Analytical Elements of Mechanics

Book excerpt: Analytical Elements of Mechanics, Volume 1, is the first of two volumes intended for use in courses in classical mechanics. The books aim to provide students and teachers with a text consistent in content and format with the author's ideas regarding the subject matter and teaching of mechanics, and to disseminate these ideas. The book opens with a detailed exposition of vector algebra, and no prior knowledge of this subject is required. This is followed by a chapter on the topic of mass centers, which is presented as a logical extension of concepts introduced in connection with centroids. A theory of moments and couples is constructed without reference to forces, these being mentioned only in illustrative examples. This is done because it eventually becomes necessary to apply the theory to systems of vectors which are not forces, such as momenta and impulses. Equilibrium is discussed in the final chapter, preceded by extended examination of the concept of force.