Mohamed Ali Rauff A0069475N

Fluid mechanics, is a fundamental concept that is required by most hard engineering syllabus. While the concept is similar, the content it presents to individual engineering sector is different. For chemical engineers, the focus is on rheology, mixing phenomena and the tools utilised. The artistic expression presented is the textbook cover of my fluid mechanics module in NUS. From the discussion of the syllabus earlier, it could be seen that the cover is not adequate to represent the intended idea of fluid mechanics. Fluid mechanics is derived mostly from physics. It is a focussed and detailed study of fluids and forces on them. Therefore, the image used in the cover should have illustrated a component that brings out the uniqueness of this branch of physics. The picture used is too distracting. It features the Ferris wheel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Being a large size and centred, it draws the most attention. In addition, the colour contrast of the giant when makes it stand out too. Even though the cover has used good techniques to focus the attention of observers, the object that has been focussed in absolutely irrelevant to fluid mechanics. The book cover should have used an image that summarizes or presents the most basic idea of fluid mechanics. The water body in the image is very still, which does not imply any concept. There could have been a diagram of a moving body of water like a waterfall or dam to illustrate the concept of water turbulence. Display of the calm water body may give the students the idea that this module is easy, when in fact this is one of the hardest concepts in chemical engineering. Fluid mechanics comprises of various formulae, of which none of it is encompassed in the cover. It could possibly a clich to include a mathematical expression in cover pages. However, as students who vividly utilise this book, tendency to get excited when the formula in the front cover appears in the book itself. Also, if an important or a very fundamental equation is the presented in the cover, the opportunity to memorize it would be higher, thus making the task of students lighter. The cover image did not present a history of fluid mechanics. It is common to see famous authors or scientists portraits to be featured in the front cover. This method allows students to explore the history behind the content of the subject. It may be irrelevant to the syllabus content, however, understanding the history will encapsulate the students to acknowledge the hard work put to establish the knowledge expanded by the philosophers in the past. In conclusion, the image used in the front cover does justify the content discussed in the book. It has not illustrated the main idea of fluid mechanics but swerved away the students thought of what the real content and concept is.