Last night's lecture, along with component vectors, included a short diversion on why we study strength of materials. The importance of properly judging the requirements of a structure, the loads placed on it and the forces in place on each component part.
"You might," the Professor said, "be required to specify an eye-bolt for a playground swing. Perhaps these eye-bolts will be installed in thousands of playgrounds throughout the city. Parents and children will depend on your judgement to insure that, no matter how many kids and parents jump on that swing, the eye-bolt will hold."
Then he had a slightly far-away look as he went on: "One day we went to the park with my kids and they jumped on a tire swing and I watched as the supporting beam twisted and deflected. And I wondered if the engineer who designed this structure took all the forces into account."
A little knowledge raises all sorts of questions that you would not have previously considered.
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