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 Aerodynamics for
Engineering Students
Seventh Edition
 Aerodynamics for
Engineering Students
Seventh Edition

E.L. Houghton
P.W. Carpenter
Steven H. Collicott
Daniel T. Valentine

AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON

NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier
Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier
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This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other
than as may be noted herein).

Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our
understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using
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they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a
professional responsibility.
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from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.
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pedagogical approach or particular use of the MATLAB® software.

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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-0-08-100194-3

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Preface

This volume is intended for engineering students in introductory aerodynamics

courses and as a reference useful for reviewing foundational topics for graduate
courses. Prior completion of an introductory thermodynamics course will assist the
student with understanding best the sections which include compressible (high speed)
flows.
Four divisions in the volume present an introduction, fundamentals of fluid dy-
namics, aerodynamics of airfoils, bodies, and wings, and aerodynamic applications.
Thus the subject development in this edition begins with definitions and concepts,
develops the important equations of motion, and then explores boundary layers, the
important flow along aircraft surfaces. Inclusion of basic thermodynamics leads to
the topic of compressible flows, including supersonic phenomena.
The equations of motion are then simplified to study incompressible flow, includ-
ing the powerful theory known as potential flow. Potential flow is applied to low
speed airfoil and wing theory, generating lessons which are actually applicable as a
foundation to begin to understand almost every complex airfoil and wing. Compress-
ible flow models are then combined with flows over airfoils and wings to begin to
understand high speed flight.
Attention is then turned to the computations and applications of aerodynamics.
Obviously aerodynamic design today relies extensively on computational methods.
This is reflected in part in this volume by the introduction, where appropriate, of de-
scriptions and discussions of relevant computational techniques. However, this text
is aimed at providing the fundamental fluid dynamics or aerodynamics background
necessary for students to move successfully into a dedicated course on computation
methods or experimental methods. As such, experience in computational techniques
or experimental techniques are not required for a complete understanding of the aero-
dynamics in this book. The authors urge students onward to such advanced courses
and exciting careers in aerodynamics.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
A set of .m files for the MATLAB routines in the book are available by visiting the
book’s companion site at www.textbooks.elsevier.com/9780081001943. Instructors
using the text for a course may access the solutions manual and image bank by visit-
ing www.textbooks.elsevier.com and following the online registration instructions.
xiv Preface

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank the following faculty, who provided feedback on this project
through survey responses, review of proposal, and/or review of chapters:

Dr. Goetz Bramesfeld Ryerson University

Dr. Kursat Kara Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi
Brian Landrum, Ph.D University of Alabama in Huntsville
Dr. Torsten Schenkel Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, England
Prof. Chelakara S. Subramanian Florida Institute of Technology
David Tucker Northbrook College, Sussex, England
Bruce Vu NASA Kennedy Space Center

Professors Collicott and Valentine are grateful for the opportunity to continue the
work of Professors Houghton and Carpenter and thank Joe Hayton, Publisher, for the
invitation to do so. In addition, the professional efforts of Steve Merken, Acquisitions
Editor, Nate McFadden, Developmental Editor, Sujatha Thirugnana Sambandam,
Production Manager, and Victoria Pearson Esser, Designer are instrumental in the
creation of this seventh edition.
The products of one’s efforts are of course the culmination of all of one’s experi-
ences with others. Foremost amongst the people who are to be thanked most warmly
for support are our families. Collicott and Valentine thank Jennifer, Sarah, and Rachel
and Mary, Clara, Zoe, and Zach T., respectively, for their love and for the countless
joys that they bring to us. Our Professors and students over the decades are major con-
tributors to our aerodynamics knowledge and we are thankful for them. The authors
share their deep gratitude for God’s boundless love and grace for all.
 CHAPTER

Basic Concepts and

Definitions
1
“To work intelligently” (Orville and Wilbur Wright) “one
needs to know the effects of variations incorporated in the
surfaces. . . . The pressures on squares are different from those
on rectangles, circles, triangles, or ellipses. . . . The shape of
the edge also makes a difference.”
from The Structure of the Plane – Muriel Rukeyser

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Review the fundamental principles of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics
required to investigate the aerodynamics of airfoils, wings, and airplanes.
• Recall the concepts of units and dimension and how they are applied to solving
and understanding engineering problems.
• Learn about the geometric features of airfoils, wings, and airplanes and how the
names for these features are used in aerodynamics communications.
• Explore the aerodynamic forces and moments that act on airfoils, wings, and
airplanes and learn how we describe these loads quantitatively in dimensional
form and as coefficients.
• Determine the conditions for longitudinally stable, steady, level aircraft flight.
• Review control-volume analysis by examining the momentum theory of propellers
and helicopter rotors.
• Learn the fundamentals of hydrostatics and when the topic applies to
aerodynamics.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
The study of aerodynamics requires a number of basic definitions, including an un-
ambiguous nomenclature and an understanding of the relevant physical properties,
related mechanics, and appropriate mathematics. Of course, these notions are com-
mon to other disciplines, and it is the purpose of this chapter to identify and explain
Aerodynamics for Engineering Students. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-08-100194-3.00001-8
Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1
2 CHAPTER 1 Basic Concepts and Definitions

those that are basic and pertinent to aerodynamics and that are to be used in the re-
mainder of the volume.

1.1.1 Basic Concepts

This text is an introductory investigation of aerodynamics for engineering students.1
Hence, we are interested in theory to the extent that it can be practically applied to
solve engineering problems related to the design and analysis of aerodynamic objects.
The design of vehicles such as airplanes has advanced to the level where we re-
quire the wealth of experience gained in the investigation of flight over the past 100
years. We plan to investigate the clever approximations made by the few who learned
how to apply mathematical ideas that led to productive methods and useful formulas
to predict the dynamical behavior of “aerodynamic” shapes. We need to learn the
strengths and, more important, the limitations of the methodologies and discoveries
that came before us.
Although we have extensive archives of recorded experience in aeronautics, there
are still many opportunities for advancement. For example, significant advancements
can be achieved in the state of the art in design analysis. As we develop ideas re-
lated to the physics of flight and the engineering of flight vehicles, we will learn
the strengths and limitations of existing procedures and existing computational tools
(commercially available or otherwise). We will learn how airfoils and wings perform
and how we approach the designs of these objects by analytical procedures.
The fluid of primary interest is air, which is a gas at standard atmospheric condi-
tions. We assume that the dynamics of the air can be effectively modeled in terms of
the continuum fluid dynamics model2 incompressible or simple-compressible fluid.
Air is a fluid whose local thermodynamic state we assume is described either by
its mass density ρ = constant, or by the ideal gas law. In other words, we assume
air behaves as either an incompressible or a simple-compressible medium, respec-
tively. The concepts of a continuum, an incompressible substance, and a simple-
compressible gas will be elaborated on in Chapter 4.
The equation of state, known as the ideal gas law, relates two thermodynamic
properties to other properties and, in particular, the pressure. It is

p = ρRT (1.1)

where p is the thermodynamic pressure, ρ is mass density, T is absolute (thermo-

dynamic) temperature, and the specific gas constant for air is R = 287 J/(kg K) or

1 It has long been common in engineering schools for an elementary, macroscopic thermodynamics course
to be completed prior to a compressible-flow course. The portions of this text that discuss compressible
flow assume that such a course precedes this one, and thus the discussions assume some elementary expe-
rience with concepts such as internal energy and enthalpy.
2 That is, air approximated as a continuous form of matter, which is sufficiently accurate for most forms of
flight propelled by air-breathing engines.
 1.1 Introduction 3

R = 1716 ft-lb/(slug °R)−1 . Pressure and temperature are relatively easy to measure.
For example, “standard” barometric pressure at sea level is p = 101,325 Pascals,
where a Pascal (Pa) is 1 N/m2 . In Imperial units this is 14.675 psi, where psi is lb/in2
and 1 psi is equal to 6895 Pa (note that 14.675 psi is equal to 2113.2 lb/ft2 ). The stan-
dard temperature is 288.15 K (or 15 °C, where absolute zero equal to −273.15 °C
is used). In Imperial units this is 519°R (or 59°F, where absolute zero equal to
−459.67°F is used). Substituting into the ideal gas law, we get for the standard den-
sity ρ = 1.225 kg/m3 in SI units (and ρ = 0.00237 slugs/ft3 in Imperial units). This
is the density of air at sea level given in the table of data for atmospheric air; the table
for standard atmospheric conditions is provided in Appendix B.
The thermodynamic properties of pressure, temperature, and density are assumed
to be the properties of a mass-point particle of air at a location x = (x, y, z) in
space at a particular instant in time, t. We assume the measurement volume to be
sufficiently small to be considered a mathematical point. We also assume that it is
sufficiently large so that these properties have meaning from the perspective of equi-
librium thermodynamics. And we further assume that the properties are the same as
those described in a course on classical equilibrium thermodynamics. Therefore, we
assume that local thermodynamic equilibrium prevails within the mass-point parti-
cle at x and t regardless of how fast the thermodynamic state changes as the particle
moves from one location in space to another. This is an acceptable assumption for our
macroscopic purposes because molecular processes are typically much faster than
any changes in the flow field we are interested in from a macroscopic point of view
are. In addition, we invoke the continuum hypothesis, with which we assume that
the air is a continuous form of matter rather than discrete molecules. Thus we can
define all flow properties as continuous functions of position and time and that these
functions are smooth, that is, their derivatives are continuous. This allows us to apply
differential integral calculus to solve partial differential equations that successfully
model the flow fields of interest in this course. In other words, predictions based on
the theory reported in this text have been experimentally verified. The Continuum
Hypothesis is valid for most atmospheric flight because there are so many molecules
per unit volume (approximately 1019 cm−3 at sea level) that the motion of any indi-
vidual molecule can not be sensed.
To develop the theory, the fundamental principles of classical mechanics are as-
sumed. They are

• Conservation of mass
• Newton’s second law of motion
• First law of thermodynamics
• Second law of thermodynamics

The principle of conservation of mass defines a mass-point particle, which is a fixed-

mass particle. Thus the principle also defines mass density ρ, which is mass per unit
volume. If a mass-point particle conserves mass, as we have postulated, then density
changes can only occur if the volume of the particle changes, because the dimension
4 CHAPTER 1 Basic Concepts and Definitions

of mass density is M/L3 , where M is mass and L is length. The SI unit of density is
thus kg/m3 .
A vehicle moving through the air or air in motion around the vehicle are of course
causes of our study of the topic of aerodynamics. It is natural for the student reading
this text to wish to get started quickly into a study of such motion. Aerodynamics,
and fluid dynamics in general, are richly non-linear and thus, are rarely simple and
quick studies. However, the student will find one important concept in fluid motion
developed in Section 2.2.1 and that concept is a relationship between pressure and
velocity known as Bernoulli’s equation. It can be written in several forms, but here
consider it this way:
1
po = p + ρV 2 (1.2)
2
Here the left side, po , is known by the synonyms “total pressure” and “stagnation
pressure.” In many, but not all, of the simple flows a student encounters, this total
pressure is conserved—it is a constant. In these cases, and along a streamline in some
more complex flows, the two terms on the right hand side must sum to a constant.
The first term on the right is the static pressure, generally just called pressure. For
pressure to be reduced, such as over the top of an airfoil or wing, the second term on
the right side must become greater. Because in low-speed aerodynamics the density
is constant, any increase in the magnitude of the second term is caused by an increase
in air velocity, V . Even when Bernoulli’s equation is not quantitatively correct for
a certain situation, the energy exchange between static pressure and velocity of the
flow exists.
Students should apply this equation with care while learning, in subsequent Sec-
tions and Chapters, the conditions under which Bernoulli’s equation can be used
properly.
Newton’s second law defines the concept of force in terms of acceleration (F =
m a ). The acceleration of a mass-point particle is the change in its velocity with re-
spect to a change in time. Let the velocity vector V = (u, v, w); this is the velocity
of a mass-point particle at a point in space, x = (x, y, z), at a particular instant in
time t. The acceleration of this mass-point particle is

D V ∂ V
a = = + V · ∇ V (1.3)
Dt ∂t
This is known as the substantial derivative of the velocity vector. Since we are inter-
ested in the properties at fixed points in space in a coordinate system attached to the
object of interest (i.e., the “laboratory” coordinates), there are two parts to mass-point
particle acceleration. The first is the local change in velocity with respect to time. The
second takes into account the convective acceleration associated with a change in ve-
locity of the mass-point particle from its location upstream of the point of interest to
the observation point x at time t.
We will also be interested in the spatial and temporal changes in any property
f of a mass-point particle of fluid. These changes are described by the substantial
 1.1 Introduction 5

derivative as follows:
Df ∂f
= + V · ∇f (1.4)
Dt ∂t
This equation describes the changes in any material property f of a mass point at
a particular location in space at a particular instant in time. This is in a laboratory
reference frame, the so-called Eulerian viewpoint.
The next step in conceptual development of a theory is to connect the changes
in flow properties with the forces, moments, and energy exchange that cause these
changes to happen. The mathematical concepts presented and applied in this book
describe the dynamic behavior of a thermo-mechanical fluid. In other words, we ne-
glect electromagnetic, relativistic, and quantum effects on dynamics. We do this by
first adopting the Newtonian simple-compressible viscous fluid model for real fluids
(e.g., water and air), which is described in detail in Chapter 2. Moreover, we will
apply the simpler, yet quite useful, Euler’s perfect fluid model, also described in
Chapter 2. It is quite fortunate that the latter model has significant practical use in the
design analysis of aerodynamic objects.
Before we proceed to Chapter 2 and look at the development of the equations
of motion and the simplifications we will apply to potential flows in Chapters 5, 6,
and 7, we review some useful mathematical tools, define the geometry of the wing,
and provide an overview of wing performance in the next three sections, respectively.

AERODYNAMICS AROUND US
Is Bernoulli’s Equation a Spring-Mass System?
You have seen that Bernoulli’s equation in aerodynamics is written
1
po = p + ρV 2
2

where the 12 ρV 2 term is called the “dynamic pressure”. But at first you likely are
unsure of just what the dynamic pressure, which we call q, is. Static pressure you
experience clearly in your ears as you ascend or descend a thousand feet in air or a
couple of feet underwater. Total, or stagnation, pressure you might consider as the
increased static pressure you feel when your hand is held out the car window with
palm facing forward. Dynamic pressure seems far less physical to most students.
Recall an elementary physics problem, a mass on a frictionless surface and
attached to a spring:
 2
1 dx 1
E = kx + m = kx + mV 2
2 dt 2

When the mass is pulled to extend the spring, energy is stored in the spring. If
you release the mass, it moves towards the spring, converting spring energy into
6 CHAPTER 1 Basic Concepts and Definitions

kinetic energy. The sum of spring energy and kinetic energy is constant; if the
energy is not in the motion, it’s in the spring. Pretty simple.
Consider pressure, which you are likely accustomed to thinking of as a force
per area. But the units of force per area are also units of energy per volume. So
Bernoulli’s equation is also a description of how three energies (per volume) are
related. What three energies? Because density is mass per volume, dynamic pres-
sure is a kinetic energy per volume. This is added to another energy per volume,
static pressure, to equal stagnation pressure, which is a constant in many flows.
Thus, static pressure is like a spring energy per volume. In this view, Bernoulli’s
equation tells us that an incompressible steady flow is like a spring-mass system;
if the energy is not in the spring, (static pressure) then it’s in the motion (kinetic
energy). There’s simply no other place for the energy to go in such a system.
Bernoulli’s law simply tells us the motion and compression trade off back and
forth in a steady incompressible flow, like a mass–spring system.

1.2 UNITS AND DIMENSIONS

Measurement and calculation require a system of units in which quantities are mea-
sured and expressed. Aerospace is a global industry, and to be best prepared for a
global career, engineers need to be able to work in both systems in use today. Even
when one works for a company with a strict standard for use of one set of units,
customers, suppliers, and contractors may be better versed in another, and it is the
engineer’s job to efficiently reconcile the various documents or specifications with-
out introducing conversion errors. Consider, too, the physics behind the units. That
is, one knows that for linear motion, force equals the product of mass and accelera-
tion. The units one uses do not change the physics but change only our quantitative
descriptions of the physics. When confused about units, focus on the process or state
being described and step through the analysis, tracking units the entire way.
In the United States, “Imperial” or “English” units remain common. Distance
(within the scale of an aerodynamic design) is described in inches or feet. Mass is
described by either the slug or the pound-mass (lbm). Weight is described by pounds
(lb) or by the equivalent unit with a redundant name, the pound-force (lbf). Large
distances—for example, the range of an aircraft—are described in miles or nautical
miles. Speed is feet per second, miles per hour, or knots, where one knot is one
nautical mile per hour. Multimillion dollar aircraft are still marketed and sold using
knots and nautical miles (try a web search on “777 range”), so these units are not
obsolete.
In other parts of the world, and in K-12 education in the United States, the domi-
nant system of units is the Système International d’Unités, commonly abbreviated as
“SI units.” It is used throughout this book, except in a very few places as specially
noted.
 1.2 Units and Dimensions 7

It is essential to distinguish between “dimension” and “unit.” For example, the

dimension “length” expresses the qualitative concept of linear displacement, or dis-
tance between two points, as an abstract idea, without reference to actual quantitative
measurement. The term “unit” indicates a specified amount of a quantity. Thus a me-
ter is a unit of length, being an actual “amount” of linear displacement, and so is a
mile. The meter and mile are different units, since each contains a different amount
of length, but both describe length and therefore are identical dimensions.3
Expressing this in symbolic form:

• x meters = [L] (a quantity of x meters has the dimension of length)

• x miles = [L] (a quantity of x miles has the dimension of length)
• x meters = x miles (x miles and x meters are unequal quantities of length)
• [x meters] = [x miles] (the dimension of x meters is the same as the dimension of
x miles).

1.2.1 Fundamental Dimensions and Units

There are five fundamental dimensions in terms of which the dimensions of all other
physical quantities may be expressed. They are mass [M], length [L], time [T], tem-
perature [θ], and charge.4 (Charge is not used in this text so is not discussed further.)
A consistent set of units is formed by specifying a unit of particular value for each of
these dimensions. In aeronautical engineering the accepted units are, respectively, the
kilogram, the meter, the second, and the Kelvin or degree Celsius. These are identical
with the units of the same names in common use and are defined by international
agreement.
It is convenient and conventional to represent the names of these units by abbre-
viations:

kg for kilogram, slugs for slugs, and lbm for pound-mass

m for meter and ft for feet
s for second
◦ C for degree Celsius and ◦ F for degree Fahrenheit

K for Kelvin and R for Rankine (but also for the specific gas constant)

The degree Celsius is one one-hundredth part of the temperature rise involved
when pure water at freezing temperature is heated to boiling temperature at standard

3 Quite often “dimension” appears in the form “a dimension of 8 meters,” meaning a specified length.
This is thus closely related to the engineer’s “unit,” and implies linear extension only. Another common
example of the use of “dimension” is in “three-dimensional geometry,” implying three linear extensions in
different directions. References in later chapters to two-dimensional flow, for example, illustrate this. The
meaning here must not be confused with either of these uses.
4 Some authorities express temperature in terms of length and time. This introduces complications that are
briefly considered in Section 1.3.8.
8 CHAPTER 1 Basic Concepts and Definitions

pressure. In the Celsius scale, pure water at standard pressure freezes at 0 ◦ C (32◦ F)
and boils at 100 ◦ C (212◦ F).
The unit Kelvin (K) is identical in size to the degree Celsius (◦ C), but the Kelvin
scale of temperature is measured from the absolute zero of temperature, which is
approximately −273 ◦ C. Thus a temperature in K is equal to a temperature in ◦ C plus
273.15. Similarly, degrees Rankine equals ◦ F plus 459.69.

1.2.2 Fractions and Multiples

Sometimes, the fundamental units just defined are inconveniently large or inconve-
niently small for a particular case. If so, the quantity can be expressed as a fraction
or multiple of the fundamental unit. Such multiples and fractions are denoted by a
prefix appended to the unit symbol. The prefixes most used in aerodynamics are:

M (mega)—1 million
k (kilo)—1 thousand
m (milli)—1-thousandth part
µ (micro)—1-millionth part
n (nano)—1-billionth part

Thus

1 MW = 1,000,000 W
1 mm = 0.001 m
1 µm = 0.001 mm

A prefix attached to a unit makes a new unit so, for example,

 
1 mm2 = 1(mm)2 = 10−6 m2 not 10−3 m2

For some purposes, the hour or the minute can be used as the unit of time.
For Imperial units, everyday scientific notation is used rather than suffixes or pre-
fixes. One exception is stress or pressure of thousands of pounds per square inch,
known as kpsi. Additionally, length may switch from feet to inches or miles. It is
common to use fractional inches, but the student engineer needs to be aware that
the implied precision in a fraction increases rapidly. For example, 1/2 = 0.5, but
1/32 = 0.03125.

1.2.3 Units of Other Physical Quantities

Having defined the four fundamental dimensions and their units, it is possible to
establish units of all other physical quantities (see Table 1.1). Speed, for example, is
defined as the distance traveled in unit time. It therefore has the dimension LT−1 and
is measured in meters per second (m s−1 ). It is sometimes desirable to use kilometers
 1.2 Units and Dimensions 9

Table 1.1 Units and Dimensions

Quantity Dimension Unit (abbreviation)
Length L Meter (m) or feet (ft)
Mass M Kilogram (kg) or slug or pound-mass (lbm)
Time T Second (s)
Temperature θ Degree Celsius (◦ C) or Fahrenheit (◦ F) or Kelvin (K) or
Rankine (R)
Area L2 Square meter (m2 ) or square foot (ft2 )
Volume L3 Cubic meter (m3 ) or cubic foot (ft3 )
Speed LT−1 Meters per second (m s−1 ) or feet per second (ft s−1 )
Acceleration LT−2 Meters per second per second (m s−2 ) or feet per second
squared (ft s−2 )
Angle 1 Radian or degree (◦ ) (radian is expressed as a ratio and
is therefore dimensionless)
Angular velocity T−1 Radians per second (s−1 )
Angular acceleration T−2 Radians per second per second (s−2 )
Frequency T−1 Cycles per second, Hertz (s−1 , Hz)
Density ML−3 Kilograms per cubic meter (kg m−3 ) or slugs per cubic
foot (slug ft−3 ) or pound-mass per cubic foot (lbm ft−3 )
Force MLT−2 Newton (N) or pound (lb)
Stress ML−1 T−2 Newtons per square meter or Pascal (N m−2 or Pa) or
pounds per square inch (psi) or pounds per square foot
(psf)
Strain 1 None (expressed as a nondimensional ratio)
Pressure ML−1 T−2 Newtons per square meter or Pascal (N m−2 or Pa) or
pounds per square inch (psi) or pounds per square foot
(psf)
Energy work ML2 T−2 Joule (J) or foot-pounds (ft lb)
Power ML2 T−3 Watt (W) or horsepower (Hp)
Moment ML2 T−2 Newton meter (Nm) or foot-pounds, (ft lb)
Absolute viscosity ML−1 T−1 Kilograms per meter per second or Poiseuilles
(kg m−1 s−1 or PI) or slugs per foot per second
(slug ft−1 s−1 )
Kinematic viscosity L2 T−1 Meters squared per second (m2 s−1 ) or feet squared per
second (ft2 s−1 )
Bulk elasticity ML−1 T−2 Newtons per square meter or Pascal (N m−2 or Pa) or
pounds per square inch (psi) or pounds per square foot
(psf).
10 CHAPTER 1 Basic Concepts and Definitions

per hour or knots (nautical miles per hour; see Appendix D) as units of speed; care
must be exercised to avoid errors of consistency.
To find the dimensions and units of more complex quantities, we use the principle
of dimensional homogeneity. This simply means that, in any valid physical equation,
the dimensions of both sides must be the same. Thus, for example, if (mass)n appears
on the left-hand side of the equation, it must also appear on the right-hand side;
similarly for length, time, and temperature.
Thus, to find the dimensions of force, we use Newton’s second law of motion

Force = mass × acceleration

where acceleration is speed ÷ time. Expressed dimensionally, this is

  
L
Force = [M] × ÷ T = MLT−2
T

Writing in the appropriate units, it is seen that a force is measured in units of kg m s−2 .
Since, however, the unit of force is given the name Newton (abbreviated usually to N),
it follows that

1 N = 1 kg m s−2

It should be noted that there can be confusion between the use of m both for
“milli” and for “meter.” This is avoided by use of a space. Thus ms denotes millisec-
ond while m s denotes the product of meter and second.
The concept of dimension forms the basis of dimensional analysis, which is used
to develop important and fundamental physical laws. Its treatment is postponed to
Section 1.5.

1.2.4 Imperial Units

Engineers in some parts of the world, the United States in particular, use a set of units
based on the Imperial systems5 in which the fundamental units are

Mass—slug
Length—foot
Time—second
Temperature—degree Fahrenheit or Rankine

5 Since many valuable texts and papers exist using Imperial units, this book contains, as Appendix D,
a table of factors for converting from the Imperial to the SI system.
22 CHAPTER 1 Basic Concepts and Definitions

Note that this result is obtained from the equation of state for a perfect gas and
from the equation of conservation of energy of the flow of a non-heat-conducting
inviscid fluid. Such a flow behaves isentropically and, notwithstanding the apparently
restrictive nature of the assumptions made, can be used as a model for a great many
aerodynamic applications.

Entropy
Entropy is a function of state that follows from, and indicates the working of, the
second law of thermodynamics, which is concerned with the direction of any process
involving heat and energy. Any increase in the entropy of the fluid as it experiences a
process is a measure of the energy no longer available to the system. Negative entropy
change is possible when work is performed on a system or heat is removed. Zero
entropy change indicates an ideal or completely adiabatic and reversible process, and
we call such a constant entropy process an isentropic process.
By definition, specific entropy S (Joules per kilogram per Kelvin) is given by the
integral6
dQ
S= (1.35)
T
for any reversible process, with the integration extending from some datum condition;
however, as we saw earlier, it is the change in entropy that is important:

dQ
dS = (1.36)
T
In this and the previous equation, dQ is a heat transfer to a unit mass of gas from an
external source. This addition will change the internal energy and do work.
Thus, for a reversible process,
 
1 dQ cV dT p d(1/ρ)
dQ = dE + p d dS = = +
ρ T T T

but p/T = ρR; therefore,

cV dT Rd(1/ρ)
dS = + (1.37)
T 1/ρ

Integrating Eq. (1.37) from datum conditions to conditions given by suffix 1,

T1 ρd
S1 = cV ln + R ln
Td ρ1

6 Note that here the unconventional symbol S is used for specific entropy to avoid confusion with length
symbols.
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inferred to be the universal author of all things beautiful and right,
parent of light and lord of light in this world, and the source of truth
and reason in the other: this is the first great cause which he, who
would act rationally either in public or private life, must behold.”
To the Sophist, who follows the opinion of the many instead of
regarding fixed principles of truth, he pays his respects with the
searching satire of a Carlyle.

His theology, which is a part of his philosophy, has many striking

features that have commanded the astonishment of the Christian
world. “God the Creator changes not; He deceives not.” It is wrong to
do good to friends and injure enemies, for the injury of another can
be in no case just. If you have a quarrel with any one, become
reconciled before you sleep. In heaven is the pattern of the perfect
city. All things will work together for good to the just. He advocates
the severest abstract piety that, as in the conduct of the sternest
Roman or the severest Puritan, swerves not from duty. The myth of
Er, the Armenian, reminds us in many points of the judgment day;
and his exhortation to pursue the heavenly way that it may be well
with us here and hereafter, may be our salvation if we are obedient,
is one of the most striking in the history of religious belief.
In the fifth book of the “Laws” is an exhortation to right living that
partakes of the spirit of the Christian philosophy. Every man is to
honor his own soul with an honor that regards divine good, to value
principle higher than life, to place virtue above all gold, to glory in
following the better course, to count reverence in children a greater
heritage than riches, to regard a contract as a holy thing, to avoid
excess of self-love and to adhere to the truth as the beginning of
every good. We need no further illustration of the fact that Platonism
was naturally welcomed by the early Christian Church.
 The ethical ideals of Plato are the most valuable phase of his
writings. In the First Book of the “Republic,” Thrasymachus, in a
dialogue with Socrates, defines justice to be Sublime Simplicity, and
argues that the unjust are discreet and wise, as some may argue to-
day that shrewd dishonesty is commendable. The ethics of Plato is
the opposite pole of this philosophy, and as such stands for the
rational and moral order of the world. His system is not hedonistic,
but ideal. It aims at a good, but the good is attained by a life of virtue.
In a famous passage of the “Republic,” the transcendently just
man is described. He is to be clothed in justice only. Being the best
of men, he is to be esteemed the worst, and so continue to the hour
of his death. He is to be bound, scourged, and suffer every kind of
evil, and even be crucified; still he is to be just for righteousness’
sake. No wonder some Christian fathers believed this referred to
Him who was to come, as described in the celebrated chapter of
Isaiah. The best man is also the happiest, whether seen or unseen
by gods and men. In the “Crito” Socrates will not escape from prison
if it is not right, though he suffer death or any other calamity. “Virtue
is the health and beauty and well-being of the soul, and vice is the
disease and weakness and deformity of the soul.” He is a fool who
laughs at aught but folly and vice. The possession of the whole world
is of no value without the good. No pleasure except that of the wise
is quite true and pure. “Is not the noble that which subjects the beast
to the man, or rather to the god in man?” “How would a man profit if
he received gold and silver on the condition that he was to enslave
the noblest part of him to the worst?” “The Holy is loved of God
because it is Holy.” Not pleasure, but wisdom and knowledge and
right opinions and true reasonings are better, both now and forever.
The good ruler considers not his own interest, but that of the state.
The governing class are to be told that gold and silver they have
from God; the divine metal is in them.
Any one who finds in these views a doctrine of pleasure must seek
with a prejudiced eye. Plato, as usual, anticipates later ethical
discussions, and points to the fact that there is a quality in pleasure;
and quality in conduct is the very contention of absolute moralists.
He speaks of the soul whose dye of good quality is washed out by
pleasure. The attainment of genuine well-being, the development of
divine qualities within men, was the aim, and the consciousness of
this priceless possession of rational manhood was the incidental
reward. His doctrine places before men abstract ideals of Truth,
Beauty, and Goodness, which invite the better nature by their
supreme excellence.
Plato enumerates four virtues: Wisdom, Courage, Temperance,
Justice. Professor Green interprets them in modern form, and
maintains their fixed standard of excellence and universal
application. Any modern analysis of the principles of conduct which
contribute to health of soul and are favorable to success in life,
would confirm the enumeration of the Greek virtues. Professor
Green says: The Good Will is the will (1) to know what is true and to
make what is beautiful; (2) to endure pain and fear; (3) to resist the
allurements of pleasure; (4) to take for one’s self and to give to
others, not what one is inclined to, but what is due. Not only does he
enjoin the spirit of justice, but the cultivation of moral courage, and,
as contrasted with lazy ignorance, the growth in wisdom which is
realization of virtue.
Wisdom played a peculiar and important part in the Greek ethics.
Vice was ignorance, because the wise man could but live according
to his best knowledge. And the Greeks, properly interpreted, were
right. Did we see virtue in all its truth and beauty, and vice in all its
deformity, we could but choose the best. Growth in wisdom was a
gradual realization in the soul of the heavenly ideas that were the
true heritage of man, and in this development the soul was gradually
perfected. This beautiful and satisfying philosophy reappears to-day
in some of the most ennobling systems of ethics the world has
produced. It makes individual and race progress an increase in
consciousness of the knowledge of truth and virtue, a revelation of
the divine within us.
The Jewish and the Christian conception of divine law as binding
man to the performance of his moral obligations was not strongly
characteristic of the Greek mind. But responsibility, without which
conduct can have no ethical significance, was by no means foreign
to Plato’s system. In the myth of Er the soul has its choice of the lot
of life, and its condition at the end of the earthly career is a requital
for the deeds done in the body. Throughout Plato’s writings the
implications of personal merit or guilt are prominent.
It is a doctrine of virtue rather than of duty. He who sees the right
and does not do it is a fool, but that is his matter. He is not bound by
any moral law to be wise. If he is virtuous it is well; if not, so much
the worse for him. Love of God is the essential of the Christian
ethics; knowledge of the Good, of the Greek. To pursue the Good
was virtue, and virtue he sets forth in world-wide contrast with vice.
Plato’s conception of justice, or right, was so exalted that some have
thought he attained in later years an insight into the nature of
conscience, or the Moral Faculty.
The Greek idea of beauty must be touched in passing. The wise
life was a beautiful life. The Beautiful was an attribute of the Deity.
They had the love of Beauty which Goethe possessed when he had
become fascinated with the study of Greek art, and exclaimed, “The
Beautiful is greater than the Good, for it includes the Good, and adds
something to it.” Plato calls the Beautiful the splendor of the True.
The youth should learn to love beautiful forms, first a single form,
then all beautiful forms and beauty wherever found; then he will turn
to beauty of mind, of institutions and laws, and sciences, and he will
gradually draw toward the great sea of beauty, and create and
contemplate many fair thoughts, and he will become conscious of
absolute beauty, and come near to God, who is transcendent beauty
and goodness.

Plato’s philosophy makes education a process of developing the

power and knowledge latent in the mind, rather than a process of
teaching. The Socratic method of drawing out is one of time-honored
use among pedagogues. Plato defines a good education as “That
which gives to the body and to the soul all the beauty and all the
perfection of which they are capable.” The ideal aim is the
harmonious or symmetrical development of the physical, mental, and
moral powers. Physical training is for the health of the soul, as well
as for the strength and grace of the body. The training of the reason
is of first importance. The æsthetic emotions are to be cultivated as a
means of moral and religious education. Memory is little
emphasized.
The artisans and laborers were simply to learn a trade; the warrior
class were to be trained in gymnastics and music. The complete
education of the highest class, or the magistrates, was to include
music and literature, gymnastics, arithmetic, geometry and
astronomy, and finally philosophy. All this was to be supplemented
by practical acquaintance with the details of civil and military
functions.
Education is the foundation of the state, and in the “Laws” he
would make it compulsory. The women are to receive the same
training as the men. Children are to be taught to honor their parents
and respect their elders. The direction in which education starts a
man will determine his future life. In early childhood education is to
be made attractive, although to unduly honor the likings of children is
to spoil them. The tales which children are permitted to hear must be
models of virtuous thought. Harmful tales concerning the gods and
heroes are prohibited, but noble traits and deeds of endurance are to
be emphasized. Youth should imitate no baseness, but what is
temperate, holy, free, and courageous; for “imitations, beginning in
early youth, at last sink into the constitution and become a second
nature.” Children must not be frightened with ghost stories and
reference to the infernal world.
Excessive athletics makes men stupid and subject to disease. The
kinds of music employed in education must inspire courage,
reverence, freedom, and temperance. Art should present true beauty
and grace, to draw the soul of childhood into harmony with the
beauty of reason. “Rhythm and harmony find their way into the
secret places of the soul, making the soul graceful of him who is
rightly educated.” Good language and music and grace and rhythm
depend on simplicity.
Arithmetic cultivates quickness, and teaches abstract number and
necessary truth. Geometry deals with axiomatic knowledge and will
draw the soul toward truth. Astronomy compels the mind to look
upward. It is to be studied not so much for practical use, as in
navigation, but because the mind is purified and illumined thereby. In
this connection Plato maintains his position against those who carp
at the so-called useless studies.
Plato’s ideal state offends the thought of conservative men more
than all else in his writings, but it was conceived in view of the
highest ideas of virtue and justice. It was simply bad psychology. He
enumerates and describes five kinds of states and the corresponding
five types of individual character. Indeed he studies justice first in the
ideal state, and then in the individual. The three impulses of the soul
are compared with the three classes of citizens in the state, and to
each he ascribes its excellence, thus forming his list of virtues. But
we cannot dwell upon this phase of Plato’s teachings. We may,
however, refer to his caricature of extreme democracy; it has a
useful modern application.
In this state the father descends to his son and fears him, and the
son is on a level with his father and does not fear him. The alien is
equal to the citizen, and the slave to the master. The master fears
and flatters his scholars, and the scholars despise their masters. The
young man is on a level with the old, and old men, for fear of
seeming morose and authoritative, condescend to the young and are
full of pleasantry and gayety. Even the animals in the democracy
show the spirit of equality, and the horses and asses march along
the streets with all the rights and dignities of freemen, and will run at
you if you do not get out of their way, and everything is just ready to
burst with liberty. The citizens become sensitive and chafe at
authority, and cease to care for the laws. Surely the statesman can
turn to Plato for wisdom, for out of this condition grows tyranny.
And, correspondingly, the democratical young man, a kind of fin de
siècle type, is described. Insolence he terms breeding, and anarchy
liberty, and waste magnificence, and impudence courage.
No wonder Plato saw that his ideal state would not be realized
until kings became philosophers, that is to say—never. Modern
dreamers might profit by his wise predictions.
 Plato’s doctrine is one of ideas and idealism as contrasted with
sensations and sensationalism. It is spiritualism as contrasted with
materialism. The higher produces the lower, instead of the lower the
higher. It is the doctrine that recognizes the rational order of the
world, the transcendent nature of conscious man, and his ethical
aim. It places ideals before man, in the attaining of which he comes
to realization of his true being. It is a doctrine of rational explanation
of man’s existence. As such it has always strongly invited the
adherence of philosophers and Christians. The founders of the
church regarded Plato as directly inspired or as having derived
inspiration from the Hebrew scriptures.
The doctrine of Universals may be taken with allowance, but we
may believe that it represents the right side of philosophical thought.
It matters not much whether we hold to the view of Plato’s ideas or
native truths of the mind developed by experience or the creative
activity of the mind in knowing the outer world or the doctrine of
participation in the divine nature and divine thought or the power to
generalize from the facts of subjective and objective nature, a power
above, and not of, material nature—all these views imply man’s
spiritual and ideal character. Behind man and behind nature is the
same reality. In some sense (not the pantheistic, as commonly
understood) both are manifestations of that reality. Hence the power
of man to know the world, because it is a rational world, and
manifestation answers to manifestation, thought to thought. He who
claims that all knowledge is founded in sensation is partly right; for to
know the outer realm is to realize the inner and to know, in part, the
truth of the Universe.
Subjective ideas, in some form, must be retained in philosophy.
Our world, as a world of evolution, is orderly and has a progressive
plan; hence, according to all human conception, is the product of
ideas worked out through what are called the laws of nature.
Men have always asked what is the use of philosophy, and to-day
they repeat the question with emphasis. We appreciate the state of
mind that rejoices in consciousness of standing on the solid earth,
the courageous patience that works out with guarded induction
scientific truth, the honesty that will not substitute hasty conjecture
for fact, and the faith that works toward results to be fully realized
only in the distant future. But many scientific men are coming to
regard biological and psychological sciences as great laboratories
for philosophy. We may believe the coming problems will be solved
by the coöperation of philosophy and science. Science studies the
objective side and philosophy the subjective side of the same reality.
Philosophy has a use as an attempt to satisfy the imperative need
of men to ask the meaning of their being. It has a use as forming a
rational hypothesis concerning a First Cause, and a Final Aim. It is a
ground of belief in ideals. All speculative philosophy has been
inspired more or less by Platonism, and has given the world the
noblest, most hopeful, useful, and influential systems of ethics.
Philosophical training gives the power to view comprehensively,
connectedly, and logically any group of facts. It contains the
presuppositions of science and of our very existence. The
investigator in the forest learns many valuable details; if he ascends
the mountains, he views the landscape as a whole, and, as it were,
finds himself. Finally philosophy represents the supreme, the
spiritual, interests of man and aims at essential truth.
Will it be relegated to the shelves of archæology? The signs of to-
day appear to answer no. In the whole history of philosophy, the
mind has never been able to rest permanently in any extreme or
one-sided position or in any position that is inadequate to explain
essential facts of existence. Hence it cannot rest permanently in
materialism. A recent writer speaks of the history of philosophy as
“preëminently a record of remarkable returns of the human intellect
to ancient follies and dreams, long since outgrown and supposed to
have been consigned to oblivion.” Well! It is strange indeed if nature
has evolved a product whose needs, instincts, and native beliefs are
a lie, a product without aim or rational ground for existence. If it is so,
then pessimism is our philosophy and annihilation our best solution
of the problem of conscious life. Most men are too respectful
believers in evolution to ascribe to nature any such satanic irony.
 At any rate one likes to take an excursion in this field; he feels
benefited by the trip. Men still like to seek the great fountain head of
philosophy, and take a dip in the Castalian spring—a mental bath of
this sort is a good and useful thing. They like to sit in the shady
groves of the Academy and listen to Plato or walk with Aristotle in
the environs of the Gymnasium. The mighty minds of the past have
marked out the broad outlines of truth; it is our work to fill in, to
correct. The ethical conceptions were furnished by the ancients. The
modern world has merely made them richer in content and broader
in application. The deeper meaning of any philosophy or science is
learned by the historic method, which gives us the trend of events.

The closing words of the “Republic” are an appropriate ending to

the discussion of Plato: “And thus, Glaucon, the tale has been saved
and has not perished, and may be our salvation, if we are obedient
to the spoken word; and we shall pass safely over the river of
Forgetfulness and our soul will not be defiled. Wherefore my counsel
is that we hold fast to the heavenly way and follow after justice and
virtue always, considering that the soul is immortal and able to
endure every sort of good and every sort of evil. Thus shall we live,
dear to one another and to the gods, both while remaining here and
when, like conquerors in the games who go round to gather gifts, we
receive our reward. And it shall be well with us both in this life and in
the pilgrimage of a thousand years which we have been reciting.”

“Plato, thou reasonest well!—

Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
This longing after immortality?

’Tis the divinity that stirs within us;

’Tis heaven itself that points out an hereafter,
And intimates eternity to man.”
 SECONDARY EDUCATION: A REVIEW.[1]

The manner of investigation of the Committee of Ten took a

somewhat different turn from what was anticipated when the original
report which led to the undertaking was made, but no one now
doubts the wisdom of the plan finally adopted. It would be difficult to
find groups of men in America better fitted than the members of the
conferences appointed by the Committee to discuss the specific
subjects assigned them; and their recommendations as to choice of
matter for secondary schools, the time element, place of studies in
the curriculum, and the best methods constitute a most valuable
contribution to the educational literature of the period. In the main,
they represent the best thought of practical educators.
We shall not enter into a discussion of the details of these
conference reports; each report and, in many instances, each
section of a report is in itself a large theme. The summary of results
and the recommendations of the Committee of Ten will occupy the
time allotted.
It was expected that the report as a whole would excite much
discussion and invite extensive criticism; and if no other result is
attained than the sharpening of wits in controversy, the existence of
the report has sufficient warrant.
It is impossible to say of any opinions that they are final, and of
any methods that they are the best. Some hold that the eternal
verities are to be discovered in the consciousness of the few
geniuses, and that obtaining a consensus of opinion is not the way to
reach wise conclusions. If we are Hegelian in our philosophy of
history, we shall hold to the law of development, shall believe that
each stage of thought is a necessary one, that the best light is
obtained by the historic method, and that the highest evolution of
thought is to be found in the belief and practice of the advanced
representatives of any line of investigation. The work of the
conferences was to correlate the parts of each subject by the
method of applying reason to history; it was the work of the
committee proper to correlate these results by the same method.
Whether the committee was large and varied enough to represent all
sides is to be decided by the discussions of those best fitted to form
opinions.

After a careful review of the work of our committee, I venture to

make a formal list of opinions presented, most of which, I think,
should be heartily indorsed, reserving till later the discussion of a few
of them:
1. That work in many secondary-school studies should be begun
earlier.
2. That each subject should be made to help every other, as, for
example, history should contribute to the study of English, and
natural history should be correlated with language, drawing,
literature, and geography.
3. That every subject should be taught in the same way, whether
in preparation for college or as part of a finishing course.
4. That more highly trained teachers are needed, especially for
subjects that are receiving increased attention, as the various
sciences and history.
5. That in all scientific subjects, laboratory work should be
extended and improved.
6. That for some studies special instructors should be employed to
guide the work of teachers in elementary and secondary schools.
7. That all pupils should pursue a given subject in the same way,
and to the same extent, as long as they study it at all.
8. That every study should be made a serious subject of
instruction, and should cultivate the pupil’s powers of observation,
memory, expression, and reasoning.
 9. That the choice between the classical course and the Latin-
scientific course should be postponed as long as possible, until the
taste and power of the pupil have been tested, and he has been able
to determine his future aim.
10. That twenty periods per week should be adopted as the
standard, providing that five of these periods be given to unprepared
work.
11. That parallel programmes should be identical in as many of
their parts as possible.
12. That drawing should be largely employed in connection with
most of the studies.
13. The omission of industrial and commercial subjects. This is
mentioned without comment.
14. That more field work should be required for certain sciences.
15. The desirability of uniformity. Not definitely recommended in
the report.
16. That the function of the high schools should be to prepare for
the duties of life as well as to fit for college.
17. That colleges and scientific schools should accept any one of
the courses of study as preparation for admission.
18. That a good course in English should be required of all pupils
entering college.
19. That many teachers should employ various means for better
preparation, such as summer schools, special courses of instruction
given by college professors, and instruction of school
superintendents, principals of high schools, or specially equipped
teachers.
20. That the colleges should take a larger interest in secondary
and elementary schools.
21. That technological and professional schools should require for
admission a complete secondary-school education.
 22. That each study pursued should be given continuous time
adequate to securing from it good results.

The points of the report which I should question are as follows:

1. That Latin should be begun much earlier than now. (This is a
conference recommendation.)
2. That English should be given as much time as Latin.
(Conference recommendation.)
3. The large number of science subjects recommended, with loss
of adequate time for each.
4. The omission of a careful analysis of the value of each subject,
absolute and relative, preparatory to tabulating courses.
5. The apparent implication that the multiplying of courses is
advisable.
6. The implications that the choice of subjects by the pupils may
be a matter of comparative indifference—the doctrine of equivalence
of studies.
7. Some parts of the model programmes made by the committee.

An examination of tabulated results of the investigations of the

conferences will show that in their opinion the following studies
should be begun below the high school:
English literature.
German or French.
Elementary algebra and concrete geometry.
Natural phenomena.
 Natural history.
Biography and mythology, civil government, and Greek and
Roman history.
Physical geography.
There has been much discussion within a few years as to
improvements in elementary courses of study, with a growing
tendency toward important modifications. Rigid and mechanical
methods and an exaggerated notion of thoroughness in every detail
have often become a hindrance to the progress of the pupils in
elementary schools. The mind of the child is susceptible of a more
mature development at the age of fourteen than is usually attained.
There are numerous examples of pupils in graded schools, who, with
very limited school terms, prepare for the high school at the age of
fourteen. Under the guidance of painstaking and intelligent parents
or private tutors, children cover, in a very brief time, the studies of
the grammar school. All have noted, under favoring conditions, a
surprising development, at an early age, in understanding of history,
literature, and common phenomena, a growth far beyond that
reached at the same age in the schools. These facts simply show
the possibilities of the period of elementary education. We
understand that ultimately those best prepared to judge must
determine the modifications, if any are needed, of the elementary
courses. Some say the courses are already overcrowded, it is
impossible to add anything. Is it not true, however, that by placing
less stress upon a few things, by arousing mental activity through the
stimulus of the scientific method, and by improving the skill of the
teachers, the work suggested by these conferences may be easily
accomplished? All these experiments are already old in many
schools in the country.
Consider the logical order of studies. Each child, almost from the
dawn of consciousness, recognizes relations of number and space,
observes phenomena and draws crude inferences, records in his
mind the daily deeds of his associates, and employs language to
express his thought, often with large use of imagination. Already has
begun the spontaneous development in mathematics, science,
history, and literature. Nature points the way and we should follow
the direction. These subjects in their various forms should be
pursued from the first. Hill’s “True Order of Studies” shows that there
are some five parallel, upward-running lines representing the
divisions of knowledge, and that development may be compared to
the encircling, onward movement of a spiral, which, at each turn,
cuts off a portion of all the lines. If we accept this view, we must
grant that geometry on its concrete side belongs to the earliest
period of education; that the observation of natural phenomena with
simple inferences will be a most attractive study to the child; that the
importance of observation of objects of natural history is
foreshadowed by the spontaneous interest taken in them before the
school period; that tales of ancient heroes, and the pleasing myths of
antiquity, together with the striking characters and incidents of Greek
and Roman history, belong to the early period of historic knowledge;
that the whole world of substance and phenomena that constitutes
our environment should be the subject of study under the head of
physiography or physical geography; that the thoughts of literature,
ethical and imaginative, appeal readily to the child’s mind. We may
add that the taste of children may be early cultivated, and that the
glory which the child discovers in nature makes possible the art idea
and the religious sentiment. The reason for beginning a foreign
language early is somewhat independent, but all agree that early
study of a living language is desirable.
Should we not reconsider our analysis of the elementary courses?
Superintendents and teachers will find the necessary changes not
impossible but easy. The sum of all that is recommended for the
elementary schools by the conferences is not so formidable as at
first appears.

In the conference reports to the Committee of Ten are some views

that have a bearing upon the subject of the high-school period. The
Latin Conference hopes for a modification of the grammar-school
courses, that the high-school course may be begun earlier. The
Greek Conference voted that the average age at which pupils enter
college should be lowered. The Conference on English was of the
opinion that English work during the last two years of the grammar-
school course should be in the hands of a special teacher or
teachers. The Conference on Modern Languages holds that
whenever competent teachers can be secured the grammar school
should have an elective course in French or German. The Physics
Conference recommended that “Whenever it is possible, special
science teachers or superintendents should be appointed to instruct
teachers of elementary schools in the methods of teaching natural
phenomena.” The History Conference thought it desirable that in all
schools history should be taught by teachers who have a fondness
for historical studies and have paid special attention to effective
methods of imparting instruction. One member of the conference
was almost ready to advise omitting history from school programmes
because of so much rote, text-book teaching.
These opinions are additional evidence of need of modifications in
grammar-school work, and some think that ultimately the best
solution will be found in extending the high-school period downward
to include part of the elementary period.
It was agreed in the Committee of Ten that their task would be less
difficult did the high-school period begin, say two years earlier; and
the reason why the recommendation of the conferences, that certain
studies be introduced below the high school, was viewed with
suspicion was the impossibility, with the present organization of the
schools, of securing good instruction in these studies.
The following view of the high-school period is expressed by a
prominent high-school principal: “My opinion is that it would be much
better for our boys and girls to begin their preparation for college at
least two years earlier than they now do. If our high schools could
receive the pupils at eleven or twelve, instead of fourteen,
preparation for college would be completed at sixteen instead of
eighteen, as is now generally the case.”
The custom in European countries supports the view that high-
school methods should reach down into the grades. In Prussia only
three years of elementary work precede the gymnasium, and the
pupil can enter the gymnasium at the age of nine. The gymnasium
itself covers a period of nine years, extending five years below the
period of our high schools. Examining the course of the Prussian
gymnasium, we find in the first five years, or before the age of
fourteen, Latin, Greek, French, history, geometry, natural history; and
it is conceded by many educators that more is attained by the age of
eighteen in Germany than in this country; that at the age of fourteen
in Germany the development of the pupil is more mature, and that in
essential features of education he has made more desirable
progress.
If our high schools should be made equivalent in length and rank
to the Prussian gymnasium, the change would involve the entire
reconstruction of our school system, from the primary school to the
end of the university. The high schools would become colleges, and
the colleges would become high schools, and the graduates from
them would enter the university prepared to take up professional or
other special university work. That there are many leading educators
who advocate these changes for the universities is well known, and
there are some strong tendencies toward the German system. On
the other hand, many deplore the possibility of losing the American
college, which is an institution somewhat peculiar to this country.
They think that its broad, general education and superior culture are
worth retaining, and that specialization should begin at a late period.
One significant fact stares us in the face, namely, that the average
American boy no longer will spend four years beyond the high school
in general education, and then pass four years more at the
professional school or three years in the graduate course.
Somewhere the work must be shortened, in either the elementary
school, the high school, or the college.
The whole subject is of great interest and importance, but at the
present stage of inquiry no definite conclusions can be reached.
 The relation of the mind to a study is determined by the nature of
the mind and the nature of the study, and there seems to be no
reason in psychology why a college-preparatory subject should be
taught differently to one fitting for the duties of life. Besides, it is
economy to make identical the work of different courses, as far as
possible. There was perfect unanimity in the opinion that the same
studies should be pursued by all in the same way, as far as taken.
Every one knows that many teachers are unskilled to present in
the elementary schools the beginnings of geometry, science, history,
or literature, and that the failures in this work are due to the
mechanical efforts of those who have had no higher or special
training. The demands of present methods are imperative for
improved power in instruction. Science is not well taught in all
schools. There is a school which teaches biology from a manual
without specimen, microscope, or illustrations. It was a humiliating
confession of the committee that the classical course is superior, for
the reason that it is difficult to find enough instructors competent to
teach modern subjects by modern methods.
A very important point, recognized by the committee, is the
advantage of postponing as long as possible the necessity of making
a final choice of courses. In this country we have no fixed conditions
of rank, and the poor man’s son has the same privileges as the sons
of position and wealth. Hence, the station in life is not determined by
the differentiation in courses at an early period. Very few parents
decide upon the final character of the child’s instruction much before
the beginning of the college period.
For these reasons many would not agree with the conference
recommendation to begin Latin at an earlier period. It would not be
economy; there is enough else that belongs to the elementary stage
of education, and no plan is feasible that is founded upon the foreign
view of caste and fixed condition in life.
 Uniformity in requirements for admission to college was the
subject of the report that finally led to this investigation. Although
uniformity is not prominently urged in the report of the Committee of
Ten, doubtless the logical outcome of the latter report will be a
tendency toward some kind of uniformity. There is a vigorous conflict
of opinion to-day as to nationalism and individualism, with a strong
tendency, especially in education, toward individualism. In the
opinion of many there exists a harmful slavery of the high and
preparatory schools to the erratic and varied demands of different
colleges, and also a slavery to ignorance and caprice in some
schools themselves, which would be removed by a general
agreement to uniformity. Men are not enslaved, but are
emancipated, by organization, and freedom of the individual is found
in the good order of society and government. In a facetious criticism
of the committee’s report, arguing for extreme individualism in choice
of studies, appears the following query: “Please tell us if you and
your colleagues on the conference considered any methods for the
encouragement of cranks?” No; for the encouragement neither of
cranks, nor of crankiness, but for the encouragement of the best kind
of rational education. While there are a few wise, independent
investigators who need no enforced uniformity, and will not be bound
by the recommendations of others, many of the schools are largely
imitators, or, worse, are working independently with limited insight,
and these schools would be vastly improved by adopting courses
and methods growing from a consensus of the best opinions of the
country. The lowest would thereby tend to rise to the highest, and
from that plane a new advance could be made. Meantime the
original thinkers would be free to push forward toward higher results,
to be generally adopted later. Through contact of various ideas some
principles are settled, and the world is free to move on toward fresh
discovery.
The selection of studies is to be determined largely by the nature
of the mind and by the universal character of natural and civil
environments, and this fact points toward the possibility of uniformity.
The period of secondary education is not the period for specializing,
and even if it were, there should be some uniformity in differentiation.
In the United States there is, broadly speaking, uniformity of
tradition, of government, of civilization, and the educated youth of
San Francisco bears about the same relation to the world as the
educated youth of Boston; hence, so far as elementary and
secondary education is pursued, there is no reason why it should not
be substantially the same in various schools—not in details
belonging to the individual teacher, but in paper requirements and
important features of methods.

Nothing in the whole report is more important than the proposed

closer connection between high schools and colleges, and this is
clearly and forcibly urged. Whatever course of study properly
belongs to a secondary school is also a good preparation for higher
education, else either secondary or higher education is seriously in
error. Whenever a youth decides to take a college course, he should
find himself on the road toward it. No one can doubt that in the
coming years pupils having pursued properly arranged high-school
courses must be admitted to corresponding courses in higher
education. The divorcement between higher education and all lower
grade work, except the classical, has been a fatal defect in the past.
The entire course of education should be a practical interest of
college professors, and there should be a hearty coöperation
between them and school superintendents and principals in
considering all educational problems.
It is a fact of significance that a committee, on which some leading
institutions are represented, urges the professional schools of the
country to place their standard of admission as high as that of the
colleges; and we hope that aid will thus be given the institutions
endeavoring to raise the requirements of law, medical, and divinity
schools.
The reports of most of the conferences asked for continuous and
adequate work for each subject, that it might become a source of
discipline and of valuable insight. No doubt part of the work in high
schools is too brief and fragmentary to gain from it the best results.