About MechWeapons
- Development of military weapons
- The skills applied to war by the mechanical engineer are similar to those required in civilian applications, though the purpose is to enhance destructive power rather than to raise creative efficiency. The demands of war have channeled huge resources into technical fields, however, and led to developments that have profound benefits in peace. Jet aircraft and nuclear reactors are notable examples.
- The earliest efforts of mechanical engineers were aimed at controlling the human environment by draining and irrigating land and by ventilating mines. Refrigeration and air conditioning are examples of the use of modern mechanical devices to control the environment.
- Many of the products of mechanical engineering, together with technological developments in other fields, give rise to noise, the pollution of water and air, and the dereliction of land and scenery. The rate of production, both of goods and power, is rising so rapidly that regeneration by natural forces can no longer keep pace. A rapidly growing field for mechanical engineers and others is environmental control, comprising the development of machines and processes that will produce fewer pollutants and of new equipment and techniques that can reduce or remove the pollution already generated.
