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Summer Reading You Might Enjoy! Why Don’t Jumbo Jets Flap Their Wings?

Why Don’t Jumbo Jets Flap Their Wings? By David E. Alexander New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c2009 Engineering Library TL546.7 .A44 2009 Why don’t jumbo jets flap their wings? offers a fascinating explanation of how nature and human engineers each arrived at powered flight. What emerges is a highly readable account of two very different approaches to solvingContinue reading “Summer Reading You Might Enjoy! Why Don’t Jumbo Jets Flap Their Wings?”

April 15th is Eraser Day!

April 15th is National Rubber Eraser Day! When  celebrating the invention of the eraser, the names and stories of several European scientists intertwine: Frenchman Charles Marie de la Condamine, Portuguese Jean Hyacinthe de Magellan, and Englishmen Edward Nairne and Joseph Priestley are collectively responsible for its discovery and use. Condamine was sent to South AmericaContinue reading “April 15th is Eraser Day!”

How Sweet It Is: Basketball Engineering

Engineering and basketball go together as we begin the Sweet 16 games in the NCAA tournament, but just how has engineering affected the game? History In 1891, at Springfield College, Massachusetts, Dr. James Naismith, a thirty-year old physical education instructor, was encouraged to create an indoor, winter “athletic distraction.” Using two vegetable baskets, a soccer ball, nineContinue reading “How Sweet It Is: Basketball Engineering”