Unprofessional Engineering

Regardless of your age, you have seen massive changes to televisions over the years. From old black and white TVs, to the addition of color, all the way to advanced LED systems, this technology has come a great way and continues to change. We've taken a big look to better understand how the tech behind television has changed, what some of the big inventions were that spurred on innovation, and much more.

It's that time of the year again! Time to try and find the perfect gift for that hard to shop for engineer in your life. Don't worry, we have you covered! We've combed the web for the best gift ideas for engineers of all ages, from kids that are mechanically inclined to retired engineers that just want to be left alone. All prices and sizes are covered, all you have to do is head to www.unprofessionalengineering.com and click on the link to buy your gifts!

If you've listened for some time, you know that Luke loves windmills, and James can't pronounce turbine. It only makes sense that we tackle both in one episode! We've looked at the history of the windmill, how they have changed over the years, and how wind turbines are changing the landscape of energy production.

After talking about the general history of car safety, we decided to dig into the details of two of our favorite safety features: crumple zones and anti-lock braking systems. Take a few minutes to learn how car makers are working to save your life.

Isaac Newton might be the most brilliant person ever. There, we said it. Gravity, laws of motion, rainbows, astronomy... the man did it all!! We walk through the life of Isaac Newton to try and understand how he came up with so much of the foundation of modern science, learn if the apple falling on his head story is true, and throw in a few other fun bits along the way.

Corning makes glass. Pretty boring, right? WRONG!! The history of the company is amazing, with ties to Thomas Edison and the "invention" of the light bulb and the development of one of the first R&D labs in America, Corning has lead the world into the future on more than one occasion. Join us to learn about how Corning got started, some of the major inventions that they came up with, as well as some fun stories on how everyday products like Pyrex got their start.

Happy Halloween!!! Your friends at Unprofessional Engineering have whipped up a real treat for you this year by looking at the manufacturing process for some of your favorite Halloween treats. We've looked at how Hershey's Reeses Cups are made, both the left and right side of a Twix, as well as the general process for gummy candy. In addition, Luke and James fight to the end about which candy is the best to end up in your bag of treats, as well as which ones are more of a trick.

Interested in engineering but don't know which field is right for you? We've taken a look at chemical engineering to help you narrow things down! From what your classwork will look like, to jobs you will do in the workforce, the top places to work, and even how much you can expect to make, we have it covered! Sure, it isn't as cool as Mechanical Engineering, but it might not be a bad choice.

We've changed things up a bit this week and sat down to debate where we think engineering and man-kind will be in the next 20 years. We give our views on the future of energy (comparing solar vs wind), if humans will live on Mars anytime soon, and much more! We even end things up with a few bold predictions. Take a listen and let us know what you think of our view on the future!

Have you ever wondered why we still have so many freaking lighthouses? Yeah, so did James. It turns out a lot of them are mostly just for show, but there are still a lot of them still in use. We take a look at the history of the lighthouse, how we went from a giant, thick lens, to the modern day way better deal, and even tell some of the greatest lighthouse stories of all time.

Telescopes have been around for hundreds of years, allowing us to explore space from the comfort of our local observatory. But how did the first one come about? And who were the great minds to continue to improve on the original design to make it what the telescope what it is today? We take a look at the early history of the telescope, discuss how people like Galileo and Newton contributed to it's progress, investigate the factors that go into the ideal place for an observatory, and touch on why the TMT (thirty meter telescope) is having trouble being built on Mauna Kea.

You can't find a much more important invention in the past 100 years than the airplane, and no one gets more love for pushing it forward than the Wright Brothers! Not only do we walk you through how the Wright Brothers invented the airplane (depending on your definition), but their childhood, what their far less interesting siblings did, and what life was like for them after their big invention got off the ground. See what I did there?!? Enjoy!

It's time for you to understand that airplanes don't run on magic, but by a little formula that can be used to calculate lift! This value is typically pretty close to the weight of the object, which makes sense, but the factors that go into the equation may not be as simple. Join us for a quick sit down on how lift is calculated, as well as an example of calculating lift on a 747!

The Impossible Burger is taking the world by storm, with everyone from Burger King to Little Caesars getting in on the act. With players like that, it must be good, right?! Well, Luke thinks it is! But what about how it was made? That is way more than good! The biology, genetics, and engineering that went into the Impossible Burger (and Impossible Burger 2.0) is fascinating, and took just 7 years!! We take a look at what makes this meat-free option so delicious, why it actually tastes like meat, why it sizzles like meat, how it bleeds like meat...well you get the point. We also take a few to decide if this is good for humanity in the long run, so that's a thing.

We thought we would try something new out and see how discussing actual engineering principles would go over with our listeners. Stress and strain are two of the most important values in Mechanical Engineering, if not all engineering. The basics of these calculations is pretty simple if you start small. We walk through what stress and strain are, how to calculate them, throw in a little Young's Modulus, and even give an example of the various calculations. Let us know what you think by emailing unprofessionalengineering@gmail.com.