Writing with wit and clarity, he brings his subject alive for even the least technically minded reader, demystifying concepts such as 'shear and torsion' and the difference between stress and strain. Gordon began his career as a naval architect before designing aircraft during the Second World War and later becoming Professor of Materials Science at Reading University. How do our tendons work? What do Chinese boats have in common with the wings of a bat? Why did the ancients take the wheels off their chariots at night? How did a Parisian couturier's designs contribute to space travel and military technology? The answers are all here in this engrossing narrative. Gordon, 'is a structure of one kind or another.' Structures: or Why Things Don't Fall Down reveals the unseen forces that hold up buildings, bridges and aeroplanes but also animals, plants and human beings. Without jargon or oversimplification, Structures opens up the marvels of technology to anyone interested in the foundations of our everyday lives.Hardback.

If you're building a house, a sailboat, or a catapult, here is a handy tool for understanding the mechanics of joinery, floors, ceilings, hulls, masts-or flying buttresses.

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.Īrchitects and engineers will appreciate the clear and cogent explanations of the concepts of stress, shear, torsion, fracture, and compression. Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down is an informal explanation of the basic forces that hold together the ordinary and essential things of this world-from buildings and bodies to flying aircraft and eggshells. Gordon strips engineering of its confusing technical terms, communicating its founding principles in accessible, witty prose.įor anyone who has ever wondered why suspension bridges don't collapse under eight lanes of traffic, how dams hold back-or give way under-thousands of gallons of water, or what principles guide the design of a skyscraper, a bias-cut dress, or a kangaroo, this book will ease your anxiety and answer your questions. In a book that Business Insider noted as one of the 14 Books that inspired Elon Musk, J.E.

Structures or why things don t fall