Practical Geometry and Engineering Graphics

Book excerpt: HIS BOOK IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE A COURSE IN PRACTICAL Geometry for engineering students who have already received some instruction in elementary plane geometry, graph plotting, and the use T of vectors. It also covers the requirements of Secondary School pupils taking Practical Geometry at the Advanced Level. The grouping adopted, in which Plane Geometry is dealt with in Part I, and Solid or Descriptive Geometry in Part II, is artificial, and it is the intention that the two parts should be read concurrently. The logical treatment of the subject presents many difficulties and the sequence of the later chapters in both parts is necessarily a compromise; as an illustration, certain of the more easy inter sections and developments might with advantage be taken at an earlier stage than that indicated. In Part I considerable space has been devoted to Engineering Graphics, particularly to the applications of graphical integration. The use of graphical methods of computation is fully justified in most engineering problems of a practical nature-especially where analytical methods would prove laborious -the results obtained being as accurate as the data warrant.