1. International Space Station (1998-present day)
The pinnacle of human collaboration the ISS was a global effort, involving 15 nations, 100,000 people and costing a modest $100 billion to boot. It currently orbits at about 354km above Earth is a real testament to the ingenuity of man.
2. Sustained powered flight (c. 1903)
First scientifically tackled by George Cayley in the first half of the 19th century, further developed by the likes of Otto Lilienthal in the 19th century and ‘perfected’ by the Wright brothers, sustained powered flight is a truly incredible achievement. Requiring a multi-disciplinary collaboration from aeronautics to electrical and mechanical engineering, modern aircraft would be as magical to people a few hundred years ago as a UFO would to us today.
3. The internet (1991)
On 6 August 1991, the World Wide Web went live. This event was celebrated globally by the press. At the time, the vast majority of people did not know was it was, but would soon realise the immensity of its potential. The internet has become so important to humanity that it would be inconceivable to live without it. This is possibly the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century. It brings the entire knowledge of mankind to our fingertips and directly connects peoples of all nations. Its importance to us has yet to be fully realised.
4. Electrification (1850-present day)
Once called “the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century” by the National Academy of Engineering, it would be difficult to disagree. With the merest flick of a finger, every second of every day, each one of us taps into vast sources of energy. Harnessing the power of ancient dead plants, tapping the power of the atom or our sun, mankind has produced a readily available and easily transported energy source.
5. The Channel Tunnel (1990)
Carved into the bedrock of the English Channel, this monumental engineering achievement. It connects Folkstone, England with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais, near Calais in northern France. It stretches for 50.5km and at its lowest point is 75m deep. At 37.9km, the tunnel has the longest undersea portion of any tunnel in the world. It is recognised as one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Modern World‘ by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
This article was written by Christopher Madden and is reproduced here and in the Engineers Journal with kind permission from InterestingEngineering.com. Find the link to the original article here.