A Treatise On Elementary Statics

Originally published in 1917, this textbook presents a detailed and contained introduction to statics. Primarily aimed at undergraduate students of science, engineering and mathematics, the book considers statics from the very beginning and assumes only elementary prior knowledge of the ordinary processes of the differential and integral calculus.

Excerpt from A Treatise on Elementary Statics There has existed for some time past a general feeling that the Laws of Motion form the only satisfactory basis on which the science of Statics can be built. So far as I know, all the text-books in use in Cambridge except Prof. Minchin's, treat the subject from quite a different point of view. In this text-book I have endeavoured to supply the wants of students, who are not sufficiently advanced in Pure Mathematics, to read with advantage Professor Minchin's treatise on Analytical Statics. Deducing from the Newtonian definition of force and the parallelogram of velocities, the parallelogram of forces, I obtain the necessary conditions of equilibrium for any material system by means of the third law, without assuming the transmissibility of force, or supposing the system to become rigid. From these and certain geometrical considerations follow the sufficient conditions of equilibrium of a rigid body. This involves the introduction of the conception of the moment of a force about a line, and certain geometrical propositions, which may be regarded as somewhat difficult for a beginner: I am in hopes that these difficulties will not be found insuperable, as it seems to me that there is a distinct gain in clearness and simplicity by this mode of treatment of the subject. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.