Civil Engineering, KIE-MAN
Civil engineering, the profession of designing and executing structural works that serve the general public. The term was first used in the 18th century to distinguish the newly recognized profession from military engineering, until then preeminent.
Civil Engineering Encyclopedia Articles By Title
key, in locksmithing, an instrument, usually of metal, by which the bolt of a lock (q.v.) is turned. The Romans......
khan, type of inn once found in the Middle East and parts of North Africa and Central Asia that effectively functioned......
Abdul Qadeer Khan was a Pakistani engineer, a key figure in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program who was also involved......
Fazlur Khan was a Bangladeshi American civil engineer known for his innovations in high-rise building construction.......
Kiel Canal, important waterway in northern Germany, extending eastward for 98 km (61 miles) to connect the North......
Frederick John Kiesler was an Austrian-born American architect, sculptor, and stage designer, best known for his......
Jack Kilby was an American engineer and one of the inventors of the integrated circuit, a system of interconnected......
Thomas Killigrew was an English dramatist and playhouse manager who was better known for his wit than for his plays,......
kiln, oven for firing, drying, baking, hardening, or burning a substance, particularly clay products but originally......
Clarence King was an American geologist and mining engineer who organized and directed the U.S. Geological Survey......
King’s Highway, ancient thoroughfare that connected Syria and the Gulf of Aqaba by way of what is now Jordan. Mentioned......
Leo von Klenze was a German architect who was one of the most important figures associated with Neoclassicism in......
kremlin, central fortress in medieval Russian cities, usually located at a strategic point along a river and separated......
the Kremlin, group of buildings in the center of Moscow that serves as the official seat of the government of Russia.......
Robert M. La Follette was an American leader of the Progressive movement who, as governor of Wisconsin (1901–06)......
La Scala, theatre in Milan, one of the principal opera houses of the world and the leading Italian house. Built......
Henri Labrouste was a French architect important for his early use of iron frame construction. Labrouste entered......
labyrinth, system of intricate passageways and blind alleys. “Labyrinth” was the name given by the ancient Greeks......
Lady chapel, chapel attached to a church and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. As the development of the chevet,......
Lahore Fort, fortified complex in Lahore, Pakistan, comprising mosques and palaces built by Mughal emperors. The......
Lake Dwellings, German Pfahlbauten: “pile structures,” remains of prehistoric settlements within what are today......
Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, pair of toll bridges over Lake Pontchartrain in southeastern Louisiana that are jointly......
Lake Washington Ship Canal, waterway, Seattle, Washington, U.S., 8 miles (13 km) long, with a minimum depth of......
Lambeth Palace, official London residence of the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury. Until 1978 it was also the......
lamella roof, Vaulted roof consisting of a crisscrossing pattern of parallel arches skewed with respect to the......
lamp, device for producing illumination, originally a vessel containing a wick soaked in combustible material and......
lancet window, narrow, high window capped by a lancet, or acute, arch. The lancet arch is a variety of pointed......
Frederick William Lanchester was an English automobile and aeronautics pioneer who built the first British automobile......
Eugen Langen was a German engineer who pioneered in building internal-combustion engines. In 1864 Langen formed......
lantern, in architecture, originally an openwork timber construction placed on top of a building to admit light......
lantern, a case, ordinarily metal, with transparent or translucent sides, used to contain and protect a lamp. Lamp-containing......
lantern of the dead, small stone structure with windows in the upper part, in which lamps were placed to mark the......
Las Vegas Strip, hub of casinos, hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues that spans an approximately 4-mile......
lath, any material fastened to the structural members of a building to provide a base for plaster. Lath can be......
Benjamin Latrobe was a British-born architect and civil engineer who established architecture as a profession in......
Carl Gustaf Patrik de Laval was a Swedish scientist, engineer, and inventor who pioneered in the development of......
Philippe Lebon was a French engineer and chemist, known as the inventor of illuminating gas. While employed as......
Georges Leclanché was a French engineer who in about 1866 invented the battery that bears his name. In slightly......
LEED® standards, a certification program devised in 1994 by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC; founded 1993)......
Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, American railroad whose growth was based on hauling coal from the anthracite mines......
Henry M. Leland was an American engineer and manufacturer whose rigorous standards contributed to the development......
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer whose skill and intelligence,......
Leonardo da Vinci discussed the parachute in a notebook entry now contained in the Codex Atlanticus. Although it......
Ferdinand, viscount de Lesseps was a French diplomat famous for building the Suez Canal across the Isthmus of Suez......
levee, any low ridge or earthen embankment built along the edges of a stream or river channel to prevent flooding......
life-safety system, Any interior building element designed to protect and evacuate the building population in emergencies,......
lift-slab construction, Technique whereby concrete floor slabs are poured on the ground, one on top of the other,......
light rail transit, system of railways usually powered by overhead electrical wires and used for medium-capacity......
light-frame construction, System of construction using many small and closely spaced members that can be assembled......
lightbulb, electric incandescent lamp based on a glowing metallic filament enclosed within a glass shell filled......
lighthouse, structure, usually with a tower, built onshore or on the seabed to serve as an aid to maritime coastal......
lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the World and the most famous lighthouse in antiquity. It......
lighting, use of an artificial source of light for illumination. It is a key element of architecture and interior......
lightning rod, metallic rod (usually copper) that protects a structure from lightning damage by intercepting flashes......
limelight, first theatrical spotlight, also a popular term for the incandescent calcium oxide light invented by......
limes, in ancient Rome, originally a path that marked the boundary between plots of land. Later it came to refer......
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, travertine-clad cultural complex on the western side of Manhattan (1962–68),......
Lincoln Tunnel, vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River, from Manhattan (39th Street), New York, to Weehawken,......
Carl von Linde was a German engineer whose invention of a continuous process of liquefying gases in large quantities......
Gustav Lindenthal was an Austrian-born American civil engineer known for designing Hell Gate Bridge across New......
Waldemar Lindgren was a Swedish-born American economic geologist noted for a system of ore classification that......
William Lindley was a British civil engineer who helped renovate the German city of Hamburg after a major fire.......
Ling Canal, ancient canal in the northern part of the Zhuang Autonomous Region of Guangxi, southeastern China.......
linoleum, smooth-surfaced floor covering made from a mixture of oxidized linseed oil, gums and resins, and other......
The following is a list of bridges, ordered alphabetically by...
Canals are used for navigation, crop irrigation, water supply, or drainage. This is an alphabetically ordered list......
Dams are incredible—and often controversial—feats of engineering and serve a variety of purposes. They are built......
This is a list of prominent engineers, ordered alphabetically by country of origin or residence. (See also engineering;......
The following is a list of tunnels, ordered alphabetically by...
lock, mechanical device for securing a door or receptacle so that it cannot be opened except by a key or by a series......
lock, enclosure or basin located in the course of a canal or a river (or in the vicinity of a dock) with gates......
locomotive, any of various self-propelled vehicles used for hauling railroad cars on tracks. Although motive power......
lodge, originally an insubstantial house or dwelling, erected as a seasonal habitation or for some temporary occupational......
loft, in architecture, upper space within a building, or a large undivided space in a building used principally......
log cabin, small house built of logs notched at the ends and laid one upon another with the spaces filled with......
Sir William Edmond Logan was one of the foremost Canadian geologists of the 19th century. Logan was educated at......
loggia, room, hall, gallery, or porch open to the air on one or more sides; it evolved in the Mediterranean region,......
Lomaum Dam, dam on the upper Catumbela River in western Angola. The Lomaum hydroelectric plant provides power for......
London Bridge, any of several successive structures spanning the River Thames between Borough High Street in Southwark......
London Docklands, area along the River Thames in London. It covers nearly 9 square miles (22 square km) of riverfront......
Long Island Rail Road Company, American railroad on Long Island, N.Y., and one of the few in the world still operating......
longhouse, traditional dwelling of many Northeast Indians of North America. A traditional longhouse was built by......
louver, arrangement of parallel, horizontal blades, slats, laths, slips of glass, wood, or other material designed......
Lionel Lukin was a pioneer in the construction of the modern “unsinkable” lifeboat. While he was working as a London......
luminaire, Complete lighting unit, consisting of one or more lamps (bulbs or tubes that emit light), along with......
lunette, arching aperture in a wall or concave ceiling. It may be crescent-shaped or semicircular. The word is......
lych-gate, (from Middle English lyche, “body”; yate, “gate”) roofed-in gateway to a churchyard in which a bier......
Monument of Lysicrates, only extant example of the ancient Greek architectural structure known as the choragic......
macadam, form of pavement invented by John McAdam of Scotland in the 18th century. McAdam’s road cross section......
Mackinac Bridge, long-span suspension bridge, spanning the Mackinac Straits from the Upper to the Lower Peninsula......
Sir David Macpherson was a Scottish-born politician and railway builder who served as the Canadian minister of......
Maekawa Kunio was a Japanese architect noted for his designs of community centres and his work in concrete. After......
maglev, a floating vehicle for land transportation that is supported by either electromagnetic attraction or repulsion.......
magnetic compass, in navigation or surveying, an instrument for determining direction on the surface of Earth by......
magneto, permanent-magnet generator mainly employed for ignition of compressed gasses in internal combustion engines.......
magnetohydrodynamic power generator, any of a class of devices that generate electric power by means of the interaction......
William Mahone was an American railroad magnate and general of the Confederacy who led Virginia’s “Readjuster”......
mail, the postal matter consigned under public authority from one person or post office to another. See postal...
Robert Maillart was a Swiss bridge engineer whose radical use of reinforced concrete revolutionized masonry arch......
Main-Danube Canal, commercial waterway in the southern German state of Bavaria. Completed in 1992, the canal is......
