Technology: Bridges: Major Types of Spans

Beam

Most common bridge form. Carries vertical loads by bending. As the beam bridge bends, it undergoes horizontal compression on the top. At the same time, the bottom of the beam is subjected to horizontal tension. The supports carry the loads from the beam by compression vertically to the foundations.

LakePonchartrain Causeway (#2)

Metairie-Lewisburg, La., U.S.

23.9 mi. (38,462 m.)

Arch

Carries loads primarily by compression, which exerts both vertical and horizontal forces on the foundation. Arch foundations must therefore prevent both vertical settling and horizontal sliding.

New River Gorge

Fayette County, West Virginia, U.S.

0.32 mi. (518 m.)

Suspension

Carries vertical loads through curved cables in tension. These loads are transferred both to the towers, which carry them by vertical compression to the ground, and to the anchorages, which must resist the inward and sometimes vertical pull of the cables. The suspension bridge can be viewed as an upside-down arch in tension, with only the towers in compression.

Akashi-Kaikyo

Kobe, Akashi-Awaji Island, Japan

1.28 mi. (1,991 m.)

Cantilever

A beam is said to be cantilevered when it projects outward, supported only at one end. A cantilevered bridge is generally made with three spans, of which the outer spans are both anchored down at the shore and cantilever out over the channel to be crossed. The central span rests on the cantilevered arms extending from the outer spans. Towers carry the tension and compressions forces of the spans to central or far foundations.

Quebec

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

0.34 mi. (549 ^m-)

Cable-stay

Carries the vertical main-span loads by nearly straight diagonal cables in tension. The towers transfer the cable forces to the foundations through vertical compression. The tensile forces in the cables also put the deck into horizontal compression.

Tatara Ohashi

Shikoku-Honshu, Japan

0.55 mi. (890 m.)

Acheson, Edward Goodrich

1856–1931

American

carborundum (1891)

Alexanderson, Ernst F. W.

1878–1975

American

high-frequency alternator (1906)

Alvarez, Luis Walter

1911–1988

American

radio distance & direction finder (1945)

Ampere, André-Marie

1775–1836

French

discovered electrodynamics

Appleton, Edward Victor

1892–1965

English

discovered ionospheric reflection of radio waves (1924)

Archimedes

c.287–c.212 BC

Greek

Archimedes screw

Aristarchus

c.310–230 BC

Greek

theory that Earth moves around Sun

Arkwright, Richard

1732–1792

English

Water frame for spinning cotton (1769)

Armstrong, Edwin Howard

1890–1954

American

radio frequency-modulation system (1933)

Aspdin, Joseph

1779–1855

English

Portland cement (1824)

Babbage, Charles

1791–1871

English

laid groundwork for computer

Babcock, George Herman

1832–1893

American

co-invented water tube steam boiler (1867) [see Wilcox]

Bacon, Roger

c.1220–c.1292

British

spectacles with corrective lenses

Baekeland, Leo Hendrik

1863–1944

American

plastic Bakelite (1909)

Baird, John Logie

1888–1946

Scottish

first TV picture of moving objects (1926)

Bardeen, John

1908–1991

American

co-invented transistor (1947) [see Brattain; Shockley]

Beckman, Arnold O.

1900–

American

pH meter (1935)

Becquerel, Antoine-Henri

1852–1908

French

radioactivity (1896)

Begun, S. Joseph

1905–1995

American

magnetic recording (1934)

Bell, Alexander Graham

1847–1922

American

telephone (1876)

Bennett, Willard Harrison

1903–1987

American

radio frequency mass spectrometer (1950)

Benz, Carl Friedrich

1844–1929

German

first gas-powered automobile (1885)

Berliner, Emile

1851–1929

American

phonograph record disc (1887)

Bernoulli, Daniel

1700–1782

Swiss

related fluid flow to pressure (1738)

Berthollet, Claude-Louis

1748–1822

French

chlorine bleach (1785)

Bessemer, Henry

1813–1898

British

steel manufacturing (1856)

Binnig, Gerd Karl

1947–

German

co-invented scanning tunneling microscope (1981) [see Rohrer]

Bird, Forrest M.

1921–

American

respirator (1958) & pediatric ventilator (1970)

Birdseye, Clarence

1886–1956

American

frozen foods (1924)

Black, Harold Stephen

1898–1983

American

negative feedback principle

Black, Joseph

1728–1799

Scottish

discovered carbon dioxide (1756)

Blumberg, Baruch Samuel

1925–

American

co-invented vaccine for viral hepatitis (1971) [see Millman]

Boyle, Robert

1627–1691

English-born Irish

formulated Boyle’s law (1662)

Brandt, George

1694–1768

Swedish

discovered cobalt (1730)

Brattain, Walter H.

1902–1987

American

co-invented transistor (1947) [see Bardeen; Shockley]

Brown, Rachel Fuller

1898–1980

American

co-invented antifungal antibiotic (1954) [see Hazen]

Brown, Robert

1773–1858

Scottish

discovered Brownian motion (1827) and nucleus of living cell (1831)

Burbank, Luther

1849–1926

American

developed types of potatoes and peaches and many other crops

Burroughs, William Seward

1855–1898

American

adding machine (1885)

Burton, William Meriam

1865–1954

American

efficient manufacture of gasoline (1913)

Bushnell, David

1742–1824

American

submarine (hand-powered) (1775)

Campbell, Donald L.

1904–

American

co-invented fluid catalytic cracking (1942) [see Martin]

Carlson, Chester F.

1906–1968

American

xerography (1938)

Carothers, Wallace Hume

1896–1937

American

nylon (1934)

Carrel, Alexis

1873–1944

French

method of suturing blood vessels

Carrier, Willis Haviland

1876–1950

American

air conditioning (1911)

Cartwright, Edmund

1743–1823

English

power loom (1785)

Carver, George Washington

c.1861–1943

American

developed peanut, sweet potato, and soybean products

Cavendish, Henry

1731–1810

English

discovered hydrogen (1766)

Celsius, Anders

1701–1744

Swedish

Celsius temperature scale (1742)

Colt, Samuel

1814–1862

American

revolver (1835)

Colton, Frank B.

1923–

American

Enovid—first oral contraceptive (1960)

Coolidge, William D.

1873–1975

American

X-ray tube (1916)

Copernicus, Nicolas

1473–1543

Polish

Sun-centered solar system theory

Cottrell, Frederick G.

1877–1948

American

electrostatic precipitator (1906)

Cray, Seymour R.

1925–1996

American

supercomputer (1976)

Crompton, Samuel

1753–1827

English

spinning mule (1779)

Curie, Marie

1867–1934

French

discovered polonium and radium (1898)

Curie, Pierre

1859–1906

French

discovered piezoelectricity (1880)

da Vinci, Leonardo

1452–1519

Italian

theories about anatomy, mechanics, flying, others

Daimler, Gottlieb

1834–1900

German

gasoline engine (1885)

Damadian, Raymond V.

1936–

American

magnetic resonance imaging scanner (MRI) (1977)

Darby, Abraham

c.1678–1717

English

high-quality iron (1709)

Davy, Humphry

1778–1829

English

discovered potassium and sodium (1806–7), miner’s safety lamp (1825)

Dean, Mark

1957–

American

co-inventor of improved computer architecture (1984) [see Moeller]

Deere, John

1804–1886

American

better plow (1838)

Deforest, Lee

1873–1961

American

vacuum tube amplifier (1906)

Dennard, Robert

1932–

American

random access memory (RAM) (1968)

Diesel, Rudolf

1858–1913

German

internal combustion diesel engine (1896)

Djerassi, Carl

1923–

American

oral contraceptives

Dow, Herbert Henry

1866–1930

American

bromine extraction from brine (1889)

Draper, Charles Stark

1901–1987

American

gyroscopic gunsight

Drew, Richard

1886–1956

American

transparent adhesive tape (1930)

Dunlop, John Boyd

1840–1921

English

pneumatic tire (1888)

Eastman, George

1854–1932

American

Kodak camera (1888), transparent film (1889)

Edgerton, Harold E.

1903–1990

American

flash tube (1931), stroboscopic photography

Edison, Thomas Alva

1847–1931

American

electric light bulb (1879); phonograph (1877), 1,091 other patents

Einstein, Albert

1879–1955

German/American

theories of relativity (special, 1905; general, 1916)

Einthoven, Willem

1860–1927

Dutch

electrocardiograph (1903)

Elion, Gertrude Belle

1918–1999

American

drugs to fight various cancers

Engelbart, Douglas

1925–

American

computer mouse (1963–64)

Ericsson, John

1803–1889

Swedish/American

screw propeller for ships (1836)

Faggin, Federico

1941–

American

co-invented computer microprocessor (1969) [see Hoff; Mazor]

Fahrenheit, Daniel Gabriel

1686–1736

German

mercury thermometer (1714), Fahrenheit temperature scale

Faraday, Michael

1791–1867

English

electromagnetic induction (1831)

Farnsworth, Philo Taylor

1906–1971

American

electronic television (1927)

Fergason, James

1934–

American

liquid-crystal display (1969)

Fermi, Enrico

1901–1954

American

nuclear reactor (1942)

Fitch, John

1743–1798

American

first American steamboat (1787)

Fleming, Alexander

1881–1955

Scottish

penicillin (1928)

Fleming, John Ambrose

1849–1945

English

two-electrode radio rectifier (1904)

Flemming, Walther

1843–1905

German

discovered mitotic cell division (1879)

Ford, Henry

1863–1947

American

assembly line (1913)

Forrester, Jay Wright

1918–

American

random-access magnetic core memory (1949)

Franklin, Benjamin

1706–1790

American

Franklin stove (1740)

Fulton, Robert

1765–1815

American

first steamboat to carry people and freight (1807)

Galileo

1564–1642

Italian

experimental scientific method

Galle, Johann Gottfried

1812–1910

German

discovered planet Neptune (1846)

Galvani, Luigi

1737–1798

Italian

discovered bioelectric forces in animal tissues

Geiger, Johannes

1882–1945

German

Geiger counter (1928)

Gerbert of Aurillac

c.945–1003

French

mechanical clock

Germer, Edmund

1901–

German/American

fluorescent lamp, mercury-vapor lamp

Ginsburg, Charles P.

1920–1992

American

videotape recorder (1956)

Glauber, Johann Rudolf

1604–1668

German/Dutch

many chemical compounds

Goddard, Robert Hutchings

1882–1945

American

liquid-propelled rocket engine (1926)

Goodyear, Charles

1800–1860

American

vulcanization of rubber (1839)

Graham, Thomas

1805–1869

Scottish

described colloids (1860s) and osmosis

Greatbatch, Wilson

1919–

American

cardiac pacemaker

Guericke, Otto von

1602–1686

German

air pump (1650)

Gutenberg, Johannes

c.1400–68

German

printing—developed movable type

Hadley, John

1682–1744

English

reflecting quadrant (1730)

Hall, Charles Martin

1863–1914

American

electrolytic aluminum manufacture (1886)

Hall, Robert N.

1919–

American

magnetron for microwave oven; CD-player laser (1962)

Halley, Edmond

1656–1742

English

theory that comets orbit the Sun

Hargreaves, James

c.1702–1778

English

spinning jenny (1764)

Harrison, John

1693–1776

English

accurate chronometer (1730–63)

Harvey, William

1578–1657

English

blood circulation (1628)

Hazen, Elizabeth Lee

1885–1975

American

co-invented antifungal antibiotic (1954) [see Brown]

Herschel, William

1738–1822

English

discovered planet Uranus (1781)

Hertz, Heinrich

1857–1894

German

discovered radio waves

Hewlett, William R.

1913–

American

audio oscillator

Higonnet, René Alphonse

1902–1983

French

co-invented Lithomat phototypesetter (1949) [see Moyroud]

Hillier, James

1915–

American

electron microscope (1937)

Hipparchus

c.190– after 127 BC

Greek

first star catalog

Hoe, Richard March

1812–1886

American

rotary printing press (1847)

Hoff, Marcian

1937–

American

co-invented computer microprocessor (1969) [see Faggin; Mazor]

Hollerith, Herman

1860–1929

American

statistics-tabulating machine (1884)

Hopper, Grace

1906–1992

American

improved data processing, computer languages

Houdry, Eugene

1892–1962

French

catalytic converter (1962)

Howe, Elias

1819–1867

American

sewing machine (1846)

Hubble, Edwin Powell

1889–1953

American

discovered external spiral galaxies (1923)

Hunt, Walter

1796–1859

American

safety pin (1849)

Huygens, Christiaan

1629–1695

Dutch

pendulum clock (1656)

Jacquard, Joseph Marie

1752–1834

French

automated loom (1801)

Jarvik, Robert K.

1946–

American

artificial heart

Jenner, Edward

1749–1823

English

smallpox vaccination (1796)

Julian, Percy Lavon

1899–1975

American

cortisone synthesis

Kay, John

1704–1764

English

flying shuttle for weaving (1733)

Keck, Donald B.

1941–

American

co-invented optical fiber (1970) [see Maurer; Schultz]

Kekule von Stradonitz, Friedrich

1829–1896

German

principles of molecular structure

Kettering, Charles Franklin

1876–1958

American

electrical ignition

Kilby, Jack S.

1923–

American

miniaturized integrated circuits (1958)

Koch, Robert

1843–1910

German

discovered several disease-causing bacteria

Kolff, Willem J.

1911–

Dutch

artificial kidney dialysis

Kwolek, Stephanie Louise

1923–

American

para-aramid fibers, Kevlar

Laënnec, René T. H.

1781–1826

French

stethoscope

Land, Edwin Herbert

1909–1991

American

Polaroid camera (1947)

Langmuir, Irving

1881–1957

American

long-life incandescent electric light

Lawrence, Ernest Orlando

1901–1958

American

cyclotron (1930)

Lear, William Powell

1902–1978

American

car radio, car eight-track tape player, aircraft autopilot

Leeuwenhoek, Antonie van

1632–1723

Dutch

discovered protozoa and bacteria (1674)

Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm

1646–1716

German

integral and differential calculus (c. 1675)

Lilienthal, Otto

1848–1896

German

glider

Lippershey, Hans

c.1570–1619

Dutch

telescope (1608)

Lumière, Auguste

1862–1954

French

co-invented cinématograph (1895) [see Lumière]

Lumière, Louis

1864–1948

French

co-invented cinématograph (1895) [see Lumière]

Maiman, Theodore Harold

1927–

American

first laser (1960)

Malpighi, Marcello

1628–1694

Italian

capillary blood vessels (1661)

Marconi, Guglielmo

1874–1937

Italian

wireless telegraph/radio (1896)

Martin, Homer Z.

1910–1993

American

co-invented fluid catalytic cracking (1942) [see Campbell]

Maurer, Robert D.

1924–

American

co-invented optical fiber (1970) [see Keck; Schultz]

Maxim, Hiram Stevens

1840–1916

American/English

Maxim machine gun (1884)

Mazor, Stanley

1941–

American

co-invented computer microprocessor (1969) [see Faggin; Hoff]

McCormick, Cyrus Hall

1809–1884

American

mechanical reaper (1831)

Meikle, Andrew

1719–1811

Scottish

threshing machine (1788)

Mercator, Gerardus

1512–1594

Flemish

Mercator projection in map-making (1569)

Mergenthaler, Ottmar

1854–1899

American

Linotype typesetter (1886)

Mestral, George de

1907–1990

Swiss

Velcro (1955)

Millman, Irving

1923–

American

co-invented vaccine for viral hepatitis (1971) [see Blumberg]

Moeller, Dennis

1950–

American

co-inventor of improved computer architecture (1984) [see Dean]

Monier, Joseph

1823–1906

French

reinforced concrete (1867)

Morse, Samuel F. B.

1791–1872

American

electric telegraph (1832–35), Morse Code (1838)

Moyer, Andrew J.

1899–1959

American

mass production of penicillin

Moyroud, Louis Marius

1914–

French

co-invented Lithomat phototype-setter (1949) [see Higonnet]

Mullis, Kary B.

1944–

American

polymerase chain reaction (1983)

Murphree, Eger V.

1891–1962

American

co-invented fluid catalytic cracking (1942) [see Tyson]

Newcomen, Thomas

1663–1729

English

atmospheric steam engine (1705)

Newton, Isaac

1642–1727

British

laws of motion and gravity, infinitesimal calculus

Nieuwland, Julius Arthur

1878–1936

American

first synthetic rubber—neoprene (1931)

Nobel, Alfred Bernhard

1833–1896

Swedish

dynamite (1867)

Noyce, Robert N.

1927–1990

American

integrated circuit (1959)

Oersted (or Ørsted), Hans

1777-1851

Danish

discovered electromagnetism (1820)

Ohm, Georg Simon

1789–1854

German

related current voltage and resistance (1827)

Olsen, Kenneth H.

1926–

American

magnetic core memory

Otis, Elisha Graves

1811–1861

American

safety elevator (1852)

Otto, Nikolaus August

1832–1891

German

four-stroke internal combustion engine (1861)

Oughtred, William

1574–1660

English

slide rule (c.1632)

Papin, Denis

1647–1712

French/English

pressure cooker (1679)

Parker, Louis W.

1906–1993

American

television receiver

Parkes, Alexander

1813–1890

English

synthetic plastic (1855), cold vulcanization (1841)

Parsons, Charles Algernon

1854–1931

English

steam turbine (1884)

Parsons, John T.

1913–

American

numerical control of machines

Pascal, Blaise

1623–1662

French

mechanical calculating machine (1642–44), law of pressure, syringe

Pasteur, Louis

1822–1895

French

pasteurization

Plunkett, Roy J.

1910–1994

American

Teflon (1949)

Poulsen, Valdemar

1869–1942

Danish

magnetic recording (1898), generation of radio waves (1903)

Priestley, Joseph

1733–1804

English

independently discovered oxygen (1774)

Ptolemy

fl. 127–145

Greek

theory that Earth is center of universe

Pythagoras

c.580– c.500 BC

Greek

theory of numbers

Raman, Chandrasekhara V.

1888–1970

Indian

discovered Raman effect—light diffusion (1928)

Ritter, Johann Wilhelm

1776–1810

German

ultraviolet light (1801)

Roebuck, John

1718–1794

British

manufactured sulfuric acid (1746)

Roemer (or Rømer), Ole

1644–1710

Danish

calculated speed of light (1676)

Roentgen, Wilhelm Conrad

1845–1923

German

X-ray tube (1895)

Rohrer, Heinrich

1933–

Swiss

co-invented scanning tunneling microscope (1981) [see Binnig]

Rubin, Benjamin A.

1917–

American

vaccination needle (1965)

Rutherford, Daniel

1749–1819

Scottish

discovered nitrogen (1772)

Rutherford, Ernest

1871–1937

English

discovered alpha and beta rays in radioactivity

Sarett, Lewis Hastings

1917–1999

American

cortisone (1944)

Savery, Thomas

1650–1715

English

first practical steam engine (1698)

Schawlow, Arthur L.

1921–1999

American

co-invented laser (1958) [see Townes]

Scheele, Carl Wilhelm

1742–1786

Swedish

discovered oxygen (1772)

Schick, Jacob

1877–1937

American

electric razor (1928)

Schultz, Peter C.

1942–

American

co-invented optical fiber (1970) [see Keck; Maurer]

Semon, Waldo Lonsbury

1898–1999

American

vinyl (1926)

Sheehan, John C.

1915–1992

American

synthetic penicillin (1957)

Shockley, William Bradford

1910–1989

American

co-invented transistor (1947) [see Bardeen; Brattain]

Sholes, Christopher L.

1819–1890

American

typewriter (1868)

Siemens, Charles William

1823–1883

German/English

regenerative open-heart steel furnace (1861)

Sikorsky, Igor

1889–1972

American

helicopter (1909/1939)

Singer, Isaac Merrit

1811–1875

American

domestic sewing machine (1851)

Sobrero, Ascanio

1812–1888

Italian

discovered nitroglycerine (1846)

Spencer, Percy LeBaron

1894–1970

American

microwave oven (1945)

Sperry, Elmer Ambrose

1860–1930

American

gyroscopic compass (1908) and stabilizers

Stanley, William, Jr.

1858–1916

American

transformer (1885)

Steinmetz, Charles Proteus

1865–1923

American

theory of alternating current

Stibitz, George Robert

1904–1995

American

digital computer (1940)

Sturgeon, William

1783–1850

English

first useful electromagnet (1825)

Szilard, Leo

1898–1964

American

nuclear reactor (1942)

Taylor, Frederick Winslow

1856–1915

American

time and motion studies for industrial management (1881)

Tesla, Nikola

1856–1943

Serbian/American

induction motor (1883), Tesla coil (1891)

Theiler, Max

1899–1972

American

yellow fever vaccine (1937)

Thompson, John Taliaferro

1860–1940

American

Thompson submachine gun (1920)

Thomson, Joseph John

1856–1940

English

discovered electron (1897)

Timken, Henry

1831–1909

American

tapered roller bearing (1898)

Torricelli, Evangelista

1608–1647

Italian

barometer (1643)

Townes, Charles Hard

1915–

American

co-invented laser (1958) [see Schawlow]

Trevithick, Richard

1771–1833

British

first railroad locomotive (1801)

Tull, Jethro

1674–1741

English

drill for sowing seeds (1701)

Tyson, Charles W.

1914–1978

American

co-invented fluid catalytic cracking (1942) [see Murphree]

Villard, Paul

1860–1934

French

discovered gamma rays in radioactivity (1900)

Volta, Alessandro

1745–1827

Italian

electric battery (1800)

Wang, An

1920–1990

American

magnetic memory core (1948)

Watt, James

1736–1819

Scottish

steam engine separate condenser (1765)

Westinghouse, George

1846–1914

American

air brakes (1869)

Whitney, Eli

1765–1825

American

cotton gin (1793)

Wilcox, Stephen

1830–1893

American

co-invented water tube steam boiler (1867) [see Babcock]

Wright, Orville

1871–1948

American

airplane (1903)

Wright, Wilbur

1867–1912

American

airplane (1903)

Zeppelin, Ferdinand Graf von

1838–1917

German

dirigible airships

Zworykin, Vladimir Kosma

1889–1982

American

cathode ray tube (1929)