Civil engineering

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The Petronas Twin Towers, designed by architect Cesar Pelli and Thornton-Tomasetti and Ranhill Bersekutu Sdn Bhd engineers, were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004. Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like bridges, roads, canals, dams, and buildings.[1][2][3] Civil engineering is the oldest engineering discipline after military engineering,[4] and it was defined to distinguish non-military engineering from military engineering.[5] It is traditionally broken into several sub-disciplines including environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, municipal or urban engineering, water resources engineering, materials engineering, coastal engineering,[4] surveying, and construction engineering.[6] Civil engineering takes place on all levels: in the public sector from municipal through to federal levels, and in the private sector from individual homeowners through to international companies.

Contents
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1 History of the civil engineering profession 2 History of civil engineering 3 The civil engineer o 3.1 Education and licensure o 3.2 Careers 4 Sub-disciplines o 4.1 Coastal engineering o 4.2 Construction engineering o 4.3 Earthquake engineering o 4.4 Environmental engineering o 4.5 Geotechnical engineering o 4.6 Water resources engineering o 4.7 Materials engineering o 4.8 Structural engineering o 4.9 Surveying o 4.10 Transportation engineering o 4.11 Municipal or urban engineering 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History of the civil engineering profession

See also: History of structural engineering

The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland.

Engineering has been an aspect of life since the beginnings of human existence. The earliest practices of Civil engineering may have commenced between 4000 and 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (Ancient Iraq) when humans started to abandon a nomadic existence, thus causing a need for the construction of shelter. During this time, transportation became increasingly important leading to the development of the wheel and sailing. Until modern times there was no clear distinction between civil engineering and architecture, and the term engineer and architect were mainly geographical variations referring to the same person, often used interchangeably.[7] The construction of Pyramids in Egypt (circa 2700-2500 BC) might be considered the first instances of large structure constructions. Other ancient historic civil engineering constructions include the Parthenon by Iktinos in Ancient Greece (447-438 BC), the Appian Way by Roman engineers (c. 312 BC), the Great Wall of China by General Meng T'ien under orders from Ch'in Emperor Shih Huang Ti (c. 220 BC)[6] and the stupas constructed in ancient Sri Lanka like the Jetavanaramaya and the extensive irrigation works in Anuradhapura. The Romans developed civil structures throughout their empire, including especially aqueducts, insulae, harbours, bridges, dams and roads.

The Archimedes screw was operated by hand and could raise water efficiently. In the 18th century, the term civil engineering was coined to incorporate all things civilian as opposed to military engineering.[5] The first self-proclaimed civil engineer was John Smeaton who constructed the Eddystone Lighthouse.[4][6] In 1771 Smeaton and some of his colleagues formed the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers, a group of leaders of the profession who met informally over dinner. Though there was evidence of some technical meetings, it was little more than a social society. In 1818 the Institution of Civil Engineers was founded in London, and in 1820 the eminent engineer Thomas Telford became its first president. The institution received a Royal Charter in 1828, formally recognising civil engineering as a profession. Its charter defined civil engineering as: the art of directing the great sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of man, as the means of production and of traffic in states, both for external and internal trade, as applied in the construction of roads, bridges, aqueducts, canals, river navigation and docks for internal intercourse and exchange, and in the construction of ports, harbours, moles, breakwaters and lighthouses, and in the art of navigation by artificial power for the purposes of commerce, and in the construction and application of machinery, and in the drainage of cities and towns.[8]

The first private college to teach Civil Engineering in the United States was Norwich University founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge.[9] The first degree in Civil Engineering in the United States was awarded by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1835.[10] The first such degree to be awarded to a woman was granted by Cornell University to Nora Stanton Blatch in 1905.[11]

[edit] History of civil engineering

Pont du Gard, France, a Roman aqueduct built circa 19 BC. Civil engineering is the application of physical and scientific principles, and its history is intricately linked to advances in understanding of physics and mathematics throughout history. Because civil engineering is a wide ranging profession, including several separate specialized sub-disciplines, its history is linked to knowledge of structures, materials science, geography, geology, soils, hydrology, environment, mechanics and other fields. Throughout ancient and medieval history most architectural design and construction was carried out by artisans, such as stone masons and carpenters, rising to the role of master builder. Knowledge was retained in guilds and seldom supplanted by advances. Structures, roads and infrastructure that existed were repetitive, and increases in scale were incremental.[12] One of the earliest examples of a scientific approach to physical and mathematical problems applicable to civil engineering is the work of Archimedes in the 3rd century BC, including Archimedes Principle, which underpins our understanding of buoyancy, and practical solutions such as Archimedes' screw. Brahmagupta, an Indian mathematician, used arithmetic in the 7th century AD, based on Hindu-Arabic numerals, for excavation (volume) computations.[13]

[edit] The civil engineer

[edit] Education and licensure
Main article: Civil engineer

The Institution of Civil Engineers headquarters in London Civil engineers typically possess an academic degree with a major in civil engineering. The length of study for such a degree is usually three to five years and the completed degree is usually designated as a Bachelor of Engineering, though some universities designate the degree as a Bachelor of Science. The degree generally includes units covering physics, mathematics, project management, design and specific topics in civil engineering. Initially such topics cover most, if not all, of the sub-disciplines of civil engineering. Students then choose to specialize in one or more sub-disciplines towards the end of the degree.[14] While an Undergraduate (BEng/BSc) Degree will normally provide successful students with industry accredited qualification, some universities offer postgraduate engineering awards (MEng/MSc) which allow students to further specialize in their particular area of interest within engineering.[15] In most countries, a Bachelor's degree in engineering represents the first step towards professional certification and the degree program itself is certified by a professional body. After completing a certified degree program the engineer must satisfy a range of requirements (including work experience and exam requirements) before being certified. Once certified, the engineer is designated the title of Professional Engineer (in the United States, Canada and South Africa), Chartered Engineer (in most Commonwealth countries), Chartered Professional Engineer (in Australia and New Zealand), or European Engineer (in much of the European Union). There are international engineering agreements between relevant professional bodies which are designed to allow engineers to practice across international borders. The advantages of certification vary depending upon location. For example, in the United States and Canada "only a licensed engineer may prepare, sign and seal, and submit engineering plans and drawings to a public authority for approval, or seal engineering work for public and private clients.".[16] This requirement is enforced by state and provincial legislation such as Quebec's Engineers Act.[17] In other countries, no such legislation exists. In Australia, state licensing of engineers is limited to the state of Queensland. Practically all certifying bodies maintain a code of ethics that they expect all members to abide by or risk expulsion.[18] In this way, these organizations play an important role in maintaining ethical standards for the profession. Even in jurisdictions where certification has little or no legal bearing on work, engineers are subject to contract law. In cases where an engineer's work fails he or she may be subject to the tort of negligence and, in extreme cases, the charge of criminal negligence.[citation needed] An engineer's work must also comply with numerous other rules and regulations such as building codes and legislation pertaining to environmental law.

[edit] Careers
There is no one typical career path for civil engineers. Most people who graduate with civil engineering degrees start with jobs that require a low level of responsibility, and as the new engineers prove their competence, they are trusted with tasks that have larger consequences and require a higher level of responsibility. However, within each branch of civil engineering career path options vary. In some fields and firms, entry-level engineers are put to work primarily monitoring construction in the field, serving as the "eyes and ears" of senior design engineers; while in other areas, entry-level engineers perform the more routine tasks of analysis or design and interpretation. Experienced engineers generally do more complex analysis or design work, or management of more complex design projects, or management of other engineers, or into specialized consulting, including forensic engineering.

[edit] Sub-disciplines
In general, civil engineering is concerned with the overall interface of human created fixed projects with the greater world. General civil engineers work closely with surveyors and specialized civil engineers to fit and serve fixed projects within their given site, community and terrain by designing grading, drainage, pavement, water supply, sewer service, electric and communications supply, and land divisions. General engineers spend much of their time visiting project sites, developing community consensus, and preparing construction plans. General civil engineering is also referred to as site engineering, a branch of civil engineering that primarily focuses on converting a tract of land from one usage to another. Civil engineers typically apply the principles of geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, environmental engineering, transportation engineering and construction engineering to residential, commercial, industrial and public works projects of all sizes and levels of construction.

[edit] Coastal engineering

Main article: Coastal management Coastal engineering is concerned with managing coastal areas. In some jurisdictions the terms sea defense and coastal protection are used to mean, respectively, defence against flooding and erosion. The term coastal defence is the more traditional term, but coastal management has become more popular as the field has expanded to include techniques that allow erosion to claim land.

Building construction for several apartment blocks

[edit] Construction engineering

Main article: Construction engineering Construction engineering involves planning and execution of the designs from transportation, site development, hydraulic, environmental, structural and geotechnical engineers. As construction firms tend to have higher business risk than other types of civil engineering firms, many construction engineers tend to take on a role that is more business-like in nature: drafting and reviewing contracts, evaluating logistical operations, and closely-monitoring prices of necessary supplies.

[edit] Earthquake engineering

Main article: Earthquake engineering Earthquake engineering covers ability of various structures to withstand hazardous earthquake exposures at the sites of their particular location.

Earthquake-proof and massive pyramid El Castillo, Chichen Itza Earthquake engineering is a sub discipline of the broader category of Structural engineering. The main objectives of earthquake engineering are:[19]

Snapshot from shake-table video [2] of testing base-isolated (right) and regular (left) building model
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Understand interaction of structures with the shaky ground. Foresee the consequences of possible earthquakes. Design, construct and maintain structures to perform at earthquake exposure up to the expectations and in compliance with building codes.

[edit] Environmental engineering

Main article: Environmental engineering

A filter bed, a part of sewage treatment Environmental engineering deals with the treatment of chemical, biological, and/or thermal waste, the purification of water and air, and the remediation of contaminated sites, due to prior waste disposal or accidental contamination. Among the topics covered by environmental engineering are pollutant transport, water purification, waste water treatment, air pollution, solid waste treatment and hazardous waste management. Environmental engineers can be involved with pollution reduction, green engineering, and industrial ecology. Environmental engineering also deals with the gathering of information on the environmental consequences of proposed actions and the assessment of effects of proposed actions for the purpose of assisting society and policy makers in the decision making process. Environmental engineering is the contemporary term for sanitary engineering, though sanitary engineering traditionally had not included much of the hazardous waste management and environmental remediation work covered by the term environmental engineering. Some other terms in use are public health engineering and environmental health engineering.

[edit] Geotechnical engineering

Construction of an Embankment Dam in Navarra, Spain Main article: Geotechnical engineering Geotechnical engineering is an area of civil engineering concerned with the rock and soil that civil engineering systems are supported by. Knowledge from the fields of geology, material science and testing, mechanics, and hydraulics are applied by geotechnical engineers to safely and economically design foundations, retaining walls, and similar structures. Environmental concerns in relation to groundwater and waste disposal have spawned a new area of study called geoenvironmental engineering where biology and chemistry are important.[20][21] Some of the unique difficulties of geotechnical engineering are the result of the variability and properties of soil. Boundary conditions are often well defined in other branches of civil engineering, but with soil, clearly defining these conditions can be impossible. The material properties and behavior of soil are also difficult to predict due to the variability of soil and limited investigation. This contrasts with the relatively well defined material properties of steel and concrete used in other areas of civil engineering. Soil mechanics, which describes the behavior of soil, is also complicated because soils exhibit nonlinear (stress-dependent) strength, stiffness, and dilatancy (volume change associated with application of shear stress).[20]

[edit] Water resources engineering

See also: Hydraulic engineering and Hydrology

Hoover dam Water resources engineering is concerned with the collection and management of water (as a natural resource). As a discipline it therefore combines hydrology, environmental science, meteorology, geology, conservation, and resource management. This area of civil engineering relates to the prediction and management of both the quality and the quantity of water in both underground (aquifers) and above ground (lakes, rivers, and streams) resources. Water resource engineers analyze and model very small to very large areas of the earth to predict the amount and content of water as it flows into, through, or out of a facility. Although the actual design of the facility may be left to other engineers. Hydraulic engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water. This area of civil engineering is intimately related to the design of pipelines, water supply network, drainage facilities (including bridges, dams, channels, culverts, levees, storm sewers), and canals. Hydraulic engineers design these facilities using the concepts of fluid pressure, fluid statics, fluid dynamics, and hydraulics, among others.

[edit] Materials engineering

Main article: Materials science Another aspect of Civil engineering is materials science. Material engineering deals with ceramics such as concrete, mix asphalt concrete, metals Focus around increased strength, metals such as aluminum and steel, and polymers such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and carbon fibers. Materials engineering also consists of protection and prevention like paints and finishes. Alloying is another aspect of material engineering, combining two different types of metals to produce a stronger metal.

[edit] Structural engineering

Main article: Structural engineering

Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, in Dubai

Clifton Suspension Bridge, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, in Bristol, UK Structural engineering is concerned with the structural design and structural analysis of buildings, bridges, towers, flyovers, tunnels, off shore structures like oil and gas fields in the sea, and other structures. This involves identifying the loads which act upon a structure and the forces and stresses which arise within that structure due to those loads, and then designing the structure to successfully support and resist those loads. The loads can be self weight of the structures, other dead load, live loads, moving (wheel) load, wind load, earthquake load, load from temperature change etc. The structural engineer must design structures to be safe for their users and to successfully fulfill the function they are designed for (to be serviceable). Due to the nature of some loading conditions, sub-disciplines within structural engineering have emerged, including wind engineering and earthquake engineering. Design considerations will include strength, stiffness, and stability of the structure when subjected to loads which may be static, such as furniture or self-weight, or dynamic, such as wind, seismic, crowd or vehicle loads, or transitory, such as temporary construction loads or impact. Other considerations include cost, constructability, safety, aesthetics and sustainability.

[edit] Surveying
Main articles: Surveying and Construction surveying

US Navy Surveyor at work with a leveling instrument.

Surveying is the process by which a surveyor measures certain dimensions that generally occur on the surface of the Earth. Surveying equipment, such as levels and theodolites, are used for accurate measurement of angular deviation, horizontal, vertical and slope distances. With computerisation, electronic distance measurement (EDM), total stations, GPS surveying and laser scanning have supplemented (and to a large extent supplanted) the traditional optical instruments. This information is crucial to convert the data into a graphical representation of the Earth's surface, in the form of a map. This information is then used by civil engineers, contractors and even realtors to design from, build on, and trade, respectively. Elements of a building or structure must be correctly sized and positioned in relation to each other and to site boundaries and adjacent structures. Although surveying is a distinct profession with separate qualifications and licensing arrangements, civil engineers are trained in the basics of surveying and mapping, as well as geographic information systems. Surveyors may also lay out the routes of railways, tramway tracks, highways, roads, pipelines and streets as well as position other infrastructures, such as harbors, before construction. Land Surveying In the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and most Commonwealth countries land surveying is considered to be a distinct profession. Land surveyors are not considered to be engineers, and have their own professional associations and licencing requirements. The services of a licenced land surveyor are generally required for boundary surveys (to establish the boundaries of a parcel using its legal description) and subdivision plans (a plot or map based on a survey of a parcel of land, with boundary lines drawn inside the larger parcel to indicated the creation of new boundary lines and roads), both of which are generally referred to as cadastral surveying. Construction Surveying Construction surveying is generally performed by specialised technicians. Unlike land surveyors, the resulting plan does not have legal status. Construction surveyors perform the following tasks:
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Survey existing conditions of the future work site, including topography, existing buildings and infrastructure, and even including underground infrastructure whenever possible; Construction surveying (otherwise "lay-out" or "setting-out"): to stake out reference points and markers that will guide the construction of new structures such as roads or buildings for subsequent construction; Verify the location of structures during construction; As-Built surveying: a survey conducted at the end of the construction project to verify that the work authorized was completed to the specifications set on plans.

[edit] Transportation engineering

Main article: Transport engineering

Transportation engineering is concerned with moving people and goods efficiently, safely, and in a manner conducive to a vibrant community. This involves specifying, designing, constructing, and maintaining transportation infrastructure which includes streets, canals, highways, rail systems, airports, ports, and mass transit. It includes areas such as transportation design, transportation planning, traffic engineering, some aspects of urban engineering, queueing theory, pavement engineering, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), and infrastructure management.

[edit] Municipal or urban engineering

Main article: Urban engineering Municipal engineering is concerned with municipal infrastructure. This involves specifying, designing, constructing, and maintaining streets, sidewalks, water supply networks, sewers, street lighting, municipal solid waste management and disposal, storage depots for various bulk materials used for maintenance and public works (salt, sand, etc.), public parks and bicycle paths. In the case of underground utility networks, it may also include the civil portion (conduits and access chambers) of the local distribution networks of electrical and telecommunications services. It can also include the optimizing of waste collection and bus service networks. Some of these disciplines overlap with other civil engineering specialties, however municipal engineering focuses on the coordination of these infrastructure networks and services, as they are often built simultaneously, and managed by the same municipal authority.

Mechanical engineering
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Mechanical engineers design and build engines and power plants...

...structures and vehicles of all sizes. Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the design, production, and operation of machines and tools.[1] It is one of the oldest and broadest engineering disciplines. The engineering field requires a vast understanding of core concepts including mechanics, kinematics, thermodynamics, materials science, and structural analysis. Mechanical engineers use these core principles along with tools like computer-aided engineering and product lifecycle management to design and analyze manufacturing plants, industrial equipment and machinery, heating and cooling systems, motorized vehicles, aircraft, watercraft, robotics, medical devices and more. Mechanical engineering emerged as a field during the industrial revolution in Europe in the 19th century; however, its development can be traced back several thousand years around the world. The field has continually evolved to incorporate advancements in technology, and mechanical engineers today are pursuing developments in such fields as composites, mechatronics, and nanotechnology. Mechanical engineering overlaps with aerospace engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, and petroleum engineering to varying amounts. Applications of mechanical engineering are found in the records of many ancient and medieval societies throughout the globe. In ancient Greece, the works of Archimedes (287 BC212 BC) deeply influenced mechanics in the Western tradition and Heron of Alexandria (c. 1070 AD) created the first steam engine.[2] In China, Zhang Heng (78139 AD) improved a water clock and invented a seismometer, and Ma Jun (200265 AD) invented a chariot with differential gears. The medieval Chinese horologist and engineer Su Song (10201101 AD) incorporated an escapement mechanism into his astronomical clock tower two centuries before any escapement can be found in clocks of medieval Europe, as well as the world's first known endless powertransmitting chain drive.[3] During the years from 7th to 15th century, the era called the Islamic Golden Age, there were remarkable contributions from Muslim inventors in the field of mechanical technology. AlJazari, who was one of them, wrote his famous Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices in 1206, and presented many mechanical designs. He is also considered to be the inventor of such mechanical devices which now form the very basic of mechanisms, such as the crankshaft and camshaft.[4]

Important breakthroughs in the foundations of mechanical engineering occurred in England during the 17th century when Sir Isaac Newton both formulated the three Newton's Laws of Motion and developed calculus. Newton was reluctant to publish his methods and laws for years, but he was finally persuaded to do so by his colleagues, such as Sir Edmund Halley, much to the benefit of all mankind. During the early 19th century in England, Germany and Scotland, the development of machine tools led mechanical engineering to develop as a separate field within engineering, providing manufacturing machines and the engines to power them.[5] The first British professional society of mechanical engineers was formed in 1847 Institution of Mechanical Engineers, thirty years after the civil engineers formed the first such professional society Institution of Civil Engineers.[6] On the European continent, Johann Von Zimmermann (18201901) founded the first factory for grinding machines in Chemnitz (Germany) in 1848. In the United States, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) was formed in 1880, becoming the third such professional engineering society, after the American Society of Civil Engineers (1852) and the American Institute of Mining Engineers (1871).[7] The first schools in the United States to offer an engineering education were the United States Military Academy in 1817, an institution now known as Norwich University in 1819, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1825. Education in mechanical engineering has historically been based on a strong foundation in mathematics and science.[8]

[edit] Education
Degrees in mechanical engineering are offered at universities worldwide. In Bangladesh, Brazil, China, England, India, Nepal, North America, and Pakistan, mechanical engineering programs typically take four to five years of study and result in a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc), Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech), Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng), or Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc) degree, in or with emphasis in mechanical engineering. In Spain, Portugal and most of South America, where neither BSc nor BTech programs have been adopted, the formal name for the degree is "Mechanical Engineer", and the course work is based on five or six years of training. In Italy the course work is based on five years of training; but in order to qualify as an Engineer you have to pass a state exam at the end of the course. In Australia, mechanical engineering degrees are awarded as Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical). The degree takes four years of full time study to achieve. To ensure quality in engineering degrees, the Australian Institution of Engineers accredits engineering degrees awarded by Australian universities. Before the degree can be awarded, the student must complete at least 3 months of on the job work experience in an engineering firm. In the United States, most undergraduate mechanical engineering programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) to ensure similar course requirements and standards among universities. The ABET web site lists 276 accredited mechanical engineering programs as of June 19, 2006.[9] Mechanical engineering programs in Canada are accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB),[10] and most other countries offering engineering degrees have similar accreditation societies.

Some mechanical engineers go on to pursue a postgraduate degree such as a Master of Engineering, Master of Technology, Master of Science, Master of Engineering Management (MEng.Mgt or MEM), a Doctor of Philosophy in engineering (EngD, PhD) or an engineer's degree. The master's and engineer's degrees may or may not include research. The Doctor of Philosophy includes a significant research component and is often viewed as the entry point to academia.[11] The Engineer's degree exists at a few institutions at an intermediate level between the master's degree and the doctorate.

[edit] Coursework
Standards set by each country's accreditation society are intended to provide uniformity in fundamental subject material, promote competence among graduating engineers, and to maintain confidence in the engineering profession as a whole. Engineering programs in the U.S., for example, are required by ABET to show that their students can "work professionally in both thermal and mechanical systems areas."[12] The specific courses required to graduate, however, may differ from program to program. Universities and Institutes of technology will often combine multiple subjects into a single class or split a subject into multiple classes, depending on the faculty available and the university's major area(s) of research. The fundamental subjects of mechanical engineering usually include:
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Statics and dynamics Strength of materials and solid mechanics Instrumentation and measurement Electrotechnology Thermodynamics, heat transfer, energy conversion, and HVAC Fluid mechanics and fluid dynamics Mechanism design (including kinematics and dynamics) Manufacturing engineering, technology, or processes Hydraulics and pneumatics Mathematics - in particular, calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra. Engineering design Mechatronics and control theory Material Engineering Design engineering, Drafting, computer-aided design (CAD) (including solid modeling), and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)[13][14]

Mechanical engineers are also expected to understand and be able to apply basic concepts from chemistry, physics, chemical engineering, civil engineering, and electrical engineering. Most mechanical engineering programs include multiple semesters of calculus, as well as advanced mathematical concepts including differential equations, partial differential equations, linear algebra, abstract algebra, and differential geometry, among others. In addition to the core mechanical engineering curriculum, many mechanical engineering programs offer more specialized programs and classes, such as robotics, transport and logistics,

cryogenics, fuel technology, automotive engineering, biomechanics, vibration, optics and others, if a separate department does not exist for these subjects.[15] Most mechanical engineering programs also require varying amounts of research or community projects to gain practical problem-solving experience. In the United States it is common for mechanical engineering students to complete one or more internships while studying, though this is not typically mandated by the university. Cooperative education is another option.

[edit] License
Engineers may seek license by a state, provincial, or national government. The purpose of this process is to ensure that engineers possess the necessary technical knowledge, real-world experience, and knowledge of the local legal system to practice engineering at a professional level. Once certified, the engineer is given the title of Professional Engineer (in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh and South Africa), Chartered Engineer (in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India and Zimbabwe), Chartered Professional Engineer (in Australia and New Zealand) or European Engineer (much of the European Union). Not all mechanical engineers choose to become licensed; those that do can be distinguished as Chartered or Professional Engineers by the post-nominal title P.E., P.Eng., or C.Eng., as in: Mike Thompson, P.Eng. In the U.S., to become a licensed Professional Engineer, an engineer must pass the comprehensive FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam, work a given number of years as an Engineering Intern (EI) or Engineer-in-Training (EIT), and finally pass the "Principles and Practice" or PE (Practicing Engineer or Professional Engineer) exams. In the United States, the requirements and steps of this process are set forth by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), a national non-profit representing all states. In the UK, current graduates require a BEng plus an appropriate masters degree or an integrated MEng degree, a minimum of 4 years post graduate on the job competency development, and a peer reviewed project report in the candidates specialty area in order to become chartered through the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. In most modern countries, certain engineering tasks, such as the design of bridges, electric power plants, and chemical plants, must be approved by a Professional Engineer or a Chartered Engineer. "Only a licensed engineer, for instance, may prepare, sign, seal and submit engineering plans and drawings to a public authority for approval, or to seal engineering work for public and private clients."[16] This requirement can be written into state and provincial legislation, such as in the Canadian provinces, for example the Ontario or Quebec's Engineer Act.[17] In other countries, such as Australia, no such legislation exists; however, practically all certifying bodies maintain a code of ethics independent of legislation that they expect all members to abide by or risk expulsion.[18] Further information: FE Exam, Professional Engineer, Incorporated Engineer, and Washington Accord

[edit] Salaries and workforce statistics

The total number of engineers employed in the U.S. in 2009 was roughly 1.6 million. Of these, 239,000 were mechanical engineers (14.9%), the second largest discipline by size behind civil (278,000). The total number of mechanical engineering jobs in 2009 was projected to grow 6% over the next decade, with average starting salaries being $58,800 with a bachelor's degree.[19] The median annual income of mechanical engineers in the U.S. workforce was roughly $74,900. This number was highest when working for the government ($86,250), and lowest in education ($63,050).[20] In 2007, Canadian engineers made an average of CAD$29.83 per hour with 4% unemployed. The average for all occupations was $18.07 per hour with 7% unemployed. Twelve percent of these engineers were self-employed, and since 1997 the proportion of female engineers had risen to 6%.[21] Many mechanical engineering companies, especially those in industrialized nations, have begun to incorporate computer-aided engineering (CAE) programs into their existing design and analysis processes, including 2D and 3D solid modeling computer-aided design (CAD). This method has many benefits, including easier and more exhaustive visualization of products, the ability to create virtual assemblies of parts, and the ease of use in designing mating interfaces and tolerances. Other CAE programs commonly used by mechanical engineers include product lifecycle management (PLM) tools and analysis tools used to perform complex simulations. Analysis tools may be used to predict product response to expected loads, including fatigue life and manufacturability. These tools include finite element analysis (FEA), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). Using CAE programs, a mechanical design team can quickly and cheaply iterate the design process to develop a product that better meets cost, performance, and other constraints. No physical prototype need be created until the design nears completion, allowing hundreds or thousands of designs to be evaluated, instead of a relative few. In addition, CAE analysis programs can model complicated physical phenomena which cannot be solved by hand, such as viscoelasticity, complex contact between mating parts, or non-Newtonian flows As mechanical engineering begins to merge with other disciplines, as seen in mechatronics, multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) is being used with other CAE programs to automate and improve the iterative design process. MDO tools wrap around existing CAE processes, allowing product evaluation to continue even after the analyst goes home for the day. They also utilize sophisticated optimization algorithms to more intelligently explore possible designs, often finding better, innovative solutions to difficult multidisciplinary design problems.

[edit] Subdisciplines

The field of mechanical engineering can be thought of as a collection of many mechanical disciplines. Several of these subdisciplines which are typically taught at the undergraduate level are listed below, with a brief explanation and the most common application of each. Some of these subdisciplines are unique to mechanical engineering, while others are a combination of mechanical engineering and one or more other disciplines. Most work that a mechanical engineer does uses skills and techniques from several of these subdisciplines, as well as specialized subdisciplines. Specialized subdisciplines, as used in this article, are more likely to be the subject of graduate studies or on-the-job training than undergraduate research. Several specialized subdisciplines are discussed in this section.

[edit] Mechanics

Mohr's circle, a common tool to study stresses in a mechanical element Main article: Mechanics Mechanics is, in the most general sense, the study of forces and their effect upon matter. Typically, engineering mechanics is used to analyze and predict the acceleration and deformation (both elastic and plastic) of objects under known forces (also called loads) or stresses. Subdisciplines of mechanics include
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Statics, the study of non-moving bodies under known loads, how forces affect static bodies Dynamics (or kinetics), the study of how forces affect moving bodies Mechanics of materials, the study of how different materials deform under various types of stress Fluid mechanics, the study of how fluids react to forces[22] Continuum mechanics, a method of applying mechanics that assumes that objects are continuous (rather than discrete)

Mechanical engineers typically use mechanics in the design or analysis phases of engineering. If the engineering project were the design of a vehicle, statics might be employed to design the frame of the vehicle, in order to evaluate where the stresses will be most intense. Dynamics might be used when designing the car's engine, to evaluate the forces in the pistons and cams as the engine cycles. Mechanics of materials might be used to choose appropriate materials for the frame and engine. Fluid mechanics might be used to design a ventilation system for the vehicle (see HVAC), or to design the intake system for the engine.

[edit] Kinematics
Main article: Kinematics Kinematics is the study of the motion of bodies (objects) and systems (groups of objects), while ignoring the forces that cause the motion. The movement of a crane and the oscillations of a piston in an engine are both simple kinematic systems. The crane is a type of open kinematic chain, while the piston is part of a closed four-bar linkage. Mechanical engineers typically use kinematics in the design and analysis of mechanisms. Kinematics can be used to find the possible range of motion for a given mechanism, or, working in reverse, can be used to design a mechanism that has a desired range of motion.

[edit] Mechatronics and robotics

Training FMS with learning robot SCORBOT-ER 4u, workbench CNC Mill and CNC Lathe Main articles: Mechatronics and Robotics Mechatronics is an interdisciplinary branch of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and software engineering that is concerned with integrating electrical and mechanical engineering to create hybrid systems. In this way, machines can be automated through the use of electric motors, servo-mechanisms, and other electrical systems in conjunction with special software. A common example of a mechatronics system is a CD-ROM drive. Mechanical systems open and close the drive, spin the CD and move the laser, while an optical system reads the data on the CD and converts it to bits. Integrated software controls the process and communicates the contents of the CD to the computer. Robotics is the application of mechatronics to create robots, which are often used in industry to perform tasks that are dangerous, unpleasant, or repetitive. These robots may be of any shape and size, but all are preprogrammed and interact physically with the world. To create a robot, an engineer typically employs kinematics (to determine the robot's range of motion) and mechanics (to determine the stresses within the robot). Robots are used extensively in industrial engineering. They allow businesses to save money on labor, perform tasks that are either too dangerous or too precise for humans to perform them economically, and to insure better quality. Many companies employ assembly lines of

robots,especially in Automotive Industries and some factories are so robotized that they can run by themselves. Outside the factory, robots have been employed in bomb disposal, space exploration, and many other fields. Robots are also sold for various residential applications.

[edit] Structural analysis

Main articles: Structural analysis and Failure analysis Structural analysis is the branch of mechanical engineering (and also civil engineering) devoted to examining why and how objects fail and to fix the objects and their performance. Structural failures occur in two general modes: static failure, and fatigue failure. Static structural failure occurs when, upon being loaded (having a force applied) the object being analyzed either breaks or is deformed plastically, depending on the criterion for failure. Fatigue failure occurs when an object fails after a number of repeated loading and unloading cycles. Fatigue failure occurs because of imperfections in the object: a microscopic crack on the surface of the object, for instance, will grow slightly with each cycle (propagation) until the crack is large enough to cause ultimate failure. Failure is not simply defined as when a part breaks, however; it is defined as when a part does not operate as intended. Some systems, such as the perforated top sections of some plastic bags, are designed to break. If these systems do not break, failure analysis might be employed to determine the cause. Structural analysis is often used by mechanical engineers after a failure has occurred, or when designing to prevent failure. Engineers often use online documents and books such as those published by ASM[23] to aid them in determining the type of failure and possible causes. Structural analysis may be used in the office when designing parts, in the field to analyze failed parts, or in laboratories where parts might undergo controlled failure tests.

[edit] Thermodynamics and thermo-science

Main article: Thermodynamics Thermodynamics is an applied science used in several branches of engineering, including mechanical and chemical engineering. At its simplest, thermodynamics is the study of energy, its use and transformation through a system. Typically, engineering thermodynamics is concerned with changing energy from one form to another. As an example, automotive engines convert chemical energy (enthalpy) from the fuel into heat, and then into mechanical work that eventually turns the wheels. Thermodynamics principles are used by mechanical engineers in the fields of heat transfer, thermofluids, and energy conversion. Mechanical engineers use thermo-science to design engines and power plants, heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, heat exchangers, heat sinks, radiators, refrigeration, insulation, and others.

[edit] Drafting

A CAD model of a mechanical double seal Main articles: Technical drawing and CNC Drafting or technical drawing is the means by which mechanical engineers create instructions for manufacturing parts. A technical drawing can be a computer model or hand-drawn schematic showing all the dimensions necessary to manufacture a part, as well as assembly notes, a list of required materials, and other pertinent information. A U.S. mechanical engineer or skilled worker who creates technical drawings may be referred to as a drafter or draftsman. Drafting has historically been a two-dimensional process, but computer-aided design (CAD) programs now allow the designer to create in three dimensions. Instructions for manufacturing a part must be fed to the necessary machinery, either manually, through programmed instructions, or through the use of a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) or combined CAD/CAM program. Optionally, an engineer may also manually manufacture a part using the technical drawings, but this is becoming an increasing rarity, with the advent of computer numerically controlled (CNC) manufacturing. Engineers primarily manually manufacture parts in the areas of applied spray coatings, finishes, and other processes that cannot economically or practically be done by a machine. Drafting is used in nearly every subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, and by many other branches of engineering and architecture. Three-dimensional models created using CAD software are also commonly used in finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

[edit] Frontiers of research

Mechanical engineers are constantly pushing the boundaries of what is physically possible in order to produce safer, cheaper, and more efficient machines and mechanical systems. Some technologies at the cutting edge of mechanical engineering are listed below (see also exploratory engineering).

[edit] Micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)

Micron-scale mechanical components such as springs, gears, fluidic and heat transfer devices are fabricated from a variety of substrate materials such as silicon, glass and polymers like SU8. Examples of MEMS components will be the accelerometers that are used as car airbag sensors, modern cell phones, gyroscopes for precise positioning and microfluidic devices used in biomedical applications.

[edit] Friction stir welding (FSW)

Main article: Friction stir welding Friction stir welding, a new type of welding, was discovered in 1991 by The Welding Institute (TWI). This innovative steady state (non-fusion) welding technique joins materials previously un-weldable, including several aluminum alloys. It may play an important role in the future construction of airplanes, potentially replacing rivets. Current uses of this technology to date include welding the seams of the aluminum main Space Shuttle external tank, Orion Crew Vehicle test article, Boeing Delta II and Delta IV Expendable Launch Vehicles and the SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket, armor plating for amphibious assault ships, and welding the wings and fuselage panels of the new Eclipse 500 aircraft from Eclipse Aviation among an increasingly growing pool of uses.[24][25][26]

[edit] Composites

Composite cloth consisting of woven carbon fiber. Main article: Composite material Composites or composite materials are a combination of materials which provide different physical characteristics than either material separately. Composite material research within mechanical engineering typically focuses on designing (and, subsequently, finding applications for) stronger or more rigid materials while attempting to reduce weight, susceptibility to corrosion, and other undesirable factors. Carbon fiber reinforced composites, for instance, have been used in such diverse applications as spacecraft and fishing rods.

[edit] Mechatronics
Main article: Mechatronics

Mechatronics is the synergistic combination of mechanical engineering, Electronic Engineering, and software engineering. The purpose of this interdisciplinary engineering field is the study of automation from an engineering perspective and serves the purposes of controlling advanced hybrid systems.

[edit] Nanotechnology
Main article: Nanotechnology At the smallest scales, mechanical engineering becomes nanotechnology one speculative goal of which is to create a molecular assembler to build molecules and materials via mechanosynthesis. For now that goal remains within exploratory engineering.

[edit] Finite element analysis

Main article: Finite element analysis This field is not new, as the basis of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) or Finite Element Method (FEM) dates back to 1941. But evolution of computers has made FEM a viable option for analysis of structural problems. Many commercial codes such as ANSYS, Nastran and ABAQUS are widely used in industry for research and design of components. Other techniques such as finite difference method (FDM) and finite-volume method (FVM) are employed to solve problems relating heat and mass transfer, fluid flows, fluid surface interaction etc.

[edit] Related fields

Manufacturing engineering and Aerospace Engineering are sometimes grouped with mechanical engineering. A bachelor's degree in these areas will typically have a difference of a few specialized classes.

Industrial engineering
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis and synthesis, as well as the mathematical, physical and social sciences together with the principles and methods of engineering design to specify, predict, and evaluate the results to be obtained from such systems or processes. Its underlying concepts overlap considerably with certain business-oriented disciplines such as Operations Management, but the

engineering side tends to emphasize extensive mathematical proficiency and usage of quantitative methods. Depending on the sub-speciality(ies) involved, industrial engineering may also be known as operations management, management science, operations research, systems engineering, or manufacturing engineering, usually depending on the viewpoint or motives of the user. Recruiters or educational establishments use the names to differentiate themselves from others. In health care, industrial engineers are more commonly known as health management engineers or health systems engineers. While the term originally applied to manufacturing, the use of "industrial" in "industrial engineering" can be somewhat misleading., since it has grown to encompass any methodical or quantitative approach to optimizing how a process, system, or organization operates. Some engineering universities and educational agencies around the world have changed the term industrial to the broader term production, leading to the typical extensions noted above. In fact, the primary U.S. professional organization for Industrial Engineers, the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) has been considering changing its name to something broader (such as the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers), although the latest vote among membership deemed this unnecessary for the time being. The various topics of concern to industrial engineers include management science, financial engineering, engineering management, supply chain management, process engineering, operations research, systems engineering, ergonomics, cost and value engineering, quality engineering, facilities planning, and the engineering design process. Traditionally, a major aspect of industrial engineering was planning the layouts of factories and designing assembly lines and other manufacturing paradigms. And now, in so-called lean manufacturing systems, industrial engineers work to eliminate wastes of time, money, materials, energy, and other resources. Examples of where industrial engineering might be used include designing an assembly workstation, strategizing for various operational logistics, consulting as an efficiency expert, developing a new financial algorithm or loan system for a bank, streamlining operation and emergency room location or usage in a hospital, planning complex distribution schemes for materials or products (referred to as Supply Chain Management), and shortening lines (or queues) at a bank, hospital, or a theme park. Industrial engineers typically use computer simulation (especially discrete event simulation), along with extensive mathematical tools and modeling and computational methods for system analysis, evaluation, and optimization.

[edit] History
See also: List of industrial engineers Efforts to apply science to the design of processes and of production systems were made by many people in the 18th and 19th centuries. They took some time to evolve and to be synthesized into disciplines that we would label with names such as industrial engineering, production

engineering, or systems engineering. For example, precursors to industrial engineering included some aspects of military science; the quest to develop manufacturing using interchangeable parts; the development of the armory system of manufacturing; the work of Henri Fayol and colleagues (which grew into a larger movement called Fayolism); and the work of Frederick Winslow Taylor and colleagues (which grew into a larger movement called scientific management). In the late 19th century, such efforts began to inform consultancy and higher education. The idea of consulting with experts about process engineering naturally evolved into the idea of teaching the concepts as curriculum. Industrial engineering courses were taught by multiple universities in Europe at the end of the 19th century, including in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Spain.[1] In the United States, the first department of industrial and manufacturing engineering was established in 1909 at the Pennsylvania State University. The first doctoral degree in industrial engineering was awarded in the 1930s by Cornell University.

[edit] University programs

Many universities have BS, MS, M.Tech and PhD programs available. US News and World Report's article on "America's Best Colleges 2010" lists schools offering Undergraduate engineering specialities in Industrial or Manufacturing.[2] The Georgia Institute of Technology has been ranked as having the best Industrial Engineering program in the United States consecutively for the last twenty years according to this survey.

[edit] Undergraduate curriculum

In the United States, the usual undergraduate degree earned is the Bachelor of Science or B.S. in Industrial Engineering (BSIE). Like most undergraduate engineering programs, the typical curriculum includes a broad math and science foundation spanning chemistry, physics, engineering design, calculus, differential equations, statistics, materials science, engineering mechanics, computer science, circuits and electronics, and often additional specialized courses in areas such as management, systems theory, ergonomics/safety, stochastics, advanced mathematics and computation, and economics. Some Universities require International credits to complete the BS degree.[clarification needed]

[edit] Postgraduate curriculum

The usual postgraduate degree earned is the Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, Production Engineering, Industrial Engineering & Management or Industrial Engineering & Operations Research. The typical MS curriculum includes:
y y y

Operations research & Optimization techniques Engineering economics Supply chain management & Logistics

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Computer aided manufacturing Facilities design & Work space design Quality Engineering

y y y y y y y

Systems Simulation & Stochastic Processes System Dynamics & Policy Planning System Analysis & Techniques Manufacturing systems/Manufacturing engineering Human factors engineering & Ergonomics Production planning and control Management Sciences

y y y y y y y

Reliability Engineering & Life Testing Statistical process control or Quality control Time and motion study Operations management Corporate planning Productivity improvement Materials management

[edit] Salaries and workforce statistics

The total number of engineers employed in the U.S. in 2006 was roughly 1.5 million. Of these, 201,000 were industrial engineers (13.3%), the third most popular engineering specialty. The average starting salaries being $55,067 with a bachelor's degree, $64,759 with a master's degree, and $77,364 with a doctorate degree. This places industrial engineering at 7th of 15 among engineering bachelors degrees, 3rd of 10 among masters degrees, and 2nd of 7 among doctorate degrees in average annual salary.[3] The median annual income of industrial engineers in the U.S. workforce is $68,620. Often, within a few years at a company, industrial engineers will become strong candidates for technical supervisory or engineering management positions because their work is more related to management than most other engineering disciplines.[citation needed]

Electronic engineering
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search

Electronic components

Electronics engineering,[1] also referred to as electronic engineering,[2][3] is an engineering discipline which uses the scientific knowledge of the behavior and effects of electrons to develop components, devices, systems, or equipment (as in electron tubes, transistors, integrated circuits, and printed circuit boards) that uses electricity as part of its driving force. Both terms denote a broad engineering field that encompasses many subfields including those that deal with power, instrumentation engineering, telecommunications, semiconductor circuit design, and many others.[4] The term also covers a large part of electrical engineering degree courses as studied at most European universities. In the U.S., however, electrical engineering encompasses all electrical disciplines including electronics. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is one of the most important and influential organizations for electronics engineers.

Contents
[hide]
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y y

y y y

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1 Terminology 2 History of electronic engineering o 2.1 Early electronics o 2.2 Tubes or valves  2.2.1 The vacuum tube detector o 2.3 Television o 2.4 Radar and radio location o 2.5 Computers o 2.6 Microprocessors 3 Electronics 4 Typical electronic engineering undergraduate syllabus o 4.1 Electromagnetics o 4.2 Network analysis o 4.3 Electronic devices and circuits o 4.4 Signals and systems o 4.5 Control systems o 4.6 Communications 5 Education and training 6 Professional bodies 7 Subfields o 7.1 Overview of electronic engineering o 7.2 Project engineering 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Terminology

The name electrical engineering is still used to cover electronic engineering amongst some of the older (notably American and Australian) universities and graduates there are called electrical engineers.[5] Some people believe the term 'electrical engineer' should be reserved for those having specialized in power and heavy current or high voltage engineering, while others believe that power is just one subset of electrical engineering (and indeed the term 'power engineering' is used in that industry) as well as 'electrical distribution engineering'. Again, in recent years there has been a growth of new separate-entry degree courses such as 'information engineering' and 'communication systems engineering', often followed by academic departments of similar name.[6][7] Most European universities now refer to electrical engineering as power engineers and make a distinction between Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Beginning in the 1980s, the term computer engineer was often used to refer to electronic or information engineers. However, Computer Engineering is now considered a subset of Electronics Engineering and the term is now becoming archaic. [8]

[edit] History of electronic engineering

Electronic engineering as a profession sprang from technological improvements in the telegraph industry in the late 19th century and the radio and the telephone industries in the early 20th century. People were attracted to radio by the technical fascination it inspired, first in receiving and then in transmitting. Many who went into broadcasting in the 1920s were only 'amateurs' in the period before World War I.[9] The modern discipline of electronic engineering was to a large extent born out of telephone, radio, and television equipment development and the large amount of electronic systems development during World War II of radar, sonar, communication systems, and advanced munitions and weapon systems. In the interwar years, the subject was known as radio engineering and it was only in the late 1950s that the term electronic engineering started to emerge.[10] The electronic laboratories (Bell Labs in the United States for instance) created and subsidized by large corporations in the industries of radio, television, and telephone equipment began churning out a series of electronic advances. In 1948, came the transistor and in 1960, the integrated circuit to revolutionize the electronic industry.[11][12] In the UK, the subject of electronic engineering became distinct from electrical engineering as a university degree subject around 1960. Before this time, students of electronics and related subjects like radio and telecommunications had to enroll in the electrical engineering department of the university as no university had departments of electronics. Electrical engineering was the nearest subject with which electronic engineering could be aligned, although the similarities in subjects covered (except mathematics and electromagnetism) lasted only for the first year of the three-year course.

[edit] Early electronics

In 1893, Nikola Tesla made the first public demonstration of radio communication. Addressing the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and the National Electric Light Association, he described

and demonstrated in detail the principles of radio communication.[13] In 1896, Guglielmo Marconi went on to develop a practical and widely used radio system.[14][15] In 1904, John Ambrose Fleming, the first professor of electrical Engineering at University College London, invented the first radio tube, the diode. One year later, in 1906, Robert von Lieben and Lee De Forest independently developed the amplifier tube, called the triode. Electronics is often considered to have begun when Lee De Forest invented the vacuum tube in 1907. Within 10 years, his device was used in radio transmitters and receivers as well as systems for long distance telephone calls. In 1912, Edwin H. Armstrong invented the regenerative feedback amplifier and oscillator; he also invented the superheterodyne radio receiver and could be considered the father of modern radio.[16] Vacuum tubes remained the preferred amplifying device for 40 years, until researchers working for William Shockley at Bell Labs invented the transistor in 1947. In the following years, transistors made small portable radios, or transistor radios, possible as well as allowing more powerful mainframe computers to be built. Transistors were smaller and required lower voltages than vacuum tubes to work. Before the invention of the integrated circuit in 1959, electronic circuits were constructed from discrete components that could be manipulated by hand. These non-integrated circuits consumed much space and power, were prone to failure and were limited in speed although they are still common in simple applications. By contrast, integrated circuits packed a large number often millions of tiny electrical components, mainly transistors, into a small chip around the size of a coin.[17]

[edit] Tubes or valves

[edit] The vacuum tube detector

The invention of the triode amplifier, generator, and detector made audio communication by radio practical. (Reginald Fessenden's 1906 transmissions used an electro-mechanical alternator.) The first known radio news program was broadcast 31 August 1920 by station 8MK, the unlicensed predecessor of WWJ (AM) in Detroit, Michigan. Regular wireless broadcasts for entertainment commenced in 1922 from the Marconi Research Centre at Writtle near Chelmsford, England. While some early radios used some type of amplification through electric current or battery, through the mid 1920s the most common type of receiver was the crystal set. In the 1920s, amplifying vacuum tubes revolutionized both radio receivers and transmitters.

[edit] Television
In 1928 Philo Farnsworth made the first public demonstration of a purely electronic television.[18] During the 1930s several countries began broadcasting, and after World War II it spread to millions of receivers, eventually worldwide. Ever since then, electronics have been fully present in television devices.

Modern televisions and video displays have evolved from bulky electron tube technology to use more compact devices, such as plasma and LCD displays. The trend is for even lower power devices such as the organic light-emitting diode displays, and it is most likely to replace the LCD and plasma technologies.[19]

[edit] Radar and radio location

During World War II many efforts were expended in the electronic location of enemy targets and aircraft. These included radio beam guidance of bombers, electronic counter measures, early radar systems etc. During this time very little if any effort was expended on consumer electronics developments.[20]

[edit] Computers
A computer is a programmable machine that receives input, stores and manipulates data, and provides output in a useful format. Although mechanical examples of computers have existed through much of recorded human history, the first electronic computers were developed in the mid-20th century (19401945). These were the size of a large room, consuming as much power as several hundred modern personal computers (PCs).[1] Modern computers based on integrated circuits are millions to billions of times more capable than the early machines, and occupy a fraction of the space.[2] Simple computers are small enough to fit into small pocket devices, and can be powered by a small battery. Personal computers in their various forms are icons of the Information Age and are what most people think of as "computers". However, the embedded computers found in many devices from MP3 players to fighter aircraft and from toys to industrial robots are the most numerous. The ability to store and execute lists of instructions called programs makes computers extremely versatile, distinguishing them from calculators. The ChurchTuring thesis is a mathematical statement of this versatility: any computer with a certain minimum capability is, in principle, capable of performing the same tasks that any other computer can perform. Therefore computers ranging from a netbook to a supercomputer are all able to perform the same computational tasks, given enough time and storage capacity.

[edit] Microprocessors
In 1969, Ted Hoff conceived the commercial microprocessor at Intel and thus ignited the development of the personal computer. Hoff's invention was part of an order by a Japanese company for a desktop programmable electronic calculator, which Hoff wanted to build as cheaply as possible. The first realization of the microprocessor was the Intel 4004, a 4-bit processor, in 1969, but only in 1973 did the Intel 8080, an 8-bit processor, make the building of the first personal computer, the MITS Altair 8800, possible. The first PC was announced to the general public on the cover of the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics.

Many electronics engineers today specialize in the development of programs for microprocessor based electronic systems, known as embedded systems. Due to the detailed knowledge of the hardware that is required for doing this, it is normally done by electronics engineers and not software engineers. Software engineers typically know and use microprocessors only at a conceptual level. Electronics engineers who exclusively carry out the role of programming embedded systems or microprocessors are referred to as "embedded systems engineers", or "firmware engineers".

[edit] Electronics
In the field of electronic engineering, engineers design and test circuits that use the electromagnetic properties of electrical components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes and transistors to achieve a particular functionality. The tuner circuit, which allows the user of a radio to filter out all but a single station, is just one example of such a circuit. In designing an integrated circuit, electronics engineers first construct circuit schematics that specify the electrical components and describe the interconnections between them. When completed, VLSI engineers convert the schematics into actual layouts, which map the layers of various conductor and semiconductor materials needed to construct the circuit. The conversion from schematics to layouts can be done by software (see electronic design automation) but very often requires human fine-tuning to decrease space and power consumption. Once the layout is complete, it can be sent to a fabrication plant for manufacturing. Integrated circuits and other electrical components can then be assembled on printed circuit boards to form more complicated circuits. Today, printed circuit boards are found in most electronic devices including televisions, computers and audio players.[21]

[edit] Typical electronic engineering undergraduate syllabus

Apart from electromagnetics and network theory, other items in the syllabus are particular to electronics engineering course. Electrical engineering courses have other specialisms such as machines, power generation and distribution. Note that the following list does not include the extensive engineering mathematics curriculum that is a prerequisite to a degree.[22][23]

[edit] Electromagnetics
Elements of vector calculus: divergence and curl; Gauss' and Stokes' theorems, Maxwell's equations: differential and integral forms. Wave equation, Poynting vector. Plane waves: propagation through various media; reflection and refraction; phase and group velocity; skin depth. Transmission lines: characteristic impedance; impedance transformation; Smith chart; impedance matching; pulse excitation. Waveguides: modes in rectangular waveguides; boundary conditions; cut-off frequencies; dispersion relations. Antennas: Dipole antennas; antenna arrays; radiation pattern; reciprocity theorem, antenna gain.[24][25]

[edit] Network analysis

Network graphs: matrices associated with graphs; incidence, fundamental cut set and fundamental circuit matrices. Solution methods: nodal and mesh analysis. Network theorems: superposition, Thevenin and Norton's maximum power transfer, Wye-Delta transformation.[26] Steady state sinusoidal analysis using phasors. Linear constant coefficient differential equations; time domain analysis of simple RLC circuits, Solution of network equations using Laplace transform: frequency domain analysis of RLC circuits. 2-port network parameters: driving point and transfer functions. State equations for networks.[27]

[edit] Electronic devices and circuits

Electronic devices: Energy bands in silicon, intrinsic and extrinsic silicon. Carrier transport in silicon: diffusion current, drift current, mobility, resistivity. Generation and recombination of carriers. p-n junction diode, Zener diode, tunnel diode, BJT, JFET, MOS capacitor, MOSFET, LED, p-i-n and avalanche photo diode, LASERs. Device technology: integrated circuit fabrication process, oxidation, diffusion, ion implantation, photolithography, n-tub, p-tub and twin-tub CMOS process.[28][29] Analog circuits: Equivalent circuits (large and small-signal) of diodes, BJTs, JFETs, and MOSFETs. Simple diode circuits, clipping, clamping, rectifier. Biasing and bias stability of transistor and FET amplifiers. Amplifiers: single-and multi-stage, differential, operational, feedback and power. Analysis of amplifiers; frequency response of amplifiers. Simple op-amp circuits. Filters. Sinusoidal oscillators; criterion for oscillation; single-transistor and op-amp configurations. Function generators and wave-shaping circuits, Power supplies.[30] Digital circuits: of Boolean functions; logic gates digital IC families (DTL, TTL, ECL, MOS, CMOS). Combinational circuits: arithmetic circuits, code converters, multiplexers and decoders. Sequential circuits: latches and flip-flops, counters and shift-registers. Sample and hold circuits, ADCs, DACs. Semiconductor memories. Microprocessor 8086: architecture, programming, memory and I/O interfacing.[31] [32]

[edit] Signals and systems

Definitions and properties of Laplace transform, continuous-time and discrete-time Fourier series, continuous-time and discrete-time Fourier Transform, z-transform. Sampling theorems. Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) Systems: definitions and properties; causality, stability, impulse response, convolution, poles and zeros frequency response, group delay, phase delay. Signal transmission through LTI systems. Random signals and noise: probability, random variables, probability density function, autocorrelation, power spectral density, function analogy between vectors & functions.[33][34]

[edit] Control systems

Basic control system components; block diagrammatic description, reduction of block diagrams Mason's rule. Open loop and closed loop (negative unity feedback) systems and stability analysis of these systems. Signal flow graphs and their use in determining transfer functions of

systems; transient and steady state analysis of LTI control systems and frequency response. Analysis of steady-state disturbance rejection and noise sensitivity.

Tools and techniques for LTI control system analysis and design: root loci, Routh-Hurwitz stability criterion, Bode and Nyquist plots. Control system compensators: elements of lead and lag compensation, elements of Proportional-Integral-Derivative controller (PID). Discretization of continuous time systems using Zero-order hold (ZOH) and ADCs for digital controller implementation. Limitations of digital controllers: aliasing. State variable representation and solution of state equation of LTI control systems. Linearization of Nonlinear dynamical systems with state-space realizations in both frequency and time domains. Fundamental concepts of controllability and observability for MIMO LTI systems. State space realizations: observable and controllable canonical form. Ackermann's formula for state-feedback pole placement. Design of full order and reduced order estimators. [35][36]

[edit] Communications
Analog communication systems: amplitude and angle modulation and demodulation systems, spectral analysis of these operations, superheterodyne noise conditions. Digital communication systems: pulse code modulation (PCM), Differential Pulse Code Modulation (DPCM), Delta modulation (DM), digital modulation schemes-amplitude, phase and frequency shift keying schemes (ASK, PSK, FSK), matched filter receivers, bandwidth consideration and probability of error calculations for these schemes, GSM, TDMA.[37][38]

[edit] Education and training

Electronics engineers typically possess an academic degree with a major in electronic engineering. The length of study for such a degree is usually three or four years and the completed degree may be designated as a Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Applied Science, or Bachelor of Technology depending upon the university. Many UK universities also offer Master of Engineering (MEng) degrees at undergraduate level. The degree generally includes units covering physics, chemistry, mathematics, project management and specific topics in electrical engineering. Initially such topics cover most, if not all, of the subfields of electronic engineering. Students then choose to specialize in one or more subfields towards the end of the degree. Some electronics engineers also choose to pursue a postgraduate degree such as a Master of Science (MSc), Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering (PhD), or an Engineering Doctorate (EngD). The Master degree is being introduced in some European and American Universities as a first degree and the differentiation of an engineer with graduate and postgraduate studies is often difficult. In these cases, experience is taken into account. The Master's degree may consist of either research, coursework or a mixture of the two. The Doctor of Philosophy consists of a significant research component and is often viewed as the entry point to academia.

In most countries, a Bachelor's degree in engineering represents the first step towards certification and the degree program itself is certified by a professional body. After completing a certified degree program the engineer must satisfy a range of requirements (including work experience requirements) before being certified. Once certified the engineer is designated the title of Professional Engineer (in the United States, Canada and South Africa), Chartered Engineer or Incorporated Engineer (in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India and Zimbabwe), Chartered Professional Engineer (in Australia) or European Engineer (in much of the European Union). Fundamental to the discipline are the sciences of physics and mathematics as these help to obtain both a qualitative and quantitative description of how such systems will work. Today most engineering work involves the use of computers and it is commonplace to use computer-aided design programs when designing electronic systems. Although most electronic engineers will understand basic circuit theory, the theories employed by engineers generally depend upon the work they do. For example, quantum mechanics and solid state physics might be relevant to an engineer working on VLSI but are largely irrelevant to engineers working with macroscopic electrical systems.

[edit] Professional bodies

Professional bodies of note for electrical engineers include the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) (now renamed the Institution of Engineering and Technology or IET). The IEEE claims to produce 30 percent of the world's literature in electrical/electronic engineering, has over 370,000 members, and holds more than 450 IEEE sponsored or cosponsored conferences worldwide each year.

[edit] Subfields
Electronic engineering has many subfields. This section describes some of the most popular subfields in electronic engineering; although there are engineers who focus exclusively on one subfield, there are also many who focus on a combination of subfields.

[edit] Overview of electronic engineering

Electronic engineering involves the design and testing of electronic circuits that use the electronic properties of components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes and transistors to achieve a particular functionality. Signal processing deals with the analysis and manipulation of signals. Signals can be either analog, in which case the signal varies continuously according to the information, or digital, in which case the signal varies according to a series of discrete values representing the information. For analog signals, signal processing may involve the amplification and filtering of audio signals for audio equipment or the modulation and demodulation of signals for telecommunications. For

digital signals, signal processing may involve the compression, error checking and error detection of digital signals. Telecommunications engineering deals with the transmission of information across a channel such as a co-axial cable, optical fiber or free space. Transmissions across free space require information to be encoded in a carrier wave in order to shift the information to a carrier frequency suitable for transmission, this is known as modulation. Popular analog modulation techniques include amplitude modulation and frequency modulation. The choice of modulation affects the cost and performance of a system and these two factors must be balanced carefully by the engineer. Once the transmission characteristics of a system are determined, telecommunication engineers design the transmitters and receivers needed for such systems. These two are sometimes combined to form a two-way communication device known as a transceiver. A key consideration in the design of transmitters is their power consumption as this is closely related to their signal strength. If the signal strength of a transmitter is insufficient the signal's information will be corrupted by noise. Control engineering has a wide range of applications from the flight and propulsion systems of commercial airplanes to the cruise control present in many modern cars. It also plays an important role in industrial automation. Control engineers often utilize feedback when designing control systems. For example, in a car with cruise control the vehicle's speed is continuously monitored and fed back to the system which adjusts the engine's power output accordingly. Where there is regular feedback, control theory can be used to determine how the system responds to such feedback. Instrumentation engineering deals with the design of devices to measure physical quantities such as pressure, flow and temperature. These devices are known as instrumentation. The design of such instrumentation requires a good understanding of physics that often extends beyond electromagnetic theory. For example, radar guns use the Doppler effect to measure the speed of oncoming vehicles. Similarly, thermocouples use the Peltier-Seebeck effect to measure the temperature difference between two points. Often instrumentation is not used by itself, but instead as the sensors of larger electrical systems. For example, a thermocouple might be used to help ensure a furnace's temperature remains constant. For this reason, instrumentation engineering is often viewed as the counterpart of control engineering. Computer engineering deals with the design of computers and computer systems. This may involve the design of new hardware, the design of PDAs or the use of computers to control an industrial plant. Computer engineers may also work on a system's software. However, the design of complex software systems is often the domain of software engineering, which is usually considered a separate discipline.

Desktop computers represent a tiny fraction of the devices a computer engineer might work on, as computer-like architectures are now found in a range of devices including video game consoles and DVD players.

[edit] Project engineering

For most engineers not involved at the cutting edge of system design and development, technical work accounts for only a fraction of the work they do. A lot of time is also spent on tasks such as discussing proposals with clients, preparing budgets and determining project schedules. Many senior engineers manage a team of technicians or other engineers and for this reason project management skills are important. Most engineering projects involve some form of documentation and strong written communication skills are therefore very important. The workplaces of electronics engineers are just as varied as the types of work they do. Electronics engineers may be found in the pristine laboratory environment of a fabrication plant, the offices of a consulting firm or in a research laboratory. During their working life, electronics engineers may find themselves supervising a wide range of individuals including scientists, electricians, computer programmers and other engineers. Obsolescence of technical skills is a serious concern for electronics engineers. Membership and participation in technical societies, regular reviews of periodicals in the field and a habit of continued learning are therefore essential to maintaining proficiency. And these are mostly used in the field of consumer electronics products.[39]

Geodesy
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An old geodetic pillar (1855) at Ostend, Belgium

A Munich archive with lithography plates of maps of Bavaria Geodesy (pronounced /d i d si/),[1] also named geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space. Geodesists also study geodynamical phenomena such as crustal motion, tides, and polar motion. For this they design global and national control networks, using space and terrestrial techniques while relying on datums and coordinate systems.

Contents
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1 Definition 2 History 3 Geoid and reference ellipsoid 4 Coordinate systems in space o 4.1 Coordinate systems in the plane

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5 Heights 6 Geodetic data o 6.1 A note on terminology 7 Point positioning 8 Geodetic problems o 8.1 First geodetic problem o 8.2 Second (inverse) geodetic problem 9 Geodetic observational concepts 10 Geodetic measurements 11 Units and measures on the ellipsoid 12 Temporal change 13 Famous geodesists o 13.1 Mathematical Geodesists before 1900 o 13.2 20th century 14 International organizations 15 Governmental agencies 16 See also 17 Notes 18 References 19 External links

[edit] Definition
Geodesy (from Greek geodaisia, lit. "division of the Earth") is primarily concerned with positioning within the temporally varying gravity field. Somewhat obsolete nowadays, geodesy in the German speaking world is divided into "Higher Geodesy" ("Erdmessung" or "hhere Geodsie"), which is concerned with measuring the Earth on the global scale, and "Practical Geodesy" or "Engineering Geodesy" ("Ingenieurgeodsie"), which is concerned with measuring specific parts or regions of the Earth, and which includes surveying. The shape of the Earth is to a large extent the result of its rotation, which causes its equatorial bulge, and the competition of geological processes such as the collision of plates and of volcanism, resisted by the Earth's gravity field. This applies to the solid surface, the liquid surface (dynamic sea surface topography) and the Earth's atmosphere. For this reason, the study of the Earth's gravity field is called physical geodesy by some.

[edit] History
Main article: History of geodesy

[edit] Geoid and reference ellipsoid

The geoid is essentially the figure of the Earth abstracted from its topographical features. It is an idealized equilibrium surface of sea water, the mean sea level surface in the absence of currents,

air pressure variations etc. and continued under the continental masses. The geoid, unlike ellipsoid, is irregular and too complicated to serve as the computational surface on which to solve geometrical problems like point positioning. The geometrical separation between the geoid and the reference ellipsoid is called the geoidal undulation. It varies globally between 110 m. A reference ellipsoid, customarily chosen to be the same size (volume) as the geoid, is described by its semi-major axis (equatorial radius) a and flattening f. The quantity f = (ab)/a, where b is the semi-minor axis (polar radius), is a purely geometrical one. The mechanical ellipticity of the Earth (dynamical flattening, symbol J2) can be determined to high precision by observation of satellite orbit perturbations. Its relationship with the geometrical flattening is indirect. The relationship depends on the internal density distribution, or, in simplest terms, the degree of central concentration of mass. The 1980 Geodetic Reference System (GRS80) posited a 6,378,137 m semi-major axis and a 1:298.257 flattening. This system was adopted at the XVII General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG). It is essentially the basis for geodetic positioning by the Global Positioning System and is thus also in extremely widespread use outside the geodetic community. The numerous other systems which have been used by diverse countries for their maps and charts are gradually dropping out of use as more and more countries move to global, geocentric reference systems using the GRS80 reference ellipsoid.

[edit] Coordinate systems in space

See also: Geodetic system The locations of points in three-dimensional space are most conveniently described by three cartesian or rectangular coordinates, X,Y and Z. Since the advent of satellite positioning, such coordinate systems are typically geocentric: the Z axis is aligned with the Earth's (conventional or instantaneous) rotation axis. Prior to satellite geodesy era, the coordinate systems associated with a geodetic datum attempted to be geocentric, but their origins differed from the geocentre by hundreds of metres, due to regional deviations in the direction of the plumbline (vertical). These regional geodetic datums, such as ED50 (European Datum 1950) or NAD83 (North American Datum 1983) have ellipsoids associated with them that are regional 'best fits' to the geoids within their areas of validity, minimising the deflections of the vertical over these areas. It is only because GPS satellites orbit about the geocentre, that this point becomes naturally the origin of a coordinate system defined by satellite geodetic means, as the satellite positions in space are themselves computed in such a system. Geocentric coordinate systems used in geodesy can be divided naturally into two classes:

1. Inertial reference systems, where the coordinate axes retain their orientation relative to the fixed stars, or equivalently, to the rotation axes of ideal gyroscopes; the X axis points to the vernal equinox 2. Co-rotating, also ECEF ("Earth Centred, Earth Fixed"), where the axes are attached to the solid body of the Earth. The X axis lies within the Greenwich observatory's meridian plane. The coordinate transformation between these two systems is described to good approximation by (apparent) sidereal time, which takes into account variations in the Earth's axial rotation (lengthof-day variations). A more accurate description also takes polar motion into account, a phenomenon closely monitored by geodesists.

[edit] Coordinate systems in the plane

In surveying and mapping, important fields of application of geodesy, two general types of coordinate systems are used in the plane: 1. Plano-polar, in which points in a plane are defined by a distance s from a specified point along a ray having a specified direction with respect to a base line or axis; 2. Rectangular, points are defined by distances from two perpendicular axes called x and y. It is geodetic practicecontrary to the mathematical conventionto let the x axis point to the North and the y axis to the East. Rectangular coordinates in the plane can be used intuitively with respect to one's current location, in which case the x axis will point to the local North. More formally, such coordinates can be obtained from three-dimensional coordinates using the artifice of a map projection. It is not possible to map the curved surface of the Earth onto a flat map surface without deformation. The compromise most often chosencalled a conformal projectionpreserves angles and length ratios, so that small circles are mapped as small circles and small squares as squares. An example of such a projection is UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator). Within the map plane, we have rectangular coordinates x and y. In this case the North direction used for reference is the map North, not the local North. The difference between the two is called meridian convergence. It is easy enough to "translate" between polar and rectangular coordinates in the plane: let, as above, direction and distance be and s respectively, then we have

The reverse transformation is given by:

[edit] Heights
In geodesy, point or terrain heights are "above sea level", an irregular, physically defined surface. Therefore a height should ideally not be referred to as a coordinate. It is more like a physical quantity, and though it can be tempting to treat height as the vertical coordinate z, in addition to the horizontal coordinates x and y, and though this actually is a good approximation of physical reality in small areas, it quickly becomes invalid for regional considerations.[specify] Heights come in the following variants: 1. Orthometric heights 2. Normal heights 3. Geopotential heights Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Both orthometric and normal heights are heights in metres above sea level, whereas geopotential numbers are measures of potential energy (unit: m s2) and not metric. Orthometric and normal heights differ in the precise way in which mean sea level is conceptually continued under the continental masses. The reference surface for orthometric heights is the geoid, an equipotential surface approximating mean sea level. None of these heights is in any way related to geodetic or ellipsoidial heights, which express the height of a point above the reference ellipsoid. Satellite positioning receivers typically provide ellipsoidal heights, unless they are fitted with special conversion software based on a model of the geoid.

[edit] Geodetic data

Because geodetic point coordinates (and heights) are always obtained in a system that has been constructed itself using real observations, geodesists introduce the concept of a geodetic datum: a physical realization of a coordinate system used for describing point locations. The realization is the result of choosing conventional coordinate values for one or more datum points. In the case of height datums, it suffices to choose one datum point: the reference bench mark, typically a tide gauge at the shore. Thus we have vertical datums like the NAP (Normaal Amsterdams Peil), the North American Vertical Datum 1988 (NAVD88), the Kronstadt datum, the Trieste datum, and so on. In case of plane or spatial coordinates, we typically need several datum points. A regional, ellipsoidal datum like ED50 can be fixed by prescribing the undulation of the geoid and the deflection of the vertical in one datum point, in this case the Helmert Tower in Potsdam. However, an overdetermined ensemble of datum points can also be used.

Changing the coordinates of a point set referring to one datum, so to make them refer to another datum, is called a datum transformation. In the case of vertical datums, this consists of simply adding a constant shift to all height values. In the case of plane or spatial coordinates, datum transformation takes the form of a similarity or Helmert transformation, consisting of a rotation and scaling operation in addition to a simple translation. In the plane, a Helmert transformation has four parameters; in space, seven.

[edit] A note on terminology

In the abstract, a coordinate system as used in mathematics and geodesy is, e.g., in ISO terminology, referred to as a coordinate system. International geodetic organizations like the IERS (International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service) speak of a reference system. When these coordinates are realized by choosing datum points and fixing a geodetic datum, ISO uses the terminology coordinate reference system, while IERS speaks of a reference frame. A datum transformation again is referred to by ISO as a coordinate transformation. (ISO 19111: Spatial referencing by coordinates).

[edit] Point positioning

Geodetic Control Mark (example of a deep benchmark) Point positioning is the determination of the coordinates of a point on land, at sea, or in space with respect to a coordinate system. Point position is solved by computation from measurements linking the known positions of terrestrial or extraterrestrial points with the unknown terrestrial position. This may involve transformations between or among astronomical and terrestrial coordinate systems. The known points used for point positioning can be triangulation points of a higher order network, or GPS satellites. Traditionally, a hierarchy of networks has been built to allow point positioning within a country. Highest in the hierarchy were triangulation networks. These were densified into networks of traverses (polygons), into which local mapping surveying measurements, usually with measuring tape, corner prism and the familiar red and white poles, are tied.

Nowadays all but special measurements (e.g., underground or high precision engineering measurements) are performed with GPS. The higher order networks are measured with static GPS, using differential measurement to determine vectors between terrestrial points. These vectors are then adjusted in traditional network fashion. A global polyhedron of permanently operating GPS stations under the auspices of the IERS is used to define a single global, geocentric reference frame which serves as the "zero order" global reference to which national measurements are attached. For surveying mappings, frequently Real Time Kinematic GPS is employed, tying in the unknown points with known terrestrial points close by in real time. One purpose of point positioning is the provision of known points for mapping measurements, also known as (horizontal and vertical) control. In every country, thousands of such known points exist and are normally documented by the national mapping agencies. Surveyors involved in real estate and insurance will use these to tie their local measurements to.

[edit] Geodetic problems

In geometric geodesy, two standard problems exist:

[edit] First geodetic problem

Given a point (in terms of its coordinates) and the direction (azimuth) and distance from that point to a second point, determine (the coordinates of) that second point.

[edit] Second (inverse) geodetic problem

Given two points, determine the azimuth and length of the line (straight line, arc or geodesic) that connects them. In the case of plane geometry (valid for small areas on the Earth's surface) the solutions to both problems reduce to simple trigonometry. On the sphere, the solution is significantly more complex, e.g., in the inverse problem the azimuths will differ between the two end points of the connecting great circle, arc, i.e. the geodesic. On the ellipsoid of revolution, geodesics may be written in terms of elliptic integrals, which are usually evaluated in terms of a series expansion; for example, see Vincenty's formulae. In the general case, the solution is called the geodesic for the surface considered. The differential equations for the geodesic can be solved numerically.

[edit] Geodetic observational concepts

Here we define some basic observational concepts, like angles and coordinates, defined in geodesy (and astronomy as well), mostly from the viewpoint of the local observer.

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The plumbline or vertical is the direction of local gravity, or the line that results by following it. It is slightly curved. The zenith is the point on the celestial sphere where the direction of the gravity vector in a point, extended upwards, intersects it. More correct is to call it a <direction> rather than a point. The nadir is the opposite point (or rather, direction), where the direction of gravity extended downward intersects the (invisible) celestial sphere. The celestial horizon is a plane perpendicular to a point's gravity vector. Azimuth is the direction angle within the plane of the horizon, typically counted clockwise from the North (in geodesy and astronomy) or South (in France). Elevation is the angular height of an object above the horizon, Alternatively zenith distance, being equal to 90 degrees minus elevation. Local topocentric coordinates are azimuth (direction angle within the plane of the horizon) and elevation angle (or zenith angle) and distance. The North celestial pole is the extension of the Earth's (precessing and nutating) instantaneous spin axis extended Northward to intersect the celestial sphere. (Similarly for the South celestial pole.) The celestial equator is the intersection of the (instantaneous) Earth equatorial plane with the celestial sphere. A meridian plane is any plane perpendicular to the celestial equator and containing the celestial poles. The local meridian is the plane containing the direction to the zenith and the direction to the celestial pole.

[edit] Geodetic measurements

The level is used for determining height differences and height reference systems, commonly referred to mean sea level. The traditional spirit level produces these practically most useful heights above sea level directly; the more economical use of GPS instruments for height determination requires precise knowledge of the figure of the geoid, as GPS only gives heights above the GRS80 reference ellipsoid. As geoid knowledge accumulates, one may expect use of GPS heighting to spread. The theodolite is used to measure horizontal and vertical angles to target points. These angles are referred to the local vertical. The tacheometer additionally determines, electronically or electrooptically, the distance to target, and is highly automated to even robotic in its operations. The method of free station position is widely used. For local detail surveys, tacheometers are commonly employed although the old-fashioned rectangular technique using angle prism and steel tape is still an inexpensive alternative. Realtime kinematic (RTK) GPS techniques are used as well. Data collected are tagged and recorded digitally for entry into a Geographic Information System (GIS) database. Geodetic GPS receivers produce directly three-dimensional coordinates in a geocentric coordinate frame. Such a frame is, e.g., WGS84, or the frames that are regularly produced and published by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS).

GPS receivers have almost completely replaced terrestrial instruments for large-scale base network surveys. For Planet-wide geodetic surveys, previously impossible, we can still mention Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) and Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) and Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) techniques. All these techniques also serve to monitor Earth rotation irregularities as well as plate tectonic motions. Gravity is measured using gravimeters. Basically, there are two kinds of gravimeters. Absolute gravimeters, which nowadays can also be used in the field, are based directly on measuring the acceleration of free fall (for example, of a reflecting prism in a vacuum tube). They are used for establishing the vertical geospatial control. Most common relative gravimeters are spring based. They are used in gravity surveys over large areas for establishing the figure of the geoid over these areas. Most accurate relative gravimeters are superconducting gravimeters, and these are sensitive to one thousandth of one billionth of the Earth surface gravity. Twenty-some superconducting gravimeters are used worldwide for studying Earth tides, rotation, interior, and ocean and atmospheric loading, as well as for verifying the Newtonian constant of gravitation.

[edit] Units and measures on the ellipsoid

Geographical latitude and longitude are stated in the units degree, minute of arc, and second of arc. They are angles, not metric measures, and describe the direction of the local normal to the reference ellipsoid of revolution. This is approximately the same as the direction of the plumbline, i.e., local gravity, which is also the normal to the geoid surface. For this reason, astronomical position determination measuring the direction of the plumbline by astronomical means works fairly well provided an ellipsoidal model of the figure of the Earth is used. One geographical mile, defined as one minute of arc on the equator, equals 1,855.32571922 m. One nautical mile is one minute of astronomical latitude. The radius of curvature of the ellipsoid varies with latitude, being the longest at the pole and the shortest at the equator as is the nautical mile. A metre was originally defined as the 40-millionth part of the length of a meridian (the target wasn't quite reached in actual implementation, so that is off by 0.02% in the current definitions). This means that one kilometre is roughly equal to (1/40,000) * 360 * 60 meridional minutes of arc, which equals 0.54 nautical mile, though this is not exact because the two units are defined on different bases (the international nautical mile is defined as exactly 1,852 m, corresponding to a rounding of 1000/0.54 m to four digits).

[edit] Temporal change

In geodesy, temporal change can be studied by a variety of techniques. Points on the Earth's surface change their location due to a variety of mechanisms:
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Continental plate motion, plate tectonics Episodic motion of tectonic origin, esp. close to fault lines Periodic effects due to Earth tides

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Postglacial land uplift due to isostatic adjustment Various anthropogenic movements due to, for instance, petroleum or water extraction or reservoir construction.

The science of studying deformations and motions of the Earth's crust and the solid Earth as a whole is called geodynamics. Often, study of the Earth's irregular rotation is also included in its definition. Techniques for studying geodynamic phenomena on the global scale include:
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satellite positioning by GPS and other such systems, Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) satellite and lunar laser ranging Regionally and locally, precise levelling, precise tacheometers, monitoring of gravity change, Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) using satellite images, etc.

[edit] Famous geodesists

[edit] Mathematical Geodesists before 1900
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Pythagoras 580490 BC, ancient Greece[2] Eratosthenes 276194 BC, ancient Greece Posidonius ca.13551 BC, ancient Greece Claudius Ptolemy 83c.168 AD, Roman Empire (Roman Egypt) Abu Rayhan Biruni 9731048, Khwarezm (Iran/Persia)[3][4] Sir George Biddell Airy 18011892, Cambridge & London Muhammad al-Idrisi 11001166, (Arabia & Sicily) Al-Ma'mun 786833, Baghdad (Iraq/Mesopotamia) Pedro Nunes 15021578 Portugal Gerhard Mercator 15121594 (Belgium & Germany) Snellius (Willebrord Snel van Royen) 15801626, Leiden (Netherlands) Christiaan Huygens 16291695 (Netherlands) Pierre de Maupertuis 16981759 (France) Pierre Bouguer 16981758, (France & Peru) Johann Heinrich Lambert 17281777 (France) Alexis Clairaut 17131765 (France) Johann Jacob Baeyer 17941885, Berlin (Germany) Karl Maximilian von Bauernfeind, Munich (Germany) Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel 1784-1846, Knigsberg (Germany) Roger Joseph Boscovich, Rome/ Berlin/ Paris Heinrich Bruns 18481919, Berlin (Germany) Alexander Ross Clarke, London (England) Lornd Etvs 18481919 (Hungary) Sir George Everest 18301843 (England & India)

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Herv Faye 18141902 (France) Abel Foullon (France) Carl Friedrich Gau 17771855, Gttingen (Germany) Friedrich Robert Helmert 1843-1917, Potsdam (Germany) Hipparchus, Nicosia (Greece) Pierre-Simon Laplace 17491827, Paris (France) Adrien Marie Legendre 17521833, Paris (France) Johann Benedikt Listing 18081882 (Germany) Friedrich H. C. Paschen, Schwerin (Germany) Charles Sanders Peirce 18391914 (United States) Henri Poincar, Paris (France) J. H. Pratt 18091871, London (England) Regiomontanus (Germany/Austria) Georg von Reichenbach 17711826, Bavaria (Germany) Heinrich Christian Schumacher 17801850 (Germany & Estonia) Johann Georg von Soldner 17761833, Munich (Germany) George Gabriel Stokes (England) Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve 17931864, Dorpat and Pulkowa/St.-Petersburg (Russia)

[edit] 20th century

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Arne Bjerhammar, Stockholm (Sweden) Mercado, Rafael, (U.S.A.) W. Bowie 18721940 (USA) John Fillmore Hayford 18681925 (USA) Veikko Aleksanteri Heiskanen 18951971 (Finland & USA) Friedrich Hopfner, Vienna (Austria) Martin Hotine, (England) (18981968) Harold Jeffreys, London (England) Karl-Rudolf Koch, Bonn (Germany) Mikhail Sergeevich Molodenskii 19091991 (Russia) John A. O'Keefe 19162000 (USA) Karl Ramsayer, Stuttgart (Germany) Hellmut Schmid, (Switzerland) Petr Van ek, Fredericton (Canada) Yrj Visl 18891971, (Finland) Felix Andries Vening-Meinesz 18871966 (Netherlands) Thaddeus Vincenty, (Poland) Alfred Wegener 18801930, (Germany & Greenland)

[edit] International organizations

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International Association of Geodesy (IAG) International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) Fdration Internationale des Gomtres (FIG)

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European Petroleum Survey Group (EPSG) (which despite being officially disbanded in 2005 continues to refine a well tested set of Geodetic Parameters) International Geodetic Student Organisation (IGSO)

[edit] Governmental agencies

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National Geodetic Survey (NGS), Silver Spring MD, USA National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Bethesda MD, USA (Previously National Imagery and Mapping Agency NIMA, previously Defense Mapping Agency DMA) U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Reston VA, USA Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Cient fico y Tecnolgico de CONICYT, Santiago, Chile Institut Gographique National (IGN), Saint-Mand, France Bundesamt fr Kartographie und Geodsie (BKG), Frankfurt a. M., Germany (Previously Institut fr Angewandte Geodsie, IfAG) Central Research Institute for Geodesy, Remote Sensing and Cartography (CNIIGAIK), Moscow, Russia Geodetic Survey Division, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Canada Geoscience Australia, Australian Federal Agency Finnish Geodetic Institute (FGI), Masala, Finland Portuguese Geographic Institute (IGEO), Lisbon, Portugal Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics - IBGE Spanish National Geographic Institute (IGN), Madrid, Spain Land Information New Zealand. Geodesy Division of Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden