Plane and Solid Analytic Geometry (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Plane and Solid Analytic Geometry<br><br>The object of an elementary college course in Analytic Geometry is twofold: it is to acquaint the student with new and interesting and important geometrical material, and to provide him with powerful tools for the study, not only of geometry and pure mathematics, but in no less measure of physics in the broadest sense of the term, including engineering.<br><br>To attain this object, the geometrical material should be presented in the simplest and most concrete form, with emphasis on the geometrical content, and illustrated, whenever possible, by its relation to physics. This principle has been observed throughout the book. Thus, in treating the ellipse, the methods actually used in the drafting room for drawing an ellipse from the data commonly met in descriptive geometry are given a leading place. The theorem that the tangent makes equal angles with the focal radii is proved mechanically: a rope which passes through a pulley has its ends tied at the foci and is drawn taut by a line fastened to the pulley. Moreover, the meaning of foci in optics and acoustics is clearly set forth. Again, there is a chapter on the deformations of an elastic plane under stress, with indications as to the three-dimensional case (pure strain, etc.).<br><br>The methods of analytic geometry, even in their simplest forms, make severe demands on the student's ability to comprehend the reasoning of higher mathematics. Consequently, in presenting them for the first time, purely algebraic difficulties, such as are caused by literal coefficients and long formal computations, should be avoided.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.