6.11: A Brief History of Engineering Vocabulary
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- Aqueduct
- A man-made channel for carrying water.
- Assembly line
- A system for assembling identical objects using a sequence of processes.
- CADD
- CADD stands for computer-aided design and drafting. It is the practice of using computer software to represent the geometry of designed objects.
- Cathedral
- A large church building. A Cathedral is usually associated with a bishop.
- Cesspit
- A pit or tank in the ground for the storage of human waste and other sewage.
- Chronometer
- A device for measuring time.
- Cistern
- A tank for holding water or other liquid.
- Corporation
- A group of people authorized by law to act as a single entity, usually for the purpose of making money.
- Cottage Industry
- A manufacturing activity carried on in one’s home.
- Drainage basin
- The region drained by a river or stream. Precipitation falling into the drainage basin of a river will end up in the river if it does not evaporate or seep into the ground.
- Dynamo
- A machine that converts rotational energy such as that generated by a water wheel or a steam engine into electrical energy.
- Electromagnetic waves
- Waves such as light or radio waves that propagate through the interaction of electric and magnetic fields.
- Factory
- A building where things are manufactured.
- Fly-by-wire
- An aircraft control system in which the setting of control surfaces (e.g., the rudder, ailerons, and so on) is controlled by electrical signals.
- Flying buttress
- A structure that transfers the weight loads from roofs and upper stories to the ground in Gothic architecture.
- Integrated circuit
- An electronic circuit of transistors etched onto a small piece of silicon which is sometimes referred to as a microchip.
- Interchangeable parts
- Parts that are manufactured to a particular specification so that any one of a given part can be used in a machine or assembly.
- Internal combustion engine
- An engine that generates power by burning a fuel inside the engine.
- Locomotive
- An engine for pulling trains.
- Longitude
- The distance east or west of the prime meridian, an imaginary north-south line that passes through Greenwich, England. It is measured in degrees.
- Mainframe computer
- A large high-speed computer that typically supports many users at once.
- Mason
- A stone worker.
- Microprocessor
- An integrated circuit that implements a computer processor that can store and manipulate data to perform a wide variety of useful functions.
- Minicomputer
- A computer that supports many users at once and whose computing capacity is lower than a mainframe. Minicomputers have largely been supplanted by powerful personal computers.
- Morse code
- A code in which letters of the alphabet are represented by patterns of long and short bursts of sound.
- Patent
- The exclusive rights granted by a government to an inventor to manufacture, use, or sell an invention for a certain number of years.
- Perspective
- A way of drawing solid objects so that their height and depth are apparent.
- Piston
- a disk or solid cylinder that moves up and down in a larger hollow cylinder.
- Potable
- Potable water is water that is clean enough to drink.
- Printing press
- A machine for printing newspapers and books.
- Qanat
- An irrigation tunnel through which water flows from an aquifer (ground water) to a village or town.
- Reservoir
- A body of water, usually formed behind a dam.
- Rule of thumb
- A general principle that may not be accurate for every situation to which it is applied.
- Semiconductor
- A substance that conducts electricity better than an insulator but not as well as a conductor. Silicon is a semiconductor used to make microchips.
- Siphon
- A pipe used to convey water through an area that is higher or lower than the beginning and end of the siphon.
- Trade organization
- An organization formed to promote the economic interests of a group of people.
- Transcontinental
- Stretching across the continent.
- Transistor
- An electrical component made from silicon or other semiconductors that can be used to build computers, radios, and other useful electronic devices.
- Typesetting
- The process of arranging letters prior to printing.
- Vacuum tube
- An electrical component that was used to create amplifiers and other useful electrical circuits. A vacuum tube contains metal components inside a glass tube that is sealed to exclude air or other gasses from the tube.