Engineering

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How things are built, and why they don't fall down.

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Why a falling pole can be held up: feedback, and the PID controller A pole on a cart wants to fall, and a controller that watches the lean and shoves the cart can hold it up. But how hard it pushes matters: too weak and it… Engineering4 min read Why Taipei 101 hangs a 660-tonne ball in its upper floors: the tuned mass damper At the top of Taipei 101 a 660-tonne steel ball hangs in plain view. It is not decoration: it is a tuned mass damper that swings against the building and can… Engineering4 min read Why a 660-tonne steel ball swings to keep Taipei 101 still Skyscrapers sway in the wind, and gusts that match the tower's own rhythm can make it sway more and more. Taipei 101's answer is a 660-tonne steel pendulum… Engineering4 min read