Civil Engineering, CUL-ENT
Civil engineering, the profession of designing and executing structural works that serve the general public. The term was first used in the 18th century to distinguish the newly recognized profession from military engineering, until then preeminent.
Civil Engineering Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Culmann, Carl
Carl Culmann was a German engineer whose graphic methods of structural analysis have been widely applied to engineering......
Cupola
Cupola, in architecture, small dome, often resembling an overturned cup, placed on a circular, polygonal, or square......
Curtain wall
Curtain wall, Nonbearing wall of glass, metal, or masonry attached to a buildingâs exterior structural frame. After......
Cyclopean masonry
Cyclopean masonry, wall constructed without mortar, using enormous blocks of stone. This technique was employed......
Dado
Dado, in Classical architecture, the plain portion between the base and cornice of the pedestal of a column and,......
Daimler, Gottlieb
Gottlieb Daimler was a German mechanical engineer who was a major figure in the early history of the automotive......
Dais
Dais, any raised platform in a room, used primarily for ceremonial purposes. Originally the term referred to a......
dakhma
dakhma, (Avestan: âtower of silenceâ), Parsi funerary tower erected on a hill for the disposal of the dead according......
Dakota, The
The Dakota, historical apartment building located across from Central Park at 1 West 72nd Street on the Upper West......
Dalhousie, James Andrew Broun Ramsay, Marquess and 10th Earl of
James Andrew Broun Ramsay, marquess and 10th earl of Dalhousie was a British governor-general of India from 1847......
Dalén, Nils
Nils Dalén was a Swedish engineer who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1912 for his invention of the automatic......
dam
dam, structure built across a stream, a river, or an estuary to retain water. Dams are built to provide water for......
Dance, George, the Younger
George Dance, the Younger was a British architect who was responsible for extensive urban redevelopment in London.......
Daniel-Johnson Dam
Daniel-Johnson Dam, dam on the Manicouagan River in Quebec province, Canada, one of the worldâs largest multiple-arch......
Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge
Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge, longest bridge in the world since its opening in 2011. Located in China, it is part......
Darcy, Henri-Philibert-Gaspard
Henri-Philibert-Gaspard Darcy was a French hydraulic engineer who first derived the equation (now known as Darcyâs......
Davis, Charles Henry
Charles Henry Davis was a U.S. naval officer and scientist. Davis spent two years at Harvard before becoming a......
Davy lamp
Davy lamp, safety lamp (q.v.) devised by Sir Humphry Davy in...
De Gasperi, Alcide
Alcide De Gasperi was a politician and prime minister of Italy (1945â53) who contributed to the material and moral......
Debs, Eugene V.
Eugene V. Debs was a labor organizer and Socialist Party candidate for U.S. president five times between 1900 and......
decarbonization
decarbonization, type of climate-change mitigation designed to reduce the production of carbon dioxide (CO2) and......
Delaware Aqueduct
Delaware Aqueduct, circular tunnel, part of the system that supplies water to New York City from the Delaware River......
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company, American railroad built to carry coal from the anthracite fields......
Delorme, Philibert
Philibert Delorme was one of the great Renaissance architects of the 16th century and, possibly, the first French......
Delta Works
Delta Works, in the southwestern Netherlands, a giant flood-control project that closed off the Rhine, Meuse [Maas],......
derrick
derrick, apparatus with a tackle rigged at the end of a beam for hoisting and lowering. Its name is derived from......
desalination
desalination, removal of dissolved salts from seawater and in some cases from the brackish (slightly salty) waters......
Desert palace
Desert palace, any country dwelling built in Syria, Jordan, and Palestine by Umayyad (661â750 ce) rulers and aristocrats.......
Deutsche Bahn AG
Deutsche Bahn AG, the railway system of Germany created in 1994 by the merger of the Deutsche Bundesbahn (German......
Deville, Ădouard Gaston
Ădouard Gaston Deville was a French-born Canadian surveyor of Canadian lands (1875â1924) who perfected the first......
Dez Dam
Dez Dam, an arch dam across the Dez River in Iran, completed in 1963. The dam is 666 feet (203 m) high, 696 feet......
Dibner, Bern
Bern Dibner was an American engineer and historian of science. Dibner arrived in the United States in 1904. After......
Diesel, Rudolf
Rudolf Diesel was a German thermal engineer who invented the internal-combustion engine that bears his name. He......
Diocletian window
Diocletian window, semicircular window or opening divided into three compartments by two vertical mullions. Diocletian......
Diocletian, Palace of
Palace of Diocletian, ancient Roman palace built between 295 and 305 ce at Split (Spalato), Croatia, by the emperor......
display resolution
display resolution, number of pixels shown on a screen, expressed in the number of pixels across by the number......
diving suit
diving suit, watertight costume for underwater use, connected to the surface or to a diving bell by a tube that......
Dixon, Jeremiah
Jeremiah Dixon was a British surveyor who, working with fellow surveyor Charles Mason, established the boundary......
diya
diya, small lamp, filled with oil, that is widely used across India, particularly in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist......
Do Toilets in Different Hemispheres Flush in Different Directions?
Imagine for a moment that you are trapped aboard a ship in the ocean without a map, a radio, GPS, or any landmarks.......
dock
dock, artificially enclosed basin into which vessels are brought for inspection and repair. A brief treatment of......
Dodge, Grenville Mellen
Grenville Mellen Dodge was an American civil engineer who was responsible for much of the railroad construction......
Doherty, Henry L.
Henry L. Doherty was an American businessman and utilities expert who formed the holding company Cities Service......
Dome
Dome, in architecture, hemispherical structure evolved from the arch, usually forming a ceiling or roof. Domes......
Domus
Domus, private family residence of modest to palatial proportions, found primarily in ancient Rome and Pompeii.......
Door
Door, barrier of wood, stone, metal, glass, paper, leaves, hides, or a combination of materials, installed to swing,......
Doorstop
Doorstop, usually decorative and invariably heavy object used to prevent doors from swinging shut. Doorstops came......
Doric order
Doric order, one of the orders of classical architecture, characterized by a simple and austere column and capital.......
Dormer
Dormer, in architecture, a vertical window that projects from a sloping roof and usually illuminates a bedroom.......
Dortmund-Ems Canal
Dortmund-Ems Canal, important commercial canal in western Germany linking the Ruhr industrial area with the North......
Douglas, James
James Douglas was a Canadian-born U.S. mining engineer, industrialist, and philanthropist who contributed greatly......
dredge
dredge, large floating device for underwater excavation. Dredging has four principal objectives: (1) to develop......
Drew, Daniel
Daniel Drew was an American railway financier of the 19th-century ârobber baronâ era. After a successful career......
Drew, Jane
Jane Drew was a British architect who, with her husband, Maxwell Fry, was a forerunner in the field of modern tropical......
Drottningholm Theatre
Drottningholm Theatre, 18th-century court theatre of the Royal Palace of Drottningholm, near Stockholm, Swed. It......
Drum
Drum, in architecture, any of the cylindrical stone blocks composing a column that is not a monolith. The term......
dry dock
dry dock, type of dock (q.v.) consisting of a rectangular basin dug into the shore of a body of water and provided......
Drywall
Drywall, any of various large rigid sheets of finishing material used in drywall construction to face the interior......
drywall construction
drywall construction, a type of construction in which the interior wall is applied in a dry condition without the......
Dudley, Sir Robert
Sir Robert Dudley was an English sailor, engineer, and titular duke of Northumberland and earl of Warwick who wrote......
Dudok, Willem Marinus
Willem Marinus Dudok was a Dutch architect whose work is related both to the school of Amsterdam, which emphasized......
Dufour, Guillaume-Henri
Guillaume-Henri Dufour was an engineer and army officer who was elected four times to supreme command of the Swiss......
Dumont dâUrville, Jules-SĂ©bastien-CĂ©sar
Jules-SĂ©bastien-CĂ©sar Dumont dâUrville was a French navigator who commanded voyages of exploration to the South......
DuMont, Allen B.
Allen B. DuMont was an American engineer who perfected the first commercially practical cathode-ray tube, which......
Dupuit, ArsĂšne-Jules-Ătienne-JuvĂ©nal
ArsĂšne-Jules-Ătienne-JuvĂ©nal Dupuit was a French engineer and economist who was one of the first to analyze the......
Dutton, Clarence Edward
Clarence Edward Dutton was an American geologist and pioneer seismologist who developed and named the principle......
Eads, James B.
James B. Eads was an American engineer best known for his triple-arch steel bridge over the Mississippi River at......
earthfill dam
earthfill dam, dam built up by compacting successive layers of earth, using the most impervious materials to form......
earthquake-resistant construction
earthquake-resistant construction, the fabrication of a building or structure that is able to withstand the sudden......
earthquake-resistant structure
earthquake-resistant structure, Building designed to prevent total collapse, preserve life, and minimize damage......
Earthship
Earthship, any of several passive solar houses based on the design principles of New Mexican architect Michael......
Eckert, J. Presper
J. Presper Eckert was an American engineer and co-inventor of the first general-purpose electronic computer, a......
Edison, Thomas
Thomas Edison was an American inventor who, singly or jointly, held a world-record 1,093 patents. In addition,......
Edmund Pettus Bridge
Edmund Pettus Bridge, bridge crossing the Alabama River in Selma, Alabama, that was the site of what became known......
Effigy mound
Effigy mound, earthen mound in the form of an animal or bird found throughout the north-central United States.......
Eiermann, Egon
Egon Eiermann was one of the most prominent German architects to emerge after World War II. His wide variety of......
Eiffel, Gustave
Gustave Eiffel was a French civil engineer, entrepreneur, inventor, meteorologist, and aerodynamics researcher,......
Eisenman, Peter
Peter Eisenman is an American architect known for his radical designs and architectural theories. He is often characterized......
El-Ferdan Bridge
El-Ferdan Bridge, longest rotating metal bridge in the world, spanning the western shipping lane of the Suez Canal......
Elbe-Havel Canal
Elbe-Havel Canal, navigable waterway in Germany, linking the Elbe and Havel rivers. Its eastern end joins the Plauensee,......
Elbe-LĂŒbeck Canal
Elbe-LĂŒbeck Canal, German waterway connecting the Elbe River at Lauenberg with the Baltic Sea at LĂŒbeck. The waterway,......
Elder, John
John Elder was a Scottish marine engineer whose introduction of the compound steam engine on ships cut fuel consumption......
electric discharge lamp
electric discharge lamp, lighting device consisting of a transparent container within which a gas is energized......
electric generator
electric generator, any machine that converts mechanical energy to electricity for transmission and distribution......
electric heater
electric heater, device for heating rooms that converts electric current to heat by means of resistors that emit......
electrical and electronics engineering
electrical and electronics engineering, the branch of engineering concerned with the practical applications of......
electronics
electronics, branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour, and effects......
electrostatic precipitator
electrostatic precipitator, a device that uses an electric charge to remove certain impuritiesâeither solid particles......
elevated transit line
elevated transit line, railroad line, usually electric, raised above the ground or street level, usually on a trestle,......
elevator
elevator, car that moves in a vertical shaft to carry passengers or freight between the levels of a multistory......
Ellet, Charles
Charles Ellet was an American engineer who built the first wire-cable suspension bridge in America. After working......
Emissions trading
Emissions trading, an environmental policy that seeks to reduce air pollution efficiently by putting a limit on......
Empire State Building
Empire State Building, steel-framed skyscraper rising 102 stories that was completed in New York City in 1931 and......
engineering
engineering, the application of science to the optimum conversion of the resources of nature to the uses of humankind.......
engineering geology
engineering geology, the scientific discipline concerned with the application of geological knowledge to engineering......
engineering studies
engineering studies, multidisciplinary branch of engineering that examines the relationships between technical......
English bond
English bond, form of bonding courses of stones or bricks in walling. See...
Enguri Dam
Enguri Dam, sixth-highest dam in the world and once the worldâs highest arch dam when it was completed in 1980.......
Entablature
Entablature, in architecture, assemblage of horizontal moldings and bands supported by and located immediately......