Bridges have been around ever since humans started to maneuver themselves -- and their items -- from one place to a different. Early bridge engineers needed to do little greater than fell a tree across a ravine or stream, however they quickly found that they may span greater distances and haul heavier masses by placing more time and reduce energy consumption into their buildings. Roman engineers perfected the stone arch and used it to construct aqueducts -- bridges that conveyed fresh water nice distances -- and comparable structures to carry visitors throughout streams and rivers. However the Industrial Revolution took bridge building to new heights and even greater lengths. The Brooklyn Bridge, completed in 1883, was the longest spanning bridge on this planet -- till Scottish engineers completed the Firth of Forth Bridge just seven years later. A brand new century brought longer, more wonderful bridges. In 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge stretched its 8,981-foot (2,737-meter) back over the treacherous waters of the San Francisco Bay.

Today, engineers proceed to test the limits of science and imagination. They experiment with modern supplies, designs and EcoLight strategies of construction. Their completed merchandise move automobiles and trains. They also move people's souls. What follows is a survey of some of the most breathtaking bridges of the fashionable period. We've restricted ourselves to simply 10 bridges, but to not any particular area of the world. Our first stop is the Hangzhou Bay Bridge in China. The Chinese usually are not new to bridge constructing. The Anlan Bridge, a suspension bridge first constructed in A.D. More than 1,700 years later, in the Jiangsu Province, Chinese engineers accomplished a mission that features a 4,888-foot (1,490-meter) suspension bridge and a 2,575-foot (758-meter) cable-stayed bridge. Identified because the Runyang Bridge, it was the nation's longest bridge -- for some time. Immediately, EcoLight products the Hangzhou Bridge, which opened in Might 2008 after nine years of planning and development, holds the honor as China's longest bridge. It stretches a mind-boggling 22 miles (36 kilometers) throughout the Qiantang River on the Yangtze River Delta on the East China Sea.

That's nearly 25 times longer than the Runyang Bridge and reduce energy consumption nine occasions longer than Japan's satisfaction and joy, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge! The cable-stayed bridge snakes across the open ocean, carrying six lanes of traffic in both instructions. Commuters must pay eighty yuan, or almost $12, to cross it, EcoLight but the toll charge is nothing compared to the bridge's value tag of 11.8 billion yuan ($1.72 billion). If it lasts so long as anticipated -- 100 years -- it ought to have a long time to pay for itself. There we'll find the Strait of Bosporus and the subsequent superb bridge on our checklist. Modern bridges, such as the Hangzhou Bay Bridge, owe much to structures that preceded them. Bridge building took an important leap forward within the 19th century as engineers in Europe and the United States applied the principles of physics to erect some of one of the best-identified bridges the world has ever seen. The Brooklyn Bridge has been a landmark of latest York City since it opened in 1883. Likewise, the Tower Bridge, which began carrying traffic over the Thames River in 1894, is virtually synonymous with London.

The Strait of Bosporus, also identified because the Istanbul Strait, connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It additionally separates Asia from Europe. As such, it holds nice strategic worth throughout times of struggle and peace. Though attempts to bridge the narrow physique of water date back to the Persian Empire, probably the most spectacular construction didn't open for EcoLight solar bulbs enterprise till 1973. That's when engineers completed the Bosporus Bridge, a 4,954-foot- (1.51-kilometer-) long suspension bridge that remained the only bridge in the world linking two continents until the Fatih Sultan Mehmed Bridge suspended its roadway above the strait nearly 15 years later. Even with a companion bridge stealing a few of its glory, reduce energy consumption the Bosporus Bridge remains a grand sight, particularly at night time. Because of an LED lighting system, the bridge's towers and zigzagged cables glow brilliantly in numerous colors. Every route has three lanes for automobiles, plus one emergency lane and one sidewalk.