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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Rock the House"
Fully produced report in MP3 format:
48 kbps |
96 kbps
(90 seconds)
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READER SCRIPT
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THIS REALLY TAKES THE "QUAKE"... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. BUILDINGS THAT CAN NOT ONLY STAND UP TO AN EARTHQUAKE--BUT CAN ALSO RETURN TO THEIR ORIGINAL STRUCTURAL-SHAPE: A TEAM LED BY RESEARCHERS FROM STANFORD AND THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS HAS DEMONSTRATED A STRUCTURAL-SYSTEM THAT COULD LIMIT THE DAMAGE OF EVEN A MAGNITUDE-SEVEN QUAKE, TO JUST A FEW REPLACEMENT-PARTS. THE GROUP UTILIZED THE WORLD'S LARGEST "SHAKE-TABLE", IN JAPAN; IT'S A THREE-THOUSAND-SQUARE-FOOT PLATFORM THAT REPRODUCES THE MOVEMENTS OF ACTUAL EARTHQUAKES. THE TEAM TESTED A THREE-QUARTER-SCALE MODEL OF AN OFFICE BUILDING--INCORPORATING ITS DESIGN. THE TEAM THEN JOLTED THE MODEL WITH SEISMIC-SHOCKS AND -SHAKES RECORDED FROM JAPAN'S DEVASTATING "KOBE" QUAKE, AS WELL AS FROM AMERICA'S WORST-EVER--THE "NORTHRIDGE" QUAKE. BOTH OF THOSE QUAKES MEASURED JUST UNDER SEVEN. THE RESEARCHERS THEN KICKED IT EVEN HIGHER--TO THE MAXIMUM THAT EACH FAULT IS LIKELY TO EVER GENERATE. THIS SYSTEM ROCKS--LITERALLY: THE STRUCTURE IS DESIGNED TO ROCK AT THE BASE, AND DISSIPATE ENERGY INTO EASILY REPLACEABLE STEEL-"FUSES". IN THE TESTS, THE FUSES WERE THE ONLY PARTS THAT WERE DAMAGED. WHEN THE SHAKING STOPS, VERTICAL STEEL-CABLES THAT STRETCHED DURING THE QUAKE, CONTRACT--IN ORDER TO PULL THE BUILDING BACK INTO ALIGNMENT. THE SYSTEM USES CONVENTIONAL BUILDING-METHODS--AND CAN BE RETROFIT. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
