10 Best Engineering Documentaries That Every Engineer Should

If you are an engineer, a tech geek or just a person interested in knowing about how things work; you would be delighted to know that we have picked some of the best engineering documentaries/series for you to watch in your spare time. Have a look at the list below!

10. Megastructures

Megastructures is a show focused on incredible construction projects; the tallest, the deepest, the biggest or the longest of the world. The documentary includes the people responsible for the design and engineering. It shows the machines used for creating the structures and processes required for the operation of these construction marvels.

9. Seven Wonders of the Industrial World

This seven-part British documentary recreated the best happenings of the industrial revolution. The seven highlighted feats were chosen for their ingenuity, challenges in their completion and their effect on the society.

8. BBC Four – Mechanical Marvels: Clockwork Dreams

Presented by Professor Simon Schaffer, this is a documentary about the amazing story of automata – the amazing clockwork machines, designed hundreds of years ago to mimic and recreate life. Traveling around Europe, with very vivid details, the documentary shows the history of these machines. In addition to these marvelous machines, the documentary also explains in detail the world in which they were made.

7. Genius on Hold

It revolves around the time and life of telecommunication genius Walter L. Shaw and his son where his employer stole his ideas and inventions which lead him to get caught up in a political scandal.

6. Top Gear, UK

This motor show tests if cars live up their manufacturers’ claims. The show is fast paced, travels to locations around the world and performs extreme stunts to test the actual ability of cars. If you love automobiles, this is the show to watch.

5. Engineering an Empire

This TV show explores architectural and engineering feats that were characteristic of some of the history’s greatest societies like Rome, Egypt, and Greece. Computer renders help explain how these amazing structures were built.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emc8e9gUqMw

4. Tesla: Master of Lightning

Master of Lightning is a biography of an electrical inventor and visionary genius Nikola Tesla that laid the concepts of alternating current and the radio. The documentary walks you through his life, his vision, his innovations, and his character.

3. Impossible Engineering

The Impossible Engineering series will take you through the most amazing marvels of modern engineering. Every episode focuses on one of the most technically advanced structures, explaining the designs through 3-D graphics. The show is a celebration of engineers and their breakthroughs that changed the world we live in.

2. To Engineer is Human

Engineering is not all glory. Written by Henry Petroski and produced by Horizon, this five-part documentary explores some of the greatest civil engineering failures. Most importantly, the documentary highlights how all the achievements we have made so far wouldn’t be possible without all these failures.

1. Engineering The Impossible: Freedom Ship

This 2-hour documentary written by Alan Lindgren is focused on three incredible engineering project: the nine miles long Gibraltar Bridge, the 170-story Millennium Tower, and the approx. 4000 foot long Freedom Ship. Produced in 2002 for the Discovery Channel, the documentary won the Beijing International Science Film Festival Silver Award.