My Bridge

My Bridge

In order to construct a bridge that will be able to support a mass well over fifty times its own, a balsa wood bridge must be carefully crafted with supports in order to dissipate force throughout the bridge, not just in the middle sector where the two-by-four will rest. In order to do that, the bridge that I am building will have trusses, or framework that supports a bridge or other structure, that will equalize the tension created by the weights. The trusses dissipate the force so that the bridge shares the force equally, so it does not bend and break such as under this beam bridge.

The weight of the elephant causes tension on the bottom of the bridge, with the bridge trying to support the weight. But without trusses, the part of the bridge where the elephant is would not be able to support that weight and it would eventually break. 

This is a picture of the way forces dissipate in a truss bridge, such as the one I am constructing. The forces now can be shared throughout the entire bridge.

This is a basic design of the bridge that I am constructing. The tresses and abutments on the ends help equalize the forces so that the bridge does not bend and break as easily under high amounts of pressure.