BRIDGES

Link to the  Sydney Harbour Bridge

construction in progress site

Here is my attempt at classifying the topics...looking forward to your feedback.

WHY ?

• why do they exist ?
• Impact on society (absence or presence) (I would see music connected at this point but in a less physical and more cultural way)

• Tower of Babel story
• language barriers
• bridges in songs (obvious musical connection)

• How does the ability of a large amount of people to go over a bridge affect the economy of a city? Do more bridges equate to more growth, etc?
• does/did bridge-building positively correlate with navigation/watertravel?
• many people cross bridges every day (boroughs)
• How were bridges used as defenses/offenses - The POWs blew up the bridge they built over the river Kwai (in the movie) What does this mean?

• history of particular one
• was it named for someone? Why?

   

• physical/metaphorical bridges
• technology as a bridge

• is it only humans that build bridges?
• why are some bridges so beautiful?

WHAT ?

• what were some of the first really important bridges? why ?

   

• what materials were used to build it
• Why are there different types of bridges?
• What is the economic/other advantage of a bridge versus a ferry or some other water-negating device?
• Did the absence of a need for bridges (not much water) negatively influence math/science in certain cultures (no challenge, no science)?

HOW ?

• physics of it
• how did humans first get the idea of a bridge?
• how do engineers deal with water?
• is there a correlation between water depth and bridge height?
• how are they built

   

• why do suspension bridges have parabolas in them?
• how long it took- and why?
• how do you predict how much a bridge can hold?
• is the golden ratio involved in bridges?
• how is an arch related to a bridge?
• are some bridges only possible because of advanced mathematics?
• why are triangles supposedly important for stability?
• How is the function of a bridge different from that of a tunnel? Are they functionally the same now?
• How was trigonometry involved in bridge building?

WHERE?

•  where do they lead?
• Are there too many bridges in this country? Too few?

WHEN ?

• when were they built ? history of particular one
• access to cross bridges during emergencies (katrina)

 Disciplines

• Math - geometry/trigonometry -Suspension bridges have cables that are shaped like parabolas.  Why?  Can the parabolic cable of different suspension bridges be represented by the same equation?  If not, what accounts for the difference? How was trigonometry involved in bridge building?
• Science - physics - What materials were used to build the bridge?  Why?  If the bridge spans water, how did engineers tackle the depth of the water?  Is there a correlation between water depth and height of bridge?  Why are there different types of bridges (i.e.suspension, etc)? Did the absence of a need for bridges (not much water) negatively influence math/science in certain cultures (no challenge, no science)?
• History - from a naming perspective and history of partcular bridge
• Music - Is music/how is music a bridge in society and culture? How has it served this purpose in the past? What about songs that specifically refer to bridges in music? (I see this as music discipline with connections to history based on choices of societal bridges. Kids could go into protest music, music as social commentary, etc.)