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Questions tagged [engineering]

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1 vote
3 answers
134 views

How were complex analysis methods, like the Joukowsky transform, used in early aircraft design?

The Joukowsky transform is a conformal mapping of a disk to an airfoil shape. The wiki page says that "it was historically used to understand some principles of airfoil design". That's kind ...
Daniel Shapero's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
44 views

Before metric length units were based on the speed of light, how were sub-units accurately derived from the reference bars?

Its my understanding that before metric units of length were based on the speed of light, there were reference bars that were used to calibrate other (mostly calibration) equipment. How were these ...
Sawyer Schumacher's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
185 views

Engineering problems leading to mathematical research

I would like to know examples of mathematical research which had its origin in engineering problems (I am mainly interested in mechanical engineering and civil engineering) and which was actually ...
José Carlos Santos's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
76 views

How did MMPDS Develop Their Coordinate System for Metals?

How was the L, LT, ST coordinate system for Metals developed and adopted? I am talking with some colleagues about comparing metallic and non-metallic materials. Obviously, "apples-to-apples" ...
PipperChip's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
121 views

Examples of mathematical definitions motivated by engineering problems

I'm interested in the development of mathematical definitions for the sake of engineering, and what makes a particular definition better suited for a problem than another in any particular context. ...
melembroucarlitos's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
188 views

Math-education comparsion between Japan and United States from perspectives of engineering contributions

I may think that this post is unsuitable in HSM. NASA launches rockets far more than JAXA(Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). BostonDynamics-robots are way general-purpose than Japan's FANUC-robots. ...
electrical apprentice's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
144 views

Which modern sciences/technologies were contingent on the Copernican Revolution, & which could have developed even while believing in geocentrism? [closed]

Suppose that, for whatever reason, neither Copernicus nor anyone else had discovered the heliocentric model, and cosmology remained stuck in the geocentric model. ("For whatever reason" ...
Ron's user avatar
  • 11
2 votes
1 answer
376 views

Origin of the notation $s = \sigma + j\omega$ in electrical engineering/control theory

In analytic number theory it is traditional to write a complex variable as $s = \sigma + it$, with the letter $t$ going back to Riemann's paper on the zeta-function (1859) and the letter $\sigma$ ...
KCd's user avatar
  • 5,689
5 votes
1 answer
249 views

What are the earliest known proofs that planimeters 'work'?

The dates of various physical implementations of planimeters are pretty well known. I'm interested in discovering when formal mathematical proofs were published that any given design does calculate ...
Carl Witthoft's user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
122 views

What is the origin in the discrepancy between engineers' and physicists' notation of waves?

my question is very simple. Physicists use this notation in order to write a (for example) plane wave: $$ \xi(z) = \xi^+ \mathrm{e}^{+\mathrm{i}kz} + \xi^- \mathrm{e}^{-\mathrm{i}kz}, $$ where $\xi^+$ ...
gunix12's user avatar
  • 61
1 vote
0 answers
139 views

What did the pre-construction survey campaign of the Golden Gate Bridge involve?

The Golden Gate Bridge was built in the 1930's across the the Golden Gate strait. The conditions in this straight are pretty challenging from an environmental perspective with strong tides. In modern ...
gktscrk's user avatar
  • 328
3 votes
0 answers
63 views

Was Johann Heinrich Winkler really the first person who discovered field emission?

Who are the person or people who really discovered field emission in the first place? According to this slide https://www.researchgate.net/publication/...
SnoopyKid's user avatar
  • 131
16 votes
2 answers
1k views

What happened to cybernetics?

Recently, I've been looking into the life of the brilliant Norbert Wiener and the field he spawned, cybernetics. Before reading into it, I thought "cybernetics" was a pseudo-science-new-wave-...
Jesse's user avatar
  • 261
-1 votes
3 answers
1k views

Was there ever a mathematician or physicist who spearheaded a concerted effort to create a flawless musical instrument?

Specifically, is there any research paper or record of where someone renowned in their field performed experiments by using the properties of physics, engineering or mathematics to develop a musical ...
Nachiket Kulkarni's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
315 views

"Nuclear fusion is 30 years away" since when?

It's a well-known, running joke (or criticism) in the fusion community that Fusion is always 30 years away. refering to the considerable difficulties that harnessing nuclear fusion as an energy ...
stafusa's user avatar
  • 305

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