Course in Physics for Students of Architecture

Abstract

This course was set up for freshmen in architecture whose preparation in science and mathematics may be limited and whose major interests are elsewhere. Because most of the mathematical difficulties in a course in elementary physics appear in mechanics and electricity, we begin with sound, light, and heat, postponing mechanics and electricity to the second semester. This unconventional order of presentation has the added advantage that our students find the subjects of sound, light, and heat unexpectedly interesting, and immediately applicable to problems confronting the architect. In this part of the course much of the laboratory work is descriptive and only semiquantitative. The textbook is supplemented with three specially written chapters dealing with the architectural applications of sound, light, and heat, and one more which summarizes the fundamentals of electricity. A reference shelf is set up.