 - the Application School in Mieser, 1788 - the Engineering School in Potsdam.

The first textbook on engineering can be considered a textbook for military engineers, “The Science of Engineering,” published in 1729.

The modern system of higher engineering education in Russia was born in the nineteenth century. The first higher engineering educational institution became in 1810 the Main Engineering School of the Russian Empire (and now VITU), founded in 1804, due to the addition of additional officer classes and a two-year continuation of officer training, in contrast to all other cadet corps and engineering educational institutions in Russia. As the outstanding mechanical scientist and graduate of the Institute of Railway Engineers Timoshenko, Stepan Prokofievich wrote in his book “Engineering Education in Russia”, the educational scheme of the Main Engineering School, born after the addition of senior officer classes, with the division of the Five-Year Education into two stages in the future, is based on the example The Institute of Railway Engineers spread in Russia and continues to this day. This made it possible to start teaching mathematics, mechanics and physics at a fairly high level already in the first years and give students sufficient preparation in fundamental subjects, and then use the time to study engineering disciplines.

In 1809, Alexander I founded the Corps of Railway Engineers in St. Petersburg. An Institute was established under him (Institute of the Corps of Railway Engineers). One of the first higher technical educational institutions in Russia later became the alma mother of many talented Russian engineers and professors.

During the 19th century, the creation of various specializations and areas of higher engineering education continued, which occurred during the transition of the most advanced engineering and technical educational institutions of the Russian Empire to the system of higher education, which led to qualitative development, since each educational institution created its own program that did not exist before new direction or specialization of higher engineering education, borrowing the best practices of others, collaborating and sharing innovations. One of the outstanding organizers of this process was Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev.

In England, engineering specialists were trained by the following institutions: The Institute of Civil Engineers (England) (eng. Institution of Civil Engineers ) (founded 1818), Institution of Mechanical Engineers (eng. Institution of Mechanical Engineers ) (1847), Institute of Naval Architects (eng. Royal Institution of Naval Architects ) (1860), Institution of Electrical Engineers (eng. Institution of Electrical Engineers ) (1871).

Engineering as a profession

People who engage in engineering on a regular and professional basis are called engineers. Engineers apply their scientific knowledge to find a suitable solution to a problem or to create improvements.

The critical and unique challenge of engineers is to identify, understand, and interpret design constraints to achieve a successful outcome. Typically, it is not enough to create a successful product; it must meet further requirements.

In general, the life cycle of an engineering structure can be divided into several stages:

• need
• study
• design
• construction
• exploitation
• liquidation.

The process of engineering activity begins with the formation of the need for an artificial mechanism or process. Having studied this need, the engineer must formulate an idea for a solution, which must be given a certain form - a project. A project is needed so that the plan of an engineer (a group of engineers), existing as an idea, becomes clear to other people. The project is subsequently translated into reality with the help of building materials.

When solving the problem facing him, an engineer can use already developed solutions. In particular, standard design has become widespread from the earliest times. However, for non-trivial problems standard solutions are not enough. In such cases, we can talk about engineering as an “art of engineering”, when, using specialized knowledge, an engineer must create an object, come up with a method that has not previously existed. The professional thinking of an engineer is a complex mental process, which, like any art, is difficult to formalize. In general approximation, the following stages can be distinguished when solving an engineering problem:

• understanding the technical requirements contained in the initial task;
• creating a solution plan;
• confirmation or refutation of the plan.

These stages do not necessarily occur sequentially; rather, the process of forming a response to a given task occurs cyclically, and not always with clear awareness. Sometimes a hunch may appear as an intuitive insight. Based on accumulated experience, it can later be explained and analyzed, but at the first moment it is not possible to say how and why it was born. Guessing is possible with an intuitive subtype of thinking, which can be considered the main source of generating ideas. It is closely related to other subtypes: synthetic and analytical, creative and routine, logical.

Eiffel Tower (Gustav Eiffel, Maurice Ququelin (eng. Maurice Koechlin ), Emile Nougier (eng. Émile Nouguier ) and etc.)
Engineers	Idea	Project	Construction	Finished building

CAE systems

CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) - computer engineering based on the use of CAE systems.

Codes in knowledge classification systems

Kinds

• Pedagogical engineering

Notes

see also

Literature

• V. E. Zelensky Monuments of military engineering art: historical memory and new objects of cultural heritage of Russia. Archived from the original on November 29, 2012.
• T. Karman, M. Bio, Mathematical methods in engineering, OGIZ, 1948, 424 pp.
• Saprykin D. L. Engineering education in Russia: History, concept, perspective // ​​Higher education in Russia. No. 1, 2012.

The beginning of the 21st century brought a surge of discovery and the creation of new engineering advances that set a new pace for the coming decade. From the growth of communication networks that instantly connected people around the world to the understanding of physical science that creates the basis for future advances.

There have been many great engineering and scientific achievements in the short span of the 21st century, from the development of the smartphone to the construction of the Large Hadron Collider.

Major engineering achievements of the 21st century:

The Large Hadron Collider

Several 21st century projects have been implemented from the dwarf size to the large-scale Large Hadron Collider. Built from 1998 to 2008 by hundreds of brilliant minds, the collider is one of the most advanced scientific research projects ever created. Its goal is to prove or disprove the existence of the Higgs boson and other particle physics theories. accelerates two high-energy particles in opposite directions through a 27-kilometer-long ring in order for them to collide and observe the effects. The particles move at almost the speed of light in two ultra-high vacuum tubes and interact with powerful magnetic fields supported by superconducting electromagnets. These electromagnets are specially cooled to temperatures colder than outer space to -271.3 °C and special electrical cables that maintain a superconducting state.

Interesting fact: A match of data confirming the presence of the Higgs particle was analyzed by the world's largest computing network in 2012, consisting of 170 computing facilities in 36 countries.

The largest dam

The Three Gorges Dam created a hydroelectric dam spanning the entire width of the Yangtze River near the city of Sandouping, China. Considered a feat of historic proportions by the Chinese government, it is the largest power plant in the world, producing a total of 22,500 MW (11 times more than Hoover Dam) of electricity. It is a massive structure 2335 m long, 185 m above sea level. 13 towns and over 1,600 villages were submerged under the reservoir, believed to be the largest of its kind. The cost of the entire project is $62 billion.

Tallest building Burj Khalifa

The tallest structure is in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The name Burj Khalifa, translated as "Khalifa Tower", is the tallest of all skyscrapers, with a height of 829.8 m. Officially opened in January 2010, Burj Dubai is the central location of Dubai's main business district. Everything in the tower is record-breaking: the greatest height, a high open observation room, a transparent floor, a high-speed elevator. The style of architecture is derived from the structuring of the Islamic state system.

Millau Viaduct

The Millau Viaduct in France is the highest bridge in all of human civilization. One of its supports has a height of 341 meters. The bridge spans the Tarn River valley near Millau in southern France and represents an outstanding overall structure given its slender elegance.

The Middle Ages (Middle Ages) is the historical period following Antiquity and preceding the Modern Age.

Starting from the 12th-13th centuries, Europe experienced a sharp rise in the development of technology and an increase in the number of innovations in the means of production; more inventions were made in less than a century than in the previous thousand years.

Cannons, spectacles, artesian wells and cross-cultural introductions were invented: gunpowder, silk, the compass and the astrolabe came from the East. There were also great advances in shipbuilding and watches. At the same time, huge numbers of Greek and Arabic works on medicine and science were translated and distributed throughout Europe.

This rise in the development of technology occurred thanks to such scientists, physicists, engineers as F. Bacon, Galileo, H. Huygens, R. Bacon, Leonardo da Vinci, N. Copernicus, B. Pascal, E. Torricelli, V. Leibniz, I . Newton, S. Thomas and many others.

I want to talk about Galileo Galilei.

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Galileo Galilei was born on February 15, 1564 in the university city of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Pisa.

His parents were Galileo's first teachers. Thanks to them, the boy received an initial classical, musical and literary education.

In 1575, the family returned to Florence, where 11-year-old Galileo was sent to a secular school at the monastery. Here he studied languages, rhetoric, poetry, music, drawing and simple mechanics.

In September 1581, Galileo became a student at the University of Pisa. Galileo studied mainly on his own, studying textbooks on medicine, the works of Aristotle and especially Plato, whom he fell in love with for his mathematical mind. He became interested in making machines that were described in the works of Archimedes. In 1582 he made several pendulums. Observing their swings, Galileo discovered the law of isochronism (from the Greek "isos" - "equal", "same", "chronos" - "time") of oscillations: the period of oscillation of a load suspended on a thread depends only on the length of the thread and not depends on the mass and amplitude of vibrations.

In his second year, Galileo attended a lecture on geometry, became interested in mathematics and was very sorry that he could not quit medicine. It was at this time that he first became acquainted with the physics of Aristotle, with the works of ancient mathematicians - Euclid and Archimedes (the latter became his real teacher). Left without funds, in 1585 (his father had nothing to pay for further studies), Galileo returned to Florence. Here he managed to find a wonderful mathematics teacher, Ostilio Ricci, who in his classes discussed not only purely mathematical problems, but also applied mathematics to practical mechanics, especially hydraulics. The result of the four-year Florentine period of Galileo's life was the small work “Small Hydrostatic Balances”.

The work pursued purely practical goals: having improved the already known method of hydrostatic weighing, Galileo used it to determine the density of metals and precious stones. He made several handwritten copies of his work and tried to distribute them. This way he met the famous mathematician of that time - Marquis Guido Ubaldo del Monte, author of the Textbook on Mechanics. Monte immediately appreciated the outstanding abilities of the young scientist and, holding the high post of inspector general of all fortresses and fortifications in the Duchy of Tuscany, was able to provide Galileo with an important service: on his recommendation, in 1589 the latter received a position as professor of mathematics at the very University of Pisa, where he had previously been a student. Galileo's work on motion dates back to the time Galileo was at the department in Pisa.

In it, he first argues against the Aristotelian doctrine of the fall of bodies. Later, these arguments were formulated by him in the form of a law on the proportionality of the path traveled by a body to the square of the time of fall (according to Aristotle, “in airless space all bodies fall infinitely fast”).

In 1592, Galileo took the chair of mathematics at the University of Padua in the Republic of Venice. He was supposed to teach geometry, mechanics, and astronomy. He taught a course in astronomy, remaining within the framework of the officially accepted views of Aristotle - Ptolemy, and even wrote a short course on geocentric astronomy. In the first years of his professorship, Galileo was mainly engaged in the development of new mechanics, not built on the principles of Aristotle. He formulated more clearly the “golden rule of mechanics,” which he derived from the more general principle he discovered, formulated in the Treatise on Mechanics.

During the Padua period of Galileo's life (1592-1610), his main works in the field of dynamics matured: on the movement of a body on an inclined plane and a body thrown at an angle to the horizon; research on the strength of materials dates back to the same time. However, of all his works of that time, Galileo published only a small brochure about the compass he invented, which made it possible to carry out various calculations and constructions.

The Padua period is the time of the highest flowering of Galileo's scientific activity. It became the happiest in his life. The audience of his public lectures were young aristocrats who wanted to receive an education in the field of military engineering disciplines. For them, Galileo taught courses on fortification and ballistics. He opened a workshop in Pisa where various mechanisms and instruments were manufactured, including those invented by him.

Galileo's thermoscope, the predecessor of the modern thermometer, was made here, as well as a device for measuring frequency, the metronome. Handwritten texts of his lectures, manuals on mechanics and astronomy were very popular not only in Italy, but throughout Europe.

On October 10, 1604, a previously unknown star flashed in the constellation Ophiuchus. At its maximum brightness it was brighter than Jupiter.

Galileo observed it until the end of 1605. It is now known that it was a supernova explosion in our Galaxy. The star was in the same place in the celestial sphere, so Galileo argued that it was much further from the Earth than the Moon and the planets. He proposed the following hypothesis: a new star is a dense accumulation of terrestrial vapors illuminated by the Sun. In August 1609, Galileo Galilei made a trumpet with a magnification of 30 times. The tube had a length of 1245 mm, its lens was a convex spectacle lens with a diameter of 53 mm, and a flat-concave eyepiece had an optical power of 25 diopters. It was not spectacle glass that was used there, as is commonly believed at the suggestion of Galileo himself. He apparently understood how to set the magnification of the pipe, but preferred not to write about it.

His telescope was an order of magnitude more powerful and better than all spotting scopes of that time. But most importantly, Galileo was the first to understand that the main scientific purpose of the telescope was the observation of celestial bodies. With the 30x telescope, Galileo made all his telescopic discoveries. It is still kept in a museum in Florence.

First of all, Galileo began observing the Moon. He saw the lunar landscape - circuses and craters, mountain ranges and peaks, seeing through the telescope the shadows they cast. Based on his observations, Galileo came to the conclusion that the Moon is the same rocky body as the Earth. Galileo discovered the phases of Venus and discovered four satellites of Jupiter, which are now called Galilean. Galileo's telescope was the first to resolve some of the nebulous spots in the sky into stars. Thus, the continuous radiance of the Milky Way turned out to be a gigantic cluster of stars. Thus, Galileo is the discoverer of the Galaxy.

In March 1610, Galileo’s work “The Starry Messenger, Revealing Great and Supremely Amazing Sights...” was published, notifying the world of new astronomical discoveries.

Never before have scientific discoveries made such a stunning impression on the cultural world. Galileo became famous. Galileo described all his observations in his work “The Starry Messenger”.

In October 1610, Galileo made a new sensational discovery: he observed the phases of Venus. There could be only one explanation for this: the movement of the planet around the Sun and the change in the position of Venus and Earth relative to the Sun. In September, the Sacred College summoned Galileo to Rome. Galileo was found guilty of violating church prohibitions and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was ill, but his request for a postponement was rejected. The 70-year-old man arrived in Rome on February 13, 1633 and stayed at the Villa Medici. The process began in April. Galileo chose the tactics of excuses and subterfuge, avoiding clear statements. But tedious interrogations and the threat of torture broke him.

After the verdict was announced, he, on his knees, renounced his “delusions.” The Pope replaced the imprisonment with exile at the Grand Duke's country villa. Galileo was later transported to Florence and imprisoned in his own Villa Arcetri without the right to leave.

The last years of the scientist’s life passed under the strict supervision of the Inquisition; Galileo was ill almost all the time and gradually lost his sight.

τεχνικός ← τέχνη - “art”, “skill”, “skill”), denoting active creative activity aimed at transforming nature in order to satisfy various vital human needs. Not to be confused with the term "Equipment (technical devices)"

The creative application of scientific principles (a) to the design or development of structures, machines, apparatus, or processes for their manufacture, or to objects in which these devices or processes are used separately or in combination, or (b) to the design and operation of the above engineering devices in full accordance with the project, or (c) to predict the behavior of engineering devices under certain operating conditions - guided by considerations of ensuring their functionality, efficiency in use and safety for life and property.

Present tense

The modern understanding of engineering implies the targeted use of scientific knowledge in the creation and operation of engineering technical devices that are the result of the transformative activities of an engineer, and covers three types of engineering activities:

• research (scientific and technical) activities - applied scientific research, feasibility study of planned investments, planning;
• design (design) activities - construction (design), creation and testing of prototypes (models, prototypes) of technical devices; development of technologies for their manufacture (construction), packaging, transportation, storage, etc. ; preparation of design/project documentation;
• technological (production) activities - organizational, consulting and other activities aimed at introducing engineering developments into the practical activities of economic entities with their subsequent support (technical support) and/or operation on behalf of the customer.

History of engineering

The origins of engineering go back to the prehistoric mythological era. The creation of a bow, wheel, and plow required mental work, the ability to handle tools, and the use of creative abilities. The legendary Daedalus and Noah can be considered as engineers. The first engineer known by name was the Egyptian Imhotep, who supervised the construction of the Pyramid of Djoser (3rd millennium BC). Archimedes is considered the most famous engineer of Antiquity.

The first attempt to consider engineering as a special type of activity can be considered the work of Vitruvius “Ten Books on Architecture” (lat. De architectura libri decem). It makes the first known attempts to describe the process of an engineer's activity. Vitruvius draws attention to such important methods for an engineer as “reflection” and “invention”, and notes the need to create a drawing of a future structure. However, for the most part, Vitruvius bases his descriptions on practical experience. In ancient times, the theory of structures was still at the very beginning of its development.

The most important step in engineering was the use of scale drawings. This method developed in the 17th century and had a strong influence on the subsequent history of engineering. Thanks to him, it became possible to divide engineering work into the actual development of an idea and its technical implementation. Having in front of him a design of any large structure on paper, the engineer got rid of the narrow-mindedness of the artisan, often limited only by the detail on which he is working at the moment.

The first engineering and technical educational institution in Russia to begin providing systematic education was the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences, founded in 1701 by Peter I. The education of military engineers began during the reign of Vasily Shuisky. The “Charter of Military Affairs” was translated into Russian, which, among other things, talked about the rules for the defense of fortresses and the construction of defensive structures. The training was conducted by invited foreign specialists. But it was Peter I who played an outstanding role in the development of engineering in Russia. In 1712, the first engineering school was opened in Moscow, and in 1719, the second engineering school was opened in St. Petersburg. In 1715, the Maritime Academy was created, in 1725 the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was opened with a university and a gymnasium.

The first textbook on engineering can be considered a textbook for military engineers, “The Science of Engineering,” published in 1729 by the Frenchman Bernard Forest de Belidor.

During the 19th century, the creation of various specializations and areas of higher engineering education continued, which occurred during the transition of the most advanced engineering and technical educational institutions of the Russian Empire to the system of higher education, which led to qualitative development, since each educational institution created its own program that did not exist before new direction or specialization of higher engineering education, borrowing the best practices of others, collaborating and sharing innovations. One of the outstanding organizers of this process was Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev.

In England, the following institutions trained engineering specialists: the Institute of Civil Engineers (England) (founded in 1818), the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (English) (1847), the Institute of Naval Architects (English) (1860) , Institution of Electrical Engineers (English) (1871).

Engineering as a profession

An engineer who specializes in engineering is called engineer. In the modern economic system, the activity of an engineer is a set of services in the field of engineering and technical activities. The activity of an engineer, unlike the activity of other representatives of the creative intelligentsia (teachers, doctors, actors, composers, etc.), in its role in social production, is productive labor, directly involved in the creation of national income. Through engineering activities, an engineer uses his scientific knowledge and practical experience to solve any technical problem at various stages of the product life cycle.

With the expansion and deepening of scientific knowledge, professional specialization of the engineering profession into disciplines occurred. Currently, productive engineering activity is possible only within a team of engineers, each of whom specializes in a specific area of ​​engineering. The engineering services market operates