Range Vent
An everyday task like cooking can produce odors, water vapor, and
other potential irritants like grease and smoke that are hazardous
for your health. Kitchen exhaust is best accomplished by an
overhead hood, because hot air rises.
What type of engineering does a range vent involve? Mechanical
engineering.
Oven
The oven was accidentally discovered by Percy Spencer while testing
out a new vacuum tube.
What type of engineering does an oven involve? Electrical
engineering.
Stove
The first historical record of a stove being built refers to a
stove built in 1490, in Alsace, France. This stove was made
entirely of brick and tile, including the flue.
What type of engineering does a stove involve? Mechanical and
electrical engineering.
Blender
The blender with the spinning blade at the bottom was originally
invented by Stephen J. Poplawski in 1922.
What type of engineering does a blender involve? Mechanical and
electrical engineering.
Wine Glass
A team at the Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL) in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, designed the iGlassware system, which
signals staff when you are ready for a refill. It uses an
adaptation of the radio frequency identification (RFID) tag
technology that is used to stop people stealing goods from
shops.
What type of engineering do glasses involve? Mechanical and
chemical engineering.
Trash Can
Lillian Moller Gilbreth (1878-1972), the mother of 12 children, had
good reason to improve the efficiency and convenience of household
items. A pioneer in ergonomics, Gilbreth patented many devices,
including an electric food mixer, and the trash can with step-on
lid-opener that can be found in most households today.
What type of engineering does a trash can involve? Mechanical and
chemical engineering.
Cabinet
The two dimensional drawings on paper are converted using Computer
Aided Drafting software (CAD) to the actual product to be built.
Very precise measurements are made perfectly using the help of a
computer.
What type of engineering does a cabinet involve? Mechanical
engineering.
Pill Bottle Label
A technology that is being tested at a VA facility in Chicago will
provide a talking label for medication containers. ScripTalk(TM) is
a handheld device that will read the label information on
prescription labels that have a specialty imbedded microchip. This
type of technology will be of great help to those who are visually
impaired.
What type of engineering does a pill bottle involve? Chemical
engineering.
Frying Pan
The frying-pan engineers added a sticky molecule to the non-stick
molecule to get non-stick coating to stick to the pans surface.
Non-stick was now applied in coats, with the bottom coat containing
the sticky additive that held to both the metal pan and the
non-stick molecules. A coat of non-sticky non-stick went over that,
non-stick and non-stick clinging together lovingly. A final
non-stick layer, spiked with teensy bits of ceramic or other
tougheners, protected the softer guts.
What type of engineering does a pan involve? Chemical
engineering.
Fork
Kitchen forks trace their origins back to the time of the Greeks.
These forks were fairly large with two tines that aided in the
carving and serving of meat. The tines prevented meat from twisting
or moving during carving and allowed food to slide off more easily
than it would with a knife. In late 17th Century France, larger
forks with four curved tines were developed. The additional tines
made diners less likely to drop food, and the curved tines served
as a scoop so people did not have to constantly switch to a spoon
while eating.
What type of engineering does a fork involve? Chemical
engineering.
Counter top
Kitchen counter tops serve double duty as both design elements and
as suitable work surfaces. There are different types of counter
tops. Laminate, Synthetic solid surface, stone and ceramic tiles
counter tops are among the few. "Green" counter tops - Counter
Production, in Berkeley, manufactures counter tops called
"Vetrazzo" made from recycled glass and cast concrete. The final
product contains 80 to 95% post-consumer recycled content.
What type of engineering does a counter top involve? Chemical
engineering.
Faucet
The single-handled faucet has been listed as one of the top 100
mass-produced objects of the century - right along side Henry
Ford's Model-T. The impetus to invent this faucet came from an
accident. In 1937 Alfred Moen worked part time in an auto garage to
earn money for engineering school. Late one night, tired and ready
to go home, Moen stopped to wash his hands in a sink with the usual
two-handle faucet. Moen turned the wrong handle, creating a burst
of hot water, and burned his hands. This gave the budding
mechanical engineer his lifetime passion: the perfect faucet.
What type of engineering does a faucet involve? Civil and
mechanical engineering.
Windowblind
Smart windows are exciting, cutting-edge window technology that
allows consumers to block either all light or just some by simply
turning a knob or pressing a button.
What type of engineering do window blinds involve? Mechanical and
electrical engineering.
Running water
Drinking water comes from lakes and streams. It is treated in a
water treatment plant to remove sediment (by filtration and/or
settling) and bacteria (typically with ozone, ultraviolet light and
chlorine). The output from the water treatment plant is clear,
germ-free water that is pumped to your tap.
What type of engineering does running water involve? Civil
engineering.
Dishwasher
The first dishwasher was invented in America in 1850. Joel Houghton
patented a wooden machine with a hand-turned wheel that splashed
water on dishes, it was hardly a workable machine, but it was the
first patent. New designs for in sink dishwashers are now
available. These new dishwashers are the size of a deep sink; use
half the water and time of a regular dishwasher, and save cabinet
space.
What type of engineering does a dishwasher involve? Mechanical
engineering.
Chips
Mechanical engineers working for Procter and Gamble designed the
Pringles chip container just big enough for the chips, but small
enough to not waste packaging materials. Chemical engineers perfect
the many different flavors used in processed foods.
What type of engineering does a bag of chips involve? Mechanical
and chemical engineering.
Liquid Soap
William Shepphard patented liquid soap on August 22, 1865.
What type of engineering does soap involve? Chemical
engineering.
Microwave
The idea for using microwaves to cook food was discovered by Percy
Spencer who was working for Raytheon and was building magnetrons
for radar sets. One day he was working on an active radar set when
he had noticed a sudden and strange sensation, and saw that a
chocolate bar he had in his pocket had melted. The holder of 120
patents, Percy was no stranger to discovery and experiment, and
realized what was happening. The first food to be deliberately
cooked with microwaves was popcorn, and the second was an egg
(which exploded in the face of one of the experimenters). In 1946
Raytheon patented the microwave cooking process and in 1947, they
built the first commercial microwave oven, the Radarange.
What type of engineering does a microwave involve? Electrical and
mechanical engineering.
Refrigerator
The first mechanic refrigerator was invented by Dr. John Gorrie of
Apalachicola in Florida in 1851. The first electric refrigerators
were sold to Americans in 1916, at a cost of $900.
What type of engineering does a refrigerator involve? Electrical
and mechanical engineering.
Tile
The mechanically formed tile was invented in France in 1835 by two
brothers, Joseph and Xavier Gilardon. The vivid colors of the first
models, as well as the diamond patterns and ribbing used as
decorations, were severely criticized.
What type of engineering does a tile involve? Chemical, mechanical,
and ceramic engineering.
Light Bulb
The electric light was invented in 1879 simultaneously by Thomas
Alva Edison in the United States and Sir Joseph Wilson Swan in
England.
What type of engineering does a light bulb involve? Electrical
engineering.