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Engineering is part of almost everything we do from the buildings we live in and the roads and railways we travel on, to the telephones and computers we use to communicate and the X-ray machines that help doctors diagnose diseases. In thisVery Short Introduction, David Blockley explores the nature and practice of engineering its history, its scope, and its relationship with art, craft, science, and technology. He begins with its early roots, ranging from Archimedes to some of the great figures of engineering such as Brunel and Marconi, right up to the modern day, describing the five ages of engineering gravity, heat, electromagnetism, information, and systems and showing how they relate to one another. Blockley discusses some of engineering's great achievements as well as its great disasters such as when things went catastrophically wrong at Chernobyl using examples of everyday tools to reveal how engineering actually works. He also looks at some of the contributions engineers will have to make in the future in order to sustain and promote human well-being. Key Features Examines the role and identity of engineering in comparison with science, technology, art, and craft Defines the five ages of engineering - gravity, heat, electromagnetism, information, and systems - in order to show how the specialisms relate to one another Uses examples of everyday 'tools', such as a mobile telephone, to describe how engineering actually works Explores the historical development of engineering as a discipline Part of the bestselling Very Short Introductions series - over five million copies sold worldwide About the Author David Blockley is Head of the Department of Civil Engineering and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Bristol. Table of Contents 1. From idea to reality 2. The age of gravity - time for work 3. The age of heat - you can't get something for nothing 4. The age of electromagnetism - the power of attraction 5. The age of information - getting smaller 6. The age of systems - risky futures Glossary Further reading