Chapter 6
Mountain Creek, a Very Small River
Publication: Hans Albert Einstein: His Life as a Pioneering Engineer
Abstract
Hans Albert considered a method that he anticipated engineers and scientists would use for calculating bed-load movement in rivers. To get his bed-load method accepted, Hans Albert wanted to show that it worked for a river. Several streams appeared as suitable candidates for bed-load measurement. Mountain Creek was exactly what Hans Albert wanted—and it appealed to the SCS too—because the creek was typical of hundreds of small streams in South Carolina's Piedmont region. Mountain Creek mimicked large rivers in several ways and possessed most of the characteristics of alluvial channels that Hans Albert sought to understand and formulate. He recorded the discharge of rainwater and sediment. The equipment worked well and the measurements proved, at least to Hans Albert's satisfaction, that the equations derived from his flume at ETH worked well for a small river like Mountain Creek.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this chapter.
References Cited
References
Albert Einstein Archives (AEA). Hebrew University of Jerusalem, quoted with permission.
Einstein, A. (1905). “Eine neue bestimmung der moleküldimensionen (A new determination of molecular dimensions).” Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Philosophischen Doktorwürde der Hohen Philosophischen Fakultät (Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Sektion), University of Zurich, Bern, Switzerland, Publisher Buchdruckerei K. J. Wyss.
Einstein, H. A. (1941). “The viscosity of highly concentrated underflows and its influence on mixing.” Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 22(3), 597–603.
Einstein, H. A. (1942a). “Formulas for the transportation of bed load.” Trans. ASCE, 107(1), 561–577.
Einstein, H. A. (1942b). “Formulas for the transportation of bed load.” Trans. ASCE, 107(1), Closure, 594–597.
Einstein, H. A. (1944). “Bed-load transportation in Mountain Creek.” Soil Conservation Service Report SCS-TP-55, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Garcia, M., ed. (2008). Sedimentation engineering: Processes, measurements, modeling, and practice, Manual of Practice 110, American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA.
Geiger, R. L. (1955). “A chronological history of the Soil Conservation Service and related events.” SCS-Cl-1, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Gilbert, G. K. (1914). “The transportation of debris by running water.” U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 86, Washington, DC.
Grover, N. C., and Howard, C. S. (1938). “The passage of turbid water through Lake Mead.” Trans. ASCE, 103(1), 720–732.
HAE Papers. Letters and papers of Hans Albert Einstein. Private collection of Elizabeth Einstein, used with permission.
Hayward, O. G. (1942). Discussion of Einstein (1942a). “Formulas for the transportation of bed load.” Trans. ASCE, 107(1), 583–590.
Johnson, A. A. (1942). Discussion of Einstein (1942a). “Formulas for the transportation of bed load.” Trans. ASCE, 107(1), 578–580.
Kalinske, A. A. (1942). Discussion of Einstein (1942a). “Formulas for the transportation of bed load.” Trans. ASCE, 107(1), 580–583.
Kalinske, A. A. (1947). “Movement of sediment as bedload.” Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 28(4), 615–620.
Mc. Nown, J. S. (1942). Discussion of Einstein (1942). “Formulas for the transportation of bed load.” Trans. ASCE, 107(1), 591–594.
Meyer-Peter, E., Favre, H., and Einstein, H. A. (1934). “Neuere versuchsresultate über den geschiebetrieb.” Schweizerische Bauzeitung, 103(13), 147–150.
National Archives Papers. (NAP). Line Project Working Plan B-3-3-4, WR-11, April 27, 1939; received October 24, 1991, from National Archives—Southeast Region, East Point, GA.
Shields, A. (1936). “Anwendung der aehnlichkeitsmechanik und der turbulenzforschung auf die geschiebebewegung.” (Application of similarity principles and turbulence research to bed-load movement). Mitteilungen der Preussiischen Versuchsanstalt fűr Wasserbau und Schiffhau, Heft 26, Berlin.
Shulits, S. (1942). Discussion of Einstein (1942a). “Formulas for the transportation of bed load.” Trans. ASCE, 107(1), 590–591.
Smith, W. O., Vetter, C. P., and Cummings, G. B. (1960). “Comprehensive survey of sedimentation in Lake Mead, 1948–49.” U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 295, Washington, DC.
Soil Conservation Service. (SCS). (1938–1947). Reports of the chief of the Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Stevens, J. C. (1946). “The future of Lake Mead and Elephant Butte Reservoir.” Trans. ASCE, 111(1), 1231–1254.
USWES. (1935). “Studies of river bed materials and their movement, with special reference to the Lower Mississippi River.” Paper No. 17, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Hans Albert Einstein: His Life as a Pioneering Engineer
Pages: 119 - 138
ISBN (Print): 978-0-7844-1330-2
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-7829-5
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: May 29, 2014
ASCE Technical Topics:
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.