Avisak Baishnab

English 21007

Writing for Engineers was one of the most expressive classes I have ever taken. I was able to express my ideas and my passion with engineering and further develop my creative mind. Throughout this course we had about five main assignments which are The Egg Assignment, Distant Waves Summary and Response, Brooklyn Bridge Paper, Persuasive Email and finally, The Lab Report. All of these assignments had targeted different aspects in both our writing and knowledge of engineering. Throughout this reflection, I will be talking about each of the assignments and my experiences with them. 

Our first assignment, The Egg, was a very interesting assignment for I had never interacted with an egg before. I am a pescatarian and do not consume eggs so when our professor brought in eggs for us to hold, I was surprised how it felt. I knew many things about the eggs like it’s nutritional value but I never knew how it felt and even how it tastes, well I still don’t know how it tastes. I really enjoyed this first assignment. It was really unique and granted me a new type of experience. We were meant to be descriptive with this assignment and this helped me further build my ability to describe something based on its looks. It also helped me to understand the idea that there is more meaning to something, even if it looks very simple and plain. With this assignment, I realized how important the egg truly is. I learned that the egg both gives life and produces life in ways I have yet to understand. Although eggs are simple looking, they are very complex and are often important for both animals and the environment. Throughout this assignment, I learned a lot from my peers as well. Whenever our professor would read someone else’s work, I always noted their grammar, vocabulary and way of writing and tried to improve and imbed them into my writing as well. This assignment in general was very engaging because it sounded like a very simple assignment, but turned out that there were so many complex ideas and facts. There are so many things you can talk about regarding the egg like its uses and how it’s produced. This was a great first assignment.

 Our second assignment, The Distant Waves Summary was a very interesting assignment because we were reading a few chapters from the professor’s own book “Distant Waves.” The professor also introduced us to Nikolai Tesla, an engineer who created the Tesla coil. We only read around 2 chapters of the book but it was very captivating. We were introduced to this family when suddenly an earthquake occurred. This very earthquake was made by Nikolai Tesla and one of his machines. This alone was very interesting because I have never heard of a machine making earthquakes let alone a human making earthquakes. Nikolai Tesla shows us how humans are able to create machines that are able to complete a wide range of actions. Up until this book, I have never heard of a human making an earthquake.  This assignment was very interesting because I learned a lot about Nikolai Tesla and what he did in the past. Up until this assignment, I have only heard of his name but did not know what he had accomplished during his lifetime. He is a great inspiration for up and coming engineers and his work is very interesting. With this assignment, I also had to think about what are the limitations of humans. As I had said before, I have never heard of a human capable of making earthquakes. I thought about this idea for while like what are our limits as humans. One of them is space exploration. We has humans can not live long enough for us to completely explore space. No only that we know too little about what is outside of our solar system. This assignment was very unique and informative. It helped me form questions and ideas I had not thought about before.

Brooklyn Bridge was our third assignment. This assignment was very intriguing because we were learning about something that most people have used once in New York City, The Brooklyn Bridge. Up until this assignment I didn’t know anything about the Brooklyn bridge like who planned it, how long it took to be made and how it was made. In today’s society we kind of just see these things and use these things without knowing its history and what was sacrificed for its creation. There were some amazing facts that I learned from this article like how someone had ridden across the cables of The Brooklyn Bridge and how even before the Brooklyn Bridge was made, people during the winter would ice skate over the East River in order to get to Brooklyn. It also makes you realize how different life was back then. With this paper, we were assigned to research a certain part of an article we had read. I decided to do research on the Caissons Disease, which is a sickness that people get when diving into water and rising to the surface too fast. When the Brooklyn Bridge was being made, Caissons Disease was very prevalent and was something that all workers, who went underwater, had to deal with. There are many symptoms of this disease like losing feelings in your body, ears popping, and feeling a lot of pressure on your body. This assignment brought up the idea of the dangers that can come with building large projects as well as health issues that people can deal with.

The Persuasive Email was the fourth assignment that we did. This assignment required a lot of imagination and creativity. This assignment was connected to our dream project, which the professor had us think about and build upon for a few weeks. I had settled on the idea of a Trans-Continental Railroad which would allow people to get from one continent to another via train. The purpose of this train was so that it would help reduce pollution and global warming. Although this project was very cool and unique, this would later come back to bite me in the last assignment. This assignment was fun because we had to make a scenario where we met a billion and we’d try to get them on board and support our project. We had to make an email in order to persuade this “billionaire” to join us on board with this project. We had to be professional and thy to get some sort of funding for our project. This assignment led to our last and final assignment, The Lab Report.

The Lab Report assignment was kind of difficult depending on your dream project. My dream project was called the Trans-Continental Railroad, which is supposed to be a railway system that allows people to travel across the continents. This project had many parts to it that I had not thought about yet. The railway system was meant to be electric and runs on renewable resources. This project was to allow people to travel around the world via train. It is supposed to be inexpensive so that the tickets don’t put a dent in the wallet of the travelers. With this assignment, we had to make some sort of lab report. I decided to do my lab report on different types of trains. The three trains were Passenger Trains, MTA Trains, and Bullet Trains. Throughout the lab report, I found that out of all of the trains the Bullet Train was the fastest and the most expensive train. This train also required more energy than the other two trains. This assignment helped me to work on my researching skills as well as develop the ability to turn ideas into a real thing.

In conclusion, this course has helped me to work on a wide range of skills like researching skills, creativity, and the ability to be very descriptive. To be honest, I did not thing that this course was going to go the way it went. I came into the class room with an expectation that was satisfied in a different way. I originally thought that we would be doing something with lab reports. Although we did do one lab report, I thought we would be doing more lab reports and learn how different they were in the engineering world. This course was very fun and enjoyable. I was able to develop and publish my skills.

Avisak Baishnab

English 21007

Most Effective Trains 

Introduction

In this lab report, we will be looking at the different types of trains that we will be using for the Trans-Continental Railway. Our three options are the Bullet Train (often seen in Japan), MTA subway trains (used in New York City), and Passenger Trains (seen throughout the U.S. and various other countries.) We will be looking at which trains are fastest and which is healthiest for the environment. 

Hypothesis

We believe that the Bullet Train will be the fastest train out of the three trains that we will be looking at. Although it is the fastest train, we also think that it will require the most energy out of the three trains. 

Procedure 

Take one of each train ( Bullet Train, MTA Train and Passenger Train) and put each of them on a straight railway that measures the same distance. Then calculate the top speed of each train. After that, look at what type of source they run on for example electricity and calculate how much of that source is needed to power the train and finally calculate the speed of the train based on its power source.

Results

After our experiments and tests, we found that out of the three trains the Bullet Train was the fastest. We placed the three trains on a straight railway that was around 800 miles long. We measured the time it took for the trains to traverse the distance and divided the distance over time in order to find the speed of the trains. We found that the top speed of the Bullet Train was 189 mph, the top speed of the MTA Train was 55 mph and the top speed of the Passenger Train was 59 mph. We also noted that the Bullet Train and the MTA Train run on electricity whereas the Passenger Train can run on both gas and electricity. Since we wanted a train that would be environment friendly, we decided to opt in for either the Bullet Train and MTA train. We looked into how much electricity is required to power the trains and found that the Bullet Train required about 25000 volts whereas the MTA Trains use 625 volts  in order to run. We can see that the Bullet Train requires more electricity than the MTA Trains by a large amount.

In this graph above, you can see the top speeds of the three different trains. Out of the three trains, the Bullet Train has the highest top speed at 189 miles per hour, then comes the Passenger Train with a top speed of 59 miles per hour, barely beating the MTA train which had a top speed of 55 miles per hour. The reason for the insanely high top speed of the Bullet Train is due to the fact that it uses magnets to travel across locations. When leaving stations, the Bullet Train uses wheels to roll out of the station and as it accelerates and gains speed, the wheels retract and hover using magnets. The Bullet Train hovers 4 inches above the train tracks which helps to reduce the amount of friction between the wheels and the train track by completely removing the wheels aspect of the train. The MTA train and Passenger Train both use wheels and do not have any sort of magnet system to travel. MTA Trains get power and electricity from the train tracks that they run on and Passenger Trains use coal and oil in order to run. Once we had learned that the Passenger Trains require coal and oil to run, we decided not to use this train because it relied on non-renewable resources and omitted harmful gases for the environment. Both the MTA Trains and the Bullet Trains run on electricity which is more safe for the environment and is a renewable resource. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, out of the three trains we can see that the Bullet Train is the fastest train and also requires the most amount of energy in order to be powered. In terms of top speed, the Passenger Trains came out 4 miles per hour faster than the MTA Train. The Passenger Train had a top speed of 59 miles per hour whereas the MTA Train had a top speed of 55 miles per hour. The Bullet Train’s top speed was almost four times the top speed of both the MTA train and the Passenger Train. The Bullet Train and the MTA train both ran on electricity and the Passenger Train ran on coal and oil. Since our entire project is to make a train system across the world that is environment friendly, we decided not to use the Passenger Train. We compared the Bullet Train and the MTA Train and how much electricity is needed to power them. The Bullet Train requires about 25000 volts of electricity whereas the MTA train requires a mere 625 volts of electricity. We also looked at the different prices of the trains. The Bullet Train is worth about $200 million per mile and a MTA Train is almost $2 million per cart. Although the Bullet Train is more expensive, it travels at insanely high speeds, is electric, and does not harm the environment. 

Avisak Baishnab

English 21007

Caisson Disease

In the text “The Brooklyn Bridge” by Elizabeth Mann, we learn about the struggles and the process that took place in order to make the Brooklyn Bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge was a structure that connected today’s lower Manhattan and Brooklyn but this bridge wasn’t built very easily. We learn about the story of John A. Roebling, who was the original designer of the Brooklyn Bridge, his son Washington A. Roebling, who led the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge after his fathers death, and Emily Roebling, who was Washington’s wife and continued to lead the construction of the bridge after Washington fell ill to caisson disease. We also learn that the total number of deaths for the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge was 21 deaths including John A. Roebling. Most of these deaths were due to caisson disease. Caisson disease still exists today but is not as dangerous as it was back in the 1870’s.

Caisson disease is a disease that we see most often on divers. It occurs when you travel in between different levels of pressure leaving you with fatigue in both your muscles and joints. As Richard E. Moon writes in his article “Decompression Sickness,” he states “As outside pressure decreases during ascent from a dive or when leaving a compressed air environment, the accumulated nitrogen that cannot be exhaled immediately forms bubbles in the blood and tissues. These bubbles may expand and injure tissue, or they may block blood vessels in many organs—either directly or by triggering small blood clots.” This disease was really prevalent during the creation of The Brooklyn Bridge because, in order to make the towers, the workers needed to find a solid level of bedrock so the towers would remain strong and stable. Workers had to go underwater in caissons, which were enormous rooms with no floors that were slid into the sea, and dig out the clay and dirt underneath it until they found a solid foundation. When these workers would later come up from the caissons, they would begin to deal with immense fatigue in their joints and muscles. During this time period, there was no real treatment for caissons disease and most often these workers would die from it. 

In our world today, divers still deal with caissons disease but are able to treat it and are able to reduce the likelihood of them getting the disease by rising back to the top at a slower rate. There are other types of medical treatments. As Jeffrey S. Cooper and Kenneth C. Hanson wrote in their article “Decompression Sickness” published in National Library of Medicine on August 10, 2022, they state “The treatment of DCS is with 100% oxygen, followed by recompression in a hyperbaric chamber. In most cases, this will prevent long-term effects. However, permanent injury from DCS is possible. To prevent the excess formation of bubbles leading to decompression sickness, divers limit their ascent rate. The recommended ascent rate used by popular decompression models is about 10 meters (33 ft) per minute.” We deal with different levels of pressure without even knowing on a smaller scale. When trains go underground and your ears pop, that is due to the difference in pressure. This also occurs when riding a plane. When you first take off, you will realize that your ears pop which is also due to a difference in pressure. Divers deal with this on a more serious level and take many precautions by ascending up at a slower rate. 

When it comes to the actual science behind caisson disease, it occurs because there is a release of nitrogen gas bubbles in the blood vessels of the spinal cord and the brain. This can also lead to major respiration issues and habits like smoking can also increase the chance of getting caissons disease. As Uday A. Phatak, Eric J. David, and Pravin M. Kulkarni wrote in their article “Decompression syndrome (Caissons disease) in an Indian diver” published in National Library of Medicine they state “Acute decompression syndrome (Caisson’s disease) is an acute neurological emergency in divers. It is caused due to release of nitrogen gas bubbles that impinge the blood vessels of the spinal cord and brain and result in severe neurodeficit… There are multiple factors in the pathogenesis of Acute decompression syndrome (Caisson’s disease) such as health problems in divers (respiratory problems or congenital heart diseases like atrial septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus etc), speed of ascent from the depth and habits like smoking that render divers susceptible for such neurological emergency.” The difference in pressure that occurs affects you negatively and can have very harsh effects on your breathing. 

Caissons disease led the majority of the deaths when making The Brooklyn Bridge and had little to no treatment back then. In our society today, caissons disease is not seen as often and due to the expansion in the medical field, we have treatments for this disease. Although we do have treatments, divers still take precautions when coming back to the top at a slower ascending rate. Caissons disease is not as serious as it used to be but still exists in today’s society. 

Sources

Richard E. Moon, R.M. (Updates Sep 2022). Decompression Sickness. MD, Duke University Medical Center https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/injuries-and-poisoning/diving-and-compressed-air-injuries/decompression-sickness

Cooper JS, Hanson KC. Decompression Sickness. [Updated 2022 Sep 2]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537264/

Phatak, U. A., David, E. J., & Kulkarni, P. M. (2010). Decompression syndrome (Caisson disease) in an Indian diver. Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology, 13(3), 202–203. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-2327.70868

Avisak Baishnab

English 21007

Subject Line: The Trans-Continental Railroad

Dear Ms.B,

My name is Avisak Baishnab and we met at one of our friends’ weddings. At this wedding, I told you about my dream project, The Trans-Continental Railroad. You seemed very intrigued by my idea and told me that you were willing to help and support me with this project. 

Air pollution and climate change has been one of the biggest issues of the twenty-first century. A contributor to air pollution is the fact that airplanes rely on fossil fuels in order to fly. Although we can’t revert our mistakes, we can begin to take care of our planet and use more environmentally friendly modes of transport. The Trans-Continental Railroad is meant to be an affordable and environment friendly way to travel across all seven continents, other than Antarctica. With the use of renewable energy sources like sunlight, water, and wind, we want to be able to power trains that are able to transport people to different parts of the world. There are supposed to be three main stations, one in the Atlantic Ocean, one in the Pacific Ocean, and finally one in Turkey. From these three stations, trains will depart to different major cities across the world like to Tokyo, New York City, and Paris. We also want to make sure that the railroad is affordable for the average person so they can travel with ease. 

With your help, we will be able to start our project and connect the world. You had told me that you were the owner of a solar panel company and was willing to supply us with both money and solar panels. We will be able to plant solar panels all across the world in order to power the trains. For your help, in return we will be giving you a percentage of all profits made and will grant you and your family free access to the railroad for life.

Although this project is quite ambitious, we are committed to both connecting the world and helping the environment. The railroad will make traveling both safer for the environment and easier for people all across the world. Get back to us whenever you can so we can get started as soon as possible.

Sincerely Avisak Baishnab.