Welcome to engineering statics!
I am very excited to be your instructor for
this course.
Statics is the first in the series of many
courses that will help you with your transformation,
from student to engineer.
Engineers change the world.
Engineers make dreams come true.
Without engineering we would still be in Stone
Age.
Engineers have transformed the world.
Whether you want to build the longest bridge,
the tallest building, or the most thrilling
roller coaster, or the first manned flight
to Mars, you will need to apply the principles
of mechanics in your design.
And, statics is the first part of engineering
mechanics.
So, as you prepare yourself to immerse into
this world of engineering, we begin with the
subject, statics.
First, I would like to impress upon you the
importance of this class – this is one of
the absolute most essential courses for engineers
of all fields.
Concepts you learn in statics will be repeatedly
used in subsequent classes such as dynamics,
strength of materials, fluid mechanics and
other design classes.
New concepts will be built upon what you learn
here.
So if you do not master these concepts, and
somehow get through this course, instead of
a fun filled learning experience, you will
have a miserable experience leading to the
change of majors.
I highly recommend you to use this course
as a yardstick to decide if you want to be
an engineer.
Finally, let me talk about the structure of
this course.
We have introductory videos for each major
concept.
These are short videos that are about 3 to
5 minutes in length.
Please go through these videos first.
These videos will give you an overall picture
of why you want to learn this particular concept,
what is the relevance and importance of this
concept, and the applications.
These videos are followed by slightly longer
videos with specific examples, step-by-step
instructions and demonstrations.
I hope you will develop real understanding
of this highly important subject and benefit
from this course.
Let us get started!
