Engineering Mechanics: Statics, Third Edition (Volume 1)

Abstract

Statics and dynamics are basic subjects in the general field known as engineering mechanics. At the risk of oversimplifying, engineering mechanics is thatbranchofengineeringthatisconcernedwiththebehaviorofbodiesunder theactionofforces.Staticsanddynamicsformthebasisformanyofthetraditionalfieldsofengineering,suchasautomotiveengineering,civilengineering, and mechanical engineering. In addition, these subjects often play fundamental roles when the principles of mechanics are applied to such diverse fields as medicine and biology. Applying the principles of statics and dynamics to such a wide range of applications requires reasoning and practice rather than memorization. Although the principles of statics and dynamics are relatively few, they can only be truly mastered by studying and analyzing problems. Therefore, all modern textbooks, including ours, contain a large number of problems to be solved by the student. Learning the engineering approach to problem solving is one of the more valuable lessons to be learned from the study of statics and dynamics.