Engineering
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How things are built, and why they don't fall down.
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Why bridges are made of triangles: a square folds, a triangle cannot
A square made of four pinned rods folds flat at the slightest push, but a triangle of three rods cannot change shape at all. That one fact is why bridges…
Why every bridge is made of triangles: a square frame folds, a triangle can't
Push on the corner of a square frame and it folds flat. Push on a triangle made of the same sticks and nothing moves. The reason is simple: three side lengths…