ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

T-beam

A t-beam is a type of beam that is often used in construction to support the weight of a building or structure. It looks like the letter T, hence, it's called a t-beam.

Imagine that you are building a fort with blocks. You have two blocks standing up and you want to build a bridge between them. You can place a long flat block across the top, but it might not be strong enough to hold the weight of all your toys. Now, if you placed another block at the bottom, connecting to the top block and extending downward, the structure would be stronger. This is because the two-blocks together create a T-shape.

In the case of real buildings, the t-beam serves a similar purpose. It distributes the weight of the building evenly throughout its horizontal span. The top part of the T-beam is called the flange, and it's the wide part of the beam that supports the weight of the building above it. The bottom part, known as the stem, provides extra support to the flange by transferring the weight down to the foundation below.

Overall, t-beams are a very useful tool in construction because they add strength and stability to structures. Without these beams, buildings would not be as strong and would be more likely to collapse or experience damage.