Arch

An arch is a curved structure capable of spanning a space while supporting significant weight (e.g. a doorway in a stone wall). The arch was developed in Mesopotamia, Assyria Egypt and Etruria. It was later refined in Ancient Rome. The arch became an important technique in cathedral building and is still used today in some modern structures as for example in bridges.

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The arch is significant because, in theory at least, it provides a structure which eliminates tensile stresses in spanning an open space. All the forces are resolved into compressive stresses. This is useful because several of the available building materials such as stone, cast iron and concrete can strongly resist compression but are very weak when tension, shear or torsional stress is applied to them. By using the arch configuration, significant spans can be achieved.

Wall: A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects space. Most commonly, a wall separates space in buildings into rooms, or protects or delineates a space in the open air. There are three principal types of structural walls: building walls, exterior boundary walls, and retaini...

Mesopotamia: :For other uses see Mesopotamia (disambiguation)....

Assyria: :For the Assyrian people in Iraq and other countries, see Assyrian people....

Arch related Images and Photos (experimental)

Ice Arch	Roman Arch I	Arc (arch de triumphe)	Roman Arch II
Terrace Arch I	Provence Arch I	Provence Arch I	Magnolia Arch I
Bernazza Arch	Washington Arch	Arch with a View	Arch and Red Canoe