Abstract
THE Institution of Mechanical Engineers, which has celebrated its centenary this week, can look back upon a hundred years of invaluable service both to the profession and to the community. Its existence has been contemporaneous with almost incredible developments in engineering, metallurgy and general science brought about largely by the work of its members. When it came into being, engineers had no such materials as even mild steel or aluminium, no mineral oil, no artificial abrasives, no electrical generators and no internal combustion engines of any kind. Their machine tools were comparatively few and simple, screw-threads had not yet been standardized, precision measurements were impossible, and scientific knowledge applicable to engineering problems scarcely existed. The steam engine, much as it had been left by Watt, was, however, available for industrial purposes, locomotives were running on the railways, and steam had been applied to marine propulsion.
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PARSONS, R. CENTENARY OF THE INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS. Nature 159, 799–800 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1038/159799a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/159799a0