FYKOS Year 26 Series 4 Problem 5 — How to build a bridge · FYKOS 26 #26.4.5

Physics · mechanics · thermodynamics

Problem

Imagine a cross section of a bridge as depicted in the picture. It consists of massless rods attached at the points

\bodA

\bodB

\bodC

\bodD

and

\bodE

. Determine which rods would exhibit pressure forces and which pulling forces if a car of mass

m

is placed on the rod

\bodBC

. You should use the picture to estimate the lengths of the rods. Bonus: Assume that the linear density of the rods is

λ

instead of zero.