Modern columns may be constructed out of steel, poured or precast concrete, or brick, left bare or clad in an architectural covering, or veneer. Used to support an arch, an impost, or pier, is the topmost member of a column. The bottom-most part of the arch, called the springing, rests on the impost.

Equilibrium, instability, and loads

As the axial load on a perfectly straight slender column with elastic material properties is increased in magnitude, this ideal column passes

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