View source for What things are different between science and engineering?

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><strong>Engineering</strong></span></p>

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<p><strong>&nbsp;Engineering</strong>&nbsp;is the creative application of science, mathematical methods, and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empirical_evidence" title="Empirical evidence">empirical evidence</a>&nbsp;to the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovation" title="Innovation">innovation</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design" title="Design">design</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction" title="Construction">construction</a>, operation and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maintenance_(technical)" title="Maintenance (technical)">maintenance</a>&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure" title="Structure">structures</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine" title="Machine">machines</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Material" title="Material">materials</a>, devices,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System" title="System">systems</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process" title="Process">processes</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization" title="Organization">organizations</a>&nbsp;for the benefit of humankind. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more specialized&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_engineering_branches" title="List of engineering branches">fields of engineering</a>, each with a more specific emphasis on particular areas of&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_mathematics" title="Applied mathematics">applied mathematics</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_science" title="Applied science">applied science</a>, and types of application. See&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_engineering" title="Glossary of engineering">glossary of engineering</a>.</p>

<p>The term&nbsp;<em>engineering</em>&nbsp;is derived from the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin" title="Latin">Latin</a>&nbsp;<em>ingenium</em>, meaning &quot;cleverness&quot; and&nbsp;<em>ingeniare</em>, meaning &quot;to contrive, devise&quot;.</p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px">Definition</span></p>

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<p>&nbsp;The&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Engineers%27_Council_for_Professional_Development" title="American Engineers' Council for Professional Development">American Engineers&#39; Council for Professional Development</a>&nbsp;(ECPD, the predecessor of&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accreditation_Board_for_Engineering_and_Technology" title="Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology">ABET</a>)&nbsp;has defined &quot;engineering&quot; as:</p>

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<p>The creative application of scientific principles to design or develop structures, machines, apparatus, or manufacturing processes, or works utilizing them singly or in combination; or to construct or operate the same with full cognizance of their design; or to forecast their behavior under specific operating conditions; all as respects an intended function, economics of operation and safety to life and property.</p>
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<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering"><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Dampfturbine_Montage01.jpg/220px-Dampfturbine_Montage01.jpg" /></a></p>

<p>Design of a&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbine" title="Turbine">turbine</a>&nbsp;requires collaboration of engineers from many fields, as the system involves mechanical, electro-magnetic and chemical processes. The&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbine_blade" title="Turbine blade">blades</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stator" title="Stator">rotor and stator</a>&nbsp;as well as the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_cycle" title="Steam cycle">steam cycle</a>all need to be carefully designed and optimized.</p>

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<p><span style="font-size:20px"><strong>Science</strong></span></p>

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<p><strong>&nbsp;Science</strong>&nbsp;(from&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_language" title="Latin language">Latin</a>&nbsp;<em>scientia</em>, meaning &quot;knowledge&quot;)&nbsp;is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge" title="Knowledge">knowledge</a>&nbsp;in the form of testable&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explanation" title="Explanation">explanations&nbsp;</a>and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predictions" title="Predictions">predictions</a>&nbsp;about the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe" title="Universe">universe</a>.</p>

<p>&nbsp;The earliest roots of science can be traced to&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt" title="Ancient Egypt">Ancient Egypt</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopotamia" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a>&nbsp;in around 3500 to 3000 BCE.&nbsp;Their contributions to&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomy" title="Astronomy">astronomy</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine" title="Medicine">medicine</a>&nbsp;entered and shaped&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece" title="Ancient Greece">Greek</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_philosophy" title="Natural philosophy">natural philosophy</a>&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_antiquity" title="Classical antiquity">classical antiquity</a>, whereby formal attempts were made to explain events of the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe" title="Universe">physical world</a>&nbsp;based on natural causes.&nbsp;After the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Western_Roman_Empire" title="Fall of the Western Roman Empire">fall of the Western Roman Empire</a>, knowledge of&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_science_in_classical_antiquity" title="History of science in classical antiquity">Greek conceptions of the world</a>&nbsp;deteriorated in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Europe" title="Western Europe">Western Europe</a>&nbsp;during the early centuries (400 to 1000 CE) of the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>&nbsp;but was preserved in the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_world" title="Muslim world">Muslim world</a>&nbsp;during the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Age" title="Islamic Golden Age">Islamic Golden Age</a>.<span style="font-size:10.8333px"> </span>The recovery and assimilation of&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_literature" title="Ancient Greek literature">Greek works</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_in_the_medieval_Islamic_world" title="Science in the medieval Islamic world">Islamic inquiries</a>&nbsp;into Western Europe from the 10th to 13th century revived natural philosophy,&nbsp;which was later transformed by the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_Revolution" title="Scientific Revolution">Scientific Revolution</a>&nbsp;that began in the 16th century&nbsp;as&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_Revolution#New_ideas" title="Scientific Revolution">new ideas and discoveries</a>&nbsp;departed from&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_Revolution#Ancient_and_medieval_background" title="Scientific Revolution">previous Greek conceptions</a>and traditions.&nbsp;The&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method" title="Scientific method">scientific method</a>&nbsp;soon played a greater role in knowledge creation and it was not until the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century_in_science" title="19th century in science">19th century</a>&nbsp;that many of the institutional and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientist" title="Scientist">professional</a>&nbsp;features of science began to take shape.</p>

<p>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_science" title="Modern science">Modern science</a>&nbsp;is typically divided into three major&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branches_of_science" title="Branches of science">branches</a>&nbsp;that consist of the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_science" title="Natural science">natural sciences</a>&nbsp;(e.g.,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology" title="Biology">biology</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemistry" title="Chemistry">chemistry</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics" title="Physics">physics</a>), which study nature in the broadest sense; the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_science" title="Social science">social sciences</a>&nbsp;(e.g.,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics" title="Economics">economics</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology" title="Psychology">psychology</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology" title="Sociology">sociology</a>), which study individuals and societies; and the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_science" title="Formal science">formal sciences</a>&nbsp;(e.g.,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic" title="Logic">logic</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theoretical_computer_science" title="Theoretical computer science">theoretical computer science</a>), which study abstract concepts. There is disagreement,&nbsp;however, on whether the formal sciences actually constitute a science as they do not rely on&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empirical_evidence" title="Empirical evidence">empirical evidence</a>.&nbsp;Disciplines that utilize existing scientific knowledge for practical purposes, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering" title="Engineering">engineering</a>&nbsp;and medicine, are described as&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_sciences" title="Applied sciences">applied sciences</a>.</p>

<p>&nbsp;Science is based on&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research" title="Research">research</a>, which is commonly conducted in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_institution" title="Academic institution">academic</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_institute" title="Research institute">research institutions</a>&nbsp;as well as in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_agency" title="Government agency">government agencies</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company" title="Company">companies</a>. The practical impact of scientific research has led to the emergence of&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_policy" title="Science policy">science policies</a>&nbsp;that seek to influence the scientific enterprise by prioritizing the development of&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)" title="Product (business)">commercial products</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon" title="Weapon">armaments</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care" title="Health care">health care</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_protection" title="Environmental protection">environmental protection</a>.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/15885/The-Difference-Between-Science-and-Engineering.aspx"><img alt="The Scientific Method. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia user ArchonMagnus.)" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/engineering-com/image/upload/w_640,h_640,c_limit,q_auto,f_auto/Science_vs_Engineering_5_djgngx.jpg" /></a></p>

<p>Scientific Method</p>

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<p><span style="font-size:18px"><strong>Reference</strong></span></p>

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<p>1. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering">&quot;Engineering&quot;</a>, from Wikipedia</p>

<p>2. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science">&quot;Science&quot;</a>, from Wikipedia</p>

<p>3. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering">&quot;Engineering&quot;</a>, from Wikipedia, image</p>

<p>4. <a href="https://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/15885/The-Difference-Between-Science-and-Engineering.aspx">&quot;The Difference Between Science and Engineering&quot;</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.engineering.com/Author/ID/364475/Michael%20Alba">Michael Alba&nbsp;</a>posted on October 24, 2017 |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/15885/The-Difference-Between-Science-and-Engineering.aspx#disqus_thread">17 Comments</a>, image Scientific Method</p>