  We present experimental results about the stability of arches against
external vibrations. Two dimensional strings of mutually stabilizing grains are
geometrically analyzed and subsequently submitted to a periodic forcing at
fixed frequency and increasing amplitude. The main factor that determines the
granular arch resistance against vibrations is the maximum angle among those
formed between any particle of the arch and its two neighbors: the higher the
maximum angle is, the easier to break the arch. Based in an analysis of the
forces, a simple explanation is given for this dependence. From this,
interesting information can be extracted about the expected magnitudes of
normal forces and friction coefficients of the particles conforming the arches.
