It has happened now for the third time in our lifetime (“our” referring to the elders of the engineering profession) that new avenues of engineering activities of tremendous importance have been opened by physicists and the engineering profession has found itself unprepared to challenge the task

von Kármán, Theodore

Caltech Authors - Main

"' >• ' ,1 
: . . . ' ' .. ,, ' ,, 
BY.THEODORE VON.KARMAN. 
_,,1.,' 
CALIFORNIA INST!TlITE OF TECHNOLOGY 
I, 'i li~s happd~ed ~o~ for tlie thiid time' id o~r iit~tiine C'::ou~·· referring, to 'tlie eld~rs of the engineering profession) that 
' . new' avenues . of engineering activities' of tremendous im-
portance ha ye been opened by physicists and the engineering 
profession has found itself unprepared to challenge the. task. ' 
In 1887 i:he physicist .Heinrich ·Hertz ·discovered ''wireless 
telegraphy." Jn fact, he experimentally co~firmed the. exist~ 
ence of electromagnetic waves which anybody may easily read 
in Maxwell's equations of the 'electromagnetic field, i.e., any~ 
body who. can read equations at. all. It t()Ok several dec~des 
for radio' engineering to, become a branch .otthe. engineering 
profession ai;id for adequate nieasures' to be taken to illcorporate 
the fundamentals of field theory into the engfoeering cur-
riculum. . '. ' '. , · . · . · . · · . . ·. · · · : . 
·.The. discovery of: electromagnetic wa, ves of. fong '\Va ~e. le~gth 
:was followed very soon by the discovery of X rays,i.e., elec-
. tromagnetic' waves of very short length of a frequency far be-
' ·rood the spectruni' of visible light .. It has to be said to the. 
credit of the engineering profession thadt took advant;tge pf X7 
ray techniques in .. various iriaustrial ·. fields and . th"e ·.design • ~nd 
construction of X-ray apparatus was recognized as an i111por7 
tani: branch of engineering. ' . . . " ' . : ' ' ' . ·. . ' ; . ' 
Similarly,the infrared technique, i.e., t~e techni_que of waves 
longer than those ·of visible light but very much.shorter than 
iadio waves, was justly considered'as an engineering problem.. 
· However, in the period between the two world wars, physi-
cists made great efforts to narrow the gap between radio and 
infrared waves. They succeeded in producing. microwaves 
which ~ade possible the 'm'arvelo,us technique now;. com-
monly designated as the art of radar. The physical facts ':"ere 
known. a. long time before the· beginning. of the . recent· war. 
However, during the war, physicists, by their superior knowl-
edge 'of electronics, i.e., the mechanics of electric particles, 
were able' to S?lve the ~ngineering. pr()blems .of produc~ng and. 
directing microwaves. · I will not contest the fact that' a great· 
. many American engineers were sufficiently familiar with elec-
tronics; many m,ade important discoveries and contributions to 
electronic devices .. But somehow our engineering education 
does not 'eiiwurage . the; idea' of. the unlimited horizon, when 
fundamental thinking in novel fields is required. .· . . , 
And riow it seems we are at the threshold of the new atomic 
age .. I do not know whether or not tliisis true, but certainly 
we shall have '..'atomic engi_1leering·~ in the, fields of power and 
ttansportatfon. Are we prepared for the problems involved? 
. The first a,ppHcation ()f atomic ,engineering :was directed by 
milmiry engineers; . plants. and many. gadgets were. probably 
designed and consfrucred by engineers .. However,· not only 
the discovery of the fondametital facts.but alS(i the methods of 
application were suggested, 'worked out, and tested by. physi· 
cists. I concede. i:hat security regulations and personal rela-
tions in.the" ·~uclear dan" played a great part in th,e choice of 
collaborators, However, I raise the q,uestion, do we give to-
day to the future.' engineer: enough. fundamental knowledge 
in basic questions of the structure of matter, ·the nature of en-
ergy; the relation between matter and energy, so that he will be 
able to think intelligently in the ne\v field, to have good engi-
neering judgment on possibilities and methods? Is he better 
equipped than anybody Clse who reads a few popular articles. 
iJ?. the N:ew York Times or in the Saturday Evening Post? Is there 
something wrong in our. engineering. education? . I am. afraid · 
there is. · · · · . · 
Firs,t, I believe we have a tendency to.restrict our teaching to 
scientific, knowledge ~hichhas imm~diate,~pplicatio~s. We 
often forget that almost every new physical or chemical dis-
covery. might hav~ engineering application. After all, engi-
neering is .the conquest of nature, i.e., matter.and energy, for 
human comfort, and therefore. an engineer. cannot know too 
nmch about the inner, stru~ture of the matter. against whose 
whimsical .moods he. struggles and. the laws of energy which he 
wanu to exploit and harness. . . . . . . . , .. , . 
Second, we underestimate the interest of our students in 
''natilral philosophy." We are reluctant to present the funda-
mentals of physics 3'.nd chemistry as a living science1full of 
question marks and changing concepts. We believe we ought 
to introduce the findings of research only after the unshakable 
truth has been established. We tend to stick to classical con-
cepts. · I found while teachirfg mechanies of-continuous media, 
elasticity .and fluid dynamics, my students listened eagerly as I 
told them something about atomic structure of, the materials 
and kinetic theory of gases. I wonder how many engineering 
students, obtain a picture of en~ropy, chemical reaction, and the 
like, from a modern point of\riew. \Arid why should ordinary 
combustion be an engineering. topic, and nuclear reaction: a 
mystery of modem alchemy? · · .· ": • : , , . . .. · 
, Third,. we overestimate the importance of transfer of experi-
ence to coming engineering generations in comparison with a 
training aimed at true understanding of the happenings of na-
ture. We try to train engineers so that the employer can use 
them almost immediately after. graduation from school.·. One 
of my former students was employed as an instructor in a well-
known engineering school. . He suggested some changes in the, 
hydraulics curriculum in the direction of modern fluid dynamics; 
His superior asked him the use of teaching the findings of re· 
search men who,. he• conceded, found interesting results. in 
hydrodynamics. None. of these men, he said, would be able 
to design a sewage pipe system. No doubt he was right in 
this statement of fact, but· he was wrong in his. conclusion; 
Fortunately; the more intelligent .employers.are beginning to 
realize that immediate.· usefulness ·is. not the. most important 
criterfon of a novice engineer. They appreciate sound funda-
mental understanding and do not want the school to train for 
them the type of _practicaJ engineer, who:-according to the 
hon mot of a prominent Englishman, himself an engineer-:-" 
perpetuates the errors of his predecessors.. · 
Fourth, I certainly do not wish.to make.of every engineer a 
scientiSt, or, God forbid, a nuclear physicist; , However, we 
shall try. to. give him' an education which shall enable him to 
follow the progress of science,. as, I believe,. every medical doc· 
tor should. have sufficient education tofollow the develop-
ment of biology 'which ,has produced in .ollr time almost as 
spectacular discoveries as physical science. ·At the institution 
at which I have been t~aching in the last fift,een years, science 
and, engineering students. have essentially common curricula 
the first two years. The physics student continues after that 
to move on a relatively high intellectual level of understanding 
natural phenom·ena from a scientific point ofview. I have 
often .wondered why the engineering student has to make a 
steep dive into an atmosphere in which the beam on three sup~ 
ports is considered -a most difficult problem and the exact clear 
principles of- mechanics and thermodynamics. are replaced by 
semiscientific, semipopular "ersatz" truths. · '·· 
. I am. convinced that the knowledge 'of the deepest;origins 
and also the limitations of the: principles does not handicap a 
(Continued on page 679) . 
672 
OCTOBER, 194 5 
General Electric jet engines i~ that the former utiliz,es an ~xi~i-· 
flow compressor instead of . a centrifugal compressor. The 
German plane is powered by two jet engines, one mounted in 
each wing, while our }et fighters have the power pl~nt in the 
fuselage. The German jet engine is a Jumo 004. 
From the Society. of British Aircraft Constructors, Lt.d;, 
comes some newly released details of the Gloster Meteor, Brit-
~in's first operational jet-propelled fighter, a twin-engined, low-
wing all-metal monoplane with a. nose wheel undercarriage. 
A high-set split tailplane is necessary to give ampledearance 
for· the jets: from the gas-turbine engines.·. The· gas-turbine 
propulsion units are built by Rolls-Royce in collaboration with 
Power Jets Ltd., British Thomson Houston, and the Rover 
Company. It is said .that at least two other gas-turbine en-
gines are being developed in Great Britain, one by de Havilland 
(the Goh/in) and the other, as yet unnamed, by. the, Bristol 
company. 
. Youth 
., IN concluding his remarks to the press at i luncheon at The 
Waldorf-Astoria in New York when the·General Electric 
jet engine was "unveiled," R. G. Standerwick, engineer, Air-
craft Gas-Turbine~Engineering Division, General Electric 
Company, paid .a tribute to youth that is worth recording. 
Said he:. 
"To those of us who have spent most of our lives in the 
engineering profession, it is extremely gratifying to see the 
interest and productivity of the new generation· of engineers 
in this work. It has been said. that 'flying is a young people's 
sport: Not so exclusively, please; aviation engineering is de-
. cidedly a young engineer's a vocation. Youth, in the eyes of 
age, may be reckless, but youth is really agnostic and. this shows. 
up in engineering.as well asin other activities. However, do 
not' misunderstand me. Engineering youth is also trained to 
use sound judgment. Often, .though lacking (and I say this 
facetiously) years of experience, they can accomplish in this 
day and age things which in our day were termed impossible. 
Upon: this ·combination of a new art and. well-trained youth 
I base mybelief that progress at a high rate is inevitable." . 
·Creative Engineering and Patents 
(Conti~ued from pagi 634) 
The Commis'sion has recommended that there should be a 
Central body, in the Executive Office of the President; to svper-
vise and approve departmental patent policies· regarding em-
ployee inventions and the dis'posal of patent rights, and to in-
struct· and advise departments and agencies regarding their 
679 
employment we must have more new knowledge. For new· 
wealth t.o replace the material losses'the world has suffered in 
this war we must create new .wealth through research and' 
invention. 
Evaluating Ball- and Roller-Bearing· 
Grea~es .in· El~ctric Motors: 
(Continu~d /rpm pag; 646) 
sistency anda flow point of 332 F. This was put i~ the test 
motor and run for ,18 days, during 4 of which the temperature 
on the bearing on the coupling end. of the motor was 175 F 
and on. the opposite end was 158 F.. At the end of this t~me, 
the grease became so thin that most of it leaked out of the 
· housingalong the shaft and into the windings. That which 
was left was very _soft and plastered around the balls. This 
grease was unsuitable as it would leave the 'bearing almost 
empty of grease after a few days. . . · 
. Grease B. A ball-bearing grease of about 318 worked q>Il-
. sistency and a flow.point of275 F. . This grease was run at room 
'temperature in the niotor, then the temperature was raised to 
175 F and held there for. a few hours. The bearing temperature 
suddenly shot up to 284 F and stayed therefor 2 hr when the 
. motor was shut' down .. The. test was repeated when the same 
thing happened, and it was decided that this grease would not 
stand 175 F'without breaking down. · The grease became very 
soft but did not leak out, remaining in the bearings. 
Grease C. · A ball-bearing grease 'of about 274 worked con-
sistency and a flow poinF of444 F; This grease was run for 3 
weeks in the motor, 2 weeks at 90 C, and.1 week at 100 C .. At 
the end of that' time, iis condition was' perfect in appearance 
and it seemed to be operating very satisfactorily. Although it 
was quite stiff in consistency 'when cold, after this run, the 
consistency at operating temperature was very. good and the 
bearing surfaces had a thin film of grease. In the author's 
opinion 'this grease showed good promise forfoither field trial. 
Atomic Engii:J.e~ring? 
. (Continued from page 672) 
person in their practical application; . as a matter of fact, real 
knowledge makes the application easier and safer. .·And after 
all, physics swdeni:s are not any more iritelligent than engi-
neering students. . .. . . • · .. . , . , 
I have digressed from the s,tibject indicated by. the title: 
From the little I know and the little I have read on the sub-
ject, I really believ.e that the problems involved in the develop~ 
ment of atomic power for stationary and transportation pur-patent problems. · · 
. , poses are pi:imarily of the nat~e of engineering and especially 
MORE INVENTORS ANn A'souND PAT_ENT SYSTEM NECESSARY- applie;d·m~chan_ics. In' other .. words,-the picture of ,the nucle~r, 
processes' obtained by' the physicists contains so much of the 
Science and engineering have demonstrat~d . their. ~alue in truth, if such thing as truth exists, that from now on systematic 
supplying the type of knowledge needed to wage a modern ,war. observation and computation must lead to. practical solutions. 
To maintain our place in a warlike world we must keep our . Certainly intriguing engineering problems, like the developc 
scientific and our engineering knowledge at a high level as a . ment of materials resistant to extreme temperatures and extreme 
basis of nadon:il defense. We must continue research in war. corrosion, and difficult applications of our knowl~dge in dif~ 
equipment and we must maintain an active armament industry fusion and heat transfer, will be involved., However, it. may · 
as insurance for the future. At the same time we must ha.ve sound paradoxical, but it seems to me tha~ the processes. in~ 
more men and women who have the ability. to inven.t amide- volved in atomic engineering are less complex than, for ex-
'velop new machines and processes useful in providing full .em- ample,. the. processes of combustion. of conventional solid and 
ployment and high standards of living for our people. For our liquid fuels;· less complex in the sense .that simple considera-
, country to grow and prosper we must have more epoch-making dons and theoretical computations may give closer appr?xi-
inventions fully protected by a sound patent: system. For our mations to reality than in. the ca~e of molecular reactions'. 
war iiidustries to be utilized most effectively in proviqing full. What can appeal more to a scientific engineer? 


Atomic Engineering?

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