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Ten Feats of Man-Made Wonder, Picked by Structural Engineers.

Posted January 29, 2007 7:52 AM

From Neatorama:

Metropolis Magazine invited structural engineers Leslie Robertson and Craig Schwitter to pick their favorite feats of man-made wonder. One of their picks is Machu Picchu, the mysterious ruins built by the Incas. Built on the steep slopes at the crest of the Andes Mountains, with terraced scientific and agricultural areas, Machu Picchu features wonderful, almost jointless stonework. The Incas were superb craftsmen and thoughtful architect-engineers. They had a sublime sense of how to create an opening through a stone retaining wall. They sloped the stones toward the opening, capping it with a lintel, but why they never used the arch is very strange. Was this because of some religious or cultural belief? Certainly it was not for lack of engineering talent. Take a peek at the rest of their picks: Link - via Kottke

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Anonymous Poster
#1

Re: Ten Feats of Man-Made Wonder, Picked by Structural Engineers.

01/30/2007 8:18 AM

Question:

Whats the difference between a mechanical engineer and a civil engineer?

Answer:

A mechanical engineer builds weapon systems


A civil engineer builds targets

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Active Contributor

Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 22
#2

Re: Ten Feats of Man-Made Wonder, Picked by Structural Engineers.

01/30/2007 8:22 AM

Boooring! Structural engineering isn't limited to civil projects such as these. Aircraft and spacecraft employ just as elegant design without the benefit of 10:1 static safety factors. I only see 9 nominations here anyway- one was a political statement.

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Guru

Join Date: Aug 2006
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#3
In reply to #2

Re: Ten Feats of Man-Made Wonder, Picked by Structural Engineers.

01/30/2007 10:41 AM

Interesting perspective. I found all ten really interesting. The airplane and spacecraft stuff, some of which I've done myself, seems boring by comparison. We are working from well known principles, using computers to do the heavy work, and as shown by NASA's failure in the Mars Climate Orbiter we can't even get the units right.

The space program is a perfect example of a political statement, isn't it?

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