An Introduction to Applied Mechanics

Originally published in 1915, ‘the aim of the present book is to present the elementary principles of mechanics in accurate though clear terms and to show the application of those principles to the simpler problems arising in engineering and architectural applications’. Notably, ‘the general treatment is based more upon graphical conceptions than upon purely mathematical analysis because experience shows that the mind of the engineering student reasons more clearly from diagrams than from symbols’. A number of experiments are presented, principally those which require the simplest form of apparatus, with answers to exercises supplied at the back. Chapters are broad in scope, detailed and clearly written; chapter titles include, ‘Forces and other vector quantities’, ‘Machines and efficiency’ and ‘Centre of gravity and centroid’. This vibrant and thorough textbook will be of great value to scholars of physics as well as to anyone with an interest in the history of education.