Abstract
Only natural phenomena exist in the world of materials. The concept of technology, which is seen as a real characteristic of human culture, already shows the following fact by its definition: under technology, one understands the method and capacity to use the natural phenomena in a practical way.
“The first bridges men built were in wood, which were suited to their requirements at the time. But then they began to think about the immortality of their names. And because their richness gave them heart and made better things available to them, they began to build bridges in stone, which lasted longer, cost more, and brought glory to those that built them.”
A. Palladio 1570 (taken from Corradi 1998)
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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Proske, D., van Gelder, P. (2009). Introduction. In: Safety of historical stone arch bridges. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-77618-5_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-77618-5_1
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