De Beghinselen Der Weeghconst
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De Beghinselen der Weeghconst (lit. "The Principles of the Art of Weighing") is a book about statics written by the Flemish physicist Simon Stevin in Dutch. It was published in 1586 in a single volume with De Weeghdaet (lit. "The Act of Weighing"), De Beghinselen des Waterwichts ("The Principles of Hydrostatics") and an Anhang (an appendix).[1] In 1605, there was another edition.
Importance
[edit]The importance of the book was summarized by the Encyclopædia Britannica:[2]
In De Beghinselen der Weeghconst (1586; “Statics and Hydrostatics”) Stevin published the theorem of the triangle of forces. The knowledge of this triangle of forces, equivalent to the parallelogram diagram of forces, gave a new impetus to the study of statics, which had previously been founded on the theory of the lever. He also discovered that the downward pressure of a liquid is independent of the shape of its vessel and depends only on its height and base.
Contents
[edit]The first part consists of two books, together account for 95 pages, here divided into 10 pieces.
Book I
[edit]Start: panegyrics, Mission to Rudolf II, Uytspraeck Vande Weerdicheyt of Duytsche Tael, Cortbegryp Bepalinghen and Begheerten (definitions and assumptions)
- Proposal 1 t / m 4: hefboomwet
- Proposal 5 t / m 12: a balance with weights pilaer[check spelling]
- Proposition 13 t / m 18: follow-up, with hefwicht, two supports
- Proposition 19: balance on an inclined plane, with cloot Crans
- Proposal 20 t / m 28: pilaer with scheefwichten, hanging, body
Book II
[edit]- Proposal 1 t / m 6: center of gravity boards – triangle, rectilinear flat
- Proposal 7 t / m 13: trapezium, divide, cut fire
- Proposition 14 t / m 24: center of gravity of bodies – pillar, pyramid, burner
- The Weeghdaet
- The Beghinselen des Waterwichts
- Anhang
- Byvough
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Stevin, Simon (1586). "De beghinselen der weeghconst". Internet Archive. Raphelengius, Franciscus. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ "Simon Stevin Flemish mathematician". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
Further reading
[edit]- Stevin, Simon (1955). Dijksterhuis, E.J (ed.). The principal works of Simon Stevin, Mechanics, edition Vol. I, volume (PDF) (in English and Dutch). C.V. Swets and Zeitlinger.