De Beghinselen der Weeghconst

De Beghinselen der Weeghconst (The Principles of Statics, lit. The Principles of the Art of Weighing) is a landmark book authored by Simon Stevin in the 16th century.

The Beghinselen of Weeghconst is a book about statics, written by Flemish physicist Simon Stevin. It was published in 1586, in a single volume with De Weeghdaet (The Act of Weighing), De Beghinselen des Waterwichts (Principles of Hydrostatics), and an Anhang (an appendix). In 1605 there was another edition.

The importance of the book was summarized by the Encyclopedia Britannica:

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.

The first part consists of two books, together account for 95 pages, here divided into 10 pieces.

Start: panegyrics, Mission to Rudolf II, Uytspraeck Vande Weerdicheyt of Duytsche Tael, Cortbegryp Bepalinghen and Begheerten (definitions and assumptions)

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