Notes on “A Treatise on the Rectilinear Motion and Rotation of Bodies.” By George Atwood, M.A., F.R.S. (Cambridge, 1784.)

Extract

This is a remarkable book in many respects, and well worthy of the attention of those teachers of mechanics who have not yet made its acquaintance at first hand. Though written in 1784, some of its pages are greatly superior to those in many of the text-books now in use in schools, and one is particularly impressed by the stress laid on experimental verification of the various laws of mechanics, and by the extreme care shown in the planning and execution of the experiments proposed. The following quotations from it and the notes thereon are given, because I feel sure that they will prove of use to those who want Mechanics to become a more interesting subject to their pupils and to stand for something more than what is usually covered by the name “Applied Mathematics.” I have added a few parentheses, but only, I hope, where they were necessary.