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In action: a skyscraper’s amazing 728-ton stabilising ball
deputy-dog ^ | 6/22/08

Posted on 06/22/2008 10:44:14 AM PDT by LibWhacker

The enormous steel ball you see in the photos (and the incredible video below) is the world’s largest ‘tuned mass damper’ and sits near the top of the world’s largest completed skyscraper on earth, taipei 101 in taiwan. the idea behind a tuned mass damper is quite simple: as a building sways (resulting from high winds, earthquakes etc), its tuned mass damper, essentially a finely tuned and ridiculously heavy pendulum, will move in opposition to the structure’s oscillations and minimise any movement. if that makes no sense, watch the crude gif below.

due to both the immense size of taipei 101 and the fact that it sits just over 600ft from a major fault line, engineers had no choice but to install one of this size at a cost of $4m. too heavy to be lifted by crane, the damper was assembled on site and hangs through 4 floors of the skyscraper. it can reduce the building’s movement by up to 40%.

image sources: 1, 2, 3 image source: wikipedia

now for an incredible video. on may 12th, as the horrendous earthquake occurred in china’s sichuan province, tremors were felt for miles, including in taipei 101. youtube user phuaalvin was in the building at the time and said that as the building started to shake, dozens of people ran to the damper to watch it in action. here’s the video he took… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYSgd1XSZXc"/


TOPICS: Technical
KEYWORDS: architecture; ball; earthquake; engineering; quake; skyscraper; skyscrapers; stabilizing; taipei; taipei101; taiwan
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To: Gay State Conservative

Crazy?

Ego, pride, arrogance, one-ups-man-ship . . .

Chinese culture is rife with such . . . as is American culture.

Then there’s the globalist puppet masters . . . . arrogant enough to plan the deaths of all but 200 million global citizens.

Yeah, pride is always crazy . . . eventually.


41 posted on 06/22/2008 11:28:29 AM PDT by Quix (WE HAVE THE OIL NOW http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3340274697167011147)
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To: 2harddrive

The Chinese CAN be very good about security.


42 posted on 06/22/2008 11:29:12 AM PDT by Quix (WE HAVE THE OIL NOW http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3340274697167011147)
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To: Quix
Ego, pride, arrogance, one-ups-man-ship . . . Chinese culture is rife with such . . . as is American culture.

I think the Chinese have us beat. They're just getting warmed up though and we've been playing encores for decades now.

43 posted on 06/22/2008 11:31:49 AM PDT by TigersEye (Berlin 1936. Olympics for murdering regimes. Beijing 2008.)
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To: TigersEye
There is that, alright.

I certainly think they will excel at ostentatiousness.

They can flaunt it like no one I've ever seen.

44 posted on 06/22/2008 11:35:07 AM PDT by Quix (WE HAVE THE OIL NOW http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3340274697167011147)
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To: garyhope
That was the sequel.

Because the first book actually talks a lot about the failure points that caused famous things to fall down -- it also points out how to remedy them. It covers "Galloping Gertie" (and other bridge collapses), the Empire State Building plane incident, the KC skywalk collapse, and other less known incidents. The Nimitz Freeway collapse was discussed in detail.

If there's a big one in TX, it'll come off the New Madrid fault and it will hit here before it hits there -- and we won't be here to talk about it!

45 posted on 06/22/2008 11:36:24 AM PDT by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment))
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To: sam_paine; FReepaholic

Whip It

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbt30UnzRWw


46 posted on 06/22/2008 11:38:07 AM PDT by umgud
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To: Quix
They can flaunt it like no one I've ever seen.

Shake it, China Baby!

Oops! I guess I shouldn't have said that on this thread.

47 posted on 06/22/2008 11:45:36 AM PDT by TigersEye (Berlin 1936. Olympics for murdering regimes. Beijing 2008.)
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To: LibWhacker

I now better understand the male anatomy...............two has to be better than one.....


48 posted on 06/22/2008 11:54:09 AM PDT by ALASKA (I feel more like I do today than I did yesterday.....)
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To: TigersEye

lol.


49 posted on 06/22/2008 11:54:29 AM PDT by Quix (WE HAVE THE OIL NOW http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3340274697167011147)
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To: raybbr
how are they going to change the cables when they rust? Stainless Steel
50 posted on 06/22/2008 11:55:07 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: LibWhacker
Twine Ball.
World's Largest Ball of Twine

51 posted on 06/22/2008 12:02:01 PM PDT by Wolverine (A Concerned Citizen)
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To: Red_Devil 232
how are they going to change the cables when they rust? Stainless Steel

I don't know. I see oxidation on the cables already.

52 posted on 06/22/2008 12:07:14 PM PDT by raybbr (You think it's bad now - wait till the anchor babies start to vote!)
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To: Past Your Eyes

Where do they keep the “Ball of Confusion?”


53 posted on 06/22/2008 12:07:15 PM PDT by REDWOOD99
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To: Quix
The Chinese CAN be very good about security.

Especially since we are giving them our secrets.

EXCLUSIVE: China gets U.S. Olympics help (Sending previously restricted equipment)

54 posted on 06/22/2008 12:16:30 PM PDT by raybbr (You think it's bad now - wait till the anchor babies start to vote!)
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To: raybbr

No joke.

The treasonous globalists.

Who also insured that Mao came to power.

Traitors.

Clueless satanists.


55 posted on 06/22/2008 12:19:40 PM PDT by Quix (WE HAVE THE OIL NOW http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3340274697167011147)
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To: tenpops

ping


56 posted on 06/22/2008 12:19:40 PM PDT by Grammy (Maxine Waters wants to....sociali.... er ....nationali....er... take over the oil industry.)
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To: raybbr

Where?


57 posted on 06/22/2008 12:22:01 PM PDT by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: Red_Devil 232

Looks like the green is oxidation. I am not sure if it's the lighting but it looks like oxidation to me.

58 posted on 06/22/2008 12:26:16 PM PDT by raybbr (You think it's bad now - wait till the anchor babies start to vote!)
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To: LibWhacker
‘tuned mass damper’= stuned moose beeber in the lingo around here. ;)
59 posted on 06/22/2008 1:47:27 PM PDT by ozark hilljilly (I was gruntled before I was disgruntled.)
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To: Sundog

ping


60 posted on 06/23/2008 7:57:06 AM PDT by Sundog (Hussein . . . B. Hussein or S. Hussein?)
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