did you ever wonder.....

WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE A BUILDING?

We did too, until we READ this BOOK!

We learned that...

All buildings have WALLS that feel like SQUASH against the ground.  That's because the force of gravity pulls them down. For buildings to stand up, they need to balance the forces of TENSION (that's pulling) and COMPRESSION (that's pushing) to reach a state of EQUILIBRIUM (that means they're stable -- they don't fall down).


We reached equilibrium by PULLING in a TENSION RING...


... and by PUSHING in a COMPRESSION RING!


 One of the simplest structures is the POST AND BEAM.


If the beam's too long or the weight's too great, it SAGS in the MIDDLE.
If the post's too long, it will TEND to BEND.
If the post's too SHORT, it just might SHATTER.






It feels like SQUEEZE to be an ARCH
Arches distribute the weight of the walls above them. The KEYSTONE (that's our hands in the picture) is the KEY to the strength of the structure!

Several arches SQUEEZE together to make a BARREL VAULT!



 
 

It feels like MULTIPLE SQUEEZE to be a DOME
Domes concentrate the force at a central point, right at the top of the structure!


 It feels like PULL to be a TRUSS


Trusses are made of TRIANGLES, and feel the PULL of TENSION at the top, and the PUSH of COMPRESSION at the bottom!

It feels like PUSH to be a BUTTRESS.

Buttresses push IN where the walls want to push OUT!

On VERY TALL WALLS, buttresses sometimes FLY!

But even a FLYING BUTTRESS pushes IN where the walls push OUT!

SO...

If you can SQUASH
and
SQUEEZE
and
PUSH
and
PULL

You'll know what it feels like to be a building!


More books by Forrest Wilson