The Teaching of Mechanics in School and University

Abstract

The study of mechanics and the solution of problems in mechanics are an intrinsic part of the subject of mathematics as taught in British schools and universities; the subject is associated with such names as those of Routh, Lamb, Loney, Love. It is perhaps a peculiarly British tradition, well worth preserving as a discipline of the first order, comparable with Latin and Euclidean geometry; many examination candidates, even perhaps theoretical physicists of distinction, can write learnedly on atomic physics, and yet find the greatest difficulty in solving dynamical problems requiring a firm grasp of principle together with facility in applying it. The present logical unsatisfactoriness of quantum mechanics in certain aspects may be due to want of interest in the foundations of mechanics amongst its exponents.