Today in History - January 7, 1913 - William Merriam Burton is awarded the patent for thermal cracking. Cracking is a process where organic molecules and broken down into simpler molecules by breaking carbon-carbon bonds. This process is used to breakdown crude oil into one of its many products. These methods were pioneered in by Benjamin Silliman Jr in 1855. But prior to 1913 one of the most popular ways of turning crude oil into useful products was distillation process which collected different products as they condensed in a distillation tower. While this process worked it produced very little gasoline. Burton new this process wasn’t enough and wanted to improve the process just in case Henry Ford was right about automobiles. After years of testing in the laboratory William Burton developed the process of thermal cracking. In this process elevated temperatures and pressures (over 800C and 700kPa respectively) are used. This in effect doubled the yield from a single barrel of crude oil. In 1913 Burton received US Patent No. 1,049,667 for thermal cracking.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on petroleum refining. For related educational resources, visit the Petroleum Engineering Education disciplinary community.

Today in History - January 5, 1892 - Construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge. After years of gathering support and funding for the bridge, Joseph Strauss oversaw its construction. The project was so massive that a Golden Gate District was formed to build the bridge. All in all the bridge ended up costing about 27 million dollars. One of the most innovative parts of the bridge’s construction was Strauss insistence on safety. Workers wore protective headgear, glare-free goggles, and even a special lotion that helped protect against the harsh winds. There was also a large net that was placed beneath the workers. When construction was completed in 1937 the net had saved nineteen lives. At the time of completion the bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world. And today it is still as iconic as it was 101 years ago.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on bridges. For related educational resources, visit the Civil Engineering Education or Construction Engineering Education disciplinary communities.

Also today in 1892, the first photograph of the Aurora Borealis was taken.

Today in History - January 3, 1957 - The world’s first electric wristwatch is released. The Hamilton watch company began research on an electric watch in 1946. Ten years later they released their watch with great success. Prior to this watch most watches kept time using a balance wheel that was kept in motion using a spring. This spring had to be wound by the wearer everyday. The Hamilton watch, while using the same balance wheel, used electromagnets to keep it in motion. One of the biggest challenges was finding a battery that was powerful enough to power the watch for a year, but also be small enough to fit inside the watch case. The Hamilton watch case styles were also an important ingredient in the watches success. People loved the their asymmetric design. However, this type of watch never gained mass popularity as they were only marginally better than their mechanical brethren. And by 1969 production stopped when quartz technology was used in favor of its accuracy.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on watch technology and time measurement. For related educational resources, visit the Computer Engineering Education, or the Electrical Engineering Education disciplinary communities.

Today in History - January 2, 1959 - the first lunar space ship shot to escape the Earth’s gravitational pull. The unmanned Luna I was launched by the Soviet Union less than two years after their launch of Sputnik, the Earth’s first artificial satellite. Luna 1 passed to within 4,600 miles of the moon before moving on to a solar orbit.

Later in 1959 on September 14, the Soviets were successful in reaching the moon with the Luna 2. The Luna 2 spaceship fell out of the lunar sky and hit the ground near the Sea of Serenity. Although the ship itself was shattered, the mission was considered a success, making Luna 2 from the Soviet Union the first manmade object to “land” on the Moon. The U.S. lunar orbiters came next, followed by Japan’s Hiten spacecraft.

It does seem like a big waste, but crash landing was the main mode of landing for the next decade of moon landings. NASA’s series of Rangers in the 1960’s had five crashes, but were able to transmit the first detailed images of lunar craters, rocks and soil before being destroyed by the crash. These images beamed back to Earth provided information critical for the success of later Apollo missions.

Alas this means that the Moon has become a graveyard for old satellites and spaceships, including all five of NASA’s Lunar Orbiters (1966-1972), four Soviet Luna probes (1959-1965), two Apollo sub-satellites (1970-1971), Japan’s Hiten spacecraft (1993) and NASA’s Lunar Prospector (1999).

The Japanese were the third country that we know of on the moon. I find it interesting that their spacecraft was named the “Hiten” after the Buddhist flying angel, pictured below playing the flute in a sculpture by Okita Toshiki.

The first attempted soft landing wasn’t until May 1965 with the Soviet’s Lunar 5; but it failed and crashed in the Sea of Clouds area of the moon. The Luna 9 (center photo above) was successful a year later, transmitting data from the Ocean of Storms lunar area. Later in 1966, NASA’s Surveyor 1 (right photo) was the first soft-landed robotic laboratory, landing in the Ocean of Storms area.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s related resources on the Luna Missions and other lunar spacecraft. Or visit the Aerospace Engineering Education community site.

Also on this date in 1923 Thomas Midgley’s ethyl gasoline was first marketed. On this date in 1975 the U.S. Department of Interior designates the grizzly bear a threatened species in the Lower 48 States.

Today in History - January 1, 1853 - The world’s first practical steam-powered fire engine made its debut.

In the spring of 1852, Abel Shawk, Alexander Bonner Latta, and Miles Greenwood began construction on the first practical steam-powered fire engine. While other fire engines had existed, theirs was significantly faster, being able to pump water in a mere ten minutes. Once finished they presented their engine to Cincinnati Fire Department on January 1st, 1853 (their own city). This engine was nicked name ‘Uncle Joe Ross’ and with the success of this and other steam powered fire engines, the City of Cincinnati went on to create the first professional fire department in the United States.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on fire-engines, fire-fighting and steam. For related educational resources, visit the Mechanical Engineering Education disciplinary community.