Eight Amazing Engineering Stories: Using the Elements to Create Extraordinary Technologies
Eight Amazing Engineering Stories: Using the Elements to Create Extraordinary Technologies book cover

Eight Amazing Engineering Stories: Using the Elements to Create Extraordinary Technologies

First Edition: April 2012

by
Price
$6.95
Format
Paperback
Pages
216
Publisher
Articulate Noise Books
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0983966135
Dimensions
6 x 0.54 x 9 inches
Weight
11.5 ounces

Description

Make magazine's blog called the EngineerGuy video team "brilliant science and technology documentarian[s]", whose "videos should be held up as models of how to present complex technical information visually." Wired called the videos "dazzling." The team, consisting of Bill Hammack Patrick Ryan, & Nick Ziech, created the stunning series that includes masterful explanations of the engineering underlying LCD monitors, fiber optic communications, and hard disc drives. Ryan and Ziech earned B.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois; Hammack, who is currently a Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at Illinois, earned a M.S. and Ph.D in Chemical Engineering at Illinois. Hammack's work has been recognized by an extraordinarily broad range of scientific, engineering, and journalistic professional societies. From journalists he has won the trifecta of the top science and engineering journalism awards: The National Association of Science Writer's Science in Society Award; the American Chemical Society's Grady-Stack Medal, and the American Institute of Physics' Science Writing Award. From his engineering peers he's been recognized with the ASME's Church Medal, IEEE's Distinguished Literary Contributions Award, ASEE's President's Medal, and the AIChE's Service to Society Award.

Features & Highlights

  • Eight Amazing Engineering Stories reveals the stories behind how engineers use specific elements to create the material world around us. In eight chapters, the EngineerGuy team exposes the magnificence of the innovation and engineering of digital camera imagers, tiny accelerometers, atomic clocks, enriched uranium, batteries, microwave ovens, lasers, and anodized metals. In addition, short primers cover the scientific principles underlying the engineering, including waves, nuclear structure, and electronic transitions. "In Depth" sections cover entropy, semiconductors, and the mathematics of capacitors. Eight Amazing Engineering Stories forms the basis of the fourth series of EngineerGuy videos found on-line.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(75)
★★★★
25%
(63)
★★★
15%
(38)
★★
7%
(18)
★
22%
(56)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Wish there were more like it

This is an amazing book that should be taught in every school. The eight stories are fascinating and demonstrate what an advanced society we live in. The authors do an excellent job of concisely explaining the science behind these concepts, providing enough detail to allow anyone to learn a lot, but not too much detail to turn it into a technical morass. My only complaint is that these guys stopped at 8. I wish they would continue with more editions. I was also disappointed to learn that there are not more books similar to this out there. This is a travesty. These books will help inspire future scientists, inventors, and businessmen who will continue to advance and enrich our lives.

My favorite sections were the battery and anodizing. I also thoroughly enjoyed the short intros on the various elements and the primers. Highly recommend and will make a perfect gift for anyone interested in science and how it applies to the real world.
5 people found this helpful
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Wish there were more like it

This is an amazing book that should be taught in every school. The eight stories are fascinating and demonstrate what an advanced society we live in. The authors do an excellent job of concisely explaining the science behind these concepts, providing enough detail to allow anyone to learn a lot, but not too much detail to turn it into a technical morass. My only complaint is that these guys stopped at 8. I wish they would continue with more editions. I was also disappointed to learn that there are not more books similar to this out there. This is a travesty. These books will help inspire future scientists, inventors, and businessmen who will continue to advance and enrich our lives.

My favorite sections were the battery and anodizing. I also thoroughly enjoyed the short intros on the various elements and the primers. Highly recommend and will make a perfect gift for anyone interested in science and how it applies to the real world.
5 people found this helpful
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Five Stars

Amazing book. Recommended to everyone.
1 people found this helpful
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A good read

As an engineer, I love seeing science written in a way that non-engineers can understand. For the most part, I think this book accomplished that task. Broken down into chapters dedicated to one topic each, you can skip to any section and start reading without feeling like you've missed something. For those who remember the PBS show "Connections", this book also provides some history of how they came to be, as well as how a particular development has affected other areas.

At times I did feel the narrative veered away from the main topic of the chapter, sometimes skimping in one area or being too detailed in others, but overall it was a nice read that could be kept on the nightstand for a little late-night science refresher.
1 people found this helpful
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Wonderfully informative

This is a great book. Very informatative. It includes enough theory for many of us, and provides details that may not be well known. I expected to enjoy the book, but was surprised at how much was learned from it. Parts of most topics need some re-reading to get the full picture. It was perfect for me - your mileage may vary. I very much enjoy their youtube videos, and the book provides detail that is not available in the videos.
1 people found this helpful
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Five Stars

Great book. I am anxious to try others
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Three Stars

I never got into this one
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Enjoyable and interesting.

I am enjoying reading about the origins of every day products, and how the right kind of engineering often gets taken for granted. This is a companion to the Engineerguy YouTube videos. It is more indepth than a 10 minute video can go.
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Four Stars

Excellent book, well explained.
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Great refreshing book for ideas!

This is a great book that gives the insight of engineering ideas that are fantastic read. I especially love the process of powder coating, oxidizing Aluminium to give it its special colors, like what Apple does for its ipods.

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