This is the “Mathematical Bridge” at
Cambridge. It is a wooden footbridge that spans the River Cam and connects two
parts of Queens’ College (referred to by students as the “light side” and the
“dark side”).
It has been said that bridge is
“mathematical” because it is so perfectly engineered that it is the arrangement
of the timbers that keeps it in place. If you removed all the bolts it would
stay exactly as it is and be able to function perfectly normally.
That is, however, a myth! If you took all
the bolts away you would have quite a lot of timber, and maybe a few dons and
undergraduates, floating down the river!
What gives the bridge its name is the facts
that all the timbers are straight but it creates the impression of a curve. If
you follow every section of the underside you can see how all the timbers are
continuous from the stone bulwark to the handrail. The illusion of a curve
would have been ever greater had more timbers been used, but this was probably
as many as could be incorporated across a relatively small gap.
The bridge was originally built in 1749,
and you sometimes hear people saying that it was designed by Sir Isaac Newton.
However, that is unlikely given that he died in 1727!
What you see today is the second rebuilding
of the bridge, dating from 1905.
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