Descripción del editor: "Using examples from around the world, including the Shard in London and jumbo jets like the A380, David Blockley explores the world of structural engineering. This Very Short Introduction considers the crucial role structural engineering has on issues such as cost and energy efficiency to long-term sustainability and safety" (Oxford University Press).

Have you ever wondered how it's possible to build a skyscraper, a big bridge, a jumbo jet, or a cruise liner? Everything has structure. Structure is the difference between a random pile of components and a fully functional object. Through structure the parts connect to make the whole. Natural structures vary from the very smallest part of an atom to the entire cosmology of the universe. Man-made structures include buildings, bridges, dams, ships, aeroplanes, rockets, trains, cars and fair-ground rides and all forms of artefacts, even large artistic sculptures. The wide range of different industries in which structural engineers work includes construction, transport, manufacturing, and aerospace. In this Very Short Introduction, David Blockley explores, in non-technical language, what structural engineering is all about, including examples ranging from the Shard in London and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to jumbo jets like the A380 and the Queen Elizabeth cruise liner. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

This book will transform the way you think about design by showing how integral it is to our daily lives, from the spoon we use to eat our breakfast cereal to the medical equipment used to save lives. John Heskett goes beyond style and taste to look at how different cultures and individuals personalise objects.

Structures cannot be created without engineering theory, and design rules have existed from the earliest times for building Greek temples, Roman aqueducts and Gothic cathedrals — and later, for steel skyscrapers and the frames for aircraft. This book is, however, not concerned with the description of historical feats, but with the way the structural engineer sets about his business. Galileo, in the seventeenth century, was the first to introduce recognizably modern science into the calculation of structures; he determined the breaking strength of beams. In the eighteenth century engineers moved away from this ‘ultimate load’ approach, and early in the nineteenth century a formal philosophy of design had been established — a structure should remain elastic, with a safety factor on stress built into the analysis. This philosophy held sway for over a century, until the first tests on real structures showed that the stresses confidently calculated by designers could not actually be measured in practice. Structural engineering has taken a completely different path since the middle of the twentieth century; plastic analysis reverts to Galileo's objective of the calculation of ultimate strength, and powerful new theorems now underpin the activities of the structural engineer.This book deals with a technical subject, but the presentation is completely non-mathematical. It makes available to the engineer, the architect and the general reader the principles of structural design./a

Engineering is part of almost everything we do - from the water we drink and the food we eat, to the buildings we live in and the roads and railways we travel on. This book explores the nature and practice of engineering, its history, its scope, and its relationship with art, science and technology.

"Bloodied toy soldiers, gilded shopping carts, and Lego concentration camps. Contemporary art is supposed to be a realm of freedom where artists shock, break taboos, and switch between confronting viewers with works of great profundity and jaw-dropping triviality. But away from shock tactics in the gallery, there are many unanswered questions. What is contemporary about contemporary art? What effect do politics and big business have on art? And who really runs the art world?" "Previously published as Art Incorporated, this controversial and witty Very Short Introduction is an exploration of the global art scene that will change the way you see contemporary art."--BOOK JACKET.

Focusing on highly topical issues such as torture, arbitrary detention, privacy, and discrimination, this book will help readers to understand for themselves the controversies and complexities behind human rights.