His papers on purely engineering subjects, though not numerous, are
interesting and valuable. Amongst these may be mentioned the
article 'Bridges,' written by him for the ninth edition of the
'Encyclopaedia Britannica,' and afterwards republished as a
separate treatise in 1876; and a paper 'On the Practical
Application of Reciprocal Figures to the Calculation of Strains in
Framework,' read before the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and
published in the 'Transactions' of that Society in 1869. But
perhaps the most important of all is his paper 'On the Application
of Graphic Methods to the Determination of the Efficiency of
Machinery,' read before the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and
published in the 'Transactions,' vol. xxviii. (1876-78), for which
he was awarded the Keith Gold Medal. This paper was a continuation
of the subject treated in 'Reulaux's Mechanism,' and, recognising
the value of that work, supplied the elements required to
constitute from Reulaux's kinematic system a full machine receiving
energy and doing work.
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