This blog post will explain how mechanical engineering changes our daily lives more conveniently based on the principles of mechanics.
“The more you know, the more you hear,” “The more you know, the more you see,” these two phrases are words that everyone has probably heard at least once. Many people experience these words without even realizing it, and depending on the depth of their learning, they experience a broadening of their perspective on the world. I also experienced this situation while studying my major. While studying my major, I gained a new perspective on the world, and in the process, I was able to experience the joy of understanding something. In this article, I would like to explain the major of mechanical engineering, which gave me this insight, in an easy-to-understand manner.
If we were to describe mechanical engineering in one word, the most appropriate word would be “mechanics.” The dictionary definition of “mechanics” is the study of the relationship between forces and motion acting between objects. Based on this definition, mechanical engineering is a discipline that is deeply interested in the principles of moving objects and the forces that make them move. To understand the basics of mechanics, we can think of Newton. ‘Newton’ – the very person who realized the law of universal gravitation by seeing an apple fall from an apple tree. Newton’s anecdote contains the basic principles of mechanics. In this anecdote, the moving object is an apple, and the question of why the apple falls led him to discover the force of universal gravitation. Universal gravitation is the force that attracts all objects to each other, which can be easily understood as gravity. Based on these findings, Newton established the basic laws of motion and the forces acting on objects, which became the basis of mechanics. The discipline that began in this way is also called “Newtonian mechanics” after Newton.
Mechanical engineering is based on mechanics and can be broadly divided into four categories: thermodynamics, solid mechanics, dynamics, and fluid mechanics. This classification helps us understand the overall structure of mechanical engineering, and it can be easily explained using objects we use in our daily lives, especially cars.
First, let’s take a look at thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is the study of thermal phenomena, that is, the movement and change of heat. The easiest parts of a car to see this in are the air conditioner and heater. On the surface, they seem like simple devices that emit cold air and release warm heat, but behind the scenes, there are complex thermodynamic principles at work. Furthermore, as fuel efficiency has emerged as an important factor in the current era of high oil prices, how to efficiently utilize the thermal energy that a car obtains from fuel is closely related to thermodynamics.
Next, we look at solid mechanics, which is closely related to the design of the vehicle body. In modern vehicle design, it is important to make the vehicle body light in order to increase fuel efficiency. However, a vehicle body that is too light is vulnerable to impact and can compromise safety. Therefore, solid mechanics enable the design of a vehicle that can support loads and ensure the safety of passengers in the event of a collision by using lightweight yet strong materials.
Fluid mechanics also plays an important role in the design of cars. Most car bodies are streamlined to reduce air resistance. If air resistance increases, the car needs more energy to move forward, which adversely affects fuel efficiency. Fluid mechanics analyzes the interaction between air and the vehicle to minimize air resistance and improve vehicle stability.
Kinetics is the study of moving objects and the forces acting on them. When a car turns a corner, some cars move stably while others do not. This difference stems from the difference in the design of the kinematics. An important role of kinematics is to understand the complex physical forces that occur when a car turns and reflect them in the design.
As such, mechanical engineering is centered on four different types of mechanics: thermodynamics, solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, and dynamics. However, the research areas of mechanical engineering do not stop there. It is applied in various fields, including bio-robotics combined with biosystems, medical engineering combined with medical technology, and acoustic engineering that utilizes dynamic characteristics. Mechanical engineering is not only about dealing with mechanical problems, but also about various advanced technologies, and it is a truly important discipline that is closely connected to our daily lives.
