Editing Tensegrity (section)

{{short description|Structural design made of isolated members held in place by tension}}
{{for|the movement system created by Carlos Castaneda|Tensegrity (Castaneda)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
[[File:Tensegrity simple 3.gif|thumb|right|The simplest tensegrity structure (a T3-prism). Each of three compression members (green) is symmetric with the other two, and symmetric from end to end. Each end is connected to three cables (red), which provide tension and precisely define the position of that end in the same way as the three cables in the [[Skylon (Festival of Britain)|Skylon]] define the bottom end of its tapered pillar.]]
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 |caption = <span style="border:outset 1px #999999;background:#cccccc;padding:2px;margin-top:1px;">'''[[:File:Tensegrity simple 4.gif|Animation]]'''</span> A similar structure but with four compression members.
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'''Tensegrity''', '''tensional integrity''' or '''floating compression''' is a [[structural]] principle based on a system of isolated components under [[compression (physical)|compression]] inside a network of continuous [[tension (mechanics)|tension]], and arranged in such a way that the compressed members (usually bars or struts) do not touch each other while the [[Prestressed structure|prestressed]] tensioned members (usually cables or tendons) delineate the system spatially.{{sfn|Gómez-Jáuregui|2010|p=19}}

Tensegrity structures are found in both nature and human-made objects: in the human body, the bones are held in compression while the connective tissues are held in tension, and the same principles have been applied to furniture and architectural design and beyond.

The term was coined by [[Buckminster Fuller]] in the 1960s as a [[portmanteau]] of "tensional integrity".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Swanson |first1=RL |year=2013 |title=Biotensegrity: a unifying theory of biological architecture with applications to osteopathic practice, education, and research-a review and analysis |journal=The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association |volume=113 |issue=1 |pages=34–52 |doi=10.7556/jaoa.2013.113.1.34 |pmid=23329804 |doi-access=free}}</ref>