Beams

Why height matters most

An interactive lesson with 6 steps, about 5 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• A bending beam is compressed on one side and stretched on the other.
• Stiffness of a rectangular beam $\propto b h^3$.
• I-beams place material far from the neutral axis for maximum stiffness per kilogram.

Steps

1. Squeezed and stretched
2. A loaded plank
3. Flat or on edge?
4. Where to drill
5. A longer span
6. Why I-beams?