Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
On their first encounter with statics and dynamics, students often have difficulty with three particular aspects of the subject. These are (1) visualization of the physical properties involved, (2) expression of the latter in mathematical terms and (3) manipulation of the mathematics in order to solve the various problems that arise. The aim of this book is to teach the basics of statics and dynamics in a way which will help them to overcome these difficulties. It will be a valuable supplement for A-level mathematics in schools and further education colleges and for first year university courses in mathematics and engineering.
The book starts with an in-depth discussion of the concept and description of forces. The concepts are usually taken for granted in textbooks on statics and dynamics, leaving students with rather hazy ideas regarding the physical nature of forces. The quantitative description leading onto conditions for equilibrium involves the use of vectors, coordinate geometry and trigonometry, all of which are dealt with in Part IV: Background Mathematics.
Part I of this book is entitled Statics, but much of the material in the chapters on forces, moments, centre of gravity and friction is required in Part II: Dynamics. Hydrostatics is considered briefly in the chapter on distributed forces. There are also chapters on trusses, beams, non-coplanar forces and couples, and virtual work.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.