Experiment 1: Make the shape of a catenary

One of the easiest experiments in the world! Get a piece of rope and suspend it between your two hands. Voila! You're making a catenary. Move your hands to make the rope more and less slack, until you make the shape of the suspension cables of the Golden Gate Bridge, and then of the upside down Gateway Arch.

Back: The Shape of the Bridge.

Robert E. Thurman <thurman@geom.umn.edu>

Last modified: Mon Sep 16 10:38:17 1996