BCP 201 GD: Bones 5 E-H (Second Timers)

The head of a bird bone may have dense trabeculae in it and a thin layer of compact bone around it. The very same bone may have fewer trabeculae in the length of the bone and a thicker layer of compact bone around it.

The woodpecker has dense, strong rod-shaped trabeculae in its skull like a hawk has in its wings. These help the bird survive the 1200 head-slams a day that it gives its head!

The picture below is a good example of “trabs in trabs” (trabecular-type bracing in trabecular-type bracing).

Many cross members in bridges, cranes, gates, roofs of buildings and even the Eiffel Tower are often arranged in a “trabecular design”.

Built in 1989 for the World’s Fair in Paris, the 1063-foot Eiffel tower, is a stunning example of using crossmembers and bracing of all kinds to keep a structure standing.

There are pictures in this article of bracing in Taiwan that combined the arches of the Greeks with modern “trabecular steel bracing design” (as we call it).

Some Roman aqueducts were built with no mortar at all yet are still standing after 2000 years!

Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines are all islands more than 1000 miles off the coast of China.