Catastrophe!: Failure And Success In Engineering

Synopsis

Why do buildings and bridges fall down? Why do so many planes crash? What makes the lights go out in millions of homes during a blackout? Why can nuclear energy be so dangerous? What made the space shuttle Challenger explode? This book provides the answers. Other examples covered include: the collapse of a walkway suspended several floors above a hotel-lobby; an airplane crash into a mountainside; and a nuclear-power-plant accident. In each instance, the author asks what engineers can learn from the catastrophe and how they can prevent it happening again.