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kleinbl00 · 2255 days ago · link · · parent · post: How a 19th Century Math Genius Taught Us the Best Way to Hold a Pizza Slice
It's wrong, though. Corrogated cardboard gets its strength from folds, not from curves. A Pringle is stronger in one direction than a taco shell, but definitely not in the other. The Zaragoza hippodrome derives its strength from steel, not from concrete - Gauss describes deformation in either direction, but concrete has zero strength under tension. What makes ridiculous arches viable for architecture isn't Gauss, it's materials science and cooling towers aren't shaped like that for strength, they're shaped like that because it's the optimal profile for convection in evaporative cooling. That's why only cooling towers are shaped that way - if the inside isn't full of evaporative cooling you're better off with a stronger structure.