Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Constructed Environment

Description

Engineering in Plain Sight is a beautifully illustrated field guide with accessible explanations to nearly every part of the constructed world around us.   Author Grady Hillhouse is the creator behind the popular YouTube channel Practical Engineering (2.7 million subscribers!) and this book is essentially 50 new episodes crammed between two covers. Engineering in Plain Sight extends the field guide genre from natural phenomena to human-made structures, making them approachable and understandable to non-engineers. It transforms readers' perspectives of the built environment, converting the act of looking at infrastructure from a mundane inevitability into an everyday diversion and joy.  Each section of this accessible, informative book features colorful illustrations revealing the fascinating details of how the human-made world works. An ideal road trip companion, this book offers a fresh perspective on the parts of the environment that often blend into the background. Readers will learn to identify characteristics of the electrical grid, roadways, railways, bridges, tunnels, waterways, and more. Engineering in Plain Sight inspires curiosity, interest, and engagement in how the infrastructure around us is designed and constructed. TITLE PAGE COPYRIGHT DEDICATION INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: ELECTRICAL GRID Overview of the Electrical Grid Thermal Power Stations Wind Farms Transmission Towers Transmission Line Components Substations Substation Equipment Typical Utility Pole Electrical Distribution Equipment CHAPTER 2: COMMUNICATIONS Overhead Telecommunications Underground Telecommunications Radio Antenna Towers Satellite Communications Cellular Communications Chapter 3: Roadways Urban Arterial and Collector Roads Pedestrian and Bicycle Infrastructure Traffic Signals Traffic Signs and Markings Highway Earthwork and Retaining Walls Typical Highway Section Typical Highway Layout Interchanges CHAPTER 4: BRIDGES AND TUNNELS Types of Bridges Typical Bridge Section Overview of Tunnels Tunnel Cross Section CHAPTER 5: RAILWAYS Railroad Tracks Switches and Signals Grade Crossings Electrified Railways CHAPTER ‌6: DAMS, LEVEES, AND COASTAL STRUCTURES Shore Protection Structures Ports Locks Levees and Floodwalls Concrete Dams Embankment Dams Spillways and Outlet Works CHAPTER ‌7: MUNICIPAL WATER AND WASTEWATER Intakes and Pumping Stations Wells Transmission Pipelines and Aqueducts Water Treatment Plants Water Distribution Systems Water Towers and Tanks Sanitary Sewers and Lift Stations Wastewater Treatment Plants Stormwater Collection CHAPTER 8: CONSTRUCTION Typical Construction Site Cranes Construction Machines ACKNOWLEDGMENTS GLOSSARY INDEX