What is Statics?

Statics is a branch of engineering mechanics that allows us to model how forces are carried through machines, structures, tools, medical devices, and even the human body. Trusses are used by architects, engineers, and designers of all kinds to create very strong, but very efficient, assemblies that can support a wide range of structures including tall buildings that must resist hurricanes and earthquakes, bridges that soar across wide rivers, sports arenas that need broad uninterrupted views for spectators, the wings of airplanes, and cranes that tower above the city skyline. The mechanical principles underpinning truss behavior can also be seen in natural structures such as the skeletons of vultures with wide wing spans and the cellular structure of plant stems.