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The "Famous Engineers" Series
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The Man Who Invented the 20th Century |
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While strolling through Budapest's city park
one early evening in 1882, this young engineer suddenly had a
vision that would lead to one of the greatest inventions of
all time. Grabbing a stick, he drew a diagram in the
sand explaining to his friend the principle of the induction
motor. |
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Born at midnight on July 10, 1856 (reportedly
during a fierce electric storm) in present-day Croatia, this
son of a Serbian Orthodox priest registered more than 700
inventions and more than 100 patents in his lifetime.
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He emigrated to America, arriving in New York
with only 4 cents in his pocket and immediately went to work
for Thomas Edison. However, disgusted with his low pay
and unable to persuade Edison of the superiority of AC power
over Edison's DC systems, he resigned his position. |
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Over the next 40 years, this brilliant
Serbian-American engineer paved the way for the electronic
world we now live in. His achievements include polyphase
power, the induction motor, long distance AC power
transmission, systems for wireless communication, bladeless
turbines, pumps, compressors, fluorescent light, laser beams,
electronic remote control, vertical take-off aircraft and
electrotherapy. |
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In addition to his enormous contributions in
electrical engineering, his inventions spanned the fields of
ballistics, robotics, computer science, nuclear physics,
medicine, mechanical engineering and theoretical physics.
He also invented radio, contrary to the widely held belief
that it was Marconi's invention. And his work enabled
Wilhelm Roentgen to discover X-rays in 1895. |
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He is often referred to as the "The Man Who
Invented The 20th Century". Who was this brilliant
engineer? |
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read more |
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Engineer Humor |
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There were three guys - a priest,
a doctor and an engineer, and they were playing golf. But the
group before them was extremely slow and at each hole they
waited hours. Finally the priest asked around, "why is that
other group so slow?" |
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read more |
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Engineering Feat of the Month |
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Monthly profile of America's greatest engineering
achievements. |
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Canal Above the River |
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Considered by many to be an
engineering achievement equivalent to the Brooklyn Bridge,
this aqueduct is the oldest cable-suspension bridge in the
U.S. still standing with its original elements. |
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Completed in 1848 by John Roebling,
designer of the Brooklyn Bridge, the aqueduct had towpaths on
each side of the center trunk, which carried water.
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The trunk, 6 feet deep and 19 feet
wide, carried its own dead weight. Cables were only
required to carry the weight of the water inside the trunk.
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Located at the intersection of a
canal and a river, the aqueduct was constructed to carry coal
on barges in the canal over the river. Prior to the
aqueduct's construction, barges crossed the river at a
slackwater dam that created a wide, deep section in the river.
Construction of the aqueduct removed a major bottleneck of
barge traffic on the canal and timber rafts on the river. |
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The canal ceased operations in
1898. When first converted from an aqueduct to a highway
bridge, many motorists were afraid that the bridge lacked the
strength for vehicular traffic. However, the bridge,
which had previously carried 2,000 tons of water, was more
than strong enough to handle vehicles. |
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What was this modern engineering
marvel? |
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read more |
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11/30 |
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IL |
30 PDH |
All Structural Engineers |
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NH |
30 PDH |
Based on Engineer's Birthdate |
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NY |
36 PDH |
Based on Engineer's
Birthdate |
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OK |
30 PDH |
Based on Date of Licensure |
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SD |
30 PDH |
Based on Date of
Licensure |
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TN |
24 PDH |
Based on Date of Licensure |
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