Sorry if this is an unbelievably rudimentary question, but what is
> concrete? more specifically, what's the difference between the Greek
> and Roman forms of concrete?
> I heard on TV that the Greeks invented a form of concrete, but it
> wouldn't harden underwater. The Romans pefected concrete, changing the
> formula to make it both more durable, and to allow it to harden
> underwater. So my questions to any who'd care to respond are:
> 1) what was the Greek formulation of concrete?
> 2) what was the Roman form of concrete?
> 3) Have any improvements been made to the formulation of concrete
> since Roman times (besides the addtion of rebar, which doesn't change
> the formula of the concrete itself, of course)?
> 4) why does concrete harden? What's the chemical reaction?
> Thanks in advance, Bruce
A civil engineering prof of TU Aachen Germany wrote "Baustoffe für tragende Bauteile", 4 books, cornerstone of civil engineering in Germany. As far as i know it has been translated into English as well. Dunno if it is still availble tho. Data for the German version: You might be interested in the first two books of that series: Book 1, "Grundlagen" ("basics"), ISBN: 3528017090 Book 2, "Beton, Mauerwerk(Nichtmetallisch-anorganische Stoffe)" ("Concrete, masonry (nonmetallic-inorganic materials)" ISBN:
3528017082this should pretty much answer all yer questions.