Have you ever seen a Water Bridge over a river?........

[Johnsy]

Even after you see it, it is still hard to believe!
Water Bridge in Germany . What a feat!
Six years, 500 million euros, 918 meters long..........now this is engineering!
This is a channel-bridge over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany ,
as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg , near Berlin .
The photo was taken on the day of inauguration.
To those who appreciate engineering projects, here's a puzzle for you armchair engineers
and physicists.
Did that bridge have to be designed to withstand the additional weight of ship and barge traffic,
or just the weight of the water?

Answer:
It only needs to be designed to withstand the weight of the water!
Why? A ship always displaces an amount of water that weighs the same as the ship,
regardless of how heavily a ship may be loaded

 

[Jonny]

That is very impressive. However we brits have had at least one of those things since the victorians : )

 

[Elsheetan]

The weight of the vessel is displaced throughout the volume of stretch of water. So no the wight of the vessel is not considered but would be if it was an enclosed body of water. PS we have many such water bridges in the UK.