Content tagged with “engineering” under “Stuff I Looked Up”

There are 7 item(s) tagged with “engineering” in this section.

See items tagged with “engineering” across the entire site.

Other tags used by these items: construction, vehicles, cars, architecture, air-travel

4WD vs AWD
Explanation
February 9, 2022
388

“The difference between four-wheel drive (4WD) and all-wheel drive (AWD) can be a little vague. I read a lot of resources, and they waffle quite a bit. In general: All-Wheel Drive requires no driver input. There’s a computer in the car that just makes it work. The car usually drives two wheels, but…”

Bitumen
Explanation
February 24, 2024
89

“This is another name for what we call ‘asphalt’ in the United States. It’s the very sticky component or petroleum. It occurs naturally. Most of it is used to construction and road-making, but it can be refined to form crude oil. The ‘oil sands’ of Alberta and North Dakota are naturally occuring…”

Cantilever
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
May 20, 2024
213

“In it’s strictest terms, this is simply a physical element that’s only connected to a large structure at one end, so the other end ‘hangs out in space.’ Architecturally, a cantilever is a building structure that protrudes into open space, such as a balcony. A great example is The Guthrie Theater…”

Cement vs. Concrete
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
August 13, 2022
302

“Cement is the base aggregate. It’s limestone, silica, and some other things. It’s a very fine powder. Cement, when mixed with other things, makes concrete. You mix it with sand, rocks, and water. So, the sidewalk in front of your house is technically concrete , not cement. Cement is just one…”

Shear Load
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
May 20, 2022
317

“This is a term from physics and engineering, so there are lots of very technical definitions (involving lots of math). I’m greatly simplifying here. This is when an object experiences load against one part of it, that’s not applied against another part of it. For instance, if a wall is fixed at its…”

Tarmac
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
November 10, 2023
178

“This is short for ‘tarmacadam,’ which differs slightly from macadam . Wikipedia defines it as: Tarmacadam is a road surfacing material made by combining crushed stone, sand, and tar […] It is a more durable and dust-free enhancement of simple compacted stone macadam surfaces… Vocabulary.com says:…”

Theodolite
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
March 29, 2024
67

“ This is the common land surveyors tool, where someone looks through an eyepiece at specific points to measure angles and determine land boundaries. ”