Why isn't wood weaker that it is? Why isn't steel stronger? Why does glass sometimes shatter and sometimes bend like spring? Why do ships break in half? What is a liquid and is treacle one? All these are questions about the nature of materials. All of them are vital to engineers but also fascinating as scientific problems. During the 250 years up to the 1920s and 1930s they had been answered largely by seeing how materials behaved in practice. But materials continued to do things that they...

In a book that Business Insider noted as one of the "14 Books that inspired Elon Musk," J.E. Gordon strips engineering of its confusing technical terms, communicating its founding principles in accessible, witty prose.For anyone who has ever wondered why suspension bridges don't collapse under eight lanes of traffic, how dams hold back-or give way under-thousands of gallons of water, or what principles guide the design of a skyscraper or a kangaroo, this bo...

In describing the geomorphological heritage of Scotland, this volume offers a remarkable account of how the natural environment responded in terms of landforms, processes and plant communities, to severe climatic change as the Quaternary era progressed over the last two million years.This legacy, as preserved in the 138 nationally important GCR sites described, documents a remarkable diversity of landforms in a relatively small area. The rugged highland contrast with the rolling hil...

J.E. Gordon strips engineering of its confusing technical terms, communicating its founding principles in accessible, witty prose.For anyone who has ever wondered why suspension bridges don't collapse under eight lanes of traffic, how dams hold back--or give way under--thousands of gallons of water, or what principles guide the design of a skyscraper, a bias-cut dress, or a kangaroo, this book will ease your anxiety and answer your questions.Structures:...

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher*Go beyond the visual spectacle of the world's 50 greatest wonders, and discover what makes them such amazing places. With stunning images and expert illustrations, experience and appreciate the most famous sights on earth in an exciting new way.Author: Lonely PlanetAbout Lonely Planet: Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel guide publish...

Toronto has been hailed as “a city in the making” and “the city that works.” It’s an ongoing project: in recent years Canada’s largest city has experienced transformative, exciting change. But just what does contemporary Toronto look like? This authoritative architectural guide, newly updated and expanded, leads readers on 26 walking tours—revealing the evolution of the place from a quiet Georgian town to a dynamic global city. More than 1,000 designs are featured: from modest Victorian ho...

In the 1990s and mid-2000s, turbulent political and social protests surrounded the issue of private sector involvement in providing urban water services in both the developed and developing world. Water on Tap explores examples of such conflicts in six national settings (France, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand), focusing on a central question: how were rights and regulation mobilized to address the demands of redistribution and recognition? Two modes of governance e...

PRACTICAL, PORTABLE, AND PACKED WITH UP-TO-DATE STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING FORMULASThoroughly revised with more than 300 new formulas, this compact yet comprehensive compilation puts essential data related to the design and analysis of engineering structures at your fingertips. Structural Engineering Formulas, Second Edition covers a wide range of topics, including statics, soils, foundations, retaining structures, pipes, and tunnels, and explains the use and application of ...

This book describes in a comprehensive manner the technical aspects of separation of rare earth elements into individual elements for industrial and commercial use. The authors include details on and differentiate among the effective separation of rare earth elements for various parts of the world. They introduce new applications of separation of rare earth elements from concentrates of diverse ore types.

Digital Vernacular addresses the why and how of digital fabrication in hundreds of step-by-step color images, illuminating a set of working principles and techniques that join theory with practice. Authors James Stevens and Ralph Nelson reconcile local traditions and innovations with globally accessible methods and digital toolsets. By combining ethics with hardware, the book will root you in the origins of making, ensuring a lasting and relevant reference for your studio practice...

Water in its different forms has always been a source of wonder, curiosity and practical concern for humans everywhere. Hydrology: An Introduction presents a coherent introduction to the fundamental principles of hydrology, based on the course that Wilfried Brutsaert has taught at Cornell University for the last thirty years. Hydrologic phenomena are dealt with at spatial and temporal scales at which they occur in nature. The physics and mathematics necessary to describe these phenomena ar...

This book discusses the need for a regulated and informed forum for international trade in hazardous waste. The authors argue that with careful planning, health and ecological risks can be minimized and net economic benefits realized fairly.