Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Landmark Revolutionary Inventions in Mechanical Engineering

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
A Brief History of Mechanical Engineering

Part of the book series: Materials Forming, Machining and Tribology ((MFMT))

Abstract

In this chapter, important inventions in mechanical engineering since the advent of human civilization are discussed. The emphasis is on those inventions, which had long-lasting effect on the human civilization. Notable among them are wheel, cutting tool, internal combustion engine, railway, aircraft, refrigeration, and air-conditioning. These revolutionary inventions are still in use and have been undergoing through evolutionary changes. Inventions such as steam engine and Wootz steel are no longer used in the original form. Nevertheless, these inventions have paved the way for future inventions. The underlying principles of these inventions are also briefly described.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ainger, A. (1829). On the early history of steam engine. Journal of Franklin Institute, IV(6), 361–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anthony, D. W. (2007). The Horse, the wheel and language: How Bronze-age riders from the Eurasian stepps shaped the modern world. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armytage, W. H. G. (1961). A social history of engineering. Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arora, R. C. (2010). Refrigeration and air conditioning. New Delhi, India: PHI Learning Private Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolton, W. (2006). Mechatronics-electronic control systems in mechanical and electrical engineering (3rd ed.). Delhi: Pearson Education, Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, R. (2002). Society and economy in modern Britain 1700–1850, Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burstall, A. F. (1963). A history of mechanical engineering. London: Faber and Faber.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland, C. J. (Ed.) (2007). History of wind energy. In: Encyclopedia of energy (Vol. 6, pp. 421–422), Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalley, S., & Oleson, J. P. (2003). Sennacherib, archimedes, and the water screw: The context of invention in the ancient world. Technology and Culture, 44, 1–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darrieus, G. J. M. (1931). Turbine having its rotating shaft transverse to the flow of the current. US Patent no. 1835018.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davison, C. S. C. (1957). The internal-combustion engine. Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers, 69, 148–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garrison, E. (1999). A history of engineering and technology-artful methods. Florida: CRC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Groover, M. P., & Zimmers, E. W, Jr. (1984). CAD/CAM: Computer-aided design and manufacturing. USA: Printice Hall of India Private Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Juleff, J. (1996). An ancient wind powered iron smelting technology in Sri Lanka. Nature, 379, 60–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalam, A. P. G. A., & Singh, S. P. (2015). Reignited: Scientific pathways to a brighter future. Gurgaon, India: Puffin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reader’s digest (2016, March). All abroad! eight long (and iconic) train tips, pp. 66–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rorres, C. (2000). The turn of the screw: Optimal design of an Archimedes screw. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 126(1), 72–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, W. (2012). The most powerful idea in the world: A story of steam. Industry and Invention: University Of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roth, R., & Divall, C. (Eds.). (2015). From rail to road and back again?: A century of transport competition and interdependency. England: Ashgate Publishing Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Savonius, S. J. (1931). The S-rotor and its application. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 53(5), 333–338.

    Google Scholar 

  • Semaw, S., Rogers, M. J., Quade, J., Renne, P. R., Butler, R. F., DomĂ­nguez-Rodrigo, M., et al. (2003). 2.6-million-year-old stone tools and associated bones from OGS-6 and OGS-7, Gona, Afar, Ethiopia. Journal of Human Evolution, 45, 169–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shames, I. H. (1997). Engineering mechanics—statics and dynamics. Singapore: Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srinivasan, S. (1994). Wootz crucible steel: A newly discovered production site in South India. Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 5, 49–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Srinivasan, S., & Ranganathan, S. (2004). India’s legendary wootz steel: An advanced material of the ancient world. Bangalore and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore: National Institute of Advanced Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Retrieved September 15, 2015, from http://www.autoevolution.com/news/history-of-the-wheel-7334.html.

  • Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://www.avjobs.com/history/.

  • Retrieved August 24, 2015, from http://www.cc.utah.edu/~asn8200/rapid.html.

  • Retrieved March 15, 2016, from http://www.gwec.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/GWEC_GlobalWindStats2014_FINAL_10.2.2015.pdf.

  • Retrieved September 3, 2015, from http://www.localhistories.org/techhist.html.

  • Retrieved August 22, 2015, from http://nptel.ac.in/courses/112105129/pdf/RAC%20%20Lecture%201.pdf.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Assam, India

    Uday Shanker Dixit

  2. Assam Engineering College, Guwahati, Assam, India

    Manjuri Hazarika

  3. Campus Santiago, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    J. Paulo Davim

Authors
  1. Uday Shanker Dixit
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Manjuri Hazarika
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. Paulo Davim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Uday Shanker Dixit .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Dixit, U.S., Hazarika, M., Davim, J.P. (2017). Landmark Revolutionary Inventions in Mechanical Engineering. In: A Brief History of Mechanical Engineering. Materials Forming, Machining and Tribology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42916-8_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42916-8_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-42914-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-42916-8

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation