592 



REPOET — 1893. 



are continually connected to one another, we get the summation polygon, 

 which, for its statical meaning, may also be called the funicular polygon, 

 and which forms one of the most important expedients of graphical 

 statics. 



Suppose the products which have to be added together to be of the 

 form 



n 



^ h;' 



in which expression the a', represent abscissae measured from a given 

 point in a definite direction, AP,- separate loads acting vertically down- 

 wards, and Hj any reduction coefficients. At present we must suppose 

 that the ^P as well as the H are given by straight lines. In fig. 13 a we 

 set off on the vertical direction line of the AP all the forces, having 

 regard to their signs, and we get on this line P=2AP. 



Fig. 13. 



On this line, therefore, can also be represented the sum of any number 

 of successive values, AP. Through the first extremity of ^P, we draw 

 a line with any chosen ratio of the ordinate and abscissa ; through 

 a point of this line whose distance from P measured in the direction of a- 

 is Hi, and through the other extremity of APj, we di-aw a line to the 



