Strength of materials and theory of elasticity in 19th century Italy. A brief account of the history of mechanics of solids and structures (Q2253778)

The authors present an interesting investigation of the historical development of a domain that can be seen as part of applied mathematics or better of applied mechanics or of mathematics for engineers. It got a specific and therefore different profile in various European countries. Marked in Italy as ``Scienza delle costruzioni'' it contains elements of continuum mechanics and of the mechanics of structures synthesizing both domains. The authors focus their investigations on Italy and the 19th century since on the one hand the development of the discipline has not been studied in detail up to now, but on the other hand it has seen important steps forward and changes in the design of structures, the theoretical part of construction theory, the theory of elasticity etc. in Italy and other European countries as well. The authors embed their thorough study of the history of the ``Scienza delle costruzioni'' in the broader European context with the emergence of the modern theory of elasticity, the mechanics of continuous bodies, the mechanics of structures and trusses, as well as the strong impacts of the Risorgimento with its basic change in the organization of the state, the educational system etc. The book is divided into 5 chapters. The first chapter starts with an overview of the history of the theory of elasticity and continuum mechanics and their progress in the 19th century. The authors discuss the various models for studying the elastic behavior of bodies, the corpuscular approaches and the continuous approach, as well as their pros and cons. They illustrate the different assumptions about the theory of elasticity and also point out the growing influence of experimental research in the second half of the century due to its improved precision. Then, the authors have a look at the mechanics of structures, a special strand of the science of structural behavior, its different methods for treating structures formed by beams and bars in particular trusses that occurred in many civil and industrial constructions. The Italian development is sketched at the end of the chapter. Italian scholars played only a marginal role until the unification of Italy, but the following period in the 1860s and 1870s is characterized by a revival of the scientific life, a rise of scientific studies that soon reached the level of European research. After that general survey the authors present their detailed analysis of the development of continuum mechanics and the theory of elasticity in Italy stressing that several Italian scholars contributed to these fields also at the end of the 18th and in the early 19th century. Vincenzo Brunacci (1768--1818) and above all Count Gabrio Piola Daverio (1794--1850) are named as two important representatives of that period. Brunacci can be seen as the origin of a genealogy of all the major Italian mathematicians in a more or less direct way and Piola is known for the Piola Kirchoff stress tensor. Complaining that Piola's work has fallen into oblivion, the authors give an extensive inspection of his work and ideas in particular his turn from a continuous model of matter to a discrete one. Moreover, they discuss a modern interpretation of Piola's contributions on the one hand for highlighting ``the aspects that Piola `failed to understand''' and on the other hand for revealing the relations between Kirchhoff's and Piola's contributions regarding the stress tensor. In the third chapter, the authors deal with the revival of mathematical research and the stronger internationalization of Italian mathematics in the time of Risorgimento. Again, they focus on two mathematicians, Enrico Betti (1823--1892) and Eugenio Beltrami (1836--1900), as central personalities of that development and a thorough description of their contributions to the theory of elasticity. Main topics are Betti's introduction of the concept of potential, his purely analytical approach and his theorem of reciprocal work, as well as Beltrami's derivation of the elastic equilibrium equation and his interpretation of Maxwell's formulas both in the context of his studies on the nature of physical space and on Riemann's new and fundamental ideas on geometry. Finally, Betti's and Beltrami's central role in the development of Italian mathematics is demonstrated by a look at their pupils like G. Ricci-Curbastro, C. Somigliana, V. Volterra, E. Cesaro, etc. and their contributions continuing the ideas of their teachers. Changing the view of the topic, the authors begin the fourth chapter with some remarks on the reform of the educational system from 1859 onwards. Characterizing the so-called Casati's law (the comprehensive law on public education) as ``the most important event for the history of structural engineering in Italy in the second half of the 1800s'' they describe the establishment of Schools of Application for Engineers in Italy starting with Turin in 1860, the teaching program of those schools and the publishing of the first textbooks regarding the mechanics of structures. The main part of the chapter is formed by a clear and exhaustive analysis of the contributions of Luigi Federico Menabrea (1809--1896), Carlo Alberto Castigliano (1847--1884) and Valentino Cerutti (1850--1909) regarding the mathematical treatment of redundant trusses and related problems. Finally, the authors analyse the emerging of graphical static and means of drawings in the second half of the 19th century, the contributions of Maxwell and Culmann as well in more detail the work of Luigi Cremona (1830--1903) in the fifth chapter. The authors attach great importance to theoretical descriptions of the various problems of the theory of elasticity in particular of the theory of structures and trusses. Therefore, the book is primarily directed to engineers and historians who are interested in and familiar with the history of mechanics, of theory or elasticity, or structural mechanics. It complements the existing historical studies with the developments in Italy in the 19th century that have been largely neglected up to now and presents historians and specialists a lot of detailed information. The book is supplemented by a name index, an appendix with all quotations in original language that are translated in the text, and extensive references at the end of each chapter.