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RE: Fun to know: Selecting materials in engineering
This was a very interesting read! I really liked the example of the rubber door. It's common sensical why some materials are used to engineer... but common sense isn't so common these days! This post made me stop to think about what I don't question. Thanks for getting me thinking!
Thanks, most material choices seem completely like common sense to us, but there is usually a long process behind them.
If we compare all the products nowadays to items in the past, we could see quite many differences, especially in the amount of plastic we use. You can see the change well in cars, especially. We have quite many "plastic cars" nowadays even though it would have seemed like madness some decades ago.
Yes, that's true! They don't make 'em like they used to... for better and worse! I agree with you also about the process. Maybe your classmate was thinking the smell of wood burning would be an additional safety measure! hahah
I really liked what you said in the comments here about children and the questions they ask. Sometimes, I believe we take for granted the "knowns" and often forget to ask imaginative questions about seemingly mundane things! In those respects I admire the children. I was always a WHY kid! Many times not getting the answer as a child led to the exploration of information.
I've even heard some of the "premium" brands nowadays were born as cheap material solutions back in the day - when the expensive solutions died out from the market, the original cheap solution was a premium brand compared to the new, current cheap brands.
Like with Fiskars scissors, which have plastic handle, instead of the iron handles.
Thanks :) I appreciate you reading through comments! We should take the ideas we get from children, if not to get new ideas but think through the things we know. As what is common sense for us, is not usually common sense for children, and we might have to learn something new if we want to be able to answer to the child properly.
Studying and learning new is always beneficial.
It's interesting how the world changes.