Book & podcast collection

Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World in a Big Way

byRoma Agrawal

Structural engineer Roma Agrawal celebrates seven small inventions—the nail, wheel, spring, magnet, lens, string, and pump—that make modern engineering possible. She traces their origins, physical principles, materials, and surprising applications in buildings, machines, medicine, transportation, communication, and daily life. Historical innovators appear alongside contemporary engineers refining ancient ideas. The book shifts attention from spectacular finished structures to the modest components carrying force, storing energy, moving fluids, and extending perception. Agrawal shows that civilization often advances not through one grand invention but through patient improvement of simple, reusable tools.

Publisher

Norton & Company, Incorporated, W. W.

Publication date

2023

Format

Print edition

Pages

—

ISBN

9781324021520