Mechanics, and in particular, the mechanics of solids, forms the basis
of all engi- neering sciences. It provides the essential foundations for
understanding the action of forces on bodies, and the effects of these
forces on the straining of the body on the one hand, and on the
deformation and motion of the body on the other. Thus, it provides the
solutions of many problems with which the would-be engineer is going to
be confronted with on a daily basis. In addition, in engineering
studies, mechanics has a more vital importance, which many students
appreciate only much later. Because of its clear, and analyt- ical
setup, it aids the student to a great extent in acquiring the necessary
degree of abstraction ability, and logical thinking, skills without
which no engineer in the practice today would succeed. Many graduates
have confirmed to me that learning mechanics is generally per- ceived as
difficult. On the other hand, they always also declared that the
preoccu- pation with mechanics made an essential contribution to their
successful education. Besides, as far as my experience goes, this
success does not depend very much on the inclusion of special chapters,
or the knowledge of particular formulae. Rather, it is important that to
a sufficient degree, one has learned how to logically describe a given
physical phenomenon, starting from the preconditions. And that from this
description one can derive rules for related phenomena, and also rules
for layout design, for dimensioning, etc. similarly supported
structures.
