Better known as the "Spruce Goose," the Howard Hughes Flying Boat was designed and built by Hughes Aircraft Co., to be the largest wood-constructed and the largest wingspan airplane ever built. As Hughes perfected his craft, he added significantly to what is known in areas of large-lift capability and power-boost systems. Originally designated the HK-1 in 1942, it was designed to meet wartime troop and material transportation needs (flying just high enough to evade submarine attacks).
ASME
Term Image
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Public Domain (Federal Aviation Administration)
Image Caption:
Howard Hughes Flying Boat, HK-1
Era_date_from:
1947
2002
Known as the Paper City by 1877, this site was a major industrial center with extensive paper mills, textile mills, machine shops, and a water power system that had within a few decades transformed the fields of Ireland Parish into the manufacturing city of Holyoke. A group of Boston investors created the system of dams, canals, mills, streets, and boarding houses, which was incorporated as Holyoke in 1850. Built between 1847 and 1892 according to the original plan, the dam and canals provided work for Irish immigrants and the French Canadians, Germans, and other nationalities.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Public Domain (Produced Prior to 1/1/1923)
Image Caption:
Panoramic of the Holyoke Mills (The American Thread Company) on Holyoke Canal, 1909
Era_date_from:
1859
1987
The first practical demonstration of this tractor took place in a peat field on Roberts Island on November 24, 1904, and was patented and in production by December of 1907. The existing machine represents the earliest gasoline-powered track-type tractors that were to help revolutionize agriculture, logging, construction, road building, and transportation around the world. Its design and development is credited to Benjamin Holt (1849-1920), president of the Holt Manufacturing Company of Stockton.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Public Domain (Copyright Expired)
Image Caption:
The Holt 75 model gasoline-powered Caterpillar tractor used early in World War I as an artillery tractor. Later models were produced without the front "tiller wheel."
Era_date_from:
1918
1981
The first long underwater tunnel in the world designed for motor vehicle use was built from 1920 to 1927. The 29.5-foot-diameter, 8,500-foot-long twin tubes of this tunnel were shield-driven by the pneumatic method through extremely difficult river-bottom conditions that were overcome by the ingenuity and determination of its engineers, Clifford M. Holland, Milton H. Freeman, and Ole Singstad. They were the largest in the United States when built.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Courtesy Flickr/Bill Benzon (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Image Caption:
Holland Tunnel Ventilation System
Era_date_from:
1920
1984
This landmark artifact represents the first commercially successful farm tractor in the world powered by an internal-combustion engine. It was invented and built by Charles W. Hart and Charles H. Parr in Charles City, Iowa, as their Model 3, following two prototype versions.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Courtesy Flickr/Norbert Schnitzler (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Image Caption:
Hart Parr Tractor
Era_date_from:
1903
1996
This 350-horsepower Corliss type steam engine is an example of a typical late nineteenth century steam engine. The essential feature of Corliss type engines is the valves that admit steam to and exhaust it from the cylinder. The Corliss valve gear made the engine extremely efficient in steam consumption and was the most efficient system for controlling low to medium speed engines.
This particular engine operated for more than eighty years, having been retired not by age but over concern for stack emissions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The engine was built by the William A.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Public Domain (National Park Service)
Image Caption:
Harris-Corliss Steam Engine
Era_date_from:
1895
1985
The Hanford B-Reactor was the first plutonium production reactor to be placed in operation. Its success made possible the subsequent development of atomic energy. The research work, engineering, and planning required to make the reactor operate is one of our most advanced achievements. Much of the reactor core, cooling system, shielding, and auxiliary systems were designed by mechanical engineers.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Courtesy Flickr/David Lee (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Image Caption:
Hanford B Reactor
Era_date_from:
1944
1976
This is an old technology brought here by new immigrants. It represents the beginning of modern life in a hard wilderness. This wind-powered gristmill was built in 1870 by Fred Meiss, Jr., and Otto Fiek near Spring Creek, from parts of the first windmill in the new state of Texas, erected by E.G. Witte. The millstones are the ones Witte imported from Europe and are believed to be one of the earliest sets in the United States to survive.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Courtesy Wikipedia/Larry D. Moore (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Image Caption:
German Rocket
Era_date_from:
1944
1991
On April 21, 1949, a completely outdoor turbine-generator was placed into commercial operation at the Greens Bayou electric power plant--the first fully outdoor unit to operate in the United States. The demand for unprecedented quantities of electricity after World War II pressed utilities to provide addition power quickly. The outdoor design, unlike the traditional large turbine hall, resulted in significant reductions in the cost per kilowatt to build the plant.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Courtesy ASME
Image Caption:
Greens Bayou Generator Plant
Era_date_from:
1949
1991
A variety of mechanical feeders, including drag-chain conveyors and rotary pocket feeders, historically have been used to volumetrically control the flow of fuel to coal pulverizers on power generators. Most power generation in the United States has relied on burning fossil fuels in steam boilers, with coal as the fuel of choice. By the 1920s, pulverized-firing (the burning in suspension of finely ground coal particles) evolved as means to more complete fuel combustion and higher system efficiencies and facilitated the use of larger boilers.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Image Caption:
Drawing from patent documents for Gravimetric Coal Feeder.
Era_date_from:
1957
1995
The RL-10, which served as the power plant for NASA's upper-stage Centaur space launch vehicle, was the first rocket engine to use high-energy liquid hydrogen as a fuel. It has provided precisely controlled, reliable power for lunar and planetary explorations. The RL-10 embodied numerous…
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The Pegasus 3 is the earliest surviving example of the prototype engine for vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jets, namely the Royal Air Force's Harriers and US Marine Corps' AV-8Bs. Owned by the Rolls- Royce Heritage Trust (a company-sponsored history and preservation society), the…
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The largest rocket built at the time of the historic first missions to the moon, the Saturn V carried aloft the 45-ton Apollo spacecraft on earth orbital and lunar missions from 1967 to 1972. It also launched the 120-ton Skylab into earth orbit on May 14, 1973.
Design and…
Referred to as the "catalyst of the Industrial Revolution," textile manufacturing helped to transform the American economy from an agricultural to a manufacturing economy. It led to transitions from human to mechanical power and from wood to metal construction. Population shifts resulted from…
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Apollo astronauts who ventured outside of the protective confines of their pressurized capsules faced a number of hazards, among them: exposure to cosmic debris, solar radiation, and surface temperatures that widely varied. The suit also needed to accommodate a wide range of motion to allow the…
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A drive system that keeps the antenna pointed with millimeter precision regardless of factors such as environmental change
The Arecibo…
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Collection of restored windmill operated waterpumps made at one of the three windmill manufacturing companies in Batavia. In late 19th century - early 20th century, Batavia became known as…
The first wave pool in North America to consistently generate 3-5 foot spilling waves suitable for surfing
Big Surf Waterpark uses 15 gates that empty water into a 2.5 acre lagoon with contours…
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With over 300 specimens, the Museum of Engines and Mechanisms of the University of Palermo collectively narrates the evolution of engine technology. This collection of engines, from water-powered devices, through the era of steam and reciprocating engines, to jet turbines, includes engines that…
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The first funicular to employ a single, two-rail track along its entire length, with a short passing track.
During the period of prosperity throughout Europe known as the Belle Epoque, railway systems saw…
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A number of major engineering feats required to complete the tasks for the mission at hand, which were later used in further projects
… Read More
When Robert G. LeTourneau started moving earth in 1919, he thought that land leveling should require only one man. In 1920, by installing a generator and electric motors, R.G. was able to control the scraper blade from the tractor seat while driving the tractor.
In June 1922,…
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Aircraft engines, considered unreliable during the first 20 years of aviation due to their need for…
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Although the origins of three-dimensional printing date back to the mid 19th century, and the first…
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