Structures: Or Why Things Dont Fall Down

In a book that Business Insider noted as one of the 14 Books that inspired Elon Musk, J.E. Gordon strips engineering of its confusing technical terms, communicating its founding principles in accessible, witty prose.For anyone who has ever wondered why suspension bridges dont collapse under eight lanes of traffic, how dams hold backor give way underthousands of gallons of water, or what principles guide the design of a skyscraper, a biascut dress, or a kangaroo, this book will ease your anxiety and answer your questions.Structures: Or Why Things Dont Fall Down is an informal explanation of the basic forces that hold together the ordinary and essential things of this worldfrom buildings and bodies to flying aircraft and eggshells. In a style that combines wit, a masterful command of his subject, and an encyclopedic range of reference, Gordon includes such chapters as How to Design a Worm and The Advantage of Being a Beam, offering humorous insights in human and natural creation.Architects and engineers will appreciate the clear and cogent explanations of the concepts of stress, shear, torsion, fracture, and compression. If youre building a house, a sailboat, or a catapult, here is a handy tool for understanding the mechanics of joinery, floors, ceilings, hulls, mastsor flying buttresses.Without jargon or oversimplification, Structures opens up the marvels of technology to anyone interested in the foundations of our everyday lives.