Physical Review Volume 21 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1905 Excerpt: ... is practically impossible for any physical student, whose main purpose in life is experimental research, to read them, except in part. With this thought in mind Professor Webster has prepared the book under review and has included in it what, in his opinion, constitutes the essential features of the subject and has added whatever sections were necessary in order to prepare the student to read other books more advanced or more detailed. "The work divides itself naturally into three parts, the first of which considers the laws of motion1 in general and those methods which are applicable to systems of all sorts." The separate chapters of this part include " Kinematics of a Point," "Laws of Motion," "General Principles (such as that of Virtual Work)," "Work and Energy," "Principle of Least Action," "LaGrange's Equations," "Oscillations and Cyclic Motions." The second part is devoted to the " Dynamics of Rigid Bodies," and is divided into two chapters, one dealing with "Systems of Vectors, Moments of Inertia, Centrifugal Forces, etc."; the other, with the "Dynamics of Rotating Bodies." "The third part divides itself from the other two from the fact that in it the differential equations are partial, and in the others they are ordinary." As a preparation for this subject there is a full discussion of the theory of the potential function, which introduces the most important mathematical theorems and prepares for the subsequent chapters. Next follows the " Dynamics of Stress and Strain," the "Statics of Fluids," the " Problem of de St. Venant on the Flexion and Torsion of Prisms," and "Hydrodynamics." In thi...