Mechanics

As I went through a textbook of Mechanics I saw illustrations of leavers, pulleys, cables, shock absorbers etc in various combinations to demonstrate the play of forces.

I am wondering if a student at the first-semester level is able to visualize these mechanisms from the basic two-dimensional representative drawings?

I also find the explanations to these diagrams tedious and the maths abrupt.

These diagrams and examples are far removed from the objects they encounter in daily lives and it seems to me that textbooks are written by scholars for appreciation from other scholars and not necessarily with the student in mind.

Why can't we teach these principals of mechanics using the day to day experience of the students? for example a door a  cantilevered load, a door closer, a chair or table, staircase railings, ceiling fans, etc. etc.

We ie Nickey and me are now developing a three-legged stool that has the three legs hinged to the seat so that the legs can splay out flat. We plan to make a platform with sets of strain gauges that will restrain the legs from splaying out and will display the vertical and horizontal components of the load on the legs when one sits on the stool. The design will allow us to change the angles of the legs and see the changes in the horizontal and vertical components.

By doing this we hope that the students will start noticing and appreciating the play of forces all around them. We also plan to design experiments that will use their own muscular-skeletal structure to demonstrate mechanics.

       

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