The fascinating story of the Forth Bridge is related here. The bridge is a functional monument, now transporting 200 trains a day and three million passengers a year, a symbol of Scotland and of human ingenuity, a pinnacle of Victorian enterprise and engineering, and a memorial to the men who died in its creation. As part of their contribution to the centenary of the Forth Bridge, a group of eminent engineers reassessed the bridge from the standpoint of current engineering knowledge. This lavishly illustrated book is the result.
The Forth Bridge was the greatest engineering feat the Victorian world had ever seen and remains, to this day, one of the great achievements of mankind. The Forth Bridge: A Picture History, tells the dramatic story of its construction using rare archive photographs.
An eminent engineer and historian tackles one of the most elemental aspects of life: how we experience and utilize physical force “Another gem from a master of technology writing.”—Kirkus Reviews Force explores how humans interact with the material world in the course of their everyday activities. This book for the general reader also considers the significance of force in shaping societies and cultures. Celebrated author Henry Petroski delves into the ongoing physical interaction between people and things that enables them to stay put or causes them to move. He explores the range of daily human experience whereby we feel the sensations of push and pull, resistance and assistance. The book is also about metaphorical force, which manifests itself as pressure and relief, achievement and defeat. Petroski draws from a variety of disciplines to make the case that force—represented especially by our sense of touch—is a unifying principle that pervades our lives. In the wake of a prolonged global pandemic that increasingly cautioned us about contact with the physical world, Petroski offers a new perspective on the importance of the sensation and power of touch.
When the Forth Bridge opened on 4 March 1890 it was the longest railway bridge in the world and the first large structure made of steel. Crossing the wide Firth of Forth east of Edinburgh, it represents one of the greatest engineering triumphs of Victorian Britain, man's victory over the intractable topography of land and water. Not surprisingly, such a vigorous rebuff of the natural order was condemned at the time by those late Victorians who resisted the march of technology, and William Morris described the Bridge as the »supremest specimen of all ugliness«. In response, Benjamin Baker insisted that its beauty lay in its functional elegance. Contrasting his masterpiece with the only comparable structure of the period, the Eiffel Tower, he concluded: »The Eiffel Tower is a foolish piece of work, ugly, illproportioned and of no real use to anyone.
Bridges are remarkable structures. Often vast, immense, and sometimes beautiful, they can be icons of cities. David Blockley explains how to read a bridge, how they stand up, and how engineers design them to be so strong. He examines the engineering problems posed by bridges, and considers their cultural, aesthetic, and historical importance.
“An already impressive reference work has been made significantly more valuable . . . a well-illustrated alphabetized compendium of notable bridges.” —The Happy Pontist Bridges have a universal appeal as examples of man’s mastery of nature, from picturesque packhorse bridges to great spans stretching across broad estuaries, and the development of the technology that allows ever more audacious constructions is never-ending. Of the million or more bridges throughout Great Britain, David McFetrich has selected those that are significant in terms of their design, construction or location, or of their connections with people or events of history. His definitive book contains 1,600 separate entries for individual bridge sites or related groups of bridges covering more than 2,000 different structures, 165 general entries about different types of bridge and such topics as collapses and failures, and a summary of about 200 record-holding bridges in 50 different categories. The concise text is supported by more than 900 illustrations and diagrams. The result is a fascinating and readily accessible compendium. The Institute of Civil Engineers (ICA) is also on board. “A valuable resource to use . . . if you plan to visit some of these structures while on holiday or are merely planning a day out.” —East Yorkshire Family History Society “Well-written and researched and eminently readable . . . Because of the ubiquity of bridges throughout Great Britain, this volume should have wide appeal.” —NZ Crown Mines “Full of details covering the many bridges around the UK . . . I found it fascinating to see the variety of bridges around Britain, even the ones not railway related.” —Rail Advent
It took 600 men six years to build, and was one of the longest bridges in the world. On its completion in 1878, famous visitors, including the Emperor of Brazil, Prince Leopold of the Belgians and Queen Victoria herself, came to pay homage to this marvel of Victorian engineering. Then, on the night of 28 December 1879, the unthinkable happened. Battered by an apocalyptic storm, the thirteen 'high girders' of the rail bridge over the Tay estuary fell headlong into the river below, carrying with them a train with all its passengers and crew. There were no survivors. What caused the fall of the Tay Bridge, and who was really to blame? Returning to the subject since the first edition of The Fall of the Tay Bridge in 1994, David Swinfen has meticulously analysed new evidence and now presents a solution to the riddle which has perplexed historians and engineers for generations: what really brought the bridge down?
Papers direct the focus of interest to the development and use of conceptual models in information systems of various kinds and aim at improving awareness about general or specific problems and solutions in conceptual modelling.
