It V

IT V (EI/W) it will not bend under the force, but when the length is great enough there may be more than two points of inflection and more than one bay of the curve; for n bays (n + l inflections) the length must exceed nirV(EI/W). Some of the forms of the curve are shown in fig. 24. For the form d, in which two bays make a figure of eight, we have LV(W/EI)=4-6, 0 = 130° approximately. It is noteworthy that whenever the length and force admit of a sinuous form, such as a or 6, with more than two inflections, there is also possible a crossed form, like e, with two inflections only; the latter form is stable and the former unstable. 61. The particular case of the above for which a is very small is a curve of sines of small amplitude, and the result in this case has been applied to the problem of the buckling of struts under thrust. When the strut, of length L', is