Today in History - August 27, 2003 - World’s largest battery is connected to provide emergency power to Fairbanks, Alaska’s second-largest city. Backup power is critical here as Alaska could become an “electrical island” when the power lines go down. In fact, environmental conditions cause a total city blackout every two or three years. In this $35 million rechargeable battery array, 13,760 large nickel-cadmium cells weigh a total of 1,300 tons and cover 2,000 square meters.

For more information see the Engineering Pathway’s educational resources on batteries. For related curricular resources, visit the Electrical Engineering Education or the Mechanical Engineering Education disciplinary communities.

Today in History - August 23, 1977 - Gossamer Condor achieves first human powered flight around a figure eight. This team effort, under the leadership of Paul B. MacCready, Jr., won the $50,000 Kremer Prize and captured the world’s attention. Bryan Allen maintained a head-height during the 7 1/2 minute figure eight flight.

British millionaire Henry Kremer and the Royal Aeronautical Society offered the Kremer Prize to the “designer who could create a human-powered flying machine”. After 18 years of no winners,  MacCready’s Gossamer Condor made history in 1977 when it became the first human-powered vehicle to achieve a sustained flight, performing a complex maneuver.

The Gossamer Condor is now on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. MacCready went on to win a number of other flight firsts and also developed the solar-powered Sunraycer that competed in a race across Australia. His 1990 electric car, built in collaboration with General Motors, resulted in the Impact electric car that could accelerate from zero to 60 mph in eight seconds.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on Paul MacCready and the Condor Gossamer. Or view curricular resources at the Aerospace Engineering Education Community site.

Today in History - August 19, 1934 - First All-American Soap Box Derby.  This youth competition was inspired by photographer Myron Scott while he was covering a story on the soap box cars built by local boys for the Dayton Daily News. He was motivated to develop a similar program at a national scale. Not a whole lot has changed since then except that the event draws both girls and boys over a wider range of ages. The Derby has run nationally since 1934 and the World Championship finals are held each summer at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio. The goal is to teach young people craft skills, the spirit of competition and perseverance to complete a complex project. The gravity-powered cars are required to use standardized wheels with precision ball bearings. Today, the rules allow a lot of freedom in the look of the car and its fairing. Modern cars can achieve speeds over 35 miles per hour, thus safety is a primary consideration in the design. Starting in 1993, the Derby went international with the Rally World Championship using a grand prix style competition (photo of German competition, center photo above). Laura Shepherd’s 1995 Soap Box Derby car is in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History (photo, upper right).

I don’t believe that I have ever seen a wooden soap box, but they must have been an icon of the American scene at one time. Until the middle of the 20th century they were made of sturdy wood and were used after shipping for a wide range of reuse applications. I recall that politicians and preachers used to stand on a soap box as a makeshift speaking platform. A number of American inventions used them for early prototypes. For example, James Spangler made the first effective vacuum cleaner from an old fan motor attached it to a soap box stapled to a broom handle, using a pillow case as a dust collector. See my blog on the prototyping and the  first vacuum cleaner patent on February 18, 1901.

I’d love it if the Soap Box Derby competition challenges today’s youth to make more sustainable automobiles for future generations. Hybrids and automobiles using alternate fuels such as solar, biofuels or hydrogen are promising directions for research and development. The solar car, human powered vehicle and supermileage vehicle engineering student competitions at universities today help students develop integrative design and team skills, as well as provide engaging examples for the next generation of engineering students.

See the Engineering Pathway’s educational resources in automotive engineering and design or prototyping. For curricular resources, visit the Mechanical Engineering Education or the Design Engineering Education community sites.

Today in History - August 17, 1807- Robert Fulton’s North River Steam Boat, called the Clermont, began its first voyage up New York’s Hudson River to complete a successful round-trip from New York City to Albany, traveling 150 miles in 32 hours.

Although Robert Fulton did not invent the steamboat, he is credited with making it a commercial success. Robert Fulton was born in Little Britain township (now Fulton), Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1765 and died in New York, 24 February 1815. His father came from Kilkenny, Ireland, and immigrated to the United States early in the 18th century. Robert Fulton was a motivated artist and tinkerer. He was constructing paddlewheels at the age of thirteen, which he successfully applied to a fishing boat. He also supported himself through painting miniature portraits and landscapes, as well as mechanical and architectural drawing. He traveled to London to study under Benjamin West to improve his artistic skills and also visited artists in Paris. But he was drawn further into experiments in mechanics and engines.  In 1798 Fulton worked on a project for the improvement of canal navigation and obtained a British patent for a double inclined plane for raising or lowering boats from one level to another on a system of small canals.

Fulton returned to the U.S. and completed the boat that was to navigate the Hudson in Spring of 1807. The Clermont’s steam-power trip up the Hudson to Albany was subject to much jealousy and rivalry, depriving him from most of the profits from his innovation. Yet few challenge his claim to have been the major influence behind the rapid multiplication and commercial success of steamboats in the U.S. and elsewhere. Robert Fulton is also well known for his role in a number of other innovations, including the submarine.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on Robert Fulton, steam engines and thermodynamics. For related educational resources, visit the Mechanical Engineering Education disciplinary community.

Today in History - August 13, 1913 - English metallurgist, Harry Brearley cast the first true stainless steel in Sheffield, England. This steel alloy was composed of 0.24% carbon and 12.8% chromium. Brearley (upper left photo) was trying to develop a more erosion-resistant steel for rifle barrels. He etched samples with acid before examining the steel’s grain structure under the microscope. The etching reagents he used were based on nitric acid. He was surprised to find that this new steel strongly resisted chemical attack.

Of course much depends on how true stainless steel is defined. It wasn’t defined as 10.5% chromium until 1911. Prior to this, Stoddard, Farraday and Berthier circa 1820 appear to have discovered that iron-chromium alloys were more resistant to chemical attack. Woods and Clark filed for a patent in 1872 for an acid- and weather-resistant iron composed of 30-35% chromium and 2% tungsten. Brustein in 1875 identified the importance of keeping the carbon content low, but there were no known processing techniques at the time to develop the concept further. Hans Goldschmidt of Germany broke through this barrier in 1895 with the development of the aluminothermic reduction process for producing carbon-free chromium. Researchers that followed documented experiments with low carbon steel and its properties (e.g., Gulliet, Giesen, Monnartz, Borchers).

It is not clear that Brearley built on any of this prior research or not? Was his discovery entirely serendipitous? We may never know. But many others laid claim to the discovery of stainless steel following Brearley’s announcement, including researchers from the U.S., Germany, Poland and Sweden. I like the story of Elwood Haynes (upper right photo) who was motivated to replace his rusty razor with a corrosion resistant version. He, Becket and Dantsizen worked on ferritic stainless steels, containing 14-16% chromium and 0.07-0.15% carbon, in the years 1911-1914. Haynes was awarded a U.S. patent in 1919. Haynes was a graduate of WPI, who makes the claim that Haynes should be credited as the inventor of stainless steel. Haynes had many other inventions, including the metallurgical invention of Stellite that was manufactured by his company, now called Haynes International, located in Kokomo, IN.

Regardless of who you accept as the inventor of stainless steel, there is no question about its impact on modern technology and products. In addition to the stainless razor and cutlery that motivated its development, stainless steel is used for high strength applications in the aerospace, automotive, consumer products, manufacturing, biomedical, chemical, petroleum, construction, railroad and naval industries.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s educational resources on stainless steel or view our Materials Engineering Education, Manufacturing Engineering Education or our Engineering Mechanics Education community sites.