Engineering the Impossible

Visual Rhetorical Analysis

     In mechanical engineering, there are few things that are impossible to build or design, given the right tools and resources. It’s the attainment of these impossible feats that drive mechanical engineers to be good problem solvers around machinery and other mechanisms that perform work. In addition, it takes the simplification of a complex design to solve problems and create easy-to-use technology for everyone, and this same analytical philosophy can be explored further by looking at the image above. This image is a popular visual representation of mechanical engineering and it is directed toward current and aspiring engineers, as well as toward mechanics and others who work with machinery and gears. The purpose of this image is to portray the fundamental skills that engineers need to utilize in order to solve problems and make better-performing products. By taking a closer look and analyzing the gears depicted in the image above, it is possible to see the photographer’s argument that mechanical engineers are challenged to make impossible mechanisms a reality and to make complex designs more simple to understand. The image’s nondescript border and background, the location of the gears within the photograph, and the level of detail portrayed within the image support this assertion. It’s this argument that is central to the purpose of having mechanical engineers in the world, and how many of the products we use every day were idealized and designed through rigorous processes by mechanical engineers.

     If a rigorous process was utilized to create the border and background of the photograph above, it is definitely not apparent. This lack of pizazz in the background and border of the image can be linked to how mechanical engineers are able to simplify an underlying complexity in an object and portray it in an easy-to-understand format. A hazy tan border and a plain white background hint that one’s focus should be directed toward the image itself. Indeed, the white background is barely visible, which also tells that it is either unimportant or it is purposely hidden. In the case that the background is purposely hidden, the photographer may be explaining how one must solve the puzzle of the set of three gears before the background becomes visible. Further support for this conclusion is seen within the inner rings of the gears, where crystallized formations and a texture to the white background are distinguishable. This crumbly looking interior of each of the top two gears describes how mechanical engineers are constantly making new products that were once thought to be impossible to produce, and so the gears in the photograph are beginning to turn and grind away the old beliefs of what can and cannot be done in the world. These old beliefs are represented by the white backdrop, a color that makes reference to how the views of a large population blend together with time, forming a vanilla, universally accepted conclusion. It’s these antiquated conclusions that the author seeks to challenge by creating a simple, yet meaningful background and border for the photograph, showing how mechanical engineers can simplify the most complex innovations and make them understandable and easy-to-use for everyone.

     The background and border of the photograph may not be the most original or creative, but its plain looks allow the viewer to focus his/her attention on the gears and their clever placement within the image. The focus on this photograph helps explain why the audience of this picture is primarily practicing and aspiring engineers, along with older adults who have numerous years of experience working around gears and machinery. The first noticeable aspect of the image is that all three of the gears are visible within the picture. This describes the importance of equality when including all three gears in the above system and how the gears have an equivalent sum of forces. This is important, because engineers do their best to maintain controlled environments when testing and manufacturing products. In addition, the balance of forces and shapes within the image causes the gears to remain stagnant, which is an excellent example of Newton's First Law of Motion. This law states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion unless another, unbalanced force affects the object. This law is central to the physics mechanical engineers must understand when designing new products and machinery so that gears can rotate easily. In addition, it’s curious how the three gears were arranged: two placed above a single, third one below them. With the gears oriented in their photographed positions, a space resembling a triangle forms in the center of the image between the contact points of all three gears. In mathematics, the Greek letter Δ (Delta) represents change and the difference between one function and another. The formation of the Greek letter “Delta” within the image acts as strong evidence for how mechanical engineers are changing old beliefs and notions by creating parts and designing objects that were once thought to be things of the imagination.

     This formation of the Greek letter “Delta” within the photograph not only exemplifies the photographer’s attention to the placement of the gears, but also his/her attention to detail on and around the gears themselves. This attention to detail is a commonality for engineers, who must meet given tolerances and guidelines to protect customer's safety and certify the performance given by the product.  Upon first look, the gears appear to have many teeth, a cylindrical body, and a circular center. However, the more time spent gazing at the set of gears reveals many more parts and many carefully placed objects that contributed to the overall complexity within this seemingly simple photograph. For instance, each gear contains at least five parts, including ball bearings, an outer shell containing the gear’s “teeth”, a housing for the ball bearings, an inner raised lip between the circular center and the ball bearing housing, as well as a lip midway down the center hole of each gear. These five parts are often overlooked when briefly looking at the picture, but they represent the methods mechanical engineers use to make a complex system easy-to-use and understand. In addition, the lip that’s halfway down the center hole indicates that each gear may be two separate entities. This method of hiding smaller, less noticeable details also explains how mechanical engineers manage to eradicate a system’s complexity and cover an object’s inner workings with a simple-to-understand outer shell. Lastly, this lip in each gear’s center hole shows how a complex design is often employed to make impossibilities become a reality, and how the three gears in the image may be able to rotate if they are made of multiple moving parts. This is further proof of how mechanical engineers are constantly changing and improving designs and processes that we use every day, making them more efficient and more practical for customers and users around the globe.

     Through the process of analyzing the image’s nondescript border and background, the location of the gears within the photograph, and the level of detail portrayed within the image, it is possible to understand the photographer’s argument that mechanical engineers put old beliefs to rest by creating unfeasible mechanisms a reality and by making new innovations easy-to-use and understand.

MLA 7 Source Citation for Visual Rhetorical Analysis photograph:

"Principles of Engineering." POE Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. 
          <http://chou.math.home.comcast.net/~chou.math/poe_main.htm>.