> However, I don't know that having such a level of understanding
> will help in my career - interesting, but not really practical.
You never know what's going to come in handy--most of the stuff we
learn in school 'interesting, but not really practical' until it
becomes interesting or practical. I had three courses in dynamics
plus a session in sophomore physics dealing with dynamics. The last
one comes across as a total blur--I haven't any idea how I passed it--
and the others had nothing to do with FEA, which had only just barely
been invented.
> I'm supposing that it is your extended training in dynamics as a
> mechanical guy that lead you to this additional insight - seeing as
> how it may actually be useful in some such tasks.
My 'extended training' in dynamics is about half self-taught from
references dealing in first principles and some lucky choices of
assignments that made me learn. The radius of gyration thing comes
from the 1955 edition of _University Physics_ by Sears and Zemanski
page 162. Remembering what it was came in handy some time in the 60's
when a colleague kept talking about 'radius of gyration' when he
meant 'pivot point.' Know the difference came in handy where we
started talking about the real radius of gyration in deaqling with
kinetic energy. Like I said--you never know.
> Thanks for the software links on your website BTW, very useful.
Some day I'm going to bring that into the 21st century…
Christopher Wright P.E. |"They couldn't hit an elephant at
chrisw@skypoint.com | this distance" (last words of Gen.
.......................................| John Sedgwick, Spotsylvania
1864)
http://www.skypoint.com/members/chrisw/
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