Structures, or, Why things don't fall down
For anyone who has ever wondered why suspension bridges don't collapse under eight lanes of traffic, how dams hold back;or give way under;thousands of gallons of water, or what principles guide the design of a skyscraper, a bias-cut dress, or a kangaroo, this book will ease your anxiety and ans...
| Main Author: | Gordon, J. E. 1913-1998. |
|---|---|
| Format: | Books Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
Da Capo Press,
2003.
|
| Edition: | 2nd Da Capo Press ed. |
| Subjects: |
Table of Contents:
- Foreword
- The structure in our lives : or how to communicate with engineers
- Part I. The difficult birth of the science of elasticity. Why structures carry loads : or the springiness of solids ; The invention of stress and strain : or Baron Cauchy and the decipherment of Young's modulus ; Designing for safety : or can you really trust strength calculations? ; Strain energy and modern fracture mechanics : with a digression on bows, catapults and kangaroos
- Part II. Tension structures. Tension structures and pressure vessels : with some remarks on boilers, bats and Chinese junks ; Joints, fastenings and people : also about creep and chariot wheels ; Soft materials and living structures : or how to design a worm
- Part III. Compression and bending structures. Walls, arches and dams : or cloud-capp'd towers and the stability of masonry ; Something about bridges : or Saint Bénezèt and Saint Isambard ; The advantage of being a beam : with observations on roofs, trusses and masts ; The mysteries of shear and torsion : or Polaris and the bias-cut nightie ; The various ways of failing in compression : or sandwiches, skulls and Dr. Euler
- Part IV. And the consequence was ... The philosophy of design : or the shape, the weight and the cost ; A chapter of accidents : a study in sin, error and metal fatigue ; Efficiency and aesthetics : or the world we have to live in
- Appendix 1. Handbooks and formulae
- Appendix 2. Beam theory
- Appendix 3. Torsion
- Appendix 4. The efficiency of columns and panels under compression loads.