Why triangles

A-frame homes, truss bridges, and geodesic domes rely on triangles to create a durable structure. The smallest polygon is the strongest polygon, and the number of structures relying on the strength of the triangle prove that. As an amateur architect, you can create vast structures using triangles. Triangles are one amazing shape! You can test the strength of a triangle today by building your own truss bridge! Equilateral triangle, and from the middle of each side, one were to place an interior frame board, spanning from each center of the exterior sides to the next, so that now, the triangle has is segmented into four triangles.

How much stronger has the triangle become? Doubled, tripled or more in strength? I ask in that I have an interest in geodesic domes and because, it is the basics of a truss system and I wondered if there is a definitive equation on this. We are only talking about the pressure placed on a single tip of course. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The angles inside the triangle are also important.

And of course you can get right-angled triangles — one of the most important mathematical shapes inspiring Pythagoras' Theorem and trigonometry. But triangles aren't just mathematically significant, they are also fundamental to the way we build our environments, both physical and virtual.

Triangles are special because they are exceptionally strong. Out of all the two-dimensional shapes we can make out of straight struts of metal, only a triangle is rigid. All other shapes can be deformed with a simple push if the shape is hinged at the corners for example, a rectangle can be pushed over into a parallelogram.

But not the trusty triangle, which explains its ubiquitous use in construction, from pylons to bracing. Triangles are also special because they are the simplest polygon — a common approach to a tricky geometrical problem, such as analysing a complex surface, is to approximate it by a mesh of triangles. This approach is also used in the real world to achieve some of the exotic shapes we now see in modern architecture, such as the curved shape of 30 St Mary's Axe, aka the Gherkin, or the canopy over the courtyard in the British Museum.