June 27, 2008: Very Big Ball
A very big ball, I mean a 728 ton, very big ball.
From
deputy dog;
The enormous steel ball you see in the photos 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.
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%.
Here's the ball in action, during the May 12th quake, that shook China so badly.
[youtube]NYSgd1XSZXc[/youtube]
Talktalktalktalktalktalktalktalktalk... (we're on the 89th floor of a building that is built just 600' from a fault line).. talktalktalktalktalktalktalk.. (there's a gigantic ball that will sway if there's an earthquake).. talktalktalktalktalktalk.. (and it just now started swinging back and forth. A lot.).. talktalktalktalktalktalk.. (what should I do? Think I'll chat in my cell phone for a few minutes and watch the big earthquake ball swing some more.).. talktalktalktalktalk... (and listen to the other tourists keep jabbering away.)
Well, they don't worry about no stinkin' quake... they got big ball(s). ;)
That would be a bit of a bummer if those cables broke... I wonder how long it would take it to get to the basement...
Awesome find, Bruce!
This is really interesting.
If I was there with someone else I'd be talktalktalk too.
Are we in the safest place?
Hang on, does this mean there is an earthquake going on, I can't feel it?
Should we head off or do you think this is a test [yes, stupid response, but I might], the building doesn't appear to be shaking?
If I was on my mobile I would carry on talking:
Mum, are you okay? I'm in this weird place and there's a huge ball that's just started moving! It can't mean what I think it does!
My assumption is that if there were any normal indications of an earthquke these people would have exhibited all the screaming and running you hoped to see.
The fact that they didn't, and only the ball responded, meant that it was reacting to tremors that could have damaged the building, but weren't destroying anything at that point.
I might be wrong, no idea where Teipei lies in regards to the epicentre.
But it seems unlikely that even "tourists" would stand and talk if they felt the building shake on its foundations.
If I had the office directly below that ball, I'd always be thinking, "There's a one-and-a-half million pound steel ball hanging above my head, supported by cables made of green Chinese steel."
Wow spectacular! Is it possible that a really long duration quake would allow the ball to catch up....?
I might be wrong, no idea where Teipei lies in regards to the epicentre.
But it seems unlikely that even "tourists" would stand and talk if they felt the building shake on its foundations.
It's... like 900 miles away. About the distance from California to Missouri.
I saw the ball a few years ago when I went to Taiwan. It was... bally.
This is experimental technology. They have no business erecting their phallic symbols full of human beings just 600 feet from a fault line. What part of "Don't build big buildings next to fault lines" don't they understand?
I do not understand this mania for the world's biggest buildings going up all over. Give me something where I can see the ground and open the windows, and get out in case of emergency.
Then they all went downstairs to the street and realized a horrific earthquake had taken place...
It's... like 900 miles away.
Correct. Chengdu to Taipei is a little more than 1,100 miles. That's about the distance from Dallas, straight north, to the Canadian border.
I'm out of time here. I need somebody to write a clever reply, having something to do with Quasimodo. kthxbai
If I had the office directly below that ball, I'd always be thinking, "There's a one-and-a-half million pound steel ball hanging above my head, supported by cables made of green Chinese steel."
Oh yeah...that thought would definately be a recurring one
Why make it in the shape of a sphere?
A sphere is the shape that has the highest volume to surface area ratio, but I don't see any compelling reason to have to conserve surface area for this counterweight. It seems like it would be a wasteful use of space compared to, say, a cylinder, perhaps a cylinder with a hemispherical lower end. Since the whole weight will swing in an arc described by the radius of the cable and ball, it would seem that there would be empty space in the swing path that could otherwise have been used to add mass, had they departed from their (nearly) spherical choice.
Perhaps there were aesthetic reasons for the shape I don't understand.
I've seen it - pretty cool (and big).
The guy on the cell phone is asking someone if there was an earthquake, but he was told there wasn't.
Why make it in the shape of a sphere?
The cables can be attached at points around the center of mass and the sphere will clear the cables as it swings.
There are a lot of reasons as to why it is a sphere. I haven't got the time to go into it though. You will have to trust me. ;)
Nice find Bruce.
It's obvious.. When the cables break, if it were a cylinder it would just crater. A sphere could be deflected on the way down and roll through town making a much greater spectacle. Think bowling pins!
Quick! Call George Lucas!
Why make it in the shape of a sphere?
...
It's the Feng-shui.
I've seen it.
not that impressive. the view from the top of 101 is pretty sweet though.
(i do live in Taipei, remember)
You say you are a type A?
I've seen it.
not that impressive. the view from the top of 101 is pretty sweet though.
(i do live in Taipei, remember)
Look deeper.
I'm out of time here. I need somebody to write a clever reply, having something to do with Quasimodo. kthxbai
I don't know his name, but his face rings a bell.
Sorry. All I had in stock was the punchline.
by the way
the may china quake
was WAY too far away
to be felt in taipei
trust me
we couldnt feel it.
Perhaps it depends on the size of your balls? :eek:
by the way
the may china quake
was WAY too far away
to be felt in taipei
trust me
we couldnt feel it.
That's downright poetic.
Maybe that's because you weren't at the top of the 101.
took this one myself
excuse the watermark:
mark-free costs,
and i'd rather save
sweet, Ibram... very nice.
Traumflieger DRI
free hdr watermark free image blender. seriously bare bones interface. produces .tif file output (which I had a hard time displaying and viewing outside traumflier at first). And, it's all in German. Sprechen sie Deutsch?
You know what this is. ;)
With a salute of gratitude and no offense to our friends in the dear mother country :f205: ,
here's adapting an 18-month-old image for our purposes today:
[SIZE="4"][COLOR="Red"]
Happy [/COLOR][COLOR="White"]
Fourth [/COLOR][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]
of July![/COLOR][/SIZE] :f207:
Yay - red white & blue!
(we share the colours remember)
Happy Independence day to you all.
And I bet you're glad to be rid of us.
How's it do with deflecting an airplane laden with passengers crashing into it at 500 mph?
