MTU Cork Library Catalogue

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Super structures : the science of bridges, buildings, dams, and other feats of engineering / Mark Denny.

By: Denny, Mark, 1953-.
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: Baltimore, Md. : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010Description: 266 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. + pbk.ISBN: 9780801894374; 0801894379 .Subject(s): Structural engineering -- Popular worksDDC classification: 624.17
Contents:
Introduction: Heavyweight engineering -- Building blocks -- Truss in all things high -- Towers of strength -- Arches and domes -- A bridge too far -- Dam it -- The bigger they are, the harder they fall -- Afterword: Highbrow engineering, heavyweight art.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Ever wonder how a graceful and slender bridge can support enormous loads over truly astonishing spans? Why domes and free-standing arches survive earthquakes that flatten the rest of a city?

Physicist Mark Denny looks at the large structures around us--tall buildings, long bridges, and big dams--and explains how they were designed and built and why they sometimes collapse, topple, or burst.

Denny uses clear, accessible language to explain the physics behind such iconic structures as the Parthenon, the Eiffel Tower, the Forth Rail Bridge in Edinburgh, and Hoover Dam. His friendly approach allows readers to appreciate the core principles that keep these engineering marvels upright without having to master complex mathematical equations.

Employing history, humor, and simple physics to consider such topics as when to use screws or nails, what trusses are, why iron beams are often I-shaped, and why medieval cathedrals have buttresses, Denny succeeds once again in making physics fun.

Bibliography: p. 253-257 - Includes index.

Introduction: Heavyweight engineering -- Building blocks -- Truss in all things high -- Towers of strength -- Arches and domes -- A bridge too far -- Dam it -- The bigger they are, the harder they fall -- Afterword: Highbrow engineering, heavyweight art.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • 0 Acknowledgments
  • 0 Introduction
  • 1 Building Blocks
  • 2 Truss in All Things
  • 3 Towers of Strength
  • 4 Arches and Domes
  • 5 A\Bridge Too Far
  • 6 Dam It
  • 7 The\Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall
  • 0 Afterword
  • 0 Technical Appendix
  • 0 Glossary
  • 0 Bibliography
  • 0 Index

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

The author's goal in writing this book is "to explain, with technical accuracy but minimal math, why our large engineering structures ... are built the way they are." Denny, a theoretical physicist and author of numerous works facilitating an understanding of science concepts (e.g., Float Your Boat!, CH, Apr'09, 46-4511; Froth!, CH, Feb'10, 47-3116; How the Ocean Works, CH, Nov'08, 46-1494), does an excellent job with that. Denny believes that many people do not clearly comprehend how structures work. Here, he presents a text that readers with varying backgrounds, technical or not, can follow. The work is divided into sections covering trusses, tall structures, arches, domes, bridges, and dams. It will make interesting reading for many people, but it should be especially interesting to the reader who either might pursue or is in the early phases of an architectural or structural career. If adopted for a course, that course would likely be introductory to the above-mentioned areas. References relate mainly to particular structural types. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates, two-year technical program students, and general readers. H. I. Epstein University of Connecticut

Author notes provided by Syndetics

After earning a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Edinburgh University, Mark Denny pursued research at Oxford University from 1981 to 1984, then moved into a career in industry. He is the author of Ingenium: Five Machines That Changed the World; Blip, Ping, and Buzz: Making Sense of Radar and Sonar; Float Your Boat! The Evolution and Science of Sailing; and Froth! The Science of Beer, all of which are published by Johns Hopkins. Denny is now semi-retired and lives on Vancouver Island.

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