Editing Mathematical Bridge (section)

==Mathematical explanation==
[[File:Mathematical Bridge tangents.jpg|thumb|left|The tangential members of the tangent and radial trussing are highlighted]]
The arrangement of timbers is a series of [[tangent]]s that describe the [[Arc (geometry)|arc]] of the bridge, with radial members to tie the tangents together and [[triangulation|triangulate]] the structure, making it rigid and self-supporting. This type of structure, technically '''tangent and radial [[truss]]ing''', is an efficient structural use of timber, and was also used for the timber supporting arches ([[centring]]) used for building stone bridges.<ref name="queens">{{Cite web |url=http://www.queens.cam.ac.uk/page-1684 |title=History of the Design |accessdate=2013-11-02 |publisher=[[Queens' College, Cambridge]] |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921135000/http://www.queens.cam.ac.uk/page-1684 |archivedate=21 September 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Analysis of the design shows that the tangent members are almost entirely under compression, while the radial timbers are almost entirely subject to tension with very little bending stress, or to put it another way, the tangent and radial elements elegantly express the forces involved in arched construction.{{Clear|left}}
<gallery widths="200" heights="150">
MathematicalBridge1865.jpg|The Mathematical Bridge (approx. 1865) pictured shortly before it was partially rebuilt in 1866
Mathematical Bridge, Queen's College, Cambridge (South Face).jpg|South face of the Mathematical Bridge
cmglee_Cambridge_Mathematical_Bridge_from_Riverside_Building.jpg|The bridge from Queens' College's Riverside Building
</gallery>