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truss

(Encyclopedia)truss, in architecture and engineering, a supporting structure or framework composed of beams, girders, or rods commonly of steel or wood lying in a single plane. A truss usually takes the form of a t...

Hirado

(Encyclopedia)Hirado hrä´d [key], town (1990 pop. 26,864), Nagasaki prefecture, on Hirado island, off NW Kyushu, Japan. The Portuguese traded at its port c.1550, and Dutch and English factories were establish...

San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge

(Encyclopedia)San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, double-decked structure, W Calif.; built 1933–36 and (eastern section replacement) 2002–13. It has a total length of 8.25 mi (13.2 km). From San Francisco it cr...

hernia

(Encyclopedia)hernia, protrusion of an internal organ or part of an organ through the wall of a body cavity. The hernia is enclosed by a sac formed by the lining of the cavity. It results from a weakness or rupture...

Duisburg

(Encyclopedia)Duisburg düs´boork [key], city (1994 pop. 536,800), North Rhine–Westphalia, W Germany, at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers. Located in the Ruhr district, it is the largest inland port...

bridge

(Encyclopedia)bridge, structure built over water or any obstacle or depression to allow the passage of pedestrians or vehicles. See also viaduct. Early Bridges In ancient times and among primitive peoples a log was...

architecture

(Encyclopedia)architecture, the art of building in which human requirements and construction materials are related so as to furnish practical use as well as an aesthetic solution, thus differing from the pure utili...