Super Structures

The Science of Bridges, Buildings, Dams, and Other Feats of Engineering

How can a graceful and slender bridge support enormous loads over truly 
astonishing spans? Why can domes and free-standing arches survive earthquakes 
that flatten the rest of a city? The building of big dams and high skyscrapers 
requires the right geology as well as the right technology. Materials technology 
determines bridge design--cable-stayed bridges are quite different from the 
earlier suspension bridges, which they resemble. Explosive demolition of 
buildings (above) requires considerable expertise to drop the structure onto its
own footprint--and it doesn't always work. The same physical principles 
underlie all our large engineering projects, and these principles can be 
explained with little math. Many people see beauty in large structures; knowing 
something of the science and technology of these behemoths only enhances this
beauty.

Super Structures (2010) is published by Johns Hopkins University Press.