Coulomb read his Essai on 'some statical problems' to the French Academy in 1773. It is a document of great importance in the history of engineering since it laid the foundations of the modern science of soil mechanics and also discussed three other major problems of eighteenth-century civil engineering: the bending of beams, the fracture of columns and the calculation of abutment thrusts developed by masonry arches.Professor Heyman's book makes the Essai accessible to a wide range of engineers and historians of technology. It is here reproduced in full with an annotated English translation, a chapter elucidating Coulomb's references and with full discussion of the technical problems it treats. It concludes with some brief historical notes on Coulomb's life and technical education in eighteenth-century France.
- ISBN13 9781860940569
- Publish Date 23 December 1997
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Imperial College Press
- Edition New edition
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 224
- Language English
- URL https://worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/p046