By following these 13 engineering writing tips, you can become a better engineer. Engineers need to master technical writing to reach their full potential. It may come as a surprise, but engineers do a lot of writing. And the higher you climb in the profession, you’ll find yourself writing even more. This applies to all … Read more
Great technical writing conveys clear and accurate information. Using my engineering writing style guide, you’ll know what good technical writing is. Important to realize, you don’t need to be the next Stephen King. But, to write like a great engineer, you need to have a certain level of writing skills. This applies to all types … Read more
We fear powerful volcanic eruptions with the flowing lava and balls of fire. But, the destructive volcanic ashfall effects on the power grid go unnoticed. I’ve already discussed the impact of a powerful coronal mass ejection hitting Earth. The destruction would be unworldly. I want to now go over the impact of a powerful volcanic eruption. … Read more
Drilling into Europa would be the biggest engineering challenge. To show the difficulty, we’ll calculate the required energy to pierce this ice surface. I’ll also look at other methods of reaching Europa’s ocean as well. The more options the better. Part of the challenge is that Europa is 390 million miles from Earth. It’s the … Read more
One day we may have the ability to live on Mars. But, this may mean living underground on Mars. This presents many unspoken tunnel drilling challenges. We all love the sun. On Mars though, we can’t be too picky. Living underground may be the only option to survive. Living underground shields us from: Deadly radiation … Read more
A good engineer client relationship leads to successful projects. To avoid costly problems and deliver a great service, engineers should use these 18 tips. Frankly, smiling while saying “yessir” won’t cut it these days. In fact, doing this may get you kicked around more than a soccer ball. Some clients will take advantage of you. … Read more
The movie Top Gun starring Tom Cruise made jets and aircraft carriers iconic. So, let’s go through the calculations of an F-14 Tomcat carrier launch. These launches are marvels of engineering. Massive jets take off and land on floating airports. I can’t think of anything much cooler than this. The ocean’s airports The USS Theodore … Read more
Batteries are the lifeline to substations, providing backup power. I’m going to go over a typical substation battery sizing calculation I would make. I’ll show you step by step what to do in the calculation. Also, the considerations you need to make for the different substation loads. Before we dive into the meat of the … Read more
We all love to watch a rocket launch into space. But, the rocket structure analysis that makes a successful launch possible goes unnoticed. So, I’m going to go over the more interesting aspects of rocket structure analysis here. Touching on the basics. We need to better appreciate how we fire large metal cylinders into Earth’s … Read more
Some engineering slang words and expressions are downright funny. While others you need to know to deeply appreciate the engineering profession. For this reason, I put together a complete list of engineering slang words and expressions. My list is a mixture of slang words and expressions that I’ve used, heard, or seen in all types … Read more
We see a raging fireball every day floating in the sky, glowing brightly. But, we never stop to think of the power of our Sun. What if a powerful coronal mass ejection hit Earth? The impact could unravel everything we view as normal in life today. Without a doubt, the impact would be devasting. Why … Read more
I’ll teach you how to calculate conduit size for cables and wires fast and easy. It’s a great way to verify your grueling conduit sizing hand calculations too. Also, convenient for calculating conduit sizes on the fly if you’re at a job site or standing in Home Depot. Our free to use conduit sizing calculator … Read more
Applying the golden nuggets from how engineers think to your life will give you an edge. No matter your background, you’ll benefit from an engineer’s mind. So, we’ll hack into the mind of engineers to give you golden nuggets to use. Now, before I dive into how engineers think, you need to realize I’m taking … Read more
A lot of mystery surrounds the ins and outs of becoming an engineer. To shed some light on the process, I’ll go over 7 easy tips on how to be an engineer. This will help you answer the question “Should I be an engineer?” I won’t dive into the more obvious things like: Earn a … Read more
You may have thought about or read about becoming an engineer. For this reason, I’m going to go over the 9 questions you need to ask yourself to answer: “should I be an engineer?” If you answer ‘yes’ to most of these questions with a smile, then more than likely you’ll make a great engineer. … Read more
Many types of engineering exist. I want to discuss all the types of engineering together so you can better compare and contrast them. To do this, I’ll go into detail over each field and give my thoughts. On the whole, I want to shed light on the amazing world of engineering. As a teenager growing … Read more