Two jailed after bridge built by blind man collapses!

[altis]

Did everyone simply pier at the remains of the bridge?

[danielf]

Originally Posted by BBKing

The word 'theoretician' was an insult in those days (tantamount to calling someone a 'Frenchman'), which explains why a man who unable to explain his calculations could be a successful engineer.

It's a good thing that changed though. Otherwise we'd have missed out on the Forth Rail Bridge. Even my wife thought that a stop to admire its beauty was well worth it.

[dilli-theclaw]

Originally Posted by Ramrod

Dilli......what have you been up to?!

Um....

[BBKing]

It's a good thing that changed though. Otherwise we'd have missed out on the Forth Rail Bridge.

It's a fascinating historical period, actually - the point was that prior to the Industrial Revolution the main architecture types could be built without advanced maths, as they were masonry gravity structures like walls, vaults, arches etc. which just happen to be the only ones where that idea is safe. As soon as you start doing beams and trusses you need calculus as a minimum.

One of Brunel's great contributions was legitimising the mathematical approach - being half-French he wasn't scared of algebra and effectively invented finite element analysis to do the Maidenhead Bridge. He wasn't quite the first, but as usual he was in the thick of progress.

[Tinky]

[quote=danielf;34330462]It's a good thing that changed though. Otherwise we'd have missed out on the Forth Rail Bridge.

Had occassion to cross that bridge many times in the distant past; wonderful experience!
http://images.google.com/images?q=fo...mages&ct=title

[punky]

Personally my favourite is the Stockport Viaduct.

Not designed to be one of the most asthetically-pleasing bridges, but wonderful in sheer scale. You have to see it, as the pics don't do it justice.

[Tinky]

Forth Road Bridge is another spectacular bridge imho

http://www.civl.port.ac.uk/comp_prog/forth/img00016.jpg

[danielf]

This is turning into proper Anorakking

[Cobbydaler]

Originally Posted by danielf

This is turning into proper Anorakking

Yep, didn't know we had so many Gephyrologists on board...

Time the mods started handing out a few Suspensions...

[BBKing]

Time the mods started handing out a few Suspensions...

That, IMHO, would display a rather reckless, nay, cantilever attitude.

[Cobbydaler]

Originally Posted by BBKing

That, IMHO, would display a rather reckless, nay, cantilever attitude.

Trusst me, you had me beaming from ear to ear & arching my eyebrows at that one...

Originally Posted by BBKing

It's a fascinating historical period, actually - the point was that prior to the Industrial Revolution the main architecture types could be built without advanced maths, as they were masonry gravity structures like walls, vaults, arches etc. which just happen to be the only ones where that idea is safe. As soon as you start doing beams and trusses you need calculus as a minimum.

One of Brunel's great contributions was legitimising the mathematical approach - being half-French he wasn't scared of algebra and effectively invented finite element analysis to do the Maidenhead Bridge. He wasn't quite the first, but as usual he was in the thick of progress.

he had his moments, I suppose - personally I wouldn't have had the attention span

[BBKing]

he had his moments, I suppose - personally I wouldn't have had the attention span

You can't truss anyone these days. I'm just sorry that I, forgetting my duties in the world of cable, stayed reading this poxy thread.

he had his moments, I suppose

On second reading, this isn't really my area. Still, no doubt it's worth bending someone's ear about

[altis]

Pity he never got to fit the hand braille

[BBKing]

He obviously had a good feel for the job, though.