Directions for Book Blogging

Welcome to our summer book blog! Unlike most blogs that have one blogger- everyone gets to blog about the book, To Engineer is Human, and share ideas about K-12 engineering education and the "human side" of engineering. To reply to a post, click on Comments at the bottom of the post. To start a new post, click on New Post at the top right. However, to start a new post you have to have a Google account. If you don't want to register on Google, you can send me the text for your post and a title, and I will post it for you.

Who do we have on the blog? Our book blog consists of 16 high school teachers, 1 middle school teacher, 7 elementary teachers, 4 faculty or engineering students from the University of Maine, 3 MMSA staff, and 2 DOE staff. We have a diverse and well-rounded book group which should lead to some interesting conversations. One thing to remember- the most recent post is always at the top of the blog. If you haven't been on for awhile, scroll down and work backwards.

If you start a new post you also have the option of adding photos or other graphics as well as making a hyperlink. Play around with it a bit to get to know how it works. Try a test post- you can always delete it afterwards. Also, you will notice we will build a collection of links listed on the right. Since only the person (Page) with the Google account can add these, if you have any you would like to share, just send them to me at pagekeeley@gmail.com and I will post them for you. This is the first time we have ever tried this as a blog, so we're all getting our feet wet. Don't hesitate to wade right in!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Oh the failures!

Loved the chapter on the Liberty Bell and its history  That crack is one of the most famous engineering failures ever.  To have it crack on its very first ring?  It went on to be melted down and recast a few times.  Then after more than 50 years of ringing, it cracked again!  Interesting that 50-90 % of all structural failures seem to come from crack growth.

The Crystal Palace was amazing!  To design such a magnificent building to turn around and disassemble it truly was an engineering success.  How neat that all this came about because Paxton designed a building to house a lily!  Lastly, how daring that the workmen who built the structure were the ones to test it to its limits..the details of these tests reported in the London News and described on page 145.

After reading about and watching the video (post) of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge I am so intrigued by its story.  This is one major failure that so much was learned from and yet no human life was lost.  I am quite certain, however that I would NOT be one of the thrill seekers wanting to experience the famous Galloping Gertie!

The Alexandar L. Kielland is another sad tale of a major failure.  This was an example of a one failure leading to another.  If the oil rig had been being used for what it was designed for, would it have failed?   Also the failure of the Comet three times seems troubling to me.  The first time the plane exploded reasons were given and then the plane put back into service...only to have it explode 2 more times killing many.  Again, I don't think I would have wanted to trust that the Comet 4 could carry me anywhere safely!

I am beginning to see everything just a bit differently after reading about all of the engineering failures and successes!  Even wondering when my car will breakdown.  I am also thinking of ways that my students can create designs and learn from their own successes and yes...failures.
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1 comment:

  1. CorbinAugust 5, 2012 at 7:25 AM

    I think one of the most amazing things about the Crystal Palace is how everything "fell" together. The materials were available, the glass tax lifted etc... It is amazing how things come together when something magnificent is created!

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