Skip to content
Engineering · Structures and vibration

Arches, Domes & Towers

Hang a chain and flip it into a perfect arch, raise the Pantheon’s dome, prop up a Gothic wall, and see why a bridge dances and a skyscraper carries a giant pendulum.

Start lesson 1Practice exam
Live labLessons24
Loading 3D lab…
First lesson01 · Squeeze or stretch?See all 24 lessons →

Report a mistake

What is wrong?
0 / 2000 · at least 10 characters
Sent along with your report
  • Page
  • About Arches, Domes & Towers · architecture
Plus your browser type. Reports go to our support system; see the privacy notice.
The course

6 worlds · 24 lessons

World 1 · Hang a Chain, Build an Arch

FREECompression, tension, the catenary, thrust and the line of thrust
  1. 01Squeeze or stretch?Compression and tension · 10 min
  2. 02Hang a chain, flip itThe catenary arch · 12 min
  3. 03ThrustWhy arches push sideways · 14 min
  4. 04Building with blocksKeystone and centering · 14 min

World 2 · Domes from the Pantheon to Hagia Sophia

PROMeridian and hoop stresses, Roman concrete, pendentives and stress maps
  1. 01From arch to domeRotating the arch · 12 minPRO
  2. 02The PantheonConcrete as stone · 14 minPRO
  3. 03Hagia SophiaA dome on a square · 14 minPRO
  4. 04Reading a stress mapWhere domes crack · 12 minPRO

World 3 · Flying Buttresses

PROTall stone vaults, thrust carried outside, pinnacle weight and the limits of height
  1. 01The Gothic challengeTall, light, full of windows · 14 minPRO
  2. 02Flying buttressesMoving the thrust outside · 14 minPRO
  3. 03Pinnacles and weightKeeping the line inside · 12 minPRO
  4. 04When it goes wrongBeauvais and lessons · 14 minPRO

World 4 · Suspension vs Cable-Stayed

PROCable sag and tension, bridge anatomy, stay forces and choosing a bridge
  1. 01Cables under loadThe parabola and H = wL²/8d · 12 minPRO
  2. 02Suspension bridge anatomyTowers, main cable, hangers · 14 minPRO
  3. 03Cable-stayed bridgesStraight to the tower · 14 minPRO
  4. 04Choosing a bridgeSpan, cost, wind · 12 minPRO

World 5 · When a Bridge Dances

PROResonance, damping, crowds in step and the real story of Tacoma Narrows
  1. 01Natural frequency and resonancePushing at the right rhythm · 14 minPRO
  2. 02DampingTaking energy out · 12 minPRO
  3. 03The Millennium BridgeWalking in step · 14 minPRO
  4. 04Tacoma NarrowsWind, flutter, collapse · 16 minPRO

World 6 · Skyscrapers and the Wind

PROGravity and wind loads, vortex shedding, tuned mass dampers and a tower design
  1. 01Loads on a towerGravity and the sideways push · 14 minPRO
  2. 02Vortex shedding and swaySwinging with the wind · 14 minPRO
  3. 03The tuned mass damperA pendulum for a skyscraper · 14 minPRO
  4. 04Design a towerEverything together · 16 minPRO
Arches, Domes & Towers — interactive 3D lab · Novareka