A History of Control Engineering, 1800-1930

Front Cover
IET, 1986 - Technology & Engineering - 214 pages

Feedback is a crucial concept of modern engineering, whose use has spilled over into many other disciplines.

Dr Bennett traces the growing awareness of the importance and the significance of the concept of feedback in engineering and treats in detail the technical developments that contributed to his awareness. Beginning by studying the history of the control of prime movers, he examines in detail the 19th-century work on the stability problem.

There follows an account of the development of steam and hydraulic servomechanisms and their application to the control of ships and aircraft.In the latter part of the book the development of electrical control systems from the arc lamp to the feedback amplifier is considered. The book ends with a brief outline of the theoretical work on circuit analysis which was to provide the background for the development that took place in the 1930s of techniques for the analysis of feedback systems.

 

Selected pages

Contents

Towards an understanding of the stability of motion
51
The development of servomechanisms
96
electricity
153
The shrinking world
180
Short bibliography of books and articles on
204
Copyright

Other editions - View all

A History of Control Engineering, 1800-1930, Volume 8
Stuart Bennett
Snippet view - 1979

Common terms and phrases

19th century AIEE aircraft Airy amplifier analysis angle applied arc lamps audion automatic steering behaviour Bertram Hopkinson Block diagram Boulton Boulton and Watt British Patent centrifugal force centrifugal governor circuit coefficients coil Company conical pendulum constant control systems Control theory device differential equations electrical electrodes Elmer Sperry engine governor Farcot Feedback mechanisms flywheel frequency friction FULLER gear gyropilot gyroscope Hartnell Heaviside helm hence Hurwitz hydraulic ibid increase inertia invention inventor isochronous lift tenter London machines magnetic mathematical Maxwell MAYR Mech method Minorsky motor movement obtained operate oscillation output paper pendulum positive problem Proc reduced relay roots rotation Routh rudder servomechanisms servomotor ship shown in Fig signal Smithsonian Institution Press solenoid speed regulator spring-loaded governor stabiliser steam engine telegraph theoretical Thomson Thomson-Houston throttle valve torpedo torque Trans turbine Vereins deutscher Ingenieure voltage Watt governor weight wheel William Siemens Wischnegradski

References to this book

About the author (1986)

Stuart Bennett lectures in control engineering at the University of Sheffield, England. After a student apprenticeship with the British Aircraft Corporation, he spent four years on research into the lubrication of components for spacecraft. He joined the Control Engineering Department of the University of Sheffield in 1968, where his main interests have been computer control and the history and development of control engineering - complementary interests that have led to his involvement in the teaching of courses on the relationship between technology and society. Dr Bennett is a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Bibliographic information

TitleA History of Control Engineering, 1800-1930
Issue 8 of Control, Robotics and Sensors Series
Issue 8 of IEE control engineering series, Institution of Electrical Engineers
Volume 8 of Institution of Electrical Engineers: IEE control engineering series
AuthorStuart Bennett
Editionillustrated, reprint, revised
PublisherIET, 1986
ISBN0863410472, 9780863410475
Length214 pages
Subjects › 

Technology & Engineering / Automation
Technology & Engineering / Engineering (General)
Technology & Engineering / History
  
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